1. Week 10: Journalism 2001
April 3, 2006

3. Review of last week’s news
Hard News:
(murders, city council, government, etc.)
Major local stories
Major national/international stories
Major sports stories
Soft News:
(retirements, school programs, human interest)
Local stories
National/international stories
Sports stories

4. Announcements Bring AP Stylebook next week: Style quiz
Bring electronic copies of stories next week for ePortfolio

5. WDIO Tour: Interesting!
Newsroom tour
Talked with news, sports reporter
Watched 5 p.m. newscast
Informal discussion with anchor Sandy Drag after show
Thanks to Niki for arranging tour!

6. Amy Rutledge Guest Speaker: 4/3
Final article due: Wednesday, April 5
Assume story assignment for the Statesman
Write a story of no more than 400 words.
a copy of the story, written in Microsoft Word (double spaced), as an attachment to:

7. News Release Assignment review
Overall good job!
Many style errors!
Dates
States
Months
Time
Titles
Alumnus/alumni/alumna

8. The Academy of Science and Engineering is honoring a UMD alumnus on Friday, October 1st, for his work on wolf and moose populations around the world.
A UMD graduate is returning to the school to be inducted into the Academy of Science and Engineering and will present a seminar on Friday, Oct. 1
The leader of the world’s longest continuous study of the predator-prey dynamic between grey wolves and moose will be speaking at UMD on Oct. 1.
A former UMD student and distinguished scientist will be returning to the school to be inducted into the Academy of Science and Engineering and to present a seminar on Oct. 1.

9. A UMD associate professor of the Department of Computer Science has been awarded The Trevor Evans Award from the Mathematical Association of America.
A UMD professor will receive the Trevor Evans Award from the Mathematical Association of America in recognition for his article entitled “A Tale Both Shocking and Hyperbolic.”
The UMD Department of Computer Science now has one of its own as a recipient of the Trevor Evans Award, given by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) for exceptional articles dealing with math and its concepts.
The Trevor Evans Award, presented by the Mathematical Association of America, has been awarded to an Associate Professor in the UMD Department of Computer Science.

10. Upcoming stories
Speech/news conference/multicultural reporting assignment
Final article due: April 3
Feature Story Assignment
Story pitch due: April 3
First draft due: April 17
Final article due: May 1

11. Feature story assignment
Story pitch due: Monday, April 3
Length: three paragraphs, about 200 words
to copy yourself
Include the 5Ws and H: what makes this feature story newsworthy
Review:
Chapter 9 on Features
This week’s lecture

13. Chapter 23: In-depth & Investigative Reporting
In-depth article
Goes beyond a basic news story
Detailed information on subject
Investigative articles
Civic “watchdogs”
Months or years to complete
Need to remain focused

14. Steps in gathering information
Conducting research
Introduces a reporter to the language of a complex topic
Helps reporters find sources from different stories
Helps to formulate a list of questions
Provides other articles written on the same topic
Uncovers good/bad things to look for in interviews
Sources of information: Internet, newspaper library, databases

15. Interviewing Talk to everyone you can Interview as long as you can
Ask sources for names of additional sources
Know the answers to incriminating questions before you ask them
Use a tape recorder for in-depth or particularly sensitive interviews
Interviews from the outside in
Smoking-gun interviews
Double-checks and triple-checks
Confidential sources

16. Writing an in-depth story
Finding the right lead
Summary lead
Lead block and nut graph
Use bulleted paragraphs to summarize findings
Use anecdotes and observations
Finding the thread
Writing a first-person article

19. Chapter 25: Law First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. — The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

20. Washington Post New York Times Los Angeles Tribune
Judith Miller, who was jailed for refusing to identify a source in the naming of a CIA agent, was a reporter for what newspaper?
Washington Post
New York Times
Los Angeles Tribune

21. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
Do you agree with Judith Miller’s decision to testify before a grand jury after spending 86 days in jail?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

22. Latest Judith Miller developments…
Let’s check Judith Miller’s website:

23. Libel
Libel: Communication of false information that damages an individual in his or her profession, business or calling.
Five requirements for libel action:
Publication
Identification
Harmful to reputation
Proof of falsity
Proof of fault

24. “Red Flag” Words: Libel & Privacy
adultery
blackmail
confidence man
drunkard
AIDS
blockhead
corruption
ex-convict
alcoholic
booze-hound
coward
fraud
altered records
bribery
crook
gambling den
Ambulance chaser
brothel
deadbeat
gangster
Atheist
buys votes
deadhead
gay
bad moral character
cheats
defaulter
graft
Bankrupt
child abuse
divorced
groveling office seeker
bigamist
collusion
double-crossed
herpes
blacklisted
con artist
drug abuser
hit-man

25. hypocrite
manipulate
rape/rapist
stool pigeon
illegitimate
mental illness
scam
stuffed the ballot box
illicit relation
mobster
scandalmonger
suicide
incompetent
moral delinquency
scoundrel
swindle
infidelity
mouthpiece
seducer
taken
informer
Neo-Nazi
sharp dealing
thief
insider trading
paramour
shyster
unethical
intimate
peeping Tom
slacker
unmarried mother
intolerance
perjurer
smooth and tricky
unprofessional
Jekyll-Hyde personality
plagiarist
smuggler
unsound mind
kept woman
pockets public funds
sneaky
unworthy of credit
Ku Klux Klan
price cutter
sold influence
vice den
liar
profiteering
sold out
villain
Mafia
prostitute
spy
fawning sycophant

26. Classes of libelous words
Words imputing the commission of a criminal offense
Avoid:
John Doe was taken into custody Wednesday for murdering Sally Smith Tuesday night.
Better:
John Doe was taken into custody Wednesday in connection with (or in the investigation of) the Tuesday night slaying of Sally Smith.

27. Words that impute infection with a loathsome communicable disease of any kind that would tend to exclude one from society.
Is this news?:
John Doe, who was elected Wednesday to be president of the local chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, was treated last summer for a venereal disease, the Daily Bugle has learned.

28. Words that impute inability to perform, or want of integrity in the discharge of, duties of office or employment.
Don’t write:
Public school groundskeeper John Doe is unfit by temperament and intelligence to adequately perform his duties, sources who wish to remain anonymous said Wednesday.
Words that prejudice a particular person in his or her profession or trade.
Attorney John Doe, who will represent the widow in the embezzlement case, is the most incompetent lawyer in town, according to courthouse observers.

29. Defamation by implication
Implication created by the reporter’s organization of facts.
John Jones was seen entering the Shady Oaks motel yesterday with a woman. The motel is located in a known prostitution area.

30. Quotations
Reporter/news medium must assume responsibility for the statement if it is used
The fact that information was provided by a source does not necessarily mean that it is correct.
Beware of off-the-record tips passed along by sources, even high-ranking officials or law enforcement officers.
Don’t write: Police said that the alleged crook is in custody.
Instead: Police said that the man charged with the crime is in custody.

31. Defenses against libel
Conditional defenses
Privilege of reporting: Fair, accurate reporting of official proceedings
Fair comment and criticism: Applies to opinions about matters of public concern
Neutral reportage: Report charges made by one responsible person or organization about another when both parties are involved in a public controversy

32. Absolute libel defenses
Statute of limitations
Two years in Minnesota
Truth
Privilege of participant
Participants in official proceedings
Consent or authorization
Self-defense or right of reply

33. Partial defenses
Publication of a retraction: Clear admission of erroneous reporting
Facts showing no gross negligence or ill will
Facts showing that the reporter relied on a usually reliable source

34. The actual malice standard
The New York Times rule
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan: 1964
Supreme Court: To collect damages, a public official would have to prove the defendant acted with “actual malice;” knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.
1967: Supreme Court said that public figures, in addition to public officials, also have to show actual malice to recover libel damages.
Bottom line:
More protection from libel action if plaintiff is a public person.

35. Checklist for dealing with libel
Be aggressive – but don’t take foolish risks
Be fair – keep an open mind
Seek advice if you are unsure of your turf

36. Where to learn more Minnesota statutes U.S. Supreme Court
Federal circuit courts
Online legal research

37. Out of Class Assignments
Due today: News Release rewrites!
Due April 10: Red Lake Cartoon Reaction article

38. Portfolio
Store academic information on your Electronic Portfolio. Each student has 100 mb of storage.
Access Electronic Portfolio at:

39. Egradebook Doublecheck assignments correct in egradebook:
Late Assignments:
If you haven’t made arrangements to complete late assignments, you receive no points.