The Basics:

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The Basics

• Format, Copy Editing and AP Style
• Chapter 1
• Reporting for the Media

True ease in writing comes from art, not
chance, As those move easiest who have learned to
dance. (Alexander Pope)
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I think writing is like dancing, or playing the
piano, the more you do it, the more you keep up
with it, the better you get. Also, writing is one
of those things where if you stay practiced
you'll be ready when those great ideas come
along. (Carolyn Dawn Johnson)
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Dancing with Style

• When we write, we dance with style. In this
  class, we dance with Associated Press Style.
• We may write a complicated feature. It may feel
  like a tango. Or, we may write a simple,
  breaking news story. It could be a two-step or a
  waltz. But, each has a basic style.
• In news writing, AP Style gives us charts of the
  basic steps.
• Journalists around the world recognize AP Style
  and use the charts adapted by it.

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One is these charts is a list of editing symbols
and you will find them inside the front cover of
your textbook. You can also access this list at
www.dibbs.net There is a list of copy-editing
symbols in your AP Stylebook Although there are
some variations between the lists, the marks you
will most often use are standard. These comprise
a language we will use to communicate what
changes need to be made.
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• A few large newspapers, such as the New York
  Times and The Washington Post, have published
  stylebooks of their own.
• Smaller papers, like the Press-Register, have
  supplements for local style.

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The INTRANET provides an excellent place for most
organizations to post their supplemental
stylebooks. The first edition of the
Press-Register stylebook was more than 10 years
in the making and was published as a booklet only
once.
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• AP has a searchable stylebook on the Internet
• http//www.apstylebook.com/
• Students and professionals can subscribe.

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Style Helps with Accuracy

• If it isnt accurate, it isnt news. Its
  fiction.
• Stylebooks are invaluable as guides for accuracy.
• Nothing is more embarrassing than a new reporter
  writing about Dolphin Island, instead of
  Dauphin Island.
• Or, one wrote about Meyer Mitchell and used
  Mayor Mitchell, as if he were the mayor.

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Lets Dance

• Print has a style Basically, its writing for
  the reader
• Newspaper
• Magazine
• Broadcast has a style Writing for a reader
• Internet has a style Writing for the browser and
  surfer

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Suggested Web Site

• http//writing.umn.edu/docs/publications/irving20
  fang.pdf
• Writing Style Differences in Newspaper, Radio,
  and Television News, a monograph by Irving Fang
  of the University of Minnesota. A clear
  discussion, along with examples of stories
  demonstrating the differences in style.

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Writing for The Reader

• Learn to write a GREAT Lead. All pieces of
  writing should have a unifying theme or central
  idea expressed in the lead.
• After your reader is in, keep him there with
  good transition. Make your copy flow.
  Transition ties information together and tips the
  reader off to what may come next. This is
  narrative. This is story-telling.

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Types of Transitions

• Connectors are simple words that help flow, in a
  structural way. They help unify your writing.
• Some examples are But, Or, Thus, However,
  Therefore, Meanwhile, On The Other Hand. Dont
  overuse these.
• Hooks are words, or phrases, repeated to give the
  reader a continual sense of unity in the story.
• In an armed robbery story, you can use robbery,
  robber, robbed, thief and theft several
  times throughout a story.

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Types of Transitions

• Use pronouns naturally to avoid repeating the
  names of people or things too often.
• Use similar ideas This was like It reminded
  victims of within an article.
• Use words or phrases that refer to a time Then,
  Next, Later that day, When he came back, etc.
• Numbering items within your writing will help tie
  your information together. His first priority
  was, secondly, thirdly, etc.

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Characteristics of Print News

• Attribution telling readers where you got the
  information for your story.
• Attribution leads to credibility
• Information that is common knowledge does not
  have to be attributed
• The best of all attribution terms is said. He
  said, she said, the mayor said, the captain said,
  etc.
• ATTRIBUTION IS A MUST

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• Short sentences, short paragraphs paragraph
  length should be kept to three sentences, or
  fewer, and fewer than 100 words.
• Third Person news stories are usually written in
  the third person.
• Here, you use the he-she form.  As in  he walked
  down the alley, she picked up the phone, and
  Jason told Tony he was going down, if he didn't
  cough up the money.  
• An Attitude for Accuracy and Attribution
  accuracy should be a state of mind for the news
  writer, because if it isnt accurate, it isnt
  news, its fiction.

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The Inverted Pyramid

• The Inverted Pyramid concentrates important
  information at the top of the story.
• The LEAD is the focal point of a basic news
  story.
• The Second Paragraph expands on some of the
  information presented in the lead.
• The Body adds detail.
• But, the LEAD is the focal point of a basic news
  story.

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Quotes

• Use direct quotes sparingly.
• Direct quotes should supplement and clarify
  information in your indirect quotes.
• The correct sequence for a direct quote and its
  attribution is Direct Quote, Speaker, Verb.
• Example I do not choose to run, the nominee
  said.
• It should be MEMORABLE!

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Editing and Rewriting

• ALL WRITERS NEED AN EDITOR!
• The first editing responsibility belongs to the
  writer.
• Copy editing involves various techniques and
  operations that change and improve copy, without
  altering basic structure and approach.
• Rewriting means rewording large portions of the
  copy and re-examining its structure.

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Editing and Rewriting

• Style Check spelling, grammar, and AP style for
  conformity.
• Verbs Make sure verbs are active and
  descriptive make sure they agree with subjects.
• Wordiness Avoid using too many words.
• Answer all the questions Did you answer all the
  Ws and the H of the story?
• Internal consistency Make sure figures add up
  properly, and times and dates are logical and in
  AP style.

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Feature Writing

• The main thing that sets feature stories apart
  from news stories is the greater amount of detail
  and description features contain.
• Three major kinds of descriptions should be
  contained in a feature story
• Describe actions
• Describe people
• Describe places
• Feature stories contain more quotations and
  dialogue than breaking news stories.

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Features

• Profile people who make the news
• Explain events that move or shape the news
• Analyze what is happening in the world, nation or
  community
• Teach an audience how to do something
• Suggest better ways to live
• Examine trends
• Entertain

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Types of Features

• Personality Profileswritten to bring an audience
  closer to a person in or out of the news
• Human Interest Storieswritten to show a subjects
  oddity or its practical, emotional, or
  entertainment value
• Trend Storiesexamines people, things or
  organizations that are having an impact on
  society
• In-depth storiesstories that require extensive
  research and interviews
• Backgroundersadds meaning to current issues in
  the news by explaining them further explain how
  countries, organizations, people etc. got to
  where they are now.

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Writing for Broadcast

• When you write broadcast copy, you write for A
  reader. You write for an anchor, or an announcer.

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Selection of News for Broadcast

• The following are some factors that broadcasters
  use to select news
• Timelinessthe most important news value in
  broadcast news
• Inform, not explainbroadcasters generally choose
  stories that do not need a lot of explanation to
  be understood by listeners
• Audio or Visual Impactbroadcasters want stories
  that their audience can hear and see stories are
  often chosen because of sound and/or picture
  availability.

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Characteristics of Writing

• There are four Cs to broadcast journalism
• Correctnessor accuracy
• Clarityclear, precise language that contains no
  ambiguity viewers cannot re-hear broadcast
  newsthey must understand it the first time
• Conversationalbroadcast news must sound more
  conversational b/c people will be reading it
  aloud
• Colorwriting that allows the listener to paint a
  picture of the story or event being reported

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• News that is more than an hour or two old may be
  considered stale.
• The maximum length for almost any story is two
  minutes the normal length is thirty seconds.
• Slang and colorful phrasing is generally not
  permitted in broadcast news.
• Should be written in present tense as much as
  possible.
• Omit the time element in most news stories.
• Broadcast writers have to learn to produce in a
  highly pressurized atmosphere deadlines are
  imminent.

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Story Structure

• Dramatic Structuremost common structure for
  broadcast news it has three parts
• Climaxgives the listener the point of the story
  in about the same way the lead of a print news
  story does it tells the listener what happened.
• Causetells why the story happenedthe
  circumstance surrounding the event.
• Effectgives the listener the context of the
  story and possibly some insight about what the
  story means.

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• Broadcast journalists think of their stories as
  completed circles rather than inverted pyramids.
• Stories must be written to fit into an amount of
  time designated by the editor or news director.
• Getting the attention of the listener is of top
  importance in broadcast news! The first sentence
  of a broadcast news story should be an attention
  getter!
• Broadcast news stories cannot go into the detail
  and explanation that print or web stories can.

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Broadcast Writing Style

• Conventions of Broadcast Writing
• Titles usually come before names.
• Avoid abbreviations, even on the second
  referenceexcept familiar ones FBI and UN.
• Avoid direct quotes if possible.
• Attribution should come before a quotation, not
  after it.
• Use as little punctuation as possible, but enough
  to help the newscaster through the copy.

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• Numbers and statistics should be rounded off
• Numbers one through nine should be spelled out
  numbers 10 through 999 should be written as
  numerals write out hundred, thousand, million,
  billion, and use a combination of numerals with
  these numbers where appropriate (i.e. 15-hundred)
• Dont write a million, or a billion, but one
  million, one billion

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• COPY IS PREPARED FOR THE ANNOUNCER! Thus, there
  are certain rules most news stations will employ
  when preparing broadcast copy
• Type only one story on a page and provide an
  ending mark such as 30, at the end of the
  page.
• Use caps and lower case
• Dont carry over a paragraph to another
  pagebegin the next page with a new paragraph
• Dont hyphenate at the end of a line
• Indicate when tapes are coming into a story.

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Characteristics/Qualities of the Web

• Immediacy once information is available in some
  form, it can be loaded onto a Web site within a
  few seconds
• The Web does not require personnel or equipment
  does not have any distribution problems
• The Drudge Report Drudge taught newspapers and
  magazines the importance of immediacy. A story,
  which may have been an exclusive not only became
  public, but became a question of good journalism.

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• The actions of Newsweek Newsweek editors and
  Matt Drudge on January 17, 1998, have been the
  subject of many debates on journalism ethics and
  practices they demonstrated the power of the
  World Wide Web.
• Permanency material on the web can remain in
  place and accessible as long as the Web server
  and electronic storage space exist.
• Printed materials are certainly more lasting than
  broadcasting, but their life and usefulness is
  limited. With the Web, material can stay in place
  as long as the host Web server and storage space
  exists.

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• Capacity The Web can keep and show huge amounts
  of text and image materialthere are no limits
  like there are in broadcasting and print.
• Thanks to the Web (and other technological
  advances) we can store more in smaller spaces and
  centralize information.
• Not only can a news Web site load a story about
  an event, but it can also offer pictures, video,
  audio, graphics, and more detailed text, like
  sidebars.

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• Interactivity The Web offers a level of
  interactivity between producers and consumers
  that goes far beyond print.
• People have no control over what radio and
  television stations broadcast, or what newspapers
  print.
• The technology of the Web offers a level of
  interactivity between producers and consumers
  that goes far beyond that.
• Visitors can communicate directly through e-mail
  or other means set up by the producers.
• The Web remains a medium of Words, Images and
  Sounds, especially WORDS. The Web needs people
  who produce good, understandable text.

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The Web Audience

• The Most Important Characteristics people of all
  demographics expect and want from Web sites are
  accuracy, accessibility.

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Expectations for Web Sites

• Speed they should load quickly and their links
  should respond instantly
• Visual logic a web page should be easy to figure
  out it should be clear what the web site is
  about, what it contains, who produced it
• Simple organization and navigation
• Depth they must contain enough information
• News they need to present new and updated
  information

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Creating Web Content

• Web writing follows the inverted pyramid style of
  writing.
• Web content should be accurate, complete, precise
  and efficient. If it isnt accurate, it isnt
  news.
• Writers for the Web should use simple, clear
  language unadorned with personal opinions or
  personal writing style. Some of todays worst
  writing is on the Web.

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Concision

• A term that explains the need for precision and
  concise Web text.
• Elements of Concision
• Keywords bold face words that indicate the
  information being presented often provide links
  and/or are in bold print
• Short Paragraphs 3 to 4 sentences at most
• Indentations help provide visual cues for
  readers
• Bulleted and numbered lists

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Other Web Page Characteristics

• Background, details and lists
• Pictures
• Graphics
• Maps
• Documentssuch as court opinions, laws, policy
  statements
• Previous stories
• Audio and Video Clips
• Links to other web sites
• E-polls
• Discussion forums

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E-mail

• E-mail is now a tool of mass communication.
• E-mail newsletters are an increasingly popular
  form of keeping people informed.

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Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancingand Charm
School
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Writing to be UnderstoodAn altered version of
Lawrence Ferlinghettis poem The Poet

• Constantly risking absurdity and death, if he
  performs above the heads of his audience, the
  writer, like an acrobat, climbs on style to a
  high-wire of his own making.
• Then, balancing above a sea of faces, paces his
  way to the other side of day, performing jumps,
  style tricks, and other high theatrics, but never
  mistaking anything for what it may not be.
• For he is the super-realist, who must, perforce,
  perceive taut truth, before each step or stance
  in his advance toward a higher perch, where
  beauty waits with gravity to start her
  death-defying leap.
• And, he is the little Charlie Chaplin man, who
  may, or may not, catch her fair, spread-eagle
  form in the empty air of existence.

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I went to a dance class. Why a dance class? A man
bought me a ticket.

• When you and style find each other, it will be a
  new beginning a fresh start.
• Memories are hard, because they involve habits.
  Habits are hard to break.
• Youve come to writing (dance) class as a favor.
  Someone, maybe you, bought a ticket.
• Youre looking to deliver a message.
• On the way, you may find something else. You may
  find the beauty of narrative.
• But, what if that beauty is not there at the end
  of your journey?
• Oh, dont worry. Shell be there.

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• You are human
• Use AP Style
• Get names right
• Check facts
• Learn grammar
• Write simply
• Use the right word
• Keep sentences short
• Listen, listen, listen
• Use unforgettable quotes
• Think write
• Write - rewrite
• Be original, not trite - rewrite
• Write about people

1, 2, 3 Repeat Youre Waltzing
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