Media Writing Objectives release, could mean that your information gets into a After completing this chapter, the student should be newspaper or on a radio or television newscast. able to: • Identify and list the criteria for newsworthiness of News writing – also called journalistic writing – is a news story. similar, yet different, than “traditional” writing that • Identify the components of a good print news you have done for most of your life. This chapter story. provides an overview of news writing for print, • Explain the structure of the inverted pyramid. television, and radio – so you can better communicate • List the fi ve Ws and H. news about what is going on in your organization. • Write a good lead. • Write a news story for print, video, and radio. What is News? • Conduct an interview for a news story. One of the fi rst things you have to determine before writing a news story is if the story is newsworthy. Introduction Television station news directors and newspaper Knowing how to write in a news media style is editors use the following criteria to determine important because the news media – radio and newsworthiness – what stories they will cover in their television stations, newspapers, and magazines – are newscasts and newspapers. Newsworthiness, or news where most people go for information, news stories value, depends on: have a signifi cant impact on readers, viewers, and • Timeliness: This is the fi rst reason when deciding listeners. Knowing how to write a news story well and if facts of story are newsworthy. Timeliness refers sending it to the news media, in the form of a news to when something happened or when it will happen and implies immediacy or nearness to the present. • Proximity or location: This refers to how close physically or psychologically the news story’s content is to the audience. The closer the impact is geographically to the audience, the more proximity impact it has. • Prominence: Big names make big news. High- profi le people, issues, or concerns have more news value. • Importance or signifi cance: The greater the effect and the larger the number of people impacted by your news story, the more likely it is that your story is news. • Human interest: News stories that have a strong appeal to human emotions are more newsworthy. Does the event involve interesting people doing interesting or unusual things? • Innovative or unusual: If the news story features something different, unusual, or innovative, it carries news value. • Confl ict: A story that shows struggles – a person versus the environment, a person versus another person – is usually newsworthy. Being able to conduct a proper interview to get informati on • from someone is a good skill to have. News reporters practi ce to Money: News stories about fi nancial issues are be able to ask good questi ons. almost always newsworthy. stories are always stronger and more accurate because News Writing Style you are not relying on just one person’s thoughts. To begin this section of the chapter, it may be Accuracy is the reporter’s greatest obligation to the good to say what news writing style is not. It is not reader. Being accurate also helps you maintain your providing a chronological account of something that credibility as a journalistic writer. happened. (This happened, then this happened, then this happened.) News writing is not stringing together Journalistic writing also should be brief. Cut out a long collection of direct quotations, one after the unnecessary words. Find short words or phrases that other. News writing is not starting out with the least mean the same thing as longer words or phrases. important information fi rst and then “springing” the For example, use “whisper” instead of “talk softly.” news at the very end of the story. Overall, sentences should be 25 words or less. Paragraphs should be kept to three or fewer sentences. News writing, very simply, is fi nding out: News stories also should get to the point quickly. • Who said it? Who is it about? What is the story about? What does the story need to • What happened? tell the reader? A writer needs to be able to answer • Where did it happen? these questions in the simplest terms possible. • When did it happen? • Why is it important? Finally, if the reader is to understand what is in the • How did it happen? news article, the information must be clear. Write simply so you can communicate ideas without As you answer these questions, you will have to keep confusion. The reader should easily understand any in mind that good news writing for print, television, or information in an article. For example, eliminate all radio stories also follows these general rules: kinds of jargon, or technical language, and do not use • Good news writing uses short words. big words to try to impress readers. • Good news writing uses short sentences. • Good news writing uses short paragraphs. News Writing for Print Stories • Good news writing eliminates wordiness. A good print news story will contain the following • Good news writing avoids jargon or technical components, described in this section: inverted language. pyramid structure, fi ve Ws and H, leads, impersonal • Good news writing comes to the point quickly. reporting, news writing techniques, quotations • Good news writing uses direct quotes to bring life and attribution, Associated Press Style, and proper to the story. grammar and punctuation.
Writing news stories for print news will be covered Inverted Pyramid in the following section. Later sections in this chapter The inverted pyramid is the structure most also will include information on how to write news commonly used for news writing. The inverted stories for television/video and radio. Regardless of pyramid presents the most important information whether you write print, television, or radio stories, in a news story fi rst, followed in descending order any journalistic writing should be accurate, brief, by less-important information. This structure works and clear. well for two reasons. First, the most important information, which is presented fi rst, helps to grab Facts must be accurate; names must be spelled the reader’s attention and interest, so the reader is correctly, identifi cations made properly, and fi gures more likely to read the entire article. Second, a story quoted carefully. Never assume you have someone’s written in the inverted pyramid structure means the name spelled correctly. Always ask the person how to least important information is at the very end of the spell his or her name. For example, a person by the structure. Therefore, if the story needs to be cut, it can name of “Jodi” could spell it “Jody” or “Jodie,” and be cut from the bottom without any loss of important that name could be for a man or a woman. In addition, information. If you put important information at the at you add strength to accuracy by getting information the end, it may get cut. from more than one source if possible. Two-source Inverted Pyramid Structure of News Writing
The inverted pyramid is the structure most commonly used for news writing. The inverted pyramid presents the most important information in a news story first, followed in descending order by less-important information.
Lead: The “key” to the story. One to no more than two sentences. Includes the most important of the 5 Ws and H.
Secondary information: Vital statistics and description. Extend on 5 Ws and H.
Background information: Incidents leading up to or following the event.
Additional information
The inverted pyramid structure is based on the “fi ve questions that a news story should answer, such as: Ws and H” and good leads, which are explained next. • Who said or did something? The lead, or fi rst paragraph, is a simple statement • What was said or done? What happened? that provides focus to the news story. A lead should • When was it said or done? When did it happen? be written as simply as possible and should contain • Where was it said or done? Where did it happen? as many of the fi ve Ws and H as can be understood • Why was it said or done? Why did it happen? easily. The body of the inverted pyramid story adds • How was it said or done? How did it happen? detail to the information that has been introduced in How does this affect me? the lead. The body should provide more information, supporting evidence and context in the form of To gain the reader’s attention you should begin the direct and indirect quotes, more details, and other lead with the most interesting or most important descriptions. element of the fi ve Ws and H. Others are added later in the story. The aspect used most often in the lead Stories in the inverted pyramid structure avoid is the what, or perhaps the who, if it is someone falling into the trap of chronologically storytelling important. “What happened” is usually what most what happened at an event (“this happened, then this people want to read about fi rst. happened, then this happened). For example, what happens at the beginning of a meeting or event is Leads rarely the most important or interesting thing that The lead paragraph or lead (pronounced LEED) is occurred. the fi rst paragraph in the news story. The lead grabs the reader’s attention and answers the most important Five Ws and H of the fi ve Ws and H. The fi ve Ws and H are the key components of any The reporter must make a judgment on what to put in news stories. It stands for “who, what, when, where, a lead, based on the newsworthiness criteria described why, and how.” The fi ve Ws and H also can be the earlier in this chapter. A good lead generally will contain at least three of the fi ve Ws and H. However, Example: “My plane is taking off without one mistake writers sometimes make is trying to put me,” shouted a student pilot to his instructor as too much in a lead. The lead should be brief, no more he dashed down the runway after the Cessna than 25 words. Following are some types of leads that 140. you might include in your stories: A speaker-spoke lead should be avoided at all costs. The summary lead is the most common news-style This type of lead identifi es that someone spoke or lead seen in newspapers. The summary lead provides will speak at an event. Unless the person is someone the most important of the fi ve Ws and H elements. important, this type of lead should be avoided. People It gets the basic information up front. If you include speak all the time. What is news is what the person a “who” in your lead, you do not have to use the says, not that the person “spoke.” The speaker-spoke person’s name. You can identify someone by the lead example below provides very little information person’s title or job position and then include the of interest to the reader. person’s name later in the story. The example below shows how you can identify someone without using Example: Judge Billy Roster will speak the person’s name. Later in the story, their names tomorrow in Gainesville at 8 a.m. would have been included. Unless the “who” in your story is someone important or well known, rarely What would be more interesting is what Roster plans will you want to list the person’s name in the lead to talk about, so use a summary lead of the main paragraph. points:
Example: Five Anyville High School students Example summary lead: Judge Billy Roster and one teacher were injured Sunday night will deliver a major address on capital when their van slid out of control on icy roads punishment at 8 a.m. tomorrow in Gainesville in eastern Kentucky. before the local American Bar Association chapter. This summary lead contains who (fi ve Anyville High School students and one teacher), what (were injured A fi rst-person lead puts the writer in the story. First- when their van slid out of control), when (Sunday person leads are sometimes acceptable to magazine night), where (eastern Kentucky), and how (icy editors, but rarely for newspaper editors. It breaks the roads), and it is 25 words. rule of the “impersonal reporter,” explained next. Example: Minor earthquakes are common The question lead asks a question to grab the reader’s in Mexico, and it wasn’t surprising to feel attention. The question lead is seldom used because the building slowly swaying as I sipped my if the reader does not care about the answer to the fi rst cup of coffee Thursday morning. A few question, then the person probably will stop reading. seconds and it should stop. It didn’t. Example: Will the student vote affect local elections? Not if students are not registered to Impersonal Reporter cast their ballots. Another aspect of journalistic writing is the impersonal reporter. Reporters should be invisible A quotation lead is a direct quotation used in the in their writing. They should avoid using fi rst-person fi rst paragraph. Unless the quotation is something pronouns (I, me, we, our, my, us) or second-person memorable or unusual, the quotation lead should pronouns (you, your) outside of a source’s direct be avoided, because it is considered that the story’s quote. writer has given up on being creative and just inserted a quotation to jump-start a story. The following Reporters also should set aside their own views and example shows how a quotation lead can work, opinions. Allowing the writer’s opinions, prejudices, because the quotation is out of the ordinary. and biases to enter a story is called editorializing. News reporters should report only what they see and hear. How a reporter feels about that information is “tragic,” or “avoidable”? That is your opinion. Just not relevant to the news story. present the facts. Leave the value judgment to your readers. To avoid editorializing, a writer should present only facts and limit or eliminate most adjectives, except in Editorializing can be avoided by attributing any direct quotes. For example, instead of writing, “He information that is not a fact or is not common was sad,” describe what the person did that makes you knowledge. Any statement in a story that contains think he was sad. So instead of writing, “He was sad,” opinion must be attributed to someone. Here is an you could write, “He placed his head in his hands and overall good rule to follow to avoid editorializing: wept.” Present what you see and hear; let the reader If the information in a news story is common make the connection that the person was sad. How do knowledge to everyone and is factual, it you know something is “interesting,” “impressive,” does not have to be attributed. For example,
Model News Story A news story lead should include the most important elements of the fi ve Ws and H (who, what, when, where, why and how) and be no more than 25 words. The second paragraph provides some details related to the lead and may include other parts of the fi ve Ws and H not included in the lead. News stories should be double-spaced and written according to Associated Press Style. Paragraphs should be no more than three sentences long. They are usually one or two sentences long. Sentences are usually no longer than 25 words each. “Direct quotations are usually set apart in their own paragraphs,” said Ricky Telg, a professor at the University of Florida. “Any comment that is not common knowledge and factual should be attributed.” Writers should not include any opinion in their news stories that is not attributed, he said. Telg said quotations should not be strung together, one after the other. “If you string quotes together, you’re not really writing,” he said. “You should paraphrase what people say, whenever possible, to make what they say more understandable to your audience. However, this does not mean for you to misinterpret what they say.” The news story should be written in the inverted pyramid structure, so that the least important information is at the end of the story. If a news story runs more than one page, insert “ – more – ” at the bottom of the page. At the top of the second page, fl ush left, write “Add 1.” On the last page, use the following notation, centered, on the page, to signify the end of the story: “ – 30 – ” or “###.” ###
A good print news story, such as this model news story, will be writt en in the inverted pyramid structure, according to Associated Press Style. The news story will contain the most important of the fi ve Ws and H in the lead, good quotati ons and att ributi on, and proper grammar and punctuati on. This example from the Scienti fi c Thinking and Educati onal Partnership program shows a more informati onal approach to a news story. The contact informati on is at the bott om of the page. the statement “The sky is blue,” is common Simple writing: Use simple words and simple knowledge and is factual. It does not have sentences. Not every sentence should be in the simple to be attributed. If the information is not sentence format (subject-verb-object), but the simple common knowledge, may not be true, or is sentence is a good tool for clearing up muddy writing. entirely opinion, it must be attributed. If not everyone knows something to be true, your Jargon and clichés: Avoid jargon and clichés. Jargon responsibility is to attribute that information to is technical language used in specialized fi elds or a source. in a small group. Clichés are overused words and phrases, such as “cost an arm and a leg,” “a drop in Never end a story with “Everyone had a good time,” the bucket,” and “on the cutting edge.” or something similar. Writers fall into this trap when they feel they have to “wrap up” the story. You do Transitions: Transitions tie together what you have not have to wrap up the story. That is one of the written. Each sentence in a story should logically functions of the inverted pyramid structure. When follow the previous sentence or should relate to it there is nothing else to write, just stop. You will avoid in some way. New information in a story should editorializing at the end of your story. be connected to information already introduced. Transitions include the following: Print News Writing Techniques • Connectors help unify the writing. For the most Short sentences: Sentences in news stories average part, they are conjunctions such as “and,” “but,” 20 to 25 words or so. Do not string together, with “or,” “for,” “thus,” “however,” “therefore,” commas and conjunctions, several sentences into one “meanwhile,” and others. They do not have great long sentence. The best way to shorten sentences is to value in terms of the content of the writing, but use periods, not commas and conjunctions. they are necessary for its fl ow. • Hooks are words or phrases that are repeated Short paragraphs: For news stories, paragraphs throughout an article to give the reader a sense should be no more than three sentences long. Usually, of unity. For example, in a story about the city paragraphs are one or two sentences long. This is council, the word “council” used throughout the much different than the writing you have been used to story would be a “hook.” for your composition and English classes. • Pronouns are one of the best transitional devices for writing about people. Instead of using a Third person: A news story should be written person’s name each time, use a pronoun about completely in third person (he, she, it, and they), every other time the person is mentioned in the except when you use a direct quotation. story.
Nouns and verbs: Place emphasis more on nouns Quotations and Attribution and verbs than on adjectives and adverbs. Overusing Quotations are the words of someone talking. It is adjectives and adverbs will cause you to editorialize. a good idea to use quotations to bring “life” to your Action verbs keep a story moving and grab the reader story. Quotations can be either direct or indirect. more than “to be” verbs (be, is, are, am, was, were), A direct quotation is the exact words of a person which show little action. Use action verbs to describe talking (or quoted) in a news story. An indirect what you observe. quotation, also called a paraphrase, may have one or a few of the same words that a speaker used, but Format: If the news story is longer than one page, it will also have words that the speaker did not use. write “more” at the bottom of the page. Indicate the The exact words in a direct quotation or in an indirect end of the news story by either writing a hyphen, the quote will be inside quotation marks. Paraphrases number 30, and another hyphen (-30-) or three pound express what the source said but with different words signs (###) at the center of the page below the fi nal from those the source used. line of story. The -30- or ### is journalese for “end of story.” A good news story will use more paraphrases than direct quotations. Direct quotations do add “life” to a story, but they should be used sparingly. Use them with a direct quotation is only one sentence. to supplement a story. Do not string together long • Use “said” for attribution. Many people try to sections of direct quotes. look through a thesaurus for a different word to use. “Said” is a neutral word. Use it. Attribution means telling readers where the information in a story comes from. Attribution is Associated Press Style extremely important in news writing. It is one way The Associated Press is an international organization writers can avoid editorializing in their story, by of professional journalists. The organization has making sure that information in their stories can a writing style for news stories. You must follow be attributed to someone or some organization. Associated Press Style if you are going to write news Writers should attribute anything that is not common stories professionally or to provide news releases knowledge to all readers. Attributing information about your events to news media. Every journalist and sources also allows the reader to assess the credibility public relations professional must understand and use of the information by assessing the source of the Associated Press (AP) Style. information. Some sources are more credible than others. Here are some examples of attribution: It is recommended that you purchase an Associated Indirect quote/paraphrase: Myers said the Press Stylebook at least every two to three years to incident was under investigation. see if any additions to the Stylebook have been made Indirect quote (with some of the words as or if any entries have changed. For example, the 2006 the exact words of the speaker): Myers said Associated Press Stylebook listed “(123) 555-5678” the incident was being investigated, but as the correct way to include telephone numbers that it would be “a long time” before the in a news story. The telephone number entry was investigation was completed. changed in the 2007 Associated Press Stylebook to Direct quote: “The incident is under “123-555-5678.” In addition, you should review the investigation,” Myers said. Stylebook’s section on edit marks. Direct quote: “The incident is under investigation, Myers said, “but it will be a long A list of some of the most commonly used entries time before the investigation is completed.” from the Associated Press Stylebook is provided in this chapter. You may never need to know certain Following are some guidelines to follow when Associated Press Stylebook listings, such as if attributing information and including quotations in “nearsighted” is one word, two words, or hyphenated. news stories: (It is one word, by the way.). However, you will need • Use the person’s fi rst name and last name, to know how to correctly write an address and to use when identifying a person by name for the numbers and measurements, among other things. The fi rst time in the story. This is also called “fi rst list in this chapter is not meant to be a complete list of reference.” Afterward, use only the person’s last everything you should know, but it should keep you name. Some newspapers also use courtesy titles from having to memorize everything in the Stylebook. – Dr., Mr., Ms., and Mrs. – before the last name (“Ms. Becker,” “Mr. Mallory”). You do not have Here are some specifi c Associated Press Style issues: to include the person’s last name each time you Numbers reference the person; you can use a pronoun (he, • In general, spell out whole numbers nine and she) every second or third time, instead of the below. (The nine boys) person’s name. • Use fi gures for 10 and above. (The 25 boys) • Use quotation marks around a word or group • “Million” and “billion” are used with round of words when someone has spoken or written numbers. (2.3 million. 250 billion) those exact words. • “Thousands” are numbers. (186,540) • Every quotation (direct or indirect) must have • Ages are always numbers. (The 2-year-old girl. attribution. John is 21 years old.) • Each direct quotation should be its own • Measurements and dimensions are always paragraph. This may mean that the paragraph numbers. (25 percent. 3 yards. He is 5 feet tall.) Associated Press Style Entries to Know The following are some of the Associated Press Style entries that you should know well to be successful writing news stories and news releases. This list is not meant to be a complete list of everything you should know, but it should keep you from having to memorize everything in the Associated Press Stylebook.
A F Q A/an Face to face Quotations in the news Abbreviations and acronyms Farther/further Academic degrees Florida R Academic departments Food Reference works Academic titles Foot-and-mouth disease Addresses Fractions S Adjectives FTP Second-rate Adverbs Fundraising Second reference Adviser Sentences Affect/effect G Service mark Ages Geographic names South All right Girl Spelling Alumnus/alumni/alumna/alumnae Governmental bodies State names a.m./p.m. Governor Among/between T Animals H Teen Annual Hands-off/hands off Telephone numbers Anti- Hand to hand, etc. Television program titles Apposition Highway destinations Temperatures Arabic numerals Historical periods and events That (conjunction) Holidays and holy days That/which B Hurricane Time element Bachelor of Arts/Science Time of day Because/since I Times Boy Incorporated Titles Brand names Initials Today/tonight Internet Tomorrow C It’s/its Tonight Capitalization Trademark Children J T-shirt Citizen/resident/subject/national/native Jargon TV City council Judge Collective nouns U Committee K United States Company/companies Kids URL Complement/compliment Composition titles L V Contractions Legislative titles Verbs Corporation Legislature Versus County -ly Vice- Courtesy titles Vice President M D Manager Dangling modifi ers Master of Arts/Science W Datelines Middle initials Web site Dates Millions/billions Who/whom Days of the week Months Wide- Day to day/day-to-day Music -wide Decades World Wide Web Decimal units N Defi nitely Names XYZ Department of Agriculture National FFA Organization Yesterday Dimensions No. Youth Directions and regions Numerals ZIP code Doctor Dollars O Oral/verbal/written E Organizations/institutions E-mail Essential clauses/nonessential clauses P Essential phrases/nonessential phrases Part time/part-time Every day/everyday People/persons Except/accept Percent Ph.D. Plurals p.m./a.m. Possessives President Principal/principle Punctuation (see punctuation chapter) Pupil/student • Years are always numbers. (He was born in 1995.) at 80 Citrus Blvd. • However, spell out any number – except for a o The box was delivered to Boone Road. year – that begins a sentence. (Four-year-old Tom. The box was delivered to 890 Boone Road. 2007 was a good year.) • Months and dates: Months are spelled out unless they come before a date. Abbreviations o She moved last February. • Titles: Some titles are abbreviated, but only in o She moved in February 2007. front of someone’s name. The abbreviated titles o She moved on Feb. 6, 2007. are “Dr.,” “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” “Rev.” (reverend), • Organizations: Spell out names of organizations “Sen.” (senator), “Rep.” (representative), “Gov.” (colleges, groups, clubs) on fi rst reference. (governor), “Lt. Gov.” (lieutenant governor), and Abbreviate the names, if necessary, on second military ranks. reference. • Street addresses: The words “street,” “avenue,” o First reference: College of Agriculture and “boulevard” are spelled out unless they are Student Council. part of a full street address. Road, alley, circle and o Second reference: CASC drive are never abbreviated. o He lives on Main Street. He lives at 1245 Grammar and Punctuation Main St. Any news story must be well-written. The story o She lives on Loblolly Avenue. She lives at should be as free of grammar and punctuation 405 Loblolly Ave. errors as possible. Grammar is a system of rules o They live on Citrus Boulevard. They live that defi nes the use of the language. Most of the
Agricultural Communication Organizations If you are interested in learning more about the agricultural communication profession, contact any of these organizations. They are always willing to assist young people learn about agricultural communications.
Association for Communication Excellence, communication professionals working in universities, government agencies, and research organizations in the public and private sectors: aceweb.org
Agricultural Relations Council, professionals specializing in public relations and public affairs serving the agricultural and food and fi ber industries: agrelationscouncil.org
American Agricultural Editors Association, agricultural editors, writers and photojournalists: ageditors.com
American Horse Publications, communication professionals in the equine publishing industry: americanhorsepubs.org
Cooperative Communicators Association, communication professionals employed in cooperatives: communicators.coop/ CCA/
Livestock Publications Council, communication professionals in the livestock publishing industry: livestockpublications.com
National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, college student organization of students learning about the agricultural communication profession: gonact.org
National Association of Farm Broadcasters, communication professionals at farm broadcast stations and networks and the agri-marketing community of companies and agencies: nafb.com
North American Agricultural Journalists, journalists in North America who report or edit agricultural news for newspapers, magazines, and syndicated services, and are independent of agricultural organizations and businesses: naaj.net
National Agri-Marketing Association, communication and marketing professionals in agricultural marketing: nama.org
Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association, communication professionals involved in green industry communications: toca.org grammar and punctuation rules you have learned in verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs. In noun/ school will be the same as Associated Press Style, pronoun agreement, a singular noun takes a singular but there are some differences. Because you will be pronoun, and a plural noun takes a plural pronoun. using Associated Press Style for journalistic writing, you should refer to the Associated Press Stylebook’s False subjects: Most sentences beginning with “there section on punctuation for assistance. Following are is,” “there are,” “there was,” “there were,” “there some common grammatical and punctuation issues for will be,” “it is” or “it was” can be rewritten and made journalists: stronger. • False subject: There is a class in my school Grammar that teaches writing. A sentence fragment is a group of words that does • Better: A class in my school teaches writing. not express a complete thought. It may lack a subject, predicate, or a complete thought. Every sentence in a Parallelism: Do not mix elements in a phrase or news story should be a complete sentence. series. • Fragment: Finding a dependable and • Mixed phrases: He enjoys books, movies, and inexpensive car to use. driving his dune buggy. • Complete: Finding a dependable and • Correct: He enjoys reading books, going to inexpensive car to use is becoming more and movies, and driving his dune buggy. more diffi cult. • Correct: He enjoys books, movies, and his dune buggy. A run-on sentence is really two sentences joined without proper punctuation. Run-on sentences are • Mixed tenses: He walked the dog and works corrected in these three ways: with the horses. 1. Change the sentence into two sentences. • Correct: He walked the dog and worked with 2. If there is a close relationship between the two the horses. sentences, insert a semicolon. 3. Connect the two sentences with a comma and a Dead wood: Eliminate any words that would only add coordinating conjunction (and, but, or). “dead wood” to your sentence. • Run-on: The turnpike is a better road it has • Dead wood: It is really necessary to return less traffi c. the library book very soon. (How much more • Correct: The turnpike is a better road. It has necessary is “really” necessary? How soon is less traffi c. (Change to two sentences.) “very soon”?) • Correct: The turnpike is a better road; it has • Correct: It is necessary to return the library less traffi c. (Insert a semicolon.) book soon. • Correct: The turnpike is a better road, and it has less traffi c. (Insert a comma and Gender-neutral language: Use gender-neutral conjunction.) language in all of your writing. Primarily, this avoids using “man” for “people.” Avoid job titles that refer Comma splices occur when a sentence uses a comma to gender, such as “policeman,” “fi reman,” and instead of a period. Like a run-on sentence, you can “postman.” Instead, use “police offi cer,” “fi re fi ghter,” correct comma splices by using a period, adding a and “postal carrier.” Use plural pronouns to get conjunction after the comma, or inserting a semicolon around having to use “his/her” in sentences.” in place of the comma. • Awkward: A reporter should edit his/her • Comma splice: The rain ruined our vacation, article. we couldn’t go to the beach. • Better: Reporters should edit their articles. • Correct: The rain ruined our vacation. We couldn’t go to the beach. Prepositional phrases: If you see several prepositional phrases in a series, try to rewrite the Agreement refers to singular and plural references. In sentence. Prepositional phrases are not bad, but they subject/verb agreement, single subjects take single do add unnecessary words. • Awkward: The FFA meeting was led by the president of the chapter in the classroom. Do not use a comma to precede a partial quotation. • Better: The FFA chapter’s president led the • Incorrect: The mayoral candidate charged that meeting in the classroom. the man was, “a swindler of the lowest order.” • Correct: The mayoral candidate charged that Dangling modifi ers: Be sure the modifi er modifi es the man was “a swindler of the lowest order.” the right noun. • Dangling modifi er: Walking through the rows, Use a comma to precede a complete quotation. the corn nearly fi lled the rows. (Sounds like • Correct: The defense attorney asked, “How the corn was walking through the rows.) would you like to be sent to prison?” • Correct: Walking through the rows, I noticed the corn nearly fi lled the rows. Semicolon (;): Use a semicolon to join independent clauses not connected by a coordinating conjunction. Active and passive voice refers to the way in which • DeGraw launched her desperation shot; the verbs are used. The emphasis is on the subject as ball went through the hoop as the buzzer the doer of the action if a verb is in the active voice. sounded. Passive voice throws the action onto the object. Generally, writers should try to use the active voice. Use a semicolon with a conjunctive adverb (however, • Active: She passed the potatoes around the therefore, nevertheless). table. • The fi rst test results were unsatisfactory; • Passive: The potatoes were passed around the however, a simple modifi cation of the table. (by her) questionnaire solved the problem.
Punctuation A semicolon separates items in a series that contain Commas (,): Use commas to separate items in a commas. series. However, unlike traditional punctuation • Incorrect: We traveled to four of the world’s rules that you have learned, in Associated Press most signifi cant cities: Paris, France, London, Style writing, you do not include a comma before England, Rome, Italy and Vienna, Austria. the conjunction. This is probably one of the biggest • Correct: We traveled to four of the world’s differences between journalistic writing and the most signifi cant cities: Paris, France; London, writing style you have used in composition classes. England; Rome, Italy; and Vienna, Austria. • Incorrect (according to AP Style): The American fl ag is red, white, and blue. Colons (:) are used to separate parts of a sentence. • Correct (according to AP Style): The American List or series fl ag is red, white and blue. • The dealer had three cars: a BMW, a Cadillac and a Mustang. (Notice that the comma before Clauses introduced by “when,” “if,” “because,” “and” is not included. This is correct according and “although” require a comma when they begin a to AP Style.) sentence or are elsewhere in the sentence. • Correct: Although the test was repeated, the Do not use a colon to separate a verb and its results were never the same. complement. • Correct: We could not duplicate these results, • Incorrect: A scientist requires: intelligence and although we tried many times. diligence. • Correct: A scientist requires two attributes: Set off an appositive – a word or phrase that follows intelligence and diligence. another word to explain or identify it. Be sure you • Correct: A scientist requires intelligence and place a comma AFTER the appositive. diligence. • Appositive: George Washington, a Virginia planter, was the fi rst president of the United Do not capitalize the fi rst word that follows a colon, States of America. unless the word is a proper noun. • Incorrect: She has three hobbies: Gardening, traditional news story. A feature story is set apart from sewing and reading. (Notice that the comma a news story because of the greater amount of detail before “and” is not included. This is correct and description it contains. The structure of a news according to AP Style.) story, as has already been explained, is to provide a • Correct: She has three hobbies: gardening, basic set of facts to the reader as quickly as possible. sewing and reading. A feature writer enhances those facts with details and description so that the reader will be able to see a Quotation marks (“”) more complete picture of an event or a person. Commas, question marks, and periods go inside quotation marks in a quotation. A feature story can be on just about anything: a • He said, “The test was hard.” person, a group, animals, places, events, objects, or • “I thought so too,” she said. holidays. Regardless of the topic, however, a feature • “Was the test hard?” she asked. story must be interesting and well written, and it must draw on human interest. In other words, the feature Use a set of double quotation marks fi rst, then must touch the reader on a personal level. single marks within a quotation, for such items as composition titles. A feature story contains many of the same • He said, “I saw the movie ‘Transformers’ components as a news story: a good lead, short yesterday.” sentences, brief paragraphs, action verbs, good description, and relevant quotations. Direct quotation format: Use the following Features can be categorized in the following ways: sentences as examples of how to punctuate direct • A news feature is written around a timely event. quotations. A news feature could be written about the local • “The dog ran past the man,” he said. fair. • “The dog ran past the man,” he said, “but it • An informative feature zeroes in on the little was stopped by the dogcatcher.” known, the odd, or unusual. An informative • The principal said, “Pasco Independent School feature could be on how your school mascot was District is the best school district in the state.” selected. • An historical feature focuses on something of Apostrophes (’) historical relevance to the audience. Historical According to Associated Press Style, features are commonly seen around the holidays apostrophes can be used to indicate where numerals (the fi rst Thanksgiving, the origin of Christmas are left out: trees, the origin of Memorial Day). • The class of ’07. • A personal experience feature recounts the accomplishments of an individual or group, However, do not use an apostrophe for decades. usually as an example of a much larger group. • Correct: 1990s (Example: a feature story on a child with muscular • Incorrect: 1990’s dystrophy, especially around the time of the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon Hyphens are usually used to join words to form on Labor Day weekend) adjectives. • A descriptive profi le centers on places people can • A 7-year-old boy. An off-the-cuff remark. A visit or events they can take part in. This type of little-known man. A 3-inch bug. feature is seen regularly in newspapers’ “travel” sections. Hyphens are not used with adverbs ending in -ly. • A how-to-do-it yourself feature explains how to • Incorrect: a gravely-ill student build something or how to do something. Some • Correct: a gravely ill student newspapers have features on how to garden. Another example of this type of feature is a story Feature Writing on how to select healthy foods. The feature story is more relaxed in style than a • The profi le may be the most common feature. The Model Feature Story
A feature story is set apart from a news story because of the greater amount of detail and description it contains. A feature story can be on just about anything: a person, a group, animals, places, events, objects, or holidays. The feature must be interesting and well written, and it must must touch the reader on a personal level. The lead draws the reader in to the story. The second or third paragraph is called the “engine paragraph” and sets the stage for the rest of the feature. The body is the section that takes up most of the story. The body provides the reader with documented facts and details and careful observations made by the story’s writer. “A good feature will be brightened with good quotations throughout,” said Ricky Telg, a professor at the University of Florida. “During the interview, the reporter should try to identify several good quotes that can be used in the story.” A feature story contains many of the same components as a news story: a good lead, short sentences, brief paragraphs, action verbs, good description, and relevant quotations. Unlike a news story that is supposed to stop when the least-important information is presented in the inverted pyramid structure, a feature story may need an ending to wrap up. The ending, though, should not go too long. As with the news story, stop writing when nothing else is left to say. If a feature story runs more than one page, insert “ – more – ” at the bottom of the page. At the top of the second page, fl ush left, write “Add 1.” On the last page, use the following notation, centered, on the page, to signify the end of the story: “ – 30 – ” or “###.” ### A feature story can be on just about anything: a person, a group, animals, places, events, objects, or holidays. A feature story must be interesti ng and well writt en, and it must touch the reader on a personal level. This model feature story shows how a feature should be writt en.
profi le tells about a person. A profi le examines • Engine paragraph: This paragraph is usually the only one or two aspects of a person; it does not tell second or third paragraph of the story and sets a person’s entire life story. A profi le is enhanced the stage for the rest of the feature. The engine through the use of anecdotes (stories told by the paragraph puts the story in some context for the person being profi led). reader and lets the reader know why the rest of the story should be read. This is sometimes called Feature stories usually follow this structure: the “why paragraph.” • Lead: As with a news story, the lead in a feature • Body: This section takes up most of the story. It story draws the reader in. With a feature, though, expands and details the information introduced the lead may be more than just one sentence. in the lead. The body provides the reader However, do not take too long to get to the point with documented facts and details and careful in the story. observations made by the writer. • Ending/conclusion: Unlike a news story that teacher “feels” a certain way about a topic? Stick is supposed to stop when the least-important to what you observe and what people say. information is presented in the inverted pyramid structure, a feature story may need an ending to News Writing for Television and Radio wrap up. The ending, though, should not go too Stories long. As with the news story, stop writing when Doing a television or radio story is more than hitting nothing else is left to say. Sometimes, but not “record” on a video camera or audio recorder. You always, a feature writer will end with one of these have to learn the process of writing an effective closures: television and radio news story fi rst. The term o Circle technique: The feature story “broadcast writing” will be used interchangeably for begins and ends with approximately the “television and radio news writing” throughout this same idea, phrase, question, statement, or section of the chapter. description. o Surprise: With this closure, the writer Writing for radio and television is different from provides a different ending than what the writing for print for the following reasons. First, you reader expects. have less space and time to present news information. o Summary ending: This ending concludes Therefore, you must prioritize and summarize the with an overall summary of the topic. information carefully. Second, your listeners cannot reread sentences they did not understand the fi rst time. When writing the feature, keep these writing As a result, you have to keep your writing simple and guidelines in mind: clear. And third, you are writing for “the ear.” In print • Describe the topic in specifi c and concrete news stories, you are writing for “the eye”; the story words. As with a news story, do not rely on must read well to your eye. The television or radio adjectives and adverbs. Describe with nouns and news story also has to sound good; it has to read well verbs. to “the ear.” Also for a radio news story, listeners can • Brighten your feature with quotes, but do not not see video of what you are saying, so you must go overboard. Paraphrase throughout. A good paint word pictures with the words you use in your rule is to have one direct quotation for every three radio news story so people can “see” images just or four paragraphs. through your verbal descriptions. • Avoid mind reading. Do you really know that the Example Radio Story
This example shows the narrator portions and the actualities (or soundbites) of a typical radio news story.
Watching a rattlesnake on television is the closest most of us ever want to get to one. But some do like to get a little closer to rattlers. And Sweetwater Jaycee Wayne Wilson says one big reason is the money rattlesnake products bring.
Actuality: Wayne Wilson, Sweetwater Jaycee (15 seconds) “Every bit of the snake…and to make anti-venom.”
Over the weekend, the 23rd Annual Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup attracted thousands, wanting to see the venomous vipers. Vendors use the rattlesnake skins and other body parts for earrings, key chains, walking canes, hairpieces and paperweights.
Jaycee John Thomas also says there are those who like their rattlers well….well-done.
Actuality: John Thomas, Sweetwater Jaycee (9 seconds) “It has a taste…texture of fi sh.”
Thomas says it’s diffi cult to put a dollar value on the rattlesnake product industry because few vendors deal strictly in rattlesnakes. Still, when rattlesnakes bring eight to 10 dollars a pound, as they have in the past, they’re a big attraction for someone wanting to make a fast buck. From Sweetwater, this is Ricky Telg reporting. Example Television Story This example shows how a news story would be written for use on television.
Suggested Studio Introduction (to be read by the news anchorperson)
Rattlesnake products They’re cold-blooded and dangerous, but they’re also big business. They’re rattlesnakes, and as Ricky Telg reports, products made from this reptile range from the ordinary to the bizarre.
Outcue: “...Ricky Telg reporting.” Total Time: 1:37
Video Audio CU of rattlesnake w/ rattles. NARRATOR: Watching a rattlesnake on TV is the closest most of us ever Medium of pit of rattlesnakes. want to get to one. But some do like the snake. And one big reason is the money rattlesnake products bring. On-screen text: Wayne Wilson SOUNDBITE: Every bit of the snake is used. The skin is sold to make Sweetwater Jaycee belts...and the heads are sold. Of course we sell the venom for research and to make antivenom. On-screen text: Mike Barker SOUNDBITE: We average a quarter of a cc of venom per snake, so we Sweetwater Jaycee think if we can get 1,500 cc, that’s in the neighborhood of 6,000 snakes we CU of Mike Barker “milking” venom need. from snakes’ fangs. Medium shots and CUs of various items NARRATOR: Vendors use the skins and other body parts for earrings, made from snake body parts. keychains, canes, hairpieces and some very interesting paperweights. On-screen text: John Thomas SOUNDBITE: Anything that the skin can be used for, the dealers have Sweetwater Jaycee found to make a product. CU of Jaycee taking snake meat out of NARRATOR: Then there are those who like their rattlers well done. fryer. NAT SOUND: Frying sound (rattlesnake cooking) Medium shot: John Thomas SOUNDBITE: It has a taste all of its own. But a lot of people like to compare it to the taste of chicken, with maybe the texture of fi sh. Various shots of vendors selling items NARRATOR: Thomas says it’s diffi cult to put a dollar value on the made from rattlesnake parts and from rattlesnake product industry because few vendors deal strictly in other animals (frogs). rattlesnakes. Most also sell other nongame animals, like frogs. Still, when snakes bring eight to nine dollars a pound, as they have in the past, they’re a big attraction for someone wanting to make a fast buck. CU: rattlesnake hissing From Sweetwater, this is Ricky Telg reporting.
As with any type of news writing, you should try to attribute for writing for “the ear” is to read identify characteristics of your audience so you know the story aloud. This will give you a feeling what type of information your audience wants. Use for timing, transitions, information fl ow, and the criteria of newsworthiness presented earlier in conversation style. Your audience will hear your this chapter to help you determine if your television television or radio news story, not read it, so the or radio news story idea has news value. Television story has to be appealing to the ear. and radio news stories must read well for “the eye” and sound good to “the ear.” To do that, television and In the remainder of this section, specifi c guidelines are radio news stories must have these attributes: presented to help you write news stories for television • The writing style should be conversational. and radio. Write the way you talk. • Each sentence should be brief and contain only Television and Radio News Writing Structure one idea. We do not always talk in long sentences. • Be brief. A good newspaper story ranges from Shorter sentences are better in broadcast news hundreds to thousands of words. The same story writing. Each sentence should focus on one on television or radio may have to fi t into 30 particular idea. seconds – perhaps no more than 100 words. If • Be simple and direct. If you give your audience it is an important story, it may be 90 seconds too much information, your audience can not take or two minutes. You have to condense a lot of it in. Choose words that are familiar to everyone. information into the most important points for • Read the story out loud. The most important broadcast writing. • Use correct grammar. A broadcast news script with grammatical errors will embarrass the person reading it. • Put the important information fi rst. Writing a broadcast news story is similar to writing a news story for print in that you have to include the important information fi rst. The only difference is that you have to condense the information presented. • Write good leads. Begin the story with clear, precise information. Because broadcast stories have to fi t into 30, 60, or 90 seconds, broadcast stories are sometimes little more than the equivalent of newspaper headlines and the lead paragraph. • Stick to short sentences of 20 words Reporters for television and radio develop stories that are brief and or less. The announcer has to breathe. conversati onal. Long sentences make it diffi cult for the person voicing the script to take a soundbite is the exact words spoken by someone breath. in their own voice. If you must use a direct quote, • Write the way people talk. Sentence fragments – set it off with such phrases as: “In the words of...” as long as they make sense – are acceptable. “As he put it...” or try to paraphrase as much as • possible. Avoid saying “quote” and “unquote.” Use contractions. Use “don’t,” instead of “do • not.” But be careful of contractions ending in Titles precede names. Examples: “Mayor “-ve” (“would’ve,” “could’ve”), because they Richard Smith,” not “Richard Smith, mayor.” sound like “would of” and “could of.” “Anyville High School student Beth Baker,” not • “Beth Baker, Anyville High School student.” Use simple subject-verb-object sentence • structures. Use a person’s complete name (fi rst and last • Use the active voice and active verbs. Do not name) in the fi rst reference, then the person’s last name thereafter. say, “There were forty people taken to the hospital • following a train derailment that occurred early Use phonetic spellings for unfamiliar words and words that are hard to pronounce. this morning.” Instead, say, “Forty people are in • the hospital as a result of an early morning train In age reference, precede the name with the accident.” It is better to say, “He hit the ball,” than age. (Example: “The victim, 21-year-old Rob Roy…”) “The ball was hit by him.” • • Use present tense verbs, except when past tense Omit obscure names and places if they are not meaningful to the story. verbs are necessary. Present tense expresses • the sense of immediacy. Use past tense when Attribution should come before a quotation, something happened long ago. not after it. In contrast to writing for print media, • For radio news stories, write with visual attribution of paraphrased quotations in broadcast imagery. Make your listeners “see” what you are stories should be at the beginning of the sentence, saying. Help them visualize the situation you are before the paraphrase. The listener should know where the quotation is coming from before hearing describing. the quote. Example: “Bill Brown said he would run for re-election.” Television and Radio News Writing Techniques • Avoid appositives. Do not write, “Tom Smith, • Avoid writing direct quotations into a news mayor of Smallville, said today….” Instead, write, script, if at possible. Instead, let people say “Smallville mayor Tom Smith said today….” things in their own words during soundbites. A • Avoid abbreviations, even on second reference, corrections in between the lines. unless it is a well-known abbreviation. This is different than the Associated Press Style rules Television and Radio News Terms for print stories. Write out days, months, states, It is good practice to understand the following terms and military titles each time. About the only used in broadcast news writing. acceptable abbreviations are “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” and • Actuality: A term commonly used in radio for “Dr.” Punctuate, by using a hyphen in between, the exact words spoken by someone in their commonly used abbreviations. For example, write own voice. Actualities are usually 20 seconds or “U-S,” instead of “US,” and “U-N” for “UN” less. In television news, an actuality is called a (United Nations). soundbite. • Avoid symbols when you write. For example, the • B-roll: Any non-narrated video footage shot dollar sign ($) should never be used in broadcast expressly to “cover” narration or an interview. writing. Always spell out the word “dollar.” This The audio from these shots is generally used as is different from the Associated Press Style for background audio. B-roll video also is called dollars, when used in a print news story. “cover video.” For example, in shooting a • Use correct punctuation. Do not use semicolons. television story on the timber industry, b-roll Use ellipses (double dash marks) for longer pauses would be shots of trees, trees being cut down, than commas. Use underlines for emphasis. trees being loaded onto trucks, and trees being • Use numbers correctly. Spell out numerals processed at a lumber yard. In editing the story, through 11. (This is different than Associated the b-roll would be used to “cover” the audio of Press Style for print stories, which spells out the narrated script. one through nine, and starts using numerals for • Outcue: The last thing a reporter says, which 10 and above.) Use numerals for 12 through usually gives the reporter’s name and television. 999. Use hyphenated combinations for numerals Example: “….For AEC News, I’m Ricky Telg.” and words above 999. (Examples: 33-thousand; • Package: a complete television news story. 214-million.) Round off numbers unless the exact A typical package will run 90 seconds to two number is signifi cant. (Example: Use “roughly 34 minutes in length. million dollars,” not “34-million, 200-thousand, • Slug: The title of the script (at the top), the 22 dollars.”) Use “st,” “nd,” “th,” and “rd” after running time (how long the news story is, dates, addresses, and numbers above “eleventh” to measured in minutes and seconds), and date that be read as ordinary numbers. (Examples: “Second the story is to be aired or when it was written. Street,” “May 14th,” “Eleventh Avenue,” “12th • Soundbite: A recorded quotation. The exact Division”) (This is different from AP Style for words spoken by someone in their own voice. A print.) soundbite is a “bite” of the actual longer interview. Soundbites are usually 20 seconds or less. In radio Television and Radio News Story Format news, a soundbite is also called an actuality. • Broadcast news stories are typed, double- • Stand-up: The reporter narrates a portion of a spaced, and in uppercase/lowercase. Many years story on camera. ago, television news scripts were written in all • SOT (sound on tape): Any time when any person uppercase, but that practice has changed in recent talking is shown speaking. An SOT is sometimes years. called a soundbite. • Make the sentence at the bottom of a page • VO: A VO (voice over) is just video that will a complete sentence. Do not split a sentence be shown, with a newscaster (also known as an between pages. “anchor”) narrating the script. The newscaster, • Never split words or hyphenated phrases from then, is providing voice over the video. one line to the next. • VO/SOT (voice over/sound on tape): An anchor, • Do not use copyediting symbols. Cross out the or other off-camera person, narrates a script entire word and write the corrected word above during the voice over (VO). The SOT (sound on it. This is one reason why broadcast news scripts tape), which is run immediately after the VO, are double-spaced, so you will have room to make shows someone talking. Narrating Television and Radio News Follow these recommendations when you read aloud (also called “narrate” or “voice”) television and radio news scripts: • Position the microphone properly. Position the microphone six to 10 inches from your mouth and at a 45-degree angle to the direct line of speech. This will help prevent “blasting” with explosive letters “P” and “B.” Always maintain the same distance from the microphone as you speak. Positi on the microphone six to 10 inches from your mouth and at a 45-degree angle • Remove noise-making to the direct line of speech. Always maintain the same distance from the microphone distractions. Remove all paper as you speak. clips, pens, and other items that • Think the thought through to the end. Keep would tempt you to play with as you read the half an eye on the end of the sentence while you story. Any rustling of paper clips can be picked up are reading the fi rst part. Know how the sentence by the microphone. The microphone will pick up will come out before you start. This will help you the sounds caused when you click your pen. interpret the meaning of the phrases of the entire • Narrate the news story. After you hit the idea. “record” button on the video camera or audio • Talk at a natural speed. But change the rate recorder, wait to 10 seconds before speaking. This occasionally to avoid sounding monotonous. prevents you from accidentally losing some of the The speed that you talk is your speaking rate. narration if you hit “record” and start narrating Vary the pitch and volume of your voice to get the script immediately. It is a good idea to use variety, emphasis, and attention. Pitch is the high a standard reference opening, such as the day, and low sounds of your voice. You will sound place, and subject’s name. You may want to use more assertive if you lower your pitch and infl ect a countdown. “Honeybee story, coming in three, downward.; however, avoid dropping your pitch two, one,” and then start the story. This also helps when it sounds unnatural to do so. your voice stabilize as you start. The standard • Breathe properly. Control your breathing to take reference opening and countdown will be edited breaths between units of thought. Otherwise, you out of the fi nal story. will sound choppy. Sit up straight. This helps your • Articulate words correctly. Speak clearly. Do breathing. not run your words together. Practice proper • Use your body. A relaxed body helps produce a articulation – distinctly pronouncing words. relaxed-sounding voice. Do a few exercises before The following words are improperly articulated: going on the air. A little activity reduces tension. “prob-ly” for “prob-ab-ly,” “git” for “get,” and • Listen to the fi nal product. Listen to how it “jist” for “just.” Also, do not drop the fi nal “g” in sounds. Listen to what you did as if you were an “-ing” words, such as “cooking,” “running,” and audience member. “hunting.” • Time the story. At the end, be sure you time the • Think the thought. Think about what you are story. If the story is going on the air of a radio or going to say. If something has a positive idea, put television station, the story’s timing is important, a smile in your voice by putting a smile on your and, in many cases, needs to be exact. Practice face. This helps to project the personality of the writing and narrating news stories to determine story. what your normal reading time is. • Set aside time to conduct the interview. Unless • Practice your narration skills. Never give up the person being interviewed is on an extremely practicing speech and delivery techniques. Read tight schedule so that the interview can only take aloud something at least twice a week for practice. a few minutes, try to schedule a little extra time so that you and the person being interviewed do not Conducting Interviews for News Stories feel constrained for time. In order to write a good news story for print, • Dress appropriately. Again, impressions make an television, or radio, you have to conduct interviews impact on the person being interviewed. Dress up with the people who have the information you need. a little. This may mean wearing a collared shirt or An interview is the process of asking good questions nice blouse. so you can get good answers for your news story. • Prepare at least 10 questions in advance. These But if you have never conducted an interview, the questions should pertain directly to the topic you idea of doing one may seem a little scary. If you need information about. imagine that the interview is just a conversation with • Think about what your audience needs to know the other person, doing the interview will be much as you prepare the questions. What does your less frightening. Here are some tips to follow as you audience want to know? conduct a news story interview. • Understand the subject matter (at least a little bit). The person being interviewed is the expert in Before The Interview the topic. Otherwise, you would not have called • Be on time for the interview. Being prompt on the person for an interview. However, it is good makes a good impression on the person who is practice to do at least a little research on the topic being interviewed. beforehand so that you can ask good questions.
During the Interview • If you plan to use a tape recorder or digital audio recorder during the interview, fi rst obtain the interviewee’s permission to do so. If you are doing a television interview, before you arrive let the person being interviewed know that you will have a video camera. • State the interview’s purpose. What do you want to cover in the interview? • Break the ice with light conversation. Make the person being interviewed feel at-ease. • Let your subject do the talking. Do not break in while someone is answering a question. It is rude. Wait until the person has completed answering a question before breaking in. • Get at least three good, insightful direct quotes. This should be your goal in an interview. • Get correct information. Ask the persons being interviewed to provide the correct spelling of their name and their job titles. Do not assume you know what they are. • Collect more information than you think you will need. • Do not be bashful about asking the person Conducti ng an interview is the process of simply asking good to repeat something important. It is better to questi ons. This photo shows two college students conducti ng a have something repeated and get the information television interview with an agricultural researcher. correct, than to get it wrong. • Be aware of your surroundings. A few notes back to your notes and fi ll in any blanks that you about the room and other surroundings may be were not able to write down during the interview. useful in a feature story to help set the mood of your story. Types of Questions Following are some of the questions that you might Asking Questions want to ask. • Never plunge in with the tough questions. Break Close-ended questions provide short answers. The the ice by explaining who you are and what you answer to the example question below would provide are doing. just a list of the positive courses. • Be pleasant but purposeful. You are there to Closed-ended question: “In which high get information, so do not be timid about asking school course have you had the most positive questions. experiences?” • Use the list of questions you prepared. Start with the easier questions, and then move to more Open-ended questions provide longer answers. The in-depth questions. answer to the example open-ended question below • Do not be afraid to leave your set of questions. would provide a much longer response. If a prepared question is no longer suitable, move Open-ended question: “What’s your opinion of to the next question. Ms. Jones’ class?” • Some answers prompt additional questions. Ask them as they arise. Listen to what the person Probe questions follow up on something the is saying. One question should logically follow interviewee has said. another. Example: • Be objective. Do not offer your opinions on Close-ended question: “In which high school the subject. You are there to “report,” not to course have you had the most positive “editorialize.” experiences?” • Stay on track. If the interviewee strays too far Answer: “Ms. Jones’ class.” from the subject, ask a specifi c question to redirect Probe question: “What positive experiences the conversation. have you had?” • Avoid “yes/no questions.” These only provide “yes/no answers.” A mirror question repeats part of the person’s • Start with questions focusing on the fi ve Ws answer, prompting the person to explain an answer and the H. further. A mirror question is often paired with a probe • Get in the habit of asking more probing question. questions, such as, “What do you mean?” and Probe question: “Why do you think people are “Why is that?” saying positive things about Ms. Hightower’s • Listen carefully to the answers and take good class?” notes. As the person talks, ask yourself, “What is Answer: “Because she’s fair, has knowledge my lead going to be? Do I understand enough to about the subject, and seems to really care state a theme clearly and support it with quotes?” about students.” Mirror question: “You say she’s fair, knows At the End of the Interview the subject, and cares for students? Why is • As the interview comes to a close, take a few being fair important to students?” minutes to skim your notes. If time allows, ask the interviewee to clarify anything that you did not The yes/no question is the most close-ended of close- understand. ended questions. The answer can only be one of two • Ask for permission to phone back later for ways: yes or no. A yes/no question is virtually useless more information, if necessary. for most news and feature writers, because it provides • Smile, thank the interviewee, and leave. very little information. Use yes/n questions to set the • Fill in the blanks immediately. As soon as the stage for other questions that would provide more in- interview is over while it is fresh on your mind, go depth information. Yes/no question: “Do you think Mr. Smith is a Media, Fourth Edition. Allyn & Bacon: Needham good teacher?” Heights: MA.
Leading questions are considered unethical by many Ricky Telg (2000). Writing News Releases news writers. A leading question strongly suggests the & PSAs. http://mediarelations.ifas.ufl .edu/ “right” answer to an interviewee. The question below writingnewsreleasesandPSAs.htm. University of would make the interviewee feel that the “correct” Florida: Gainesville, FL. response was that Mr. Smith was a great teacher, even if the interviewee did not feel that way. Jan Johnson Yopp & Katherine C. McAdams (1996). Leading question: “Everyone I’ve interviewed says Mr. Reaching Audiences: A Guide to Media Writing, Smith is an outstanding teacher. What’s your opinion?” Second Edition. Allyn & Bacon: Needham Heights,
Summary MA. This chapter presented the basics on how to write news stories for print, radio, and television. For all three, you must practice writing clearly and understandably. For print, you also have to use Associated Press Style. For broadcast writing, one of the most important things to keep in mind is to write for the “ear” and for the “eye.” By learning how to write news stories, you can get the word out about your organization’s activities to a larger audience in the form of newsletters and news releases. This chapter also went over how to become an effective reporter by asking good questions.
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Kris Boone (1999). The ABCs of Journalism and More. Kansas State University: Manhattan, KS.
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Claron Burnett & Mark Tucker (2001). Writing for Agriculture: A New Approach Using Tested Ideas, Second Edition. Kendall/Hunt: Dubuque, IA.
R.H. MacDonald (1987). A Broadcast News Manual of Style. Longman: White Plains, NY.
Walter E. Oliu, Charles T. Brusaw, & Gerald J. Alred (2007). Writing that Works: Communicating Effectively on the Job, ninth edition, Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston, MA.
James Glen Stovall (1988). Writing for the Mass