• 1: Sit Down and Write
• 2: Basic Tools of Writing
• 3: Style and the Stylebook
• 4: Writing in the Media Environment
• 5: Writing for Print
• 6: Writing for the Web
• 7: Writing for Broadcast
• 8: Writing Advertising Copy
• 9: Writing for Public Relations
• 10: The Writer and the Law

Instructors
Students

Author
Contact
JPROF.com

Home

Key terms and concepts

Chapter notes

The news story is one of the basic forms of writing for the mass media. This chapter introduces the student to the basic content of the news story. The next chapter will introduce the student to the basic form of the news story.

Writing for the Mass Media is not meant to be a reporting text. Instead, it seeks to give students information about writing for the mass media and an opportunity to practice writing in the various forms that the mass media require. In doing this, however, students should have some understanding about what kind of information is appropriate for publication in a news story and where that information comes from. They should also understand some of the conditions under which media writers work and the demands that are made on them.

Key terms and concepts

The following are some key terms and concepts that the student should understand.

News values — News values are the concepts used in making judgments about what events are news and what events are not news. The values listed in the chapters are generally accepted by professional journalists and are those that determine what will be included in a newspaper or news broadcast.

Timeliness is the most common news value. It is inherent in most news stories. An event simply is not news unless it has occurred fairly recently.

News events will probably have the element of timeliness, but they are unlikely to contain all of the news values listed in the chapter. Very few news stories do that. (You might ask your class members to try to think of some events that would contain all of the news values listed in the book.) Consequently, editors and news directors must decide whether or not enough news values are present in an event — and if they are present with enough impact — to make that event a news event.

News sources — Information in news stories comes from three sources: personal (people whom a reporter talks with), observational (events that a reporter witnesses), and stored (any documents or records that a reporter can look up). The best news stories are written by reporters who have used all three types of information.

Accuracy — The importance of presenting accurate information is also discussed in this chapter. You will notice that it isn’t the first time that this subject has been introduced. We have discussed accuracy at length in previous chapters and will do so again in the next chapter. This emphasis on accuracy should be pointed out to the students. The need for accuracy is a pervasive one, and that’s why the topic reappears so much in this book. Those who would work in the mass media must develop good habits for obtaining accurate information. They should pay attention to the details of the information they obtain; they must also make sure they understand the significance and meaning of the information they have. Even in the writing assignments that are included in this book, the students must be careful in presenting their information. They must make special efforts to see that the details and the larger ideas are correct.

You might suggest (or require) that your students review the sections of the previous chapters that discuss the importance of accuracy. They might also look at the next chapter’s discussion of accuracy. A short essay or outline putting all of these ideas about accuracy together might be helpful to them in understanding the importance of accuracy and the methods for achieving it.

Deadlines — Every person who writes for the mass media writes under deadlines. Often these deadlines are too short for the writer to feel that he or she has done the best job. Still, the writer must learn to adjust to the deadlines of the organization.


Chapter notes

The verb "said." In journalistic writing, there is no good substitute for the verb "said." Still, beginning students are sometimes self-conscious about using "said" so much in their writing, and they try to find substitutes. The problem with a substitute is that they are laden with added meanings that the writer may not want to include. For instance, a writer might try to use "claimed" instead of "said." Claimed implies doubt -- as if to say, he "claimed" he did it, but we're not sure. Be care about using verbs of attribution; they may say more than you want to say. Stick with the verb "said." It's simple and straightforward, and you won't have to carry any extra baggage by adding to its meaning. (There's more on JPROF.com about verbs of attribution.)

Writing with verbs. Most good writing teachers stress the power and importance of verbs – often to skeptical students. Verbs are the engines of the language and have far more descriptive power than adjectives or adverbs. That’s where the skepticism comes in. Students interested in writing develop a belief that using good adjectives and adverbs will enhance their writing. Verbs are simply aids in the process. JPROF.com has an exercise that you can do with your students that might turn their thinking around. This exercise only a takes a few minutes and can be a lot of fun.
Note: Roy Peter Clark has a good article on the Poynter web site about writing with verbs.

Clichés. One of the most dangerous traps a writer can fall into -- especially a beginning writer -- is the use of clichés. Clichés are overused expressions that have lost their freshness and vitality. Chances are, if you hear a new expression more than once among your friends, it has already reached the status of a cliché -- and it should be avoided like the plague (!! CLICHE ALERT!!). JPROF.com a list of clichés that should be avoided, but the list is not complete. You can probably add to it yourself.

Interviewing. One of the skills a reporter must develop is the art of interviewing. The text pays a good deal of attention to helping students develop this skill. For more information about interviewing, start with this article, The Art of Asking Questions from the Poynter Institute.

Math. Many journalists say (sometimes jokingly, sometimes not) that they got into the profession because they would not have to deal with a lot of math. For most working reporters, however, that turns out not to be the case. They have to deal with math every day. A good reporter should know how to figure a ratio, an average, a median and a percentage. Here are some web sites that will help you out:

• NilesOnline.com
• Investigative Reporters and Editors (with a terrific math test)
• University of North Carolina math competency test for journalists
• Poynter.org: Why Math Matters by Chip Scanlan (with additional links)

Scoop crazy. Every good journalist wants a scoop. Working in a world with relatively few rewards, the journalist seeks the occasional and often Pyrrhic victory of getting a story before anyone else gets its. Then, if the story is important enough so that other media outlets pick it up, professional practice demands that the other guys attribute the story to you. It’s their acknowledgement that, for a brief moment, you’re a better journalist than they are.

To those outside the culture of journalism, or not sympathetic to it, the desire for a scoop may sound a little crazy. But the desire to be first is a real and effective spur to journalistic practice. Sometimes, however, it can throw other journalistic practices out of kilter.

Such an instance occurred when New York Times reporters and editors struck a deal with Columbia University over a report that Columbia produced concerning anti-Semitism among its faculty. The deal was that Columbia would give the Times the report a day early if the Times would agree not to interview any of those who made the complaints about anti-Semitism in its story. Daniel Okrent, public editor of the Times, outlines what happened in his column this week. More on this at JPROF.com