Advanced Newswriting & Reporting
Topic outline
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Advanced English Newswriting & Reporting: Hone your ability to report and write breaking news and other important stories in clear, concise, compelling English.Professor Jim Wolf,wolfj@msn.com
Class meets twice a week, October, November, 2016
Mondays: 1 pm - 2:30 pm, Building 4, Room #427
Tuesdays: 8:15 am – 9:45 am, Building 4, Room #340
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Building 1, Room #260
Online classroom: elearning.www.wcrra.com, “Advanced Newswriting”
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TheAP Stylebookis widely used as a writing and editing reference in English-language newsrooms, classrooms and corporate offices worldwide. Updated regularly since its initial publication in 1953, theAP Stylebookprovides fundamental guidelines for spelling, language, punctuation, usage and journalistic style. It is widely considered a vital resource for journalists working in English. A tip-sheet drawn from the AP Stylebook follows below. -
10 Resources for Writers -- a collection from the Poynter Institute's News University. As the e-learning project of The Poynter Institute, "NewsU" functions as a school for journalists, future journalists, teachers of journalism and anyone interested in the craft and values of journalism.
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Here's my advice on writing good first sentences -- that which reporters call the "lead" of the story. This is the most critical bit in your effort to grab readers' attention. -
Here's a sample quake report. -
Here's feedback and grades on the group reports for Week 1. -
Please file a report of up to 300 words about the (fictional) earthquake in Sisustan, based on the (mock) press conference today -- Oct. 11, 2016 -- by a New Delhi-based spokesman for the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).Here is the (fictional) background:
Sisustan is a landlocked state, the last to give up its monarchy and fully integrate into India, in 1975. It is believed by experts to be rich in minerals, including gold, silver and platinum. Sisustan is ranked No.1 on the list of happiest places in the world, according to the World Happiness Report 2016 released by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN). The 2016 study took into consideration aspects such as economics, life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices and perceptions of corruption to rank the world’s happiest countries and states formerly recognized as countries.
Located in the Himalayan mountains, Sisustan is bordered by Nepal to the west, China's Tibet Autonomous Region to the north and east, and Bhutan to the east. With 607,688 inhabitants as of the 2011 census,[1] Sisustan is the least populous state in India and the second-smallest state after Goa in total area, covering approximately 7,096 km2 (2,740 sq mi).[3] Sisustan is geographically diverse; the climate ranges from subtropical to high alpine, and Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak, is located on Sisustan’s border with Nepal.[4] Sisustan is a popular tourist destination, owing to its culture, scenery and biodiversity. It also has the only open land border between India and China.[5] Sisustan’s capital and largest city is Tangtok. Almost 25% of the state is covered by the Khangchendzonga National Park.[6]
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Please submit a copy of your autobiographical essay of up to 500 words. -
The following principles grew out of a U.S.-based group calling itself the Committee of Concerned Journalists. The group began to meet in 1997 at Harvard University’s faculty club. Among the 25 journalists involved in the first session were editors of top U.S. newspapers, noted figures in television and radio, leading educators and prominent authors. -
Here's a detailed rundown -- including analyses -- on the elements of journalism, as excerpted below in the "short version."
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Here's a rundown on the building blocks of newswriting, drawn largely from the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy -- a Harvard University research center on the intersection of press, politics and public policy in theory and practice. The Center aims to bridge the gap between journalists and scholars, and between them and the public. For more information about this, visithttp://shorensteincenter.org/ -
From Poynter.org, home of many resources for training journalists.3 ways to find and fix mistakes in your writing
By Vicki Krueger• October 17, 2016In the crush of deadline, it's easy for mistakes to creep into your writing. Even more, errors can happen at any point in the process. Whether you're writing a tweet, a breaking news story, an email or a book, here are some ways to find and fix those mistakes before you hit send.
- Pick out and highlight the who, what, where, when, why and how in your writing. You'll see whether you've left out any key information and whether the facts are in a logical order for readers.
- Print out a copy of your story and read it aloud, touching every word with a pen or pencil to catch those mistakes that you might miss with a cursory review.
- Do not multitask when editing. You can't find all the spelling, fact and grammar errors in just one editing pass. Prioritize the list of errors you are looking for and then work down the list, hitting the most important ones first.
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Please submit a group report, of up to 400 words, for Week 2. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Oct. 23. The group's rotating editor alone should file this report for the group. Only online text may be submitted, not attachments for downloading or uploading. Please make sure to include a headline with your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. We are testing the elearning system's ability to let each group submit its assignment this week via this web site. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it. -
Each student should examine the lead used by three different English-language news organizations for a breaking news story. Stick to the area that your group is monitoring. Cut and paste all three leads into your assignment and explain which one you think is best and why. Identify the source (i.e., the publisher) of each of the leads. Also, try to come up with an even better lead of your own, for instance by combining bits of the three that you're examining and/or by scrutinizing the stories themselves. Submit up to 300 words by noon on Friday, Oct. 21, by cutting and pasting online text, not an attachment. Make sure to include both your name and your group's name with your submission. -
Here's a sample report on Prime Minister's Holly Golly's earthquake-related news conference in Tangtok, India. Please note that the emphasis is now on her appeal for more international help -- which is the main development in the story. At the same time, we're updating the casualty toll. This is called twinning the lead -- that is, incorporating two different developments, albeit in two separate sentences in this case.
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Here are tips for crafting a beautiful "nut graph" -- journalists' slang for a slab of background that puts the story in context. Although often discussed as vital components of feature stories, you can also think of it as the "so what" paragraph. That is, the bit that explains why the story matters. For a helpful discussion of how this works, watch a replay of a chat with Roy Peter Clark, a top writing coach at the Poynter Institute's News University. -
In-class exercise: Cover a mock announcement by U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. For this exercise, consider the news bulletins that would be used for a surprise announcement. Such bulletins are also known in newsrooms as "snaps," "headlines," and "alerts." Unlike most of the news, they're written in the present tense, in a format designed to rush the news to readers for maximum impact, especially to the extent that it may fuel multibillion-dollar trades on international financial markets (which don't like uncertainty). For Trump's announcement, the snaps might look like this:
-- REPUBLICAN TRUMP SAYS QUITTING U.S. PRESIDENTIAL RACE IMMEDIATELY
-- TRUMP ACCUSES DEMOCRATIC RIVAL HILLARY CLINTON OF RIGGING SCHEDULED NOV. 8 VOTE-- TRUMP BLASTS MAINSTREAM MEDIA, DEMOCRATIC PARTY AS "THOROUGHLY CORRUPT"
-- TRUMP URGES SUPPORTERS VOTE INSTEAD FOR HIS RUNNING MATE, GOV. SPENCE OF INDIANAThe followup item, which would run in quick succession, could look like this:
Trump says Quitting U.S. White House Race
Suburban Shanghai, China, Oct. 25 -- Republican Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was dropping out of the U.S. presidential race, accusing Democrat rival Hillary Clinton of rigging the vote.
""Hillary Clinton and her aides have made it impossible to hold a free and fair election on Nov. 8," Trump told a surprise news conference at a journalism class in suburban Shanghai, China, calling on his supporters to vote instead for his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Spence.
After this, an "Update 1" would be crafted, giving more details of Trump's announcement along with background on his position in public opinion polls and his remarks to our class -- a world exclusive.
Here is the text of Trump's announcement, as delivered to our class on Oct. 25, 2016:
"Ladies and gentlemen, Hillary Clinton and her aides have made it impossible to hold a free and fair election on Nov. 8.
The mainstream press and the Democratic party are thoroughly corrupt.
I’m withdrawing my candidacy to be president of the United States.
Instead, I’m urging all my supporters to vote for my vice presidential running mate , Gov. Mike Spence of Indiana.
I will announce additional plans one week from today at a news conference at my new Trump Hotel in Washington DC."
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Here are 10 suggested sources for keeping up with technology and Western news media issues, per Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. -
Submit another group report, of up to 400 words, for Week 3. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Oct. 30. The group's rotating editor alone should file this report, drawing on suggestions from all group members. Pay particular attention to crafting a strong lead and making sure that there are no holes in the story. Write a headline for your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information, such as a nut graph, so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it. The editor has the final say. Each member of the group will receive the same grade for the group's finished product.
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Here's an interesting new presentation on the future of media presented this week at a conference in Beijing hosted by Sina. The report, by Piero Scaruffi, considers trends in 10 areas, including big data, user experience technology, streaming, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality. -
The hacking of U.S. Democratic Party accounts has made internet security a lightning rod in the 2016 presidential election campaign. Here are tips from a top U.S. cybersecurity expert on what journalists should know about cyberattacks: -
Follow these tips and you'll be on your way towriting news storiesthat will get a reader's attention and stand up to scrutiny. Question, question, question. Think of it this way: Journalists want to be read, not ridiculed for botching the facts. Here's a tip sheet from jprof.com, a site for beginner journalists among others. -
To get solid answers, it's critical to ask questions in a way that draws out the information that you're seeking. Here are my top 10 tips on how to ask questions for better answers. -
Cover a (mock) Donald Trump news conference in Washington D.C. Your report should be two to five paragraphs long, and must be filed by 9:30 am on Tuesday, as if covering breaking news on a tight deadline. Write a short, sharp, snappy headline. Accuracy is key. Here's how it could have been handled, starting with news bulletins, based on Trump's remarks (below):REPUBLICAN TRUMP JUMPS BACK INTO U.S. WHITE HOUSE RACE, 1 WEEK AFTER QUITTING OVER FEARS HE’D BE CHEATED OF VICTORY
TRUMP SAYS RENEWED FBI PROBE OF EMAILS POSSIBLY LINKED TO RIVAL HILLARY CLINTON “CHANGES EVERYTHING” 1 WEEK BEFORE NOV. 8 ELECTION DAY
TRUMP SAYS CAMPAIGN’S POLLS SHOW “SURGING” U.S.-WIDE SUPPORT FOR HIM AND RUNNING MATE PENCE
TRUMP ACCUSES CLINTON, FELLOW DEMOCRATS OF CORRUPTION ON SCALE “NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE”
TRUMP, AT HIS NEW HOTEL IN WASINGTON, SAYS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE URGED HIM TO RESUME CAMPAIGN
Trump Jumps Back into U.S. White House race, 1 Week after Bolting
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 – Republican Donald Trump roared backed into the U.S. presidential race Tuesday, one week after quitting over stated fears that his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, would cheat him of victory in the Nov. 8 vote.
Trump said a newly announced FBI investigation of emails possibly linked to Clinton’s term as secretary of state “changes everything.” Support for him and his choice for vice president, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, has surged nationwide, he said.
In a surprise move on Oct. 25, Trump had told a newswriting class in suburban Shanghai, China, that he was bowing out on the ground that Clinton, along with fellow top Democrats and the “mainstream” media, were thoroughly corrupt and that the vote had been rigged against him.
The real-estate developer-turned-reality-television star, speaking Thursday at a Trump-branded hotel he opened last month, told reporters that millions of Americans had urged him to jump back in to bar Hillary Clinton from the White House. “They share my sense that ‘Crooked Hillary’ will face criminal charges over private email arrangements that she used as secretary of state in violation of good-government practices,” he said.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey, in a letter to Congressional leaders on Friday, said his law-enforcement agents had recovered emails hat may be relevant to Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of state. The FBI has obtained a warrant to search the emails found on a computer used by former congressman Anthony Weiner, estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, that may contain evidence relevant to the investigation into Clinton’s email server, law enforcement officials said.
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Donald Trump’s remarks to a news conference at Trump® International Hotel Washington, D.C., Nov. 1, 2016
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Ladies and Gentlemen: I am resuming my candidacy for president of the United States effective immediately.
Millions of Americans have urged me to jump back in to keep Hillary Clinton out of the White House.
They share my sense that Crooked Hillary will face criminal charges over private email arrangements that she used as secretary of state in violation of good-government practices.
As we're learning more and more each day, Hillary and her Democratic Party henchmen are corrupt on a scale that we've never seen before in a presidential candidate.
The FBI director has said his agency is reviewing a new batch of emails possibly relevant to Clinton's private server.
I think this changes everything.
I’ll take two questions.
ANSWER TO QUESTION ABOUT WHAT’S CHANGING: “My campaign's polling shows that support for the Trump-Pence ticket is surging nationwide.”
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Group reports-critique, grades, Week 3Group Reports – Week 3
SUGGESTED CHANGES AND COMMENTS AREBOLDEDIN REVISIONS BELOW. “STED” IS SHORT-HAND FOR “INSTEAD OF”
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Here's a note to subscribers on this week's U.S. presidential election from The New York Times. Note that the Times, long regarded within the industry as a national "newspaper of record," is rededicating itself to its core mission amid recriminations over how the press and the opinion polls mis-projected the race's outcome. -
Here's a solidnews analysisof what Donald Trump's election as president of the United States may change for the United States and other countries. The analysis is by David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent of the New York Times. Note Sanger's impartial tone, in line with the best practices of neutral, objective newswriting and reporting (even though analytical pieces give journalists more leeway to frame big issues). Note, too, the heavy use of Trump's own words throughout to illustrate key points. Accurately quoting what someone has said in the past is a core journalistic requirement. (NB: I'm not endorsing any political positions discussed in this piece, merely pointing it out for its journalistic value). -
Here's a critique of each group's coverage of the final hours of the U.S. presidential campaign. No grades were assigned for this exercise. -
In-class exercise: Cover the final hours of the U.S. presidential campaign. We've received (mock) statements from Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.On the eve of Election Day, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump scrambled around the country, urging voters to consider the election critical for the future of the United States and the world. They appeared within hours of each other in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Raleigh, North Carolina.
SAMPLE REPORT:
Trump Vows to Challenge any Clinton Victory Claim in Court
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 - Donald Trump said Monday he would challenge any victory claim by Hillary Clinton before all votes are counted in the U.S. presidential race. Clinton, meanwhile, swung away from an email controversy on Election Day eve, suggesting that early voter turnout could help her become the first female U.S president.
Trump, the Republican nominee, said that Clinton, his Democratic Party rival, was concluding what he called a “broad effort to steal this election.”
“I will challenge any victory that she may claim before all votes are counted,” Trump told a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. “And I will legally contest the outcome if the result is questionable.”
A Trump challenge to any claimed Clinton victory raised the prospect of another chapter of political maneuvering that could drag past Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, when a newly elected president is due to take office under the U.S. Constitution. After a contested election in 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled that George W. Bush had defeated Al Gore.
Trump lashed out at James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, accusing him of bowing to “tremendous pressure” from Democrats after having announced a second examination of Clinton’s controversial email arrangements while she was President Barack Obama’s secretary of state.
On Sunday, Comey, in a vaguely worded letter to congressional leaders, said that the FBI, the nation’s top law-enforcement agency, had found nothing to change his months-old decision not to seek charges against Clinton for her use of a private email server rather than an official one.
“It's up to the American people to deliver the justice that we deserve at the ballot box in coming hours,” Trump told supporters. “We're going to win."
Clinton, at a rally on Monday night in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said early voting was breaking her way. "I really do want to be the president for everybody," she said.
She accused the Trump campaign of widening splits in the United States. The wife of former president Bill Clinton, she would become the first woman elected president since the United States was founded in 1776 .
“We’re just going to work until the last vote is counted. We are on a good track,” she said.
Both candidates portrayed the election as critical for the future of the United States and the world. They appeared within hours of each other in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Raleigh.
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Here are Trump's remarks at a a mid-afternoon rally in Raleigh, N.C
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Hillary Clinton appears to be concluding a broad effort to steal this election. I will challenge any victory that she may claim before all votes are counted. And I will legally contest the outcome if the result is questionable.
So-called opinion polls that show me tailing in key states such as Pennsylvania are dead wrong. They are part of a broader media conspiracy to undermine my campaign.
The fact that James Comey, head of the FBI, says that he already has completed his examination of newly discovered emails tied to Clinton prove that the system is rigged to help elect Crooked Hillary.
The FBI director obviously was under tremendous pressure from Democrats to clear Hillary again. But voters know that she should face criminal charges for her use of a private internet server instead of an official e-mail account as U.S. secretary of state.
It's up to the American people to deliver the justice that we deserve at the ballot box in coming hours. We're going to win."
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Hillary Clinton, at a rally on Monday night, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
"Early voting is breaking our way.
“We are on the path to see more Americans vote than we have ever seen in our history. If the lines are long tomorrow, please wait.
"I really do want to be the president for everybody. The splits in the country have been widened by the Trump campaign. We’re just going to work until the last vote is counted. We are on a good track."
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Submit another group report, of up to 400 words, for Week 5. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Nov. 13. The group's rotating editor alone should file this report, drawing on suggestions from all group members. Pay particular attention to crafting a strong lead and making sure that there are no holes in the story. Write a headline for your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information, such as a nut graph, so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it. The editor has the final say. Each member of the group will receive the same grade for the group's finished product.
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Fox News apologizes for falsely reporting that Clinton faces indictment. Fox News anchorBret Baier, right, with Donald Trump. -
The SPJ Code of Ethics is a statement of principles supported by explanations andposition papersthat address changing journalistic practices. It is not a set of rules, rather a guide that encourages all who engage in journalism to take responsibility for the information they provide, regardless of medium. The code should be read as a whole; individual principles should not be taken out of context. The Society of Professional Journalists calls itself the United States' most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. -
News can be defined as "Newsworthy information about recent events or happenings, especially as reported by news media". But what makes news newsworthy?There is a list of five factors, detailed below, which help determine if a story is newsworthy. When an editor needs to decide whether to run with a particular story, s/he will ask how well the story meets each of these criteria. Normally, a story should perform well in at least two areas.
Naturally, competition plays a part. If there are a lot of newsworthy stories on a particular day then some stories will be dropped. Although some stories can be delayed until a new slot becomes available, time-sensitive news will often be dropped permanently.
Source: MediaCollege.com, a free educational website for all forms of electronic media. Features hundreds of exclusive tutorials covering video & television production, audio work, photography, graphics, web design and more. You'll also find utilities, reference material (e.g.user manuals),industry newsand a helpfulforum. (MediaCollege.com is authored and maintained byWavelength Media, a multi-media production company inNew Zealand).
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Read this outstanding piece on the state of U.S. media on the eve of the hard-fought 2016 presidential election. It's a very perceptive take on the need for good journalism to drive out the bad -- that is, to counter unverifiable rumor, speculation and lies that may otherwise pass for news in the digital age.
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Here's an important reminder: Reporters must lean over backward to avoid plagiarism by always attributing information to the appropriate source. (A power point presentation on sources, attribution and plagiarism, compiled by former visiting Professor Karen Gill) -
"Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek” won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. On Dec. 20, 2012, The New York Times published on its web site the deeply reported tale by John Branch. It instantly became a storytelling sensation. For those who had worried about the future of longer form storytelling in the digital age, the future had suddenly, spectacularly arrived. Compare and contrast such feature writing with writing "hard-news." Prepare a hard-news lead designed to capture the central event reported in Branch's "Snow Fall."For example, xxx SEATTLE, Washington, Feb. 19 -- An avalanche swept three top U.S. skiers to their deaths on Sunday, each a backcountry expert familiar with the risks, at an off-trail pass of Washington state's Cascade mountains, rescue officials said. xxx
Click here for the multi-media package:
http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2012/snow-fall/#/?part=tunnel-creek
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Christiane Amanpour is CNN's chief international correspondent and anchor of the network's award-winning, flagship global affairs programme"Amanpour."Consider her interview techniques based on recent video clips. -
Submit another group report, this time of up to 5
00 words, for Week 6. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Nov. 20. The group's rotating editor alone should file this report, drawing on suggestions from all group members. Pay particular attention to crafting a strong lead and making sure that there are no holes in the story. Write a headline for your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information, such as a nut graph, so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. Also, list links to your source material. Go back to official sources whenever possible to confirm details in published reports. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it. The editor has the final say. Each member of the group will receive the same grade for the group's finished product.
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Here's an interesting news analysis by The Washington Post's Beijing bureau chief. From a newswriting standpoint, it's notable for the number of sources it quotes in an effort to reflect uncertainties about whither U.S.-China relations under President-elect Donald Trump.
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Last assignment! Submit another group report, of up to 500 words, for Week 7. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Nov. 27 . The group's rotating editor alone should file this report, drawing on suggestions from all group members. Pay particular attention to crafting a strong lead and making sure that there are no holes in the story. Write a headline for your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information, such as a nut graph, so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. Also, list links to your source material. Go back to official sources whenever possible to confirm details in published reports. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it. The editor has the final say. Each member of the group will receive the same grade for the group's finished product.
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Good writing doesn't flow from adjectives and adverbs. It comes from strong verbs. To improve English-language writing, Reuters has encouraged its writers worldwide to familiarize themselves with the attached list of "useful" words -- including both verbs and adjectives. As a general rule for hard news, cut out the adjectives whenever you can. Save the adjectives for feature writing. In all cases, short words are better than long. Careful writers pay great attention to nuance, or shades of meaning. Short words are better than long. -
Here’s what the great American writer Mark Twain wrote about the importance of choosing the correct word: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
The English language includes many words that are easy to confuse or misuse. Take the short quiz below to test your knowledge of which word to use when. Then read the answers and explanations to make sure you don’t use lightning bug when you really mean lightning.
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Here's a critique of the final group reports (Week 7). As a general remark, your leads have improved. But you still need to add nut graphs with vital background to make the reports sparkle. -
Another reminder about the explosion of "fake news" on the Internet. From this opinion piece in The New York Times dated today (Nov. 28, 2016): "Only a few days after the presidential election, the Oxford English Dictionary crowned its international word of the year:post-truth. The dictionary defined it as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” -
Here's a good piece on staff cuts in newsrooms in the United States. The layoffs are in response to plunging advertising in the printed version of U.S. newspapers. The author, Ken Doctor, is a news industry analyst and the author ofNewsonomics: Twelve New Trends That Will Shape the News You Get(St. Martin’s Press). He also runs the book’s companion website,newsonomics.com.
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Advanced English Newswriting & Reporting: Hone your ability to report and write breaking news and other important stories in clear, concise, compelling English.
TheAP Stylebookis widely used as a writing and editing reference in English-language newsrooms, classrooms and corporate offices worldwide. Updated regularly since its initial publication in 1953, theAP Stylebookprovides fundamental guidelines for spelling, language, punctuation, usage and journalistic style. It is widely considered a vital resource for journalists working in English. A tip-sheet drawn from the AP Stylebook follows below.
10 Resources for Writers -- a collection from the Poynter Institute's News University. As the e-learning project of The Poynter Institute, "NewsU" functions as a school for journalists, future journalists, teachers of journalism and anyone interested in the craft and values of journalism.
Here's my advice on writing good first sentences -- that which reporters call the "lead" of the story. This is the most critical bit in your effort to grab readers' attention.
Here's a sample quake report.
Here's feedback and grades on the group reports for Week 1.
Please file a report of up to 300 words about the (fictional) earthquake in Sisustan, based on the (mock) press conference today -- Oct. 11, 2016 -- by a New Delhi-based spokesman for the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Please submit a copy of your autobiographical essay of up to 500 words.
The following principles grew out of a U.S.-based group calling itself the Committee of Concerned Journalists. The group began to meet in 1997 at Harvard University’s faculty club. Among the 25 journalists involved in the first session were editors of top U.S. newspapers, noted figures in television and radio, leading educators and prominent authors.
Here's a detailed rundown -- including analyses -- on the elements of journalism, as excerpted below in the "short version."
Here's a rundown on the building blocks of newswriting, drawn largely from the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy -- a Harvard University research center on the intersection of press, politics and public policy in theory and practice. The Center aims to bridge the gap between journalists and scholars, and between them and the public. For more information about this, visit
From Poynter.org, home of many resources for training journalists.
Please submit a group report, of up to 400 words, for Week 2. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Oct. 23. The group's rotating editor alone should file this report for the group. Only online text may be submitted, not attachments for downloading or uploading. Please make sure to include a headline with your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. We are testing the elearning system's ability to let each group submit its assignment this week via this web site. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it.
Each student should examine the lead used by three different English-language news organizations for a breaking news story. Stick to the area that your group is monitoring. Cut and paste all three leads into your assignment and explain which one you think is best and why. Identify the source (i.e., the publisher) of each of the leads. Also, try to come up with an even better lead of your own, for instance by combining bits of the three that you're examining and/or by scrutinizing the stories themselves. Submit up to 300 words by noon on Friday, Oct. 21, by cutting and pasting online text, not an attachment. Make sure to include both your name and your group's name with your submission.
Here's a sample report on Prime Minister's Holly Golly's earthquake-related news conference in Tangtok, India. Please note that the emphasis is now on her appeal for more international help -- which is the main development in the story. At the same time, we're updating the casualty toll. This is called twinning the lead -- that is, incorporating two different developments, albeit in two separate sentences in this case.
Here are 10 suggested sources for keeping up with technology and Western news media issues, per Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy.
Submit another group report, of up to 400 words, for Week 3. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Oct. 30. The group's rotating editor alone should file this report, drawing on suggestions from all group members. Pay particular attention to crafting a strong lead and making sure that there are no holes in the story. Write a headline for your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information, such as a nut graph, so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it. The editor has the final say. Each member of the group will receive the same grade for the group's finished product.
Here's an interesting new presentation on the future of media presented this week at a conference in Beijing hosted by Sina. The report, by Piero Scaruffi, considers trends in 10 areas, including big data, user experience technology, streaming, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality.
The hacking of U.S. Democratic Party accounts has made internet security a lightning rod in the 2016 presidential election campaign. Here are tips from a top U.S. cybersecurity expert on what journalists should know about cyberattacks:
Follow these tips and you'll be on your way to
To get solid answers, it's critical to ask questions in a way that draws out the information that you're seeking. Here are my top 10 tips on how to ask questions for better answers.
Cover a (mock) Donald Trump news conference in Washington D.C. Your report should be two to five paragraphs long, and must be filed by 9:30 am on Tuesday, as if covering breaking news on a tight deadline. Write a short, sharp, snappy headline. Accuracy is key. Here's how it could have been handled, starting with news bulletins, based on Trump's remarks (below):
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Here's a note to subscribers on this week's U.S. presidential election from The New York Times. Note that the Times, long regarded within the industry as a national "
Here's a solid
Here's a critique of each group's coverage of the final hours of the U.S. presidential campaign. No grades were assigned for this exercise.
In-class exercise: Cover the final hours of the U.S. presidential campaign. We've received (mock) statements from Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Submit another group report, of up to 400 words, for Week 5. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Nov. 13. The group's rotating editor alone should file this report, drawing on suggestions from all group members. Pay particular attention to crafting a strong lead and making sure that there are no holes in the story. Write a headline for your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information, such as a nut graph, so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it. The editor has the final say. Each member of the group will receive the same grade for the group's finished product.
Fox News apologizes for falsely reporting that Clinton faces indictment. Fox News anchor
The SPJ Code of Ethics is a statement of principles supported by explanations and
News can be defined as "Newsworthy information about recent events or happenings, especially as reported by news media". But what makes news newsworthy?
Read this outstanding piece on the state of U.S. media on the eve of the hard-fought 2016 presidential election. It's a very perceptive take on the need for good journalism to drive out the bad -- that is, to counter unverifiable rumor, speculation and lies that may otherwise pass for news in the digital age.
Here's an important reminder: Reporters must lean over backward to avoid plagiarism by always attributing information to the appropriate source. (A power point presentation on sources, attribution and plagiarism, compiled by former visiting Professor Karen Gill)
"Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek” won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. On Dec. 20, 2012, The New York Times published on its web site the deeply reported tale by John Branch. It instantly became a storytelling sensation. For those who had worried about the future of longer form storytelling in the digital age, the future had suddenly, spectacularly arrived. Compare and contrast such feature writing with writing "hard-news." Prepare a hard-news lead designed to capture the central event reported in Branch's "Snow Fall."
Christiane Amanpour is CNN's chief international correspondent and anchor of the network's award-winning, flagship global affairs programme
00 words, for Week 6. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Nov. 20. The group's rotating editor alone should file this report, drawing on suggestions from all group members. Pay particular attention to crafting a strong lead and making sure that there are no holes in the story. Write a headline for your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information, such as a nut graph, so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. Also, list links to your source material. Go back to official sources whenever possible to confirm details in published reports. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it. The editor has the final say. Each member of the group will receive the same grade for the group's finished product.
Here's an interesting news analysis by The Washington Post's Beijing bureau chief. From a newswriting standpoint, it's notable for the number of sources it quotes in an effort to reflect uncertainties about whither U.S.-China relations under President-elect Donald Trump.
Last assignment! Submit another group report, of up to 500 words, for Week 7. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Nov. 27 . The group's rotating editor alone should file this report, drawing on suggestions from all group members. Pay particular attention to crafting a strong lead and making sure that there are no holes in the story. Write a headline for your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information, such as a nut graph, so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. Also, list links to your source material. Go back to official sources whenever possible to confirm details in published reports. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it. The editor has the final say. Each member of the group will receive the same grade for the group's finished product.
Good writing doesn't flow from adjectives and adverbs. It comes from strong verbs. To improve English-language writing, Reuters has encouraged its writers worldwide to familiarize themselves with the attached list of "useful" words -- including both verbs and adjectives. As a general rule for hard news, cut out the adjectives whenever you can. Save the adjectives for feature writing. In all cases, short words are better than long. Careful writers pay great attention to nuance, or shades of meaning. Short words are better than long.
Here's a critique of the final group reports (Week 7). As a general remark, your leads have improved. But you still need to add nut graphs with vital background to make the reports sparkle.
Another reminder about the explosion of "fake news" on the Internet. From this opinion piece in The New York Times dated today (Nov. 28, 2016): "Only a few days after the presidential election, the Oxford English Dictionary crowned its international word of the year:
Here's a good piece on staff cuts in newsrooms in the United States. The layoffs are in response to plunging advertising in the printed version of U.S. newspapers. The author, Ken Doctor, is a news industry analyst and the author of