Newswriting Midterm Coats

How can you increase the likelihood of your story being published?

-Follow the standardized format for that organization or, if you are writing a news release, follow the news release format -Know and meet the needs of your audience -Be timely

What comprises a news release?

-Headline or catchy title (letterhead) -Contact info including PR firm information (contacts) -Who, what, when, why, how of event taking place (headline, dateline, lead, body) -Boiler plate

Two news hooks to be aware of:

-Localize a national story -Nationalize a local story

When writing a blog, what must you consider to create the purpose of your blog posts?

-Objective or outcome you want -The audience you are writing for -The key message you want to communicate

What are the ways the textbooks says the body of the profile story can be organized?

-Supporting themes -Time frames -Chronology -Point/Counterpoint -Sections -Q and A

To determine the focus of a hard-news story that you will write, ask yourself:

-What's the story about? -How are readers or viewers affected? -How would you tell the story to a friend?

PRSA did a survey of 1000 members, out of these members what are the top two skills in PR?

-Writing -Listening

The headline for your story should be fewer than ___ words

10

When you do a google search, what number of key words should you use?

3-5 key words

When writing a professional profile, how many sections is it best to focus on?

3-5 sections

How long should the introduction be in a professional profile?

30 words

Lists in the beginnings and middles of stories should be limited to ___ items

5 or fewer

What is an example of writing in the active voice?

A pet iguana started a fire in a split-level house in Lake Shores by knocking over a heat lamp with its tail, fire officials said.

What is a close-ended question?

Are questions that have a yes or no answer and are the worse kind to ask because they give you no information

What is an open-ended question?

Are questions that require a longer response and are the best kind to ask because they give the most information

The four coaching method steps in the writing process are conceive, collect, construct and _______

Correct

Once you are done putting together your media plan for your client, what question must you ask yourself?

Did we accomplish our objectives?

"Be an aggressive listener" is one of the Listening Tips listed on page 82 (true/false)

False

"Hard news" are those stories that are difficult to write because they require considerable research and fact checking (true/false)

False

"Pod" is an abbreviation for "Power on demand." (true/false)

False

"Trends" is not one of the "qualities of news" listed in WRN Chapter 1 (true/false)

False

A "pay wall" is a physical location where customers can pay for their media subscriptions (true/false)

False

A backgrounder provides no specific information about an organization (true/false)

False

A good quote or sound bite from a source should rarely be placed high in the story after the lead or nut graph (true/false)

False

A list should be used only to itemize a group of statistics of any other cumbersome information (true/false)

False

A narrative lead tells a story with enough dramatic action for readers to feel as if they are witnessing the event, but narrative writing doesn't use techniques of fiction (true/false)

False

A nut graph is always harder to read, thus the name, "nut graph." (true/false)

False

According to Glen Nowak, Ph.D., "... It's just a matter of knowing the technical elements of creating a Facebook page to know what makes a good one." (true/false)

False

An "aggregator" is a person who continually complains about news items (true/false)

False

An interview is the only source you need for reporting for most stories (true/false)

False

Backgrounders are not intended for distribution to reporters or members of the public who inquire about them (true/false)

False

Backgrounders are stand alone pieces and never accompany a news release (true/false)

False

Basic news stories don't use a story-telling approach at their beginning (true/false)

False

Basic news stories for the web do not resemble print formats (true/false)

False

Blogs are limited to news and personal sites (true/false)

False

Chronological storytelling is not a version of the inverted pyramid format (true/false)

False

Clear, compelling headlines should be less than 15 words, or 200 characters (true/false)

False

Considerable technical knowledge is required to create or publish a blog (true/false)

False

Consumers use only one mobile device at a time (true/false)

False

Detail is not important in taking notes (true/false)

False

Email is an effective method for interviewing people (true/false)

False

Full quotes are effective for broadcast writing (true/false)

False

Impact leads can be written only in a hard-news summary form (true/false)

False

In a basic news story the facts are never told first (true/false)

False

In a quotation, commas and periods always go outside the quotation mark at the end of the quote (true/false)

False

In an obituary, you write about a person's death, not the person's life (true/false)

False

In broadcast writing, you need to put the attribution last (true/false)

False

In planning an order for your story, the blocking process involves eliminating unimportant information (true/false)

False

In the inverted pyramid structure for news, the important information falls after the first few paragraphs (true/false)

False

Investigative reporters don't use lists (true/false)

False

It's easy to verify the accuracy of information that social media provide (true/false)

False

It's essential to use a lead quote in all stories (true/false)

False

It's important to write a strong lead before continuing with writing the story (true/false)

False

It's not necessary to attribute partial quotes you use in a lead (true/false)

False

It's not necessary to research your subject's background (true/false)

False

It's not necessary to video interviews, because they can't be used to produce audio and video to enhance your stories for the web and mobile media (true/false)

False

It's okay to accept a gift from a news source (true/false)

False

It's too early in your career for you to start a list of sources (true/false)

False

Mario Garcia, a world-renowned consultant on newspaper design, said the majority of people who read newspapers are older and developed their reading habits before the advent of television, so graphics are not particularly important in newspapers (true/false)

False

Most journalists are not opposed to prepublication review by a source (true/false)

False

Most print and broadcast newsroom maintain only paper information on stories the newspaper or television station has done (true/false)

False

No U.S. state has laws protecting journalists from revealing their sources (true/false)

False

No U.S. state prohibits recording telephone conversations without the consent of the person being recorded (true/false)

False

No federal rules or guidelines apply to bloggers and other users of social media (true/false)

False

No sites exist to help locate blogs that contain specific information (true/false)

False

No websites are available that provide links to valuable resources for the media (true/false)

False

None of the reporting principles for traditional journalists apply to mobile media (true/false)

False

Obituary writing follows no basic form (true/false)

False

One of the most important qualities of mobile journalism is "inexpensive" for their employer (true/false)

False

Pacing—that is, following a complex sentence with a short, punchy one—is less important in broadcast writing than in writing for print (true/false)

False

Pinterest is nothing like a bulletin board (true/false)

False

Print and broadcast styles are really the same (true/false)

False

Readers and viewers receive news; they don't help collect and create it (true/false)

False

Reading a story written in the inverted pyramid form, you have to wait until the end to learn the "who." (true/false)

False

Regardless of the topic, all stories follow the same writing formula (true/false)

False

Reporters must describe the "big picture" but don't need details (true/false)

False

Research is only used in the evaluation of the PR plan (true/false)

False

Separating sections of a story by time frames is not effective (true/false)

False

Social media have no news roles in disasters (true/false)

False

The "sections" technique divides a story into sections, like book chapters, but it does not use graphic devices to separate the sections (true/false)

False

The South Korean website called OhmyNews International prohibits the use of input from citizen reporters (true/false)

False

The Wall Street Journal formula is not useful in broadcast news stories (true/false)

False

The focus-on-a-person lead can be used in profile stories about the person, but that type of lead cannot be used in news stories (true/false)

False

The idea for a story should never come from a blog (true/false)

False

The most common type of ending is called a "final kicker." (true/false)

False

The most common type of lead on a hard-news story is called a "feature lead." (true/false)

False

The most common way to write a contrast lead emphasizes a crisis situation (true/false)

False

The obituary pages in the newspaper are poorly read (true/false)

False

The only internet social media are blogs, microblogs and social networking sites (true/false)

False

The question/answer format is not useful for mobile media stories (true/false)

False

The structure in active voice is object-subject-verb (true/false)

False

The study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism revealed that the speed of producing news has had little or no negative effect on accuracy (true/false)

False

The summary lead is not a good form for cell phones, tablet computers and other small-screen devices for news reading (true/false)

False

The traditional qualities of news stories no longer apply to print, broadcast and online media (true/false)

False

There is a specific way to organize a profile (true/false)

False

There's no problem losing the reader when you use a question lead (true/false)

False

To insert background into a story, it's inappropriate to use a phrase such as "The incident began this way." (true/false)

False

To produce a good multimedia website, you need only a smartphone (true/false)

False

Twitter is of no use in getting sources and eyewitness accounts during a disaster, an accident or a local event (true/false)

False

Unfortunately, Facebook can't be used to get news (true/false)

False

Using The Wall Street Journal formula, the lead can be anecdotal or descriptive, but not narrative (true/false)

False

Using a summary lead is essential in a news story (true/false)

False

Using anonymous sources is a good way to gather information for your stories (true/false)

False

Visuals, including photos and graphics, are essential for broadcast media such as TV, but they are not particularly important for print media (true/false)

False

When a question is asked, it should be answered in the same paragraph (true/false)

False

When collecting information for a story, don't concern yourself with gathering anecdotes; that can be done later in the process (true/false)

False

Writing news for print, broadcast and the web requires the writer to focus only on the story being written (true/false)

False

Writing news today has nothing in common with speed dating (true/false)

False

You must attribute information used in a story even if the information is common knowledge (true/false)

False

You must explain your reason for requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act (true/false)

False

You should always describe your profile subject and give the person's age and physical description (true/false)

False

You should begin an interview by asking your most important question (true/false)

False

Your university's police department can be of no help in providing statistics on such things as crimes on the campus (true/false)

False

How is SWOT analysis useful?

In determining an organizations present situation

A hard-news story presents the key facts:

In the first few paragraphs

What is a boiler plate paragraph?

Is usually found at the end of a press release and briefly describes the company or organization related above

What is a double-barreled question?

It is a question that has more than one question imbedded in it

What is a backgrounder?

It is given to stockholders, board of directors and company leaders and it gives information about history, customers, leadership team, sales, and the future of the organization

What is the inverted pyramid used for a news release and a news story?

Most important information is said first (the lead) at the top and it goes down as information gets less important down to the least important information

Which of the following is NOT a part of the GOAL method?

O for objectives

What is the main lesson to be learned from Alan Richman's ill-fated interview with Richard De Niro?

Prepare interview questions in advance

What is qualitative research?

Research that is subjective and gives details like personal anecdotes

What is quantitative research?

Research that produces data in numbers and quantities

What is a news hook?

Something that draws in the reader/viewer/listener

How should you organize your questions in an in-depth interview?

Start with general questions then go to more specific ones

What does it mean to nationalize a local news story?

Take a local news story and give it national relevance by framing it so that people all over the country would find it interesting (ex: local mom in Nashville has post partum depression and drives her and her kids into a lake killing everyone...nationalize this story by talking about all women with post partum depression and help other women in the same situation)

What does it mean to localize a national news story?

Take a national statistic or relevant topic and localize it by comparing it to a local statistic or related topic (ex: in the news its reported that crime has risen across the country by 10%...localize this story by reporting it has increased higher than this average in Omaha, Nebraska)

What is an example of a sentence that is appropriate for broadcast?

The Fire Department says the blaze broke out about 8 a.m. in a child's bedroom at 80 Northview Ave

What is an example of a sentence that is appropriate for print?

The blaze started in the basement, fire officials say

What is attribution?

The explicit or formal acknowledgment of ownership or authorship

What is persuasion?

The use of appeals to reasons, values, beliefs, and emotions to convince a listener or reader to think or act in a particular way

What is the cornerstone of the digital diamond?

The website

"Attribution" answers the question, "Where did you get the information?" (true/false)

True

"Blocking sources" means organizing quotations from each of several sources in one paragraph or in consecutive paragraphs (true/false)

True

"Breaking news" is about an event that occurred the same day as, or the day before, publication of the media outlet (true/false)

True

"Mojos" are mobile journalists (true/false)

True

"Not for attribution" means that the information provided by the source can be used but the source can't be identified (true/false)

True

"Off the record" means that information from the source can't be used at all, and the source cannot be identified (true/false)

True

"On the record" means that source agrees that the interviewer can use the information provided in a news story and the source can be identified (true/false)

True

"Soft news" is news that entertains or informs, with an emphasis on human interest and novelty (true/false)

True

A common way to organize sections is by points of view (true/false)

True

A digital recorder is helpful, but don't rely on it without taking some notes (true/false)

True

A direct quote is a quotation that uses a person's exact words and must be put inside quotation marks (true/false)

True

A hard-news lead must answer the questions of who, what, when, where, why and how (true/false)

True

A list is useful as a highlights box within the story or at the end of the story (true/false)

True

A machine—such as a recorder—can inhibit a source (true/false)

True

A misspelled name or a factual error is a major problem in any story; in an obituary it is disastrous (true/false)

True

A nut graph is crucial when a story starts with a feature lead because the reader has to wait for a few paragraphs to find the reason for the story (true/false)

True

A reporter evaluates information for its accuracy, fairness, newsworthiness and potential to make a readable story (true/false)

True

A secondary headline is called a "deck head," "summary line" or "summary blurb." (true/false)

True

A version of The Wall Street Journal formula works well when you want the lead to focus on a person to explain a larger issue, a trend or a study (true/false)

True

Alan Richman says, "Nobody has lived a totally uneventful life." (true/false)

True

All quotes must be attributed to a speaker (true/false)

True

Although soft leads are also called "delayed leads," the lead is still first, but the nut graph is delayed (true/false)

True

Brief profiles showing a slice of life or vignettes of people are excellent formats for the web, especially now that many stories are being tailored to small screens (true/false)

True

Broadcast news scripts don't include headlines (true/false)

True

Citizens can provide valuable information, but some people try to fool news organizations with bad information or fake pictures (true/false)

True

Dawson said, "Every profile subject has a future, and you need to ask your subject what lies ahead." (true/false)

True

Descriptive show-in-action leads, anecdotes, contrast leads and scene-setting leads work particularly well in profiles (true/false)

True

Every good story needs a hook (true/false)

True

FOIA.gov is one of several websites that provide guides to request information using the Freedom of Information Act (true/false)

True

Fabrication of sources and information has led to journalists' resignations, apologies and even prison terms (true/false)

True

For a telephone interview, make two lists of questions: (1) all the questions you want to ask and (2) crucial questions (true/false)

True

For an email interview, limit the number of questions to five (true/false)

True

Getting the data to accompany your story is now a standard part of the reporting process (true/false)

True

If a news story involves conflict you should always get comments from all sides of the issue (true/false)

True

If a person has been charged with a crime, you may state that fact without attribution (true/false)

True

In broadcast stories, sound bites and video constitute dialogue (true/false)

True

In the last few decades, news stories have contained more analysis to help readers understand the context of stories (true/false)

True

Information from a story is sometimes set off in a fact box, also called a highlights box (true/false)

True

Interview questions that will elicit the most quotes and anecdotes start with what, why and how (true/false)

True

It is illegal to secretly record any conversation between two other people when you are not a part of the discourse (true/false)

True

Learning to use data is not a separate skill; it's just part of good reporting (true/false)

True

Many government records, such as data from state and local agencies, can be obtained from databases consisting of public records (true/false)

True

Many of the skills you need to become a journalist are still grounded in basic reporting and writing principles (true/false)

True

Many profiles focus on people in the community who have done something noteworthy but do not have celebrity status (true/false)

True

Many sources, named or unnamed, have their own agenda and want to manipulate reporters so the sources can promote their causes (true/false)

True

Mobile news delivery is the fastest growing trend for the media industry (true/false)

True

Most newspapers have free or paid death notices (true/false)

True

Multimedia is defined as a combination of media and can also be called "convergence." (true/false)

True

Newswriting needs human sources to make the story credible and readable (true/false)

True

Obituary writers have their own blog (true/false)

True

On page 107, the textbook says, "Put the attribution at the beginning of the sentence in broadcast writing. In print and web writing, the attribution may come at the end of the sentence." (true/false)

True

Opinions are not present in backgrounders (true/false)

True

Outlining your profile by planning a facts (highlights) box can help you determine what topics to include in your story (true/false)

True

Parallel construction means the sentences are worded in the same grammatical order (true/false)

True

Partnerships with university journalism departments are a way news organization are expanding their coverage without expanding their staffs (true/false)

True

People typically read less of articles on a small screen cell phone (true/false)

True

Personal communication and publishing, previously separate functions, now shade into one another (true/false)

True

Plagiarism is copying the words of another person without identifying the source. It is "a cardinal sin in journalism." (true/false)

True

Podcasts now can include video. A video podcast is called a "vidcast" or "vodcast." (true/false)

True

Private individuals do not have to deal with the media, so you need to use more sensitivity when interviewing them (true/false)

True

Reading your story aloud is useful in correcting your story (true/false)

True

Researchers suggest that telephone interviews be limited to 20 minutes (true/false)

True

Social media "curation" techniques can be used to compile a composite website (true/false)

True

Social media applications have become standard features in most news, government and public relations websites (true/false)

True

Social media networks should never be used as a reporting shortcut when another method like picking up a phone or knocking on a door, would yield more reliable or comprehensive information (true/false)

True

Social media reporting techniques have received several Pulitzer Prizes (true/false)

True

Social networking has changed the nature of journalism (true/false)

True

Soft leads can be as effective in broadcast writing as in print (true/false)

True

Soft leads delay telling the reader what the story is about by teasing the reader with a description or a storytelling approach before the focus is stated in a separate paragraph called the "nut graph." (true/false)

True

Some of the most innovative forms of storytelling can be offered with multimedia tools (true/false)

True

Sree Sreenivasan, a social media expert, said to be sure each of your tweets "... has at least one of these qualities: helpful, useful, informative, relevant, practical, actionable, timely, generous, credible, brief, entertaining, fun, occasionally funny." (true/false

True

Storify is a way to gather tweets, images and posts to create a story (true/false)

True

Summary leads, also called hard-news leads" or "direct leads," summarize what the story is about in the first sentence (true/false)

True

TV reporters are expected to post blogs to describe breaking news events (true/false)

True

The "sections" technique lends itself to cliffhanger endings for each section or each day's installment (true/false)

True

The Freedom of Information Act was established by Congress in 1966 to make federal records available to the public (true/false)

True

The Q and A format is commonly used for profiles (true/false)

True

The Wall Street Journal formula's idea is to go from the specific to the general, starting with a paragraph or two about a person, place or event that illustrates the main point of the story (true/false)

True

The anecdotal lead starts with a story about a person or event (true/false)

True

The basic news story structure includes a headline, a lead, a body and an ending (true/false)

True

The days of writing for a single medium have ended at most news, public relations and advertising organizations (true/false)

True

The disadvantage of the inverted pyramid form is that the reader may not read past the crucial information (true/false)

True

The ending of a story is called the "kicker." (true/false)

True

The focus-on-a-person lead is an effective technique for broadcast news, especially when the person or people used in the lead exemplify a problem shared by many other people in the community (true/false)

True

The hourglass format is useful in crime or disaster stories (true/false)

True

The inverted pyramid is the most common form used for print, broadcast and online news as well as news releases in public relations (true/false)

True

The lead is crucial in any medium. Studies show that most online readers are scanners who read only headlines (true/false)

True

The teaser lead uses the element of surprise to tease the reader into the story (true/false)

True

The textbook lists 11 factors—qualities—of news (true/false)

True

The textbook says that Facebook is the most popular social media site in the world (true/false)

True

The theme of a profile is an angle or recurring idea that weaves throughout the story (true/false)

True

To provide a smooth transition, a word or phrase from one paragraph can be used in the next paragraph (true/false)

True

Twitter is used around the world be media, government agencies and corporations as a way to communicate a lot of information in a little amount of space (true/false)

True

Twitter readers are scanners, so you need to write tweets like headlines that will grab attention (true/false)

True

Walter Dawson said, "The heart and soul of a profile is making sure the reader understands the twists and turns and intricacies of human life." (true/false)

True

When a story breaks, reporters at many newspaper and broadcast organizations are expected to file the story immediately for the web and update major stories online throughout the day (true/false)

True

When you return to your lead for an idea to end your story, it's called a "circle kicker." (true/false)

True

Whenever possible, the writer should explain how the news affects readers (true/false)

True

With traditional media, people are receivers; with social media they are contributors (true/false)

True

Writing simple sentences in a conversational style—the way you talk—is preferable for all media, but essential for broadcast (true/false)

True

Writing the lead and organizing the story are the two most common problems of professing writers (true/false)

True

The time element can be confusing in a lead. What is an example of using it well?

University officials agreed Monday to raise tuition by $100.

What is a direct quotation?

Use the speakers exact words with quotation marks to introduce and end the quotation which should be clearly attributed to the speaker

What is an orphan quotation?

Uses quotation marks around a single word or two

What is an indirect quotation?

Uses the speaker's ideas but no their direct words without quotations because the ideas are paraphrased

How similar is a professional profile to a bio or a feature article?

Very similar and has a lot of the same components

What is paraphrasing?

What someone else said but put in your own words without quotation marks

When you make an attribution in a story, what do you say?

You always say "she said" as opposed to "she screamed" or "whispered" etc.

How should you write when writing for an organizations blog?

You must write in third person (never use "us", "our", "me", or "we")

On page 43 in the textbook, which of the seven statements need attribution?

b, c, and f