Multimedia News Writing Chapter 4

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Nine Guidelines for Wording and Positioning Attributions

1) The first time you identify a source, use his/her full name, after that use only his/her last name; 2) For most attributions, it's preferable to put the noun ahead of the verb; 3) When a quote uses just one sentence, the attribution usually follows the quote; 4) When a quotation uses more than one sentence, it's often best to put the attribution at the end of the first sentence; 5) The are times when it makes sense to start a quote with the attribution: to set up a partial quote, for instance. Or to avoid forcing readers to scan a long quote without first knowing who the speaker is; 6) It's also acceptable to set up long quotes with an attribution followed by a colon; 7) When inserting an attribution into a quote, try to find a logical spot for it, then insert additional quotation marks; 8) Once you attribute the first sentence of a quote, you don't need to attribute additional sentences that directly follow; 9) Begin a new paragraph whenever you change speakers. TO avoid confusion, add new attributions as soon as possible

Experts

A professor, an author, a government official, to provide analysis or opinion.

The Mean

Add up a group of items then divide that total by the number of items in the group

Official Records

All instituions collect and store massive amounts of information. Most records are available under the Freedom of Information Act

Line Charts

Also called fever charts, show connecting points on a graph that measure changing quantities over time. Consist of a scale running vertically down one side that measures amounts, a scale running horizontally along the bottom measuring time and a jagged line connecting a series of points, showing rising or falling trends

Sight

Attention to detail lets you view the scene as if you're looking through the reporter's eye

Attributing Something to a Source

Attributing facts and opinions to their sources shows readers that you're reporting what's been said, not saying it yourself

The Wording of the Question

Avoid polls that use leading questions

Diversity in Your Newsroom

Bringing diverse voices into a newsroom can broaden its perspective, helping staffers view the news through new and different lenses. Sending culturally diverse reporters into the community can increase a news organization's accessibility and make its reporting more credible.

Bar Charts

Compare two or more items by depicting data as columns stacked side by sided. Consist of a scale running either horizontally or vertically to measure the data and parallel bars representing items being measured

Preparing for the Interview

Continue your research, organize your questions, prioritize, rehearse your interview with a friend, get to the interview on time, dress appropriately

Blogs

Cover news events, refining and refuting facts presented by mainstream media.

Pie Charts

Depict percentage values or proportions by showing the different parts that make up the whole. Consist of a circle representing 100 percent of something and several wedges dividing that circle into smaller percentages

How to Not Plagiarize

Directly quote and credit the source, Paraphrase, while still crediting the source, Rework and reword the idea until it's more ours than theirs

Problems to Avoid When using Quotes in Stories

Don't bore readers with dull, obvious quotes, don't rehash what a quote is saying, avoid using a quote as a lead, don't be telepathic, beware of monologues, it's best not to mimic someone's dialect, beware of could language, don't distort a quote's meaning

Scheduled Events are...

Easier to over than breaking news, you know when they'll start and finish, often predict what will happen, you can decide in advance how important they are, which allows you to plan the timing and scope of your coverage. Write advances, precedes, or previews that explain the who, what when and where for readers ahead of time

Advantages of Phone Interviews

Fast, efficient way to get answers, for many people talking to a reporter isn't as intimidating when they can't see you taking notes, with cell phones, conversations can occur anytime, anywhere

Setting Up the Interview

First do your homework, think through your story, determine the best way to interview those sources, set up the interview, decide when and where to meet, ask if photos will be allowed

Feature Stories

Focus on people, trends or events. Ideas for feature stories can originate in surprising, unpredictable ways.

Check Sources

For accuracy, to ensure all facts and statements are true

Balance Sources

For fairness, to represent all sides of every issue

Select Sources

For relevance, to focus each story on whats most important

Cultivate Sources

For tips and story ideas in the future

Many Interviewers, One Interviewee

Formal news conferences or at informal post game media mobs. Reporters usually take turns tossing out questions and everyone gets to share the answers

News Stories

Frome events that are sudden and unpredictable, scheduled events, news release alerting the media to noteworthy events or topics, ideas generated by readers, editors, or reporters

Follow-up (Second day story)

Further analyze what happened, what it means or what happens next.

Advantages of E-Mail Interviews

Gives Interviewees time to ponder and contract intelligent responded, offers the most flexibility, you can ask and answer questions whenever its convenient, since responses are typed, they're easy to copy and past, and they provide a record of all thats been said

Many events...

Happen on schedule and recur predictably: Ex) the mayor campaigns for re-election, the semester ends, the cicadas return , almost every concert, court case, public meeting and sports event is scheduled weeks (or ever months ) in advance.

Deciding Whether a Source is Reliable

How does this person know what he/she knows, whats the past record of this source's reliability, Does this source have some bias or self-interest that compromises the integrity of what he/she says? Am i being manipulated for some reason, Is this information available form other sources that would let me verify or refute what he/she is saying

Partial Quote

If a direct quote is too long or awkwardly phrased, you may decide to insert just a part of it. Beware of overusing fragmentary quotes

Post Audio or Video

If conversation with good, consider recording it so you can convert it into a podcast or online video clip

Pseudo-events

Illusions created for the media that crowd out real issues and real events.

Taking Notes

Involves major multitasking, lots of listening, interpreting, observing, evaluating, writing and reacting in a hurry

Other Variables

Is the survey demographically representative, how many respondents refused to answer questions or lied.

Disadvantages of Phone Interviews

Its impersonal, you can't tell what people look like, what they're doing, how they're reacting; its difficult to record a phone conversation without buying a reliable recording gizmo, you're much more likely to mis hear or misquote someone

Advantages of In Person Interviews

Its the best way to build rapport and encourage sources to cooperate, a subject's physical surrounding often provide useful information, you can pick up cues by watching a person's gestures, body language, people take you more seriously when you're right in front of them

Advantages of Typing

Its the fastest way to turn your notes into a story, its the most efficient way to gather last-minute details or fill holes in a story on deadline, you can conduct an entire interview using chat or e-mail

Advantages of Recording

Its the most accurate way to capture every word spoken during an interview, if anyone tries to challenge your story, you have actual proof of what was said, it lets you post interview audio on your paper's web site

E-Mail

Its the most efficient way to contact the experts you find mentioned on web sites you visit. Great way to conduct interviews with multiple sources simultaneously. Receive press releases, tips and feedback from readers, colleagues and sources

Search Engine

Lets you enter key words or phrases, then scours the Web to provide links to sites using those words

Advantages of a Notebook

Low tech, nothing to break, no batteries to fail, written notes are easy to access and transcribe later, you keep a permanent record of what you hear and saw

Tips for Maintaining Diversity

Monitor your work patterns, expand your horizons and your comfort zone, honor the everyday, not just the exceptional, avoid portraying minorities as monolithic blocks or stereotype, do good journalism

Disadvantages of Typing

Most people talk fast, typing quotes might be inaccurate, Computer problems can ruin interviews or destroy files, you're stuck sitting in one place staring at the screen

The Internet, No Matter How Useful

No substitute for reality, for real discussions with real human being.

NewsGroups

Online bulletin boards organized by topic

Disadvantages of a Notebook

People talk faster than you can write, quotes may be inaccurate, standing still to write can be cumbersome and restricting, some of your scribblings will later seem illegible to you

Calculating Percentages

Percentages are used to compare the sizes of two different things or to show how much something increases or decreased over time

Post Complete Transcripts

Post the entire q and a online

Let Readers Join the Conversation

Promote the interview in advance on your web site and ask readers to submit their questions ahead of time

Directory

Provides a huge list of Web sites organized by topics that get more detailed the deeper you dig

Q-and-A's

Questions posed in one font, answers in another. They can be light or serious, long or short. You can even edit remarks for brevity, as long as you don't distort their meaning

Context

Readers will broaden their understanding if you approach the topic from different points of view

During the Interview

Relax, Never forget: You're in charge, start with the basics, budget your time, begin with softball questions, focus your questions, keep it simple, limit questions that can be answered simply yes or no, make sure every question gets answered, rephrase questions, ask follow-up questions, stay flexible, ask people to slow down, don't worry about asking dumb questions, remember to look around, use reassuring body language, try using silence as a tactic, don't interrupt, don't take sides, save your toughest questions for last

Disadvantages of Recording

Replaying and transcribing interviews wastes valuable time, background is noisy, it can be impossible to make out what's being said, if the machine fails, the tape jams or the batteries died, its a serious problem

On the Record

Reporter's source agrees that anything said during the interview can be printed and the source's name can be used

Reference Material

Research relying on printed material.

After the Interview

Review your notes before you end the session, Ask who else should I contact, Ask permission to call back later, Ask Interviewees to call you, say thank you, review your notes again privately, check back with your sources after the story runs

Every Reporter Must Learn How To:

Select sources, check sources, balance sources, cultivate sources

Press Releases

Send out by bureaucrats, event organizers, and public reaction experts to newsrooms big and small. Arrive by fax, e-mail, and snail mail; many elaborate release use video, ling to Web sites or include free samples of merchandise

Said

Serious news stories use said

Emotion

Show you the scene, in simple and direct language, without telling you how to feel

Sound

Skilled writers empty all their sense to capture the smells, tastes, and sounds of their stories. Descriptions range from subtle to extreme as they paint sonic pictures

Anonymous Sources

Some sources are reluctant to be named or quoted in a story. Granting anonymity to nervous sources is often the only way to get information into a story, usually undermines your credibility which is why editors discourage it

Fun Facts

Sometimes the smartest reporting is also the simplest. Present data is to boil complex topics down to their essential who what when where why, then decide which of those facts should be highlight in a fast facts sidebar.

Ordinary Folks

Sometimes you want to hear the opinions or anecdotes of the man on the street or the woman on campus. Ordinary people add authenticity that resonates with readers

Many Interviews, Many Interviewees

Spin room at political debates or during media gatherings at trade showers, where impromptu interviews arise in random clumps

Direct Quote

State what someone said or wrote. Quoted statements always being and end with quotation marks. use when a sources entire sentence presents ideas or opinions in a concise relevant way

One Interviews, Many Interviewees

Teammates who just won the big game, assembled members of a rock group. Keep a careful note of who says what.

The Sample Size

The Larger the sampling the more accurate the surgery. The smaller the sampling the less trustworthy the results. Pollsters use a mathematical formula to determine the margin of error for each poll, the plus or minus percentage that indicates the range within the poll results are accurate. The more serious the survey, the more you need to disclose its margin of error

The Median

The halfway point, the middle number in a series. To find it, sort your list in order from smallest to largest then find the value thats exactly in the middle

On Deep Background

The information can be used by the source cannot be revealed. The reporter could write it but publishing unattributed speculations may be risky

On Background

The information can be used in a story and can even run as a quote but the source cannot be identified by name

Off the Record

The information cannot be published in any form, if a reporter is told off the record something, the reporter must confirm it from a separate source before printing it

Diversity in the Topics You Cover

The more varied voices you include, the more the focus of every story is likely to shift in a fresh, compelling way

Reliability

There's less chance of inaccuracy or bias when you gather facts from a variety of sources

Disadvantages of E-Mail Interviews

Theres no personal interactions, the lag time between questions and answers makes it hard to ask immediate follow-up questions, some people take an hour to type what they could say in five minutes, not sure if the is really the person they claim to be

NewsMakers

These are the people who willingly or not take part in the news events. Their recollections, opinions and emotions validate stories and give them life.

People Lie

They exaggerate, fudge facts to make their case, they bend the truth to win our approval so stay skeptical

Dialogue

To capture a conversation between say two speakers, you can reprint their actual dialogue

Diversity in Your Stories

To reflect your entire community, you need a broad spectrum of voices in your stories. Making a conscious effort to cast a wide net when you seek out sources

How to Search the Internet

Try using directories and search engines, bookmark your favorite search sites and get familiar with them, keep keywords as specific as possible, study the site's search syntax, watch your spelling, before you link to web sites, study their addresses

Punctuation Advice for Using Quotes in Stories

Use double quotation marks at the beginning and end of direct quotes, use single quotation marks for quote statements inside other quoted statements, put periods and commas inside quotation marks, if you're quoting someone's question put the question mark inside the quotation marks, colons semicolons and dashes go outside quotation marks, when editing a quote use an ellipsis to indicate deleted words phrases or sentences, use parentheses to supply missing word, capitalize the first word of a direct quote but you don't need to capitalize partial quotes

Says

Used in reviews, feature stories, broadcast news writing

Actions

Verbs add verve

The Source

Was the data collected by objective researchers?

Paraphrase

When you summarize without using the exact words or adding quotations marks. A common way to clarify or condense someone else's statements. Paraphrasing is necessary, lets you rephrase their ideas in a clearer, more concise way

A Walkaround

Where you accompany your interviewee as he/she does that newsworthy thing you're writing about

A Backgrounder

Where you informally pick an expert's brain on a topic you're researching

A Quick Phoner

Where you seek fast facts to plug into a story

A Long, Formal Interview

Where you sit privately in a room, asking probing questions and getting revealing answers

Spokespeople

Who speaks for institutions, big corporations or public agencies. Usually one person (or office) is responsible for disseminating information to the media. Helps streamline the process and eliminate confusion, also gives those organizations more opportunity to control or spin the story

An On-the-Fly Chat

With a newsmaker where you fire off questions as they whisk through a public place

Disadvantages of In Person Interviews

You can waste time setting up a meeting, traveling, waiting around, making small talk; Distractions often interrupt the interview, if you're uncomfortable, unlikable, or unpleasant to be around, face-to-face interviews can go badly

Depth

Your story will offer more information and insight

People Yammer

and stammer and fumble around trying to express ideas that you could say better


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