After reading Poynter's debate I can definitely see the clear conflict regarding Missourian article.
I definitely agree with Poynter's agrument, but unlike Poynter I believe there IS such a thing as unintentional plagiarsm. I know as a journalism student I am still learning many things about what I can and cannot do, what is ethical, and what not. So to me although I feel there should be some punishment as this was clearly wrongdoing, I believe it is an eye opening to many professors and institutions that there is still some miscommunication and disjoint in teaching students the role of a GOOD journalist.
However, I do think it was important for them to address the matter and set an example for other journalism students to follow because credibility is fragile. If they had left the matter alone, it would have shown students that they too can get away with doing it too.
Reading the last story, in response to the Poynter article, I felt compelled to support John Merril's side of the story. The media has glorified this story and ruined his reputation as a journalist without considering the other sides of the story. The fact that he has been a respectable and credible journalist for the paper for many years lends evidence to the fact that he was simply being careless.
In truth how many times have we been careless in our lives? Thousands of times, thats how we loose our keys, fall on ice, or in this case, make wrong decisions. So to me I agree with Miller that this instance may not have been necessarily unethical but rather technical.
I'm not really sure if the Missourian made the right choice to fire Miller, but what I do know is I'm sure this a common practice and if he should get fired, so should many others.
In addition to this I believe if he had no recognized his mistake and apologized, it would also have been a very different story. By doing so he recognizes his stature as a jounalist and that one must be completely honest to their audience. By admitting and apologizing for his faults, Miller took appropriate and professional action.
Although this is all very complicared, this story scared me more than anything. We as journalists hold a lot of power. And to be honest if I had not been overlyconscious and wary of this, I probably would have made the same mistake somewhere down the road unknowingly. Obviously, I am now aware of what can happen, and will never plagiarize, but to be honest I hadn't known that what Miller did was plagiraism. In fact, I have never done it simply because I didn't really know 100 percent if it was acceptable or not so I never did it because I would never risk that. So I'm glad I know now.
It's too bad this had to happen, but it just goes to show that you have to be on your feet constantly as a journalist, and you can't take short cuts. I'm sure many people learned their lesson after reading this.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
A Mosh Posh Closure
According to Fox News (yes I don't discriminate my news sources!!) Mitt Romney will deliver a speech tommorrow on religions place in U.S. politics. Apparently this is his first attempt at confronting questions about his Mormon faith as he is currently "trying to convince voters Mormonism is not a reason to avoid his candidacy."
His speech titled "Faith in America" should be a huge make or break moment for his Presidential Republican nomination. Although his campaign stresses the fact that the speech is NOT a response to slipping in the polls, Romney said it is an issue he is forced to confront.
Although to many people this may not seem like a big deal, it will in large part determine his loyalties and the number of supporters. However, if it turns into just another campaign speech, it will backfire on his ability to gain voters and solifiy his position as a candidate for the White House. Goodluck to him!
In other news Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign coordinator in Iowa has now resigned. After forwarding a chain e-mail that suggested Democratic nominee Barack Obama was a "Muslim who wanted to destroy the United States by being elected to its highest office."
This was very disturbing to me. Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ and has NEVER been a Muslim. I am very happy though that Clinton's campaign manager asked for her resignation immediately. She said "There is no place in our campaign, or any campaign, for this kind of politics."
Although this is very upsetting that people will go so low so as to stoop and use slander in such a degrading way, I am glad someone agrees in "clean politics" and righteously weeded out the unethical and dirty work going on behind the scene. There is no need for it. And for someone to try to damage another's reputation in such a way is completely appalling. It reminds me that some members of our country have no class.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j4w4BzRKRNaOdwsYTZ2LN9pzYDIwD8TBLQA80
Switching gears back to Republican matters... according to an LA Times poll, Rudolph Giuliani is barely keeping his lead with Mike Huckabee. Rudy's once dominant lead has been dramatically shortened in recent weeks.
People are speculating that the reason for the surge is the fact that social conservative voters in the Republican base have been looking for a candidate to rally behind all year, and they may have found their man.
Giuliani is currently leading with 23 percent, while Huckabee still trails by 17 percent. However according to News Day, just two months ago "Huckabee was a little more than a blur in Giuliani's rearview mirror."
Fred Thompson won 14 percent, John McCain has 11 percent and Mitt Romney is at 9 percent. It appears that no one is out of this race!!
After tracking the Presidential Campaign this past fall, for nearly 15 weeks, alot has developed. Polls have shifted reminding us that ANYTHING can happen. And more than that, scandals are erupting daily reminding us that as the Race continues, the politics will continue to get dirtier and dirtier.
Only time will tell what will happen with the White House. Goodluck everyone!
His speech titled "Faith in America" should be a huge make or break moment for his Presidential Republican nomination. Although his campaign stresses the fact that the speech is NOT a response to slipping in the polls, Romney said it is an issue he is forced to confront.
Although to many people this may not seem like a big deal, it will in large part determine his loyalties and the number of supporters. However, if it turns into just another campaign speech, it will backfire on his ability to gain voters and solifiy his position as a candidate for the White House. Goodluck to him!
In other news Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign coordinator in Iowa has now resigned. After forwarding a chain e-mail that suggested Democratic nominee Barack Obama was a "Muslim who wanted to destroy the United States by being elected to its highest office."
This was very disturbing to me. Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ and has NEVER been a Muslim. I am very happy though that Clinton's campaign manager asked for her resignation immediately. She said "There is no place in our campaign, or any campaign, for this kind of politics."
Although this is very upsetting that people will go so low so as to stoop and use slander in such a degrading way, I am glad someone agrees in "clean politics" and righteously weeded out the unethical and dirty work going on behind the scene. There is no need for it. And for someone to try to damage another's reputation in such a way is completely appalling. It reminds me that some members of our country have no class.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j4w4BzRKRNaOdwsYTZ2LN9pzYDIwD8TBLQA80
Switching gears back to Republican matters... according to an LA Times poll, Rudolph Giuliani is barely keeping his lead with Mike Huckabee. Rudy's once dominant lead has been dramatically shortened in recent weeks.
People are speculating that the reason for the surge is the fact that social conservative voters in the Republican base have been looking for a candidate to rally behind all year, and they may have found their man.
Giuliani is currently leading with 23 percent, while Huckabee still trails by 17 percent. However according to News Day, just two months ago "Huckabee was a little more than a blur in Giuliani's rearview mirror."
Fred Thompson won 14 percent, John McCain has 11 percent and Mitt Romney is at 9 percent. It appears that no one is out of this race!!
After tracking the Presidential Campaign this past fall, for nearly 15 weeks, alot has developed. Polls have shifted reminding us that ANYTHING can happen. And more than that, scandals are erupting daily reminding us that as the Race continues, the politics will continue to get dirtier and dirtier.
Only time will tell what will happen with the White House. Goodluck everyone!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Technology Mania
I'm really excited to build an audio slideshow for our final. It was really cool to read the Poynter website and see how soundslides came into development and how they impact online journalism. Joe Weiss, the creator created the program so that he could be a better story teller. Because I love feature stories, I'm really psyched to try this out, thanks to Weiss!
I really liked how he talked about the challenges and pitfalls of an audio slideshow. It gives me a better idea and makes me feel more comfortable when going out and starting my own. I now know not to make it too long, or to try to cram in too many images. I know I have to pay attention to the fact that the audience attentions wavers. And most importantly, the images are key to telling the story. If you have a really great image you should let it tell the story and leave it up there a little bit longer for people to digest. But in the end the most important thing is not your photojournalism or your audiojournalism. It is about the STORY and using images as a vehicle to communicate that story.
I really liked the interview with Poynter!! It gave me some inspiration, I'm glad we got a chance to see it and hear his own words.
The tutorials were EXTREMELY helpful. I liked the step by step guides to using the various programs and although I am not using the program hands on right now, I am sure it will be an amazing reference when I actually go start the project. Because I basically knew nothing about ANY of the programs to begin with, this was a great introduction. It had really basic child-proof directions to both the simple and complex tasks that I want to use.
IMovie had cool tips on how to make a timeline, scroll credits for your movie, add themes and effects, and of course work with the audio and photos. The Garage Band tutorial was a great overview of how to create and edit digital audio. It demonstrated how to create music projects, record, and how to use filters and audio effects.
Reading these tutorials and reading about Joe Weiss made me really excited to start the project, so thanks for the information which really helped me to get inspired!!
I really liked how he talked about the challenges and pitfalls of an audio slideshow. It gives me a better idea and makes me feel more comfortable when going out and starting my own. I now know not to make it too long, or to try to cram in too many images. I know I have to pay attention to the fact that the audience attentions wavers. And most importantly, the images are key to telling the story. If you have a really great image you should let it tell the story and leave it up there a little bit longer for people to digest. But in the end the most important thing is not your photojournalism or your audiojournalism. It is about the STORY and using images as a vehicle to communicate that story.
I really liked the interview with Poynter!! It gave me some inspiration, I'm glad we got a chance to see it and hear his own words.
The tutorials were EXTREMELY helpful. I liked the step by step guides to using the various programs and although I am not using the program hands on right now, I am sure it will be an amazing reference when I actually go start the project. Because I basically knew nothing about ANY of the programs to begin with, this was a great introduction. It had really basic child-proof directions to both the simple and complex tasks that I want to use.
IMovie had cool tips on how to make a timeline, scroll credits for your movie, add themes and effects, and of course work with the audio and photos. The Garage Band tutorial was a great overview of how to create and edit digital audio. It demonstrated how to create music projects, record, and how to use filters and audio effects.
Reading these tutorials and reading about Joe Weiss made me really excited to start the project, so thanks for the information which really helped me to get inspired!!
Giuliani Raising Questions
According to CNN, Republican Presidential nominee Rudy Giuliaini has called a story raising questions about the accounting of his security expenses while he was major of New York. Last night Politico.com reported that city records show Giuliani billed New York City government offices for at least 30,000 dollars in security and travel costs on trips to the Hamptons in his last year of office!!!
Giuliani told CNN that he "thought the story was presented like a hit job." This would happen, right now. Perfect timing. The story broke two hours before his Republican debate! Although Giuliani denied doing anything wrong, he told CNN the expenses were perfectly appropriate.
I'm not really sure what side to take here. I'm not sure if he didn't think he would get caught and just developed a safety plan to counter the argument if in fact it ever did get leaked. However, because he was covered by police 24 hours a day since he essentially had various death threats, there could be some truth behind actually needing the money.
A former New York major and Giuliani campaign advisor Joe Lhota told CNN that the security costs "were allocated throughout the various divisions within the mayor's office." If this is true it lends evidence to the fact that maybe that money was legitimate and maybe he wasn't just hoarding it for himself?! However, it is a little discerning how Giuliani's office would not comment. I don't know if thats fishy or normal?
The New York Times lead infact reported how one political site actually ACCUSED "Giuliani of billing tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses to little known city agencies as he was beginning an extramarital affair."
It is unsure whether these allocated travel expenses were intended to conceal expenses associated with his new relationship or for some accounting purpose. I guess it makes a big difference huh? Although it is ironic his "lady friend" did have a condominium in Long Island, because the documents say American Express Bills were used for hotel, gas and other costs in that area.
Interesting. I dont know what to believe.
This says a lot. Because it shows how the campaign trail has grown fierce and brutal. Anything and everything is getting reported to try to sway voters. It goes without saying that voters of course should have all this information, it is just funny to see the shift. We are no longer talking about policies and abortion issues. We are now digging for dirt.
In the coming weeks I'm curious because this story could develop further, and other dirty facts might arise on other candidates too. You gotta love the turmoil and gossip!! Whether its true or not, its definitely something to take into consideration when entering the polls next year!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/nyregion/29campaign.html?em&ex=1196485200&en=7645a09e7c9032c9&ei=5087%0A
Giuliani told CNN that he "thought the story was presented like a hit job." This would happen, right now. Perfect timing. The story broke two hours before his Republican debate! Although Giuliani denied doing anything wrong, he told CNN the expenses were perfectly appropriate.
I'm not really sure what side to take here. I'm not sure if he didn't think he would get caught and just developed a safety plan to counter the argument if in fact it ever did get leaked. However, because he was covered by police 24 hours a day since he essentially had various death threats, there could be some truth behind actually needing the money.
A former New York major and Giuliani campaign advisor Joe Lhota told CNN that the security costs "were allocated throughout the various divisions within the mayor's office." If this is true it lends evidence to the fact that maybe that money was legitimate and maybe he wasn't just hoarding it for himself?! However, it is a little discerning how Giuliani's office would not comment. I don't know if thats fishy or normal?
The New York Times lead infact reported how one political site actually ACCUSED "Giuliani of billing tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses to little known city agencies as he was beginning an extramarital affair."
It is unsure whether these allocated travel expenses were intended to conceal expenses associated with his new relationship or for some accounting purpose. I guess it makes a big difference huh? Although it is ironic his "lady friend" did have a condominium in Long Island, because the documents say American Express Bills were used for hotel, gas and other costs in that area.
Interesting. I dont know what to believe.
This says a lot. Because it shows how the campaign trail has grown fierce and brutal. Anything and everything is getting reported to try to sway voters. It goes without saying that voters of course should have all this information, it is just funny to see the shift. We are no longer talking about policies and abortion issues. We are now digging for dirt.
In the coming weeks I'm curious because this story could develop further, and other dirty facts might arise on other candidates too. You gotta love the turmoil and gossip!! Whether its true or not, its definitely something to take into consideration when entering the polls next year!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/nyregion/29campaign.html?em&ex=1196485200&en=7645a09e7c9032c9&ei=5087%0A
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Ethics
In general ethical reasoning can take many forms.
Principal reasoning assumes that you are not acting ethically if you do something simply because you have been told to do it or because thats what everyone does. To help journalists make ethical decisions, ethicists have adapted a model or moral reasoning.
The Potter Box is a model that has four basic elements.
1. Appraising the situation - collect all the facts from a variety of sources.
2. Identifying values - consider your values, your community values, your news organizations values, and your nations values.
3. Appealing to ethical principles - look at the ethical decisions such as kant's categorical imperative.
4. Choosing loyalities - consider to who you owe a certain loyalty to such as your readers, your sources, and your organization.
Usually there is no one clear answer to an ethical dilemna but these elements of the Potter Box can help you make a decision effectively and quickly.
After reading the chapter I learned three guidelines of ethical problems.
1. Be free of obligations to anyone or to any interest but the truth.
2. Be fair
3. Remember good taste
The book then outlines some specific problems you could face, all of which I thought were really interesting:
*Deceit - For the absolutist, the answer is simple - never! But for the rest of us, the answer isn't so easy.
* Conflict of Interest- Reporting generally assumes that reporters start out with no point of view but you should determine what constitutes a conflict of interest.
* Friendship - Sometimes reporters get too close to their sources and sometimes that isn't too good.
*Payola- Journalists may not accept payment for writing a story from anyone other then their employment.
* Freebies- Most news organizations have rules against accepting freebies such as accepting gifts, so you should learn your code of conduct at your news organization.
* Checkbook journalism- Another problem for journalists is deciding if it is ethical to pay a source for an exclusive story.
* Participation in the news- You also should make sure to let your boss know which organizations you belong to incase you end up participating in the news.
*Advertising pressure - Advertising can sometimes dictate what must or must not be printed.
*Invasion of Privacy - Basically it comes down to a matter of ethics and the public's right to know. Is secrecy better than disclosure?
*Witholding information- As a journalist are you ever off duty? Sometimes the press witholds information to protect its reporters and to maintain acess to news sources.
* Plagiarism- No one wants you to use his or her work as if it were your own. So don't do it!
Principal reasoning assumes that you are not acting ethically if you do something simply because you have been told to do it or because thats what everyone does. To help journalists make ethical decisions, ethicists have adapted a model or moral reasoning.
The Potter Box is a model that has four basic elements.
1. Appraising the situation - collect all the facts from a variety of sources.
2. Identifying values - consider your values, your community values, your news organizations values, and your nations values.
3. Appealing to ethical principles - look at the ethical decisions such as kant's categorical imperative.
4. Choosing loyalities - consider to who you owe a certain loyalty to such as your readers, your sources, and your organization.
Usually there is no one clear answer to an ethical dilemna but these elements of the Potter Box can help you make a decision effectively and quickly.
After reading the chapter I learned three guidelines of ethical problems.
1. Be free of obligations to anyone or to any interest but the truth.
2. Be fair
3. Remember good taste
The book then outlines some specific problems you could face, all of which I thought were really interesting:
*Deceit - For the absolutist, the answer is simple - never! But for the rest of us, the answer isn't so easy.
* Conflict of Interest- Reporting generally assumes that reporters start out with no point of view but you should determine what constitutes a conflict of interest.
* Friendship - Sometimes reporters get too close to their sources and sometimes that isn't too good.
*Payola- Journalists may not accept payment for writing a story from anyone other then their employment.
* Freebies- Most news organizations have rules against accepting freebies such as accepting gifts, so you should learn your code of conduct at your news organization.
* Checkbook journalism- Another problem for journalists is deciding if it is ethical to pay a source for an exclusive story.
* Participation in the news- You also should make sure to let your boss know which organizations you belong to incase you end up participating in the news.
*Advertising pressure - Advertising can sometimes dictate what must or must not be printed.
*Invasion of Privacy - Basically it comes down to a matter of ethics and the public's right to know. Is secrecy better than disclosure?
*Witholding information- As a journalist are you ever off duty? Sometimes the press witholds information to protect its reporters and to maintain acess to news sources.
* Plagiarism- No one wants you to use his or her work as if it were your own. So don't do it!
The Pre-Debate Spin Begins
Well the Democratic debate in Las Vegas starts in less then THREE hours!!
At the last Democratic debate, Clinton's opponents attacked her issues of foreign policy and her reluctance to take a strong position on illegal immigrant driver's licenses. Since then the idea that the former first lady is the inevitable Democratic candidate has lost some of its luster, Clinton's chief strategist is trying to bring that back.
Without a doubt it is a big night for Clinton to try to fix her image and debate performance. Although the past few weeks have been rough for Clinton, she still has the lead. With her new slogan being "Turn up the Heat," all eyes will be on Clinton tonight.
The race in New Hampshire has tightened significantly. Iowa is virtually a three-way- tie. With stakes so high, its rather appropriate the debate occurs in one of the hottest, fast paced cities in the world.
The Times says that "the last debate began a new level of intensity in the Democratic contest." The Washington Post says that right now "the race is more fluid than it has been in months."
Those comments aren't an exaggeration. Advisors say that Clinton is now prepared to give yes-or-no answers to convey "forthrightness" and that she is prepared to point out inconsistencies in Mr. Edwards and Mr. Obama's positions.
The Silver State is securing the third in the nation primary but candidates of both parties have been spending a lot less time and money there than in Iowa, New Hampshire, and even South Carolina.
The Washington Post said that its still up in the air whether the placing of the primary in Nevada was a worthwhile effort. CNN said that apparently Nevada was chosen because of its growing Latino population and strong union force, among others. When it comes to the general election, Nevada is a very important state for the Democrats. And who knows, it could be an ideal proving ground.
President Bush won Nevada in 2000 and 2004 but the Democrats came close and hope to seal the deal next November. Moving up Nevada's Democratic status and holding a party-sanctioned deate in Vegas could pay off on Election day next year.
Among the issues of concern to Nevada voters are energy independence, nuclear waste storage, water resources, economic growth, homeland defense, and illegal immigration. I'm pretty excited to turn on the TV tonight and see some of these things coming up in the debate!!
I'm excited to see if Sen. Hillary Clinton keeps her lead over her rivals among Nevada Democratic caucus-goers (which was confirmed in a CNN poll.) But time will tell if Clinton can correct her last stumble at the previous deate in Philadelphia.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/14/debate.preview/?iref=mpstoryview
Clinton is in the hot seat tonight since the polls show her lead over Obama have narrowed since her last performance. John Edwards needs to be careful, and Barack Obama needs to step it up. It looks like the time to strike for both of them is tonight, so the debate will be the ultimate showdown!!
At the last Democratic debate, Clinton's opponents attacked her issues of foreign policy and her reluctance to take a strong position on illegal immigrant driver's licenses. Since then the idea that the former first lady is the inevitable Democratic candidate has lost some of its luster, Clinton's chief strategist is trying to bring that back.
Without a doubt it is a big night for Clinton to try to fix her image and debate performance. Although the past few weeks have been rough for Clinton, she still has the lead. With her new slogan being "Turn up the Heat," all eyes will be on Clinton tonight.
The race in New Hampshire has tightened significantly. Iowa is virtually a three-way- tie. With stakes so high, its rather appropriate the debate occurs in one of the hottest, fast paced cities in the world.
The Times says that "the last debate began a new level of intensity in the Democratic contest." The Washington Post says that right now "the race is more fluid than it has been in months."
Those comments aren't an exaggeration. Advisors say that Clinton is now prepared to give yes-or-no answers to convey "forthrightness" and that she is prepared to point out inconsistencies in Mr. Edwards and Mr. Obama's positions.
The Silver State is securing the third in the nation primary but candidates of both parties have been spending a lot less time and money there than in Iowa, New Hampshire, and even South Carolina.
The Washington Post said that its still up in the air whether the placing of the primary in Nevada was a worthwhile effort. CNN said that apparently Nevada was chosen because of its growing Latino population and strong union force, among others. When it comes to the general election, Nevada is a very important state for the Democrats. And who knows, it could be an ideal proving ground.
President Bush won Nevada in 2000 and 2004 but the Democrats came close and hope to seal the deal next November. Moving up Nevada's Democratic status and holding a party-sanctioned deate in Vegas could pay off on Election day next year.
Among the issues of concern to Nevada voters are energy independence, nuclear waste storage, water resources, economic growth, homeland defense, and illegal immigration. I'm pretty excited to turn on the TV tonight and see some of these things coming up in the debate!!
I'm excited to see if Sen. Hillary Clinton keeps her lead over her rivals among Nevada Democratic caucus-goers (which was confirmed in a CNN poll.) But time will tell if Clinton can correct her last stumble at the previous deate in Philadelphia.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/14/debate.preview/?iref=mpstoryview
Clinton is in the hot seat tonight since the polls show her lead over Obama have narrowed since her last performance. John Edwards needs to be careful, and Barack Obama needs to step it up. It looks like the time to strike for both of them is tonight, so the debate will be the ultimate showdown!!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Writing News for Radio and Television
As an Assistant Producer for Newswatch, my job is pretty much to write the stories for the nightly live broadcast. So this chapter was pretty much a review for me however I did find some useful things!
I learned about the four criteria that distinguish radio and teleivion news from print news. I never really took the time to think about these things so this was pretty interesting! My goal is to emphasize timeliness above all other news values, information more than explanation, news with audio or visual impact, and people more than concepts.
However when it comes to actual writing I recieved some good advice, which I can probably start using in the newsroom next week!
- Emphasize immediacy (for example use the present tense as much as possible.)
- Use simple short sentences with active verbs
- Write so that your copy sounds good (use a conversational style.)
- Cut down adjectives and adverbs and the usage of the passive voice
- Condense and use tight phrasing (don't be too wordy!)
- Select your facts carefully because you don't have a whole lot of time to tell a story
- Be clear and precise because viewers can't go back over the copy to check what you said, they only hear it once
- Use nickle and dime words, don't look for synonyms, and don't be afraid to repeat words for reinforcement
- Try not to use figures of speech or too many numerical figures
Lastly, I learned about story structure. One of the most important things is that because viewers are often doing other things with the TV in the background, leads have to grab the readers attention. I also learned that lead-ins should generate interest, while wrap ups should give the story an ending.
The chapter also gave a good overview of how to prepare radio and television copy. The main jist? Make the copy easy for the newscaster to read and easy for the audience to understand!!
I'll save you the time but here are the best tips I received!
- Titles should always precede names so that listeners are better prepared to hear the name.
- Write out difficult names phonetically to help the newscaster.
- Try not to use abbrevations in copy because it is easier to read a word then decipher its real meaning.
- Don't use symbols because newscasters can read a word more easily then they can interpret a symbol.
- Write out small numbers, round off big numbers or statistics, and try to keep numbers in general to a minimum (per sentence) so it is easier to swallow.
- Stay away from using direct quotations because it is dificult to indicate to the reader what is a quote and what isn't (however if it is important, keep it short!)
- Less punctuation is good punctuation!
Although stations may vary in writing style and preparation of the copy, as I learned during Newswatch myself, it's pretty easy to pick things up once you practice!
I learned about the four criteria that distinguish radio and teleivion news from print news. I never really took the time to think about these things so this was pretty interesting! My goal is to emphasize timeliness above all other news values, information more than explanation, news with audio or visual impact, and people more than concepts.
However when it comes to actual writing I recieved some good advice, which I can probably start using in the newsroom next week!
- Emphasize immediacy (for example use the present tense as much as possible.)
- Use simple short sentences with active verbs
- Write so that your copy sounds good (use a conversational style.)
- Cut down adjectives and adverbs and the usage of the passive voice
- Condense and use tight phrasing (don't be too wordy!)
- Select your facts carefully because you don't have a whole lot of time to tell a story
- Be clear and precise because viewers can't go back over the copy to check what you said, they only hear it once
- Use nickle and dime words, don't look for synonyms, and don't be afraid to repeat words for reinforcement
- Try not to use figures of speech or too many numerical figures
Lastly, I learned about story structure. One of the most important things is that because viewers are often doing other things with the TV in the background, leads have to grab the readers attention. I also learned that lead-ins should generate interest, while wrap ups should give the story an ending.
The chapter also gave a good overview of how to prepare radio and television copy. The main jist? Make the copy easy for the newscaster to read and easy for the audience to understand!!
I'll save you the time but here are the best tips I received!
- Titles should always precede names so that listeners are better prepared to hear the name.
- Write out difficult names phonetically to help the newscaster.
- Try not to use abbrevations in copy because it is easier to read a word then decipher its real meaning.
- Don't use symbols because newscasters can read a word more easily then they can interpret a symbol.
- Write out small numbers, round off big numbers or statistics, and try to keep numbers in general to a minimum (per sentence) so it is easier to swallow.
- Stay away from using direct quotations because it is dificult to indicate to the reader what is a quote and what isn't (however if it is important, keep it short!)
- Less punctuation is good punctuation!
Although stations may vary in writing style and preparation of the copy, as I learned during Newswatch myself, it's pretty easy to pick things up once you practice!
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