Shattered Glass: Day 2; Journalist Ethics

As you watch the film please complete activities:

• Activity 1 (part 1 only)
• Activity 2 (parts 1 & 2); Find an article from the news/online source and highlight or underline details that need to be fact-checked...Attach the article to the packet when you complete it.
• Activity 3 (part 1 only)
• Activity 4 (part 1: choose one of the following to research: Julie Amparano, Mike Barnicle, Jayson Blair, Janet Cooke, Ruth Shalit, Patricia Smith) -- instead of a presentation take notes and we will discuss these people next class.
• Part 2: We will be writing an ethics article using the film as a source in class. You do not have to complete the activity as written.

HOMEWORK: Complete these activities: (activity 1, part 1; activity 2 (both); activity 3 (part one), activity 4 (part 1--research and take notes). 

Ethics of Journalism; Shattered Glass (film day 1)

Do you have the moral fiber it takes to be a journalist? 

The Ethics of Journalism include the following:

• Credibility
• Accuracy
• Objectivity

And to a lesser extent:

• Good taste (show compassion, minimize harm)
• Simultaneous rebuttal, or right of reply
• Fairness to all (subject & audience)
• Avoid plagiarism
• Use attribution--do not use anonymous sources
• Truth
• Accountability

Please read the following article by Bob Steele for the Poynter Institute journalism program. As you read, take note (that is take notes) of key points and ideas presented in the article. Consider why any of this matters (what's at stake?)

Why Ethics Matters by Bob Steele

CLASS ACTIVITY:

We are going to screen the film Shattered Glass (2003)
Written & Directed by: Billy Ray (with Buzz Bissinger)
Cinematography: Mandy Walker

Hayden Christensen ... Stephen Glass
Peter Sarsgaard ... Charles "Chuck" Lane
Chloe Sevigny ... Caitlin Avey
Rosario Dawson ... Andy Fox
Melanie Lynskey ... Amy Brand
Hank Azaria ... Michael Kelly
Steve Zahn ... Adam Penenberg

HOMEWORK: As we watch the film, please note the activities on the packet. Complete these as we view the film (they are due when we're done viewing the film). Be prepared to write an article concerning journalistic ethics after the screening of the film. 

Active v. Passive Voice; Tips to Improve Article Writing

ACTIVE VOICE

The secret of active voice is to make the subject of the sentence perform. Make the subject act rather than be acted upon. What this means, for the most part, is that the person or thing doing the action appears first in the sentence.

These sentences are written in passive voice:

• The match was won by senior Jake Standish.
• At dawn the crowing of the rooster was heard.
• The test was taken by all the French classes. Notice that the verbs (won, crowing, taken) are accompanied by a helping verb (was, in this case). This is a clue that you may be in passive voice.

When you see the main verb accompanied by was, were, is or are, make sure to evaluate whether it is written in active or passive voice. Find the person or thing doing the action, place it first in the sentence, and write a simple subject/verb sentence.

Caution: Just because a sentence contains is, are, was,or were does not necessarily mean it is in passive voice. For example, the sentence:

• Senior Susan Patterson is the winner of the speech contest.

is not passive voice. Also, be sure to distinguish between past tense and passive voice. The following sentence is past tense: Senior Susan Patterson was the winner of the speech contest.

These sentences are written in active voice:

• Senior Jake Standish won the match.
• The farmer heard the rooster crow at dawn.
• The rooster crowed at dawn.
• All French classes took the test.

Active voice is important because:

1. Fewer words are used, so it is shorter and saves space. (Passive voice is often awkward.)
2. Each sentence is more crisp and forceful. (Passive voice robs a sentence of power.)

Acceptable Use of Passive Voice

Occasionally in journalistic writing, the situation calls for a passive voice verb. Injuries, deaths and natural disaster often fall into this category. In such instances, the passive voice is preferred because the subject has been the victim of the action. For example:

• The 12-year-old was kidnapped. The elderly woman was struck on her way home.
• Five children were trapped in the burning house.
• The special prosecutor was taken by surprise.

In such cases, those receiving the action are more important than those performing the action. 

ACTIVITY: Please write out by hand the 10 of the following 15 sentences and change the passive voice to active. Turn in your work by end of Period 7 today for participation credit.

1. The instructions have been changed

Someone ________________ the instructions.

2. She will have to be taught.

Someone ________________________ her.

3. The car was manufactured in Japan by Toyota.

Toyota ________________________ this car in Japan.

4. It was wondered why the exercises had not been finished on time.

Why ____________________ the exericises finished on time?

5. Last year 2,000 new units had been produced by the time we introduced the new design.

We ________________________2,000 new units by the time we introduced the new design last year.

6. Casual clothes must not be worn.

You ________________________ casual clothes.

7. $400,000 in profit has been reported this year.

The company _________________________________$400, 000 in profit this year.

8. The test will be given at five o'clock this afternoon.

The school ___________________ the test at five o'clock this afternoon.

9. Students are required to wear uniforms at all times.

The school ___________________ students to wear uniforms at all times.

10. This rumor must have been started by competitors.

Our competitors _____________________ this rumor.

11. All work will have been completed by five o' clock this evening.

You ______________________ all work by five o'clock this evening.

12. We were told to wait here.

Someone _____________________________us to wait here.

13. Lunch was being served when we arrived.

They _____________________________ lunch when we arrived.

14. Lectures are recorded and posted on the Internet.

They ______________________________lectures on the Internet.

15. Portuguese has always been spoken in this village.

People _____________________Portuguese in this village.

TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR ARTICLE WRITING:

1.       Avoid overcrowding the lead.

Crowded MORTON -- Grant Zorn, state trooper who investigated the crash at 3 a.m. Sunday resulting in the deaths of three Morton youths, said at an inquest Friday that William C. Libolt of Chillicothe, whose car ran over Larry, 7, and Martin, 19, told him he did not see Martin until he was directly in front of him, that he did not realize he was a person, but thought he was part of the car from which he had been thrown, and that he did not know he had run into him.

Better MORTON -- The driver of a car involved in an accident that killed three Morton youths Sunday says he did not see them early enough to avoid hitting them.

2.      Don't begin with a generality.

General Plans were being made today for doubling the capacity of the city's sewage treatment plant.	Specific Cost estimates and blueprints were being drawn up today for doubling the capacity of the city's sewage treatment plant
General Work is progressing on a $107,000 complex of 11 tennis courts, the city Parks and Recreation Commission reported last night.	Specific Grading has been completed and fences have been installed for a $107,000 complex of 11 tennis courts, the city Parks and Recreation Commission reported last night.
General Professor Beth Carlisle spoke last night on the development of the French language.	Specific The purity of the French language spoken by Frenchmen themselves has deteriorated "profoundly" during this century, Professor Beth Carlisle told students at the monthly academic forum.

3.      Be wary of figures.

Before a crowd of 4,000, Fremont's Pathfinders trampled Roosevelt's Rough Riders 42-6 for the state high school football championship.

Figures must be placed in context. Is this a large crowd, or is the stadium only half full?

Inconclusive

Central High School's flood relief drive stood at $1,500 today.

Better

Central High School's flood relief drive stood at $1,500 today, 50 percent of the goal.

Also, don't slow the pace by overcrowding figures.

There are 3.5 million eligible voters in the state, of whom 1.7 million are over 18, yet only 391,000, or less than 25 percent, are registered to vote.

4.      Don't back into the lead.

Backing into the lead means the lead has not been written with the most important information first. In other words, the writer has not featured the feature. If a writer backs into the lead, the most important information is often near the end of the lead paragraph, when it should be first. Also, remember that news comes first, attribution second.

Not the greatest Dr. Robert P. Fowler, Southwestern University president, announced today that a medical school will be established on the campus next year.	Better A medical school will be established at Southwestern University next year, President Robert P. Fowler announced today.
Not the greatest According to Adm. Elmo P. Zumwalt, chief of naval operations, Navy seamen may henceforth sport mustaches, beards, goatees, flared sideburns and long hair.	Better Navy seamen may now sport mustaches, beards, goatees, flared sideburns and long hair, Adm. Elmo P. Zumwalt, chief of naval operations, announced today.

5.      Don't bury the lead.

Burying the lead is even worse than backing into the lead. Burying the lead means the writer places the major element several paragraphs down in the story.

Not the greatest

On Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20, the Valley League Championship Track Meet was held in Prarie Hill. Schools in the league are Monroe, Carlton, Williams, Newland, Littlefield, Evanston, Prairie Hill, and Corbett.

Prairie Hill's boys team placed third, scoring 103 points. Top scoring efforts on the team were put out by Tom Lawrence with 28.5 points and Syd Sidewell with 24 points.

The girls team placed fourth with 94 points. The girls team was strong in the distances with a one, two finish in the 1,500 meter and 3,000 meter.

Better

The boys' track team placed third with 103 points and the girls' team fourth with 94 points in the Valley League Championships held in Prairie Hill May 19-20.

6.      Avoid "question" leads.

The question lead is an overworked tool of the lazy writer. The reporter's job is to inform, not ask questions. The question lead works best if the article focuses on answering the question posed in the lead.

How can auto insurance rates be lowered?

The answer to that question will be sought at a public hearing conducted by the state insurance commissioner at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the council chamber in City Hall.

It's also best if it can be answered quickly.

Will Riverside annex the Brockhurst subdivision? The city council decided last night that the answer is "No."

It can, however, be used quite effectively, often with a feature approach.

What is born in dung, makes love in flight, has no sting, and doesn't travel before 10 in the morning? The love bug, that's what. The pesky, little, windshield-smearing, radiator-clogging love bug.

In Florida and other Gulf Coast states, love bugs are a semi-annual nuisance. This year they are like a plague. . .

7.      Avoid quotation leads.

Quotation leads, too, are cop-outs by lazy writers. Quotations rarely capture the essence of a news story in a succinct manner. Occasionally, however, a quote can provide a powerful opening:

"Dying is beautiful," Lyn Helton confided to her tape recorder, "even the first time around, at the ripe old age of 20."

She made the comments two months ago, as bone cancer sapped her strength.

For most instances, however, rather than relying on a quotation, a reporter's paraphrase can brighten, shorten and clarify what the source said:

Children are not cocktails that need shaking to be good, a physician warns.

8.      Beware of "phrase" leads.

Not the greatest

At a meeting of ASB officers yesterday, the president resigned because he plans to graduate and enter college early.

Better

ASB President Ken Marshfield resigned yesterday, announcing he plans to graduate early and attend college.

Story 1

Dr Michael Kai is a scientist with the Papua New Guinea Department of Primary Industry. He has been working for ten years on a project to breed larger pigs. One of his pigs, an adult male, has been weighed at 350 kgs. This is the heaviest pig ever to have been bred in Papua New Guinea. Mr Kai hopes to use this animal to breed other very large pigs.

Story 2

A school bus ran off City Road in Suva, narrowly missed an electricity pole and came to rest in a garden. Most of the bus windows were smashed. There were more than 30 children on the bus. They were going to Martyr School. It was a 36-seater bus. All the children escaped serious injury. Some of them jumped out of the bus and grazed themselves. Eye-witnesses said the children were helped from the bus screaming and shouting and in a state of panic. This happened this morning.

Again, go back to one of your articles (300 or 400 word article) and revise your work.  Improve your draft and turn in again for credit.

Writing a Lead; Inverted Pyramid Structure

How to Write an Effective Lead:

The opening of a news story is called the lead. It is usually one paragraph, and sometimes only one sentence. The typical lead is called a summary lead or straight summary lead, and it summarizes the story; it tells the entire story in miniature as specifically and concisely as possible. The journalist's goal, as a general rule, is to write a clear, fairly short sentence that reveals all the important facts/details of the story--this would include telling the end result of the story as well. A reader should be able to read the lead and be informed about what happened without reading the rest of the story. This is occasionally what happens when people read newspapers and magazines.

A news story essentially has two parts, the lead, which gives the gist of the story, and the body, which adds details which expands on information given in the lead. The body is written in inverted pyramid style (see details below): short paragraphs in descending order of importance.

A summary lead should answer two or more of the 5W's and H: who, what, when, where, why and how. Include those that are important to inform the reader and to tell the story clearly. Usually, however, the lead will include, as a minimum, the who, what and when.

In deciding what to include in the lead, ask yourself: What is the first question a reader would ask? What is the first thing you would tell another person about the situation or event? This is often called the news peg; it is the reason for writing the story. In other words it is the aspect that makes an event or occurrence newsworthy. See previous post for details about newsworthiness.Your lead might also focus on what journalists call the whammy, which is a fact or facts that make the story unique.

When writing the lead, you should attempt to feature the feature: put the most important aspect or main point first in the paragraph. Grab the reader's attention with the news immediately, without making your reader read through introductory words to find out what happened. This isn't radio or television news, where the reporter may slide into the heart of the story after an introductory sentence or two, which may be necessary so the listener will not miss important information. The written news story needs no such prompt, and if you slide into the story slowly you'll lose your reader. Newspaper readers expect to be informed about what happened immediately--no beating around the bush here.

In general Leads should:

• open with bright, interesting, colorful nouns and verbs 
• be brief (often only 20-30 words) 
• be, for the most part, one sentence in length 
• be concise, specific, and to the point 
• effectively summarize the story 
• "feature the feature" (see details above)
• include attribution (the source) if needed for credibility 
• give the title or position for any person mentioned 
• should not include personal pronouns such as "we" and "you" 
• should not include a reporter's opinion. News articles are not an editorial. Ever. Keep your own opinions to yourself. [note: we will be practicing the editorial and review later in this course!]

FEATURE THE FEATURE

Depending on what you decide is most important, any one of the 5W's or H could be featured, which means it is placed first in the opening sentence. Take a look at the follow facts:

Who: Washington television station
What: withdrew from a project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower
When: today
Where: in Silver Spring
Why: declining revenues
How: board of directors decided

The lead might read: A Washington television station announced its withdrawal today from a project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower in Silver Spring.

Whichever of the 5W's is mentioned first is featured in the lead.

• When the who is featured, it is called a name lead. The example above is a name lead. It features the Washington television station. 
• When the what is featured, it is called an event lead. Ex. Withdrawal from a project to construct a 1,200-foot television tower in Silver Spring was announced today by a Washington television station. This lead, however, is awkward because it is in passive voice; in other words, the one doing the action (the Washington television station) is at the end of the sentence as the object. Active voice requires that the subject of the sentence is doing the action, which means placing it first in the sentence, as in the original example. 
• When the when is featured, it is called a time lead. Ex. Today a Washington television station announced its withdrawal from a project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower in Silver Spring. 
• When the where is featured, it is called a place lead. Ex. A Silver Spring project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower was canceled today by a Washington television station. This, too, is passive rather than active voice. Avoid writing in the passive voice. 
• When the why is featured it is called a cause lead. Ex. Because of declining revenues, a Washington television station announced its withdrawal today from a project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower in Silver Spring. 
• When how is featured, it is called a manner lead. Ex. After a decision by the board of directors of a Washington television station, a project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower in Silver Spring has been canceled.

The most used openings for leads are the who and the what. The least used or weakest, are where and when. Rarely are place and time the most important aspects of the story, although they are usually included in the lead paragraph.

Below are examples of leads which feature the various 5W's & H. The words that make up the "W" that is featured are in bold face type.

EXAMPLES. PLEASE READ & NOTE:

WHO (name lead)

• "Many gay and bisexual teens know plenty about AIDS and still don't protect themselves against the disease, two studies indicate." 
• "A railroad worker threw a switch too soon and sent an Amtrak passenger train crashing head-on into a parked freight train, killing two people and injuring 44 others, investigators said Saturday." (However, even though this begins with the who, the lead co-features the why, the cause of the train wreck.)
• "Reckless drivers who don't seem to be drunk may well be high on cocaine or marijuana, according to roadside tests that indicate drugs may rival alcohol as a hazard on the highway."

WHAT (event lead)

• Jars and cans tumbled off store shelves and telephone poles swayed when an earthquake that was a "real good shaker" rumbled through Central California yesterday. 
• A pack of wild monkeys terrorized a seaside resort town south of Tokyo last week, attacking 30 people and sending eight of them to the hospital with bites. (This also co-features the who or NAME LEAD.)
• A would-be victim turned the tables on a suspected burglar early Sunday, sending him running from her house with a bullet wound to his chest, police said. (This also CO-features the who or NAME LEAD.)

WHY (cause lead)

• With more amateurs cutting wood for use as an alternative to high-priced heating oil, hospitals are coping with an increasing number of injuries due to chain-saw accidents, reported the American College of Surgeons.
• Two railway technicians who overlooked a wheel problem may be charged with negligent manslaughter in Germany's worst rail disaster, a news magazine reported Saturday. (This also co-features the who or NAME LEAD.)

HOW (manner lead)

• Louisiana-Pacific Corp. plans to sell seven out-of-state lumber mills and expand production at 17 others in order to boost output by up to 40 percent. (The how in this lead is also the what or EVENT LEAD.)

Examples of when and where leads (time and place) are not given here because you should avoid using them. Professionals avoid them, so examples are hard to find.

We can learn how to "feature the feature" and avoid other mistakes by looking at examples of poorly written leads. Here are a few examples of the kinds of things to avoid:

• Ineffective: Sen. Robert Brown spoke to the assembled student body of Oakdale High School at 3 p.m. in the high school gym.
• Who spoke is usually secondary in importance to what was said. And, the mechanical details -- time, date and place -- do not necessarily have to be included in the lead, since the event has already taken place. They can be worked in later, perhaps the second or third paragraph. "Assembled student body" is a burdensome, unnecessary phrase, and "high school" is used twice in one paragraph. Avoid repetition.

• Ineffective: At 3 p.m., March 18, in the high school gym, Robert Brown spoke.
• Time and date (the when angle) are almost never important enough to merit first consideration in the lead, yet they are often used to kick off a speech story. The heart of this story is not included in the lead at all. Note, too, that in this reference the title for Robert Brown (senator) has been omitted. Titles should always be included on the first mention of an individual in the story.

• Ineffective: To further our interest in ecology, Sen. Robert Brown spoke today in the high school gym.
• The why angle is usually not the most important aspect of a story and, therefore, it seldom works as the take-off point for a news story. Also, the use of second person (our), unless it's in a direct quotation, should be avoided in news writing.

• Ineffective: Last Friday, March 18, all of the sophomore, junior and senior students assembled in the gymnasium. After Student Body President Gary Winchman led the students in the flag salute, Vice Principal Barry Jones presented Sen. Robert Brown, who talked about ecology.
• This lead is filled with details that don't belong. It is basically written in chronological order rather than focusing on the "feature." It is dull, too long, and needs severe copy editing. In fact, it needs complete rewriting. It is also more than one sentence; most leads can be written as one smooth, flowing sentence.

• Ineffective: "We must clean up our rivers and streams and get the internal combustion machine out of the automobile and sit hard on the Food and Drug Administration to remove additives from our foods if we are ever going to clean up the air we breath and make our world a pleasant place to live in again," stated Robert Brown, senator, to the assembled student body of Oakdale High School on Friday, March 18, in the gym at 3 p.m.
• The quotation is too long, covers too many subjects for the lead. In addition, mechanical details such as date and time, can be worked in later. Since the event has already happened it is not necessary to tell the readers the place and exact time in the lead. "Stated" is a stuffy, greatly over-used word for attribution. Save it for quoting material from official documents rather than people.

TASK #1: Choose two articles from an online news source and examine each article's lead. Write the headline and author, the newspaper or source you found the article, and write out the lead of the article. Finally, identify the type of lead used and explain whether or not the lead is effective or ineffective and why.

TASK #2

• Examine your own articles (both your 300 word article and your 300-400 word article) and identify the type of lead you used. Write the type of lead you used on the copy. 
• Revise ONE of your articles. Revise your article to avoid common or ineffective errors like the models mentioned above. For example: Change passive voice to active voice. Clarify long sentences. Rewrite introductions. Rearrange your structure. Use the inverted pyramid structure to restructure your work. Call this draft your second draft (draft #2) and turn in WITH YOUR ORIGINAL. Note: your original draft should have your identified lead clearly marked.
• If you did not receive a copy back from me, you need to turn in your original draft for credit. Complete your writing of your 300 word article and/or your 300-400 word article if you have not yet written or turned in these drafts. Late assignments are not worth as many points for the project.

Turn in your work (tasks #1 & #2) by the end of class.

• Watch and learn more about The inverted pyramid style here at the link. 

HOMEWORK: None. Please take a look at the inverted pyramid style for news writing. Use this format when writing your own articles.

Article #2: School Related Journalism; What Makes Something Newsworthy?

Please turn in your homework. During class today, please complete the 300-400 word article and hand this in today (in-box).

300-400 word article #2

Write an article that you feel would appeal to the readers of a school newspaper. Research one of the the following topics or brainstorm a topic of your own to write about. Use the links below to help you research, compile notes/sources, and write an article of 300-400 words that serves as one of the functions of journalism. Keep ethics and the news template in mind as you write!:

• The RCSD New Releases
• The 2014-2018 Action Plan (district)
• School Supplies & Supply Lists
• ParentConnect Program
• Special Education Services for the District
• NYSED Take Action Against Testing
• The District Budget
• SOTA performance schedule/news
• SOTA Athletics
• Teen Health Issues/Topics
• More Teen Health Issues/Topics
• Teen Entertainment Ideas/Articles
• Food/Nutrition
• Technology in the Classroom
• Education News: New York Times
• Local News (NBC), (ABC), (Fox)
• World News: Democracy Now!; CNN; BBC

Turn in your article by end of class. Note: please use single-space and two columns for your article. You may also fully justify your text. (full justify as opposed to left justify)

If you finish early, please complete the following (see homework!):

What Makes Something Newsworthy?

Factors Journalists Use to Gauge How Big a Story Is by Tony Rogers

"Over the years editors, reporters and journalism professors have come up with a list of factors or criteria that help journalists decide whether something is newsworthy or not. They can also help you decide HOW newsworthy something is. Generally, the more of the factors below that can be applied to your event or story, the more newsworthy it’s bound to be. 

Impact or Consequences: Generally, the greater the impact a story has, the more newsworthy it is. Events that have on impact on your readers, that have real consequences for their lives, are bound to be newsworthy. An obvious example would be the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In how many ways have all of our lives been affected by the events of that day? The greater the impact, the bigger the story.

Conflict: If you look closely at the stories that make news in any given day, chances are most of them will have some element of conflict. Whether it’s a dispute over banning books at a local school board meeting, bickering over budget legislation in Congress, or the ultimate conflict – war – conflict is almost always newsworthy. 

Conflict is newsworthy because as human beings we’re naturally interested in conflict. Think of any book you’ve ever read or movie you’ve ever watched – they all had some type of conflict. Without conflict, there would be no literature or drama. Conflict is what propels the human drama.

Imagine two city council meetings. At the first, the council passes its annual budget unanimously with little or no argument. In the second, there is violent disagreement. Some council members want the budget to provide more city services, while others want a bare-bones budget with tax cuts. The two sides are entrenched in their positions and in the city council chambers the conflict erupts into a full-scale shouting match,

Which story is more interesting? The second, of course. Why? Conflict. Conflict is so interesting to us as humans that it can even make an otherwise dull-sounding story – the passage of a city budget – into something utterly gripping. And the ultimate conflict – war – is always a huge story.

Loss of Life/Property Destruction: There’s an old saying in the news business: If it bleeds, it leads. What that means is that any story involving loss of human life – from a fire to a shooting to a terrorist attack - is bound to be newsworthy. Likewise, nearly any story that involves property destruction on a large enough scale – a house fire is a good example - is also bound to be news.

Many stories have both loss of life and property destruction – think of the house fire in which several people perish. Obviously loss of human life is more important than property destruction, so write the story that way.

Proximity: Proximity has to do with how close an event is geographically is to your readers or viewers. A house fire with several people injured might be big news in your hometown newspaper, but chances are no one will care in the next town over. Likewise, wildfires in California usually make the national news, but clearly they’re a much bigger story for those directly affected.

Prominence: Are the people involved in your story famous or prominent? If so, the story becomes more newsworthy. For example, if an average person is injured in a car crash, chances are that won’t even make the local news. But if the president of the United States is hurt in a car crash, it makes headlines around the world.

Prominence can apply to politicians, movie stars, star athletes, CEOs – anyone who’s in the public eye. But it doesn’t have to mean someone who’s famous worldwide. The mayor of your town probably isn’t famous, even locally. But he or she is prominent in your town, which means any story involving him or her is likely to be more newsworthy. Prominence can apply on a local, national or international level.

Timeliness: In the news business we tend to focus on what’s happening this day, this hour, this minute. So events that are happening now are often more newsworthy than those that happened, say, a week ago.

Another factor that relates to timeliness is currency. This involves stories that may not have just happened but instead have an ongoing interest to your audience. For example, the rise and fall in gas prices is something that’s been happening for several years, but it’s a story that’s still relevant to your readers, so it has currency. 

Novelty: Another old saying in the news business goes, “When a dog bites a man, no one cares. When the man bites back – now that’s a news story.” The idea, of course, is that any deviation from the normal, expected course of events is something novel, and thus newsworthy

For each of the following, find a story in one of the paper sites below that fits the criteria. In 25 - 50 words for each, explain why this is so, using specific textual evidence that supports your choice. For each of the 6 articles you choose, please indicate the source (according to the New York Post article entitled ______ by _______), for example... [your attribution does not count against your 25-50 word summary/response!]

1.     Impact or consequences

2.     Conflict

3.     Loss of life /  property destruction

4.     Proximity and prominence

5.     Timeliness

6.     Novelty

 For each of the above (1-6), use a different news source from the list below. Make sure to name your source and its author. As well, make sure you choose one non-United States news source.

1. 1. New York Post  http://www.nypost.com/  

1. 2. The Village Voice    http://www.villagevoice.com/

1. 3.     Democrat and Chronicle  http://www.democratandchronicle.com/

1. 4.     Los Angeles Times  http://www.latimes.com/

1. 5.     San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/

1. 6.     Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com/

1. 7.     Honolulu Star Advertiser http://www.staradvertiser.com/

1. 8.     Catholic Courier http://www.catholiccourier.com/

1. 9.     Boston Globe http://bostonglobe.com/

1. 10.   Miami Herald http://www.miamiherald.com/

1. 11.   Toronto Sun http://www.torontosun.com/news/

1. 12.   The Telegraph (UK) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

1. 13.    Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/

1. 14.   The Standard Hong Kong http://www.thestandard.com.hk/

1. 15.   The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

1. 16. The BBC: http://www.bbc.com/

HOMEWORK: If you did not complete the assignment during class, please complete the task about something newsworthy for homework. Plan to complete and turn in your work by next class. See instructions above. 

Journalism Articles (300-400 word)

Please watch, read, and listen to PBS's multi-media news about recently deceased journalist, Gwen Ifill.

Review from last lesson:

• Introduction (1st paragraph) 3 sentences (your hook, your lead-in, and your thesis). 
• 2nd paragraph (3 sentences): a hook (topic sentence), an example, and a concluding statement summing up sentence 1 & 2. This should connect somehow to your introduction.
• 3rd paragraph (3-4 sentences): 3-4 sentences connected to the 2nd paragraph to further discussion of the topic/thesis of the article. This might be a good place to put your facts, details, etc.
• 4th paragraph (2 sentences): concluding statement & last, but not least, a restatement of your claim (thesis) and perhaps a reason we should care. 

Task #1: after reviewing the form of the 300 word article, please read the following journalism articles:
Writing Tips for News Stories (Scholastic)
Note how these articles stack up:

• Researchers Stumble Upon a Treasure Trove in Black Sea by Kim Bussing
• Florida's Stand Your Ground Law Linked to Increase in Homicides, Study Finds by Emma Margolin
• White Nationalists See Advocate in Steve Bannon by Andrew Kaczynski & Chris Massie
• Lawmakers to Facebook: Don't Let Advertisers Exclude by Race by Eric Umansky
• Choose 1 article from the article menu to your right.

Working in pairs, summarize briefly 3 of the 5 articles. While not all 300 words, how effective do you think is the article? How well written? Give some evidence from the text to support your claims.

After you discuss with your partner the value/writing of 3 articles, please turn in your responses as a group by the end of today's class. Move on to TASK #2 today.

Task #2: Let's add an inch. 300-400 word article #2

Write an article that you feel would appeal to the readers of a school newspaper. Research one of the the following topics or brainstorm a topic of your own to write about. Use the links below to help you research, compile notes/sources, and write an article of 300-400 words that serves as one of the functions of journalism. Keep ethics and the news template in mind as you write!:

• The RCSD New Releases
• The 2014-2018 Action Plan (district)
• School Supplies & Supply Lists
• ParentConnect Program
• Special Education Services for the District
• NYSED Take Action Against Testing
• The District Budget
• SOTA performance schedule/news
• SOTA Athletics
• Teen Health Issues/Topics
• More Teen Health Issues/Topics
• Teen Entertainment Ideas/Articles
• Food/Nutrition
• Technology in the Classroom
• Education News: New York Times
• Local News (NBC), (ABC), (Fox)
• World News: Democracy Now!; CNN; BBC

Turn in your article by end of class (even if you are not done!) Note: please use single-space and two columns for your article. You may also fully justify your text. (full justify as opposed to left justify)

HOMEWORK: Teen Huffington Post

Using the link above, read and surf this site for ideas for our own News Blog Site for SOTA Students. Choose 1 article from this site to review. In a paragraph or two explain: a). summarize the article (include title and author), b). what is the journalist function of the article? and c). what is your opinion of the article?

300 Word Article

Newspaper journalists usually write a column or are given "inches" to fill for each edition. For an explanation of this, please take a moment to read the short article at this link.

Golden journalist rule: One inch = about 30-35 words.

Today, write an article in the lab that will be about 8-10 "inches" (300-400 words).

300 Word Articles--the short and long of it!

There is a special kind of magazine/news article known as the 300-word article. Here is your next assignment and some "articles" about it and examples:

1. Use the link below to find a topic you would like to write about: [Choose ONLY one of the first 66 topics, please]

• http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/182-questions-to-write-or-talk-about/?_r=0

2. Once you have selected your topic, research and write a 300-400 word article. Make sure you annotate or cite your source(s).

3. Write your 300-400 word article by changing your paper to 2-columns (in other words, the writing should appear as two columns on the paper you hand in). Change your paper layout design to accommodate this.

4. Proofread and turn in when completed to complete this assignment.

Tips about writing a 300 word article by journalist Brian Nelson: 

"I am a professional writer and editor. This experience has led me to see that there are two types of three hundred word articles, those that are short and worthless, and those that are the shortest possible way to say something worthwhile.
Three hundred words sounds like a lot, but it only is to a child attempting to fulfill a quota on a boring topic.  To illustrate, I would like to point out that as you finish reading this particular sentence, you have just read 125 words. In other words, by finishing the introduction and half of the second paragraph you have read almost half of a 300 word article.
Thus, four or five paragraphs of three to five sentences each is all that a 300 word article would contain. Both writer and editor may benefit, then, from a template of sorts that ensures both readability and value in such limited writing space.
While many such templates are possible, one of the easiest to use and remember is to write an introduction of three sentences.  Then, a second paragraph which consists of a provocative first sentence.  A second sentence containing an example, and a third sentence summing up the first and second sentence in the form of a conclusion.
The third paragraph is three or four sentences applying the principals discussed in the second paragraph.  Depending upon the audience for the article, this is where the writer would discuss using the information in daily life, business, or for persuading others.  Also, any suggested paradigms.
Lastly, a concluding paragraph consisting of two sentences, one of which restates the introduction and the second of which claims the article supplies the proof or answer, depending upon the article being written.  Using this template, anyone can write useful 300 word articles in just minutes." (--by Brian Nelson)

So, if we take Mr. Nelson's advice, we have the following breakdown template:

• Introduction (1st paragraph) 3 sentences (your hook, your lead-in, and your thesis). 
• 2nd paragraph (3 sentences): a hook (topic sentence), an example, and a concluding statement summing up sentence 1 & 2. This should connect somehow to your introduction.
• 3rd paragraph (3-4 sentences): 3-4 sentences connected to the 2nd paragraph to further discussion of the topic/thesis of the article. This might be a good place to put your facts, details, etc.
• 4th paragraph (2 sentences): concluding statement & last, but not least, a restatement of your claim (thesis) and perhaps a reason we should care. 

Links for further help if you need it:

• www.drostdesigns.com/how-to-write-a-300-word-article-in-30-minutes-or-less/
• an example of a 300 word article: www.donna-warren.com/portfolio/seo.html

Please complete and turn in by end of class.

If you finish early, please search the internet for a newspaper article (you may find a few). Print out the article, read it, and summarize the article. If you do not complete this today in the lab, please complete as homework.

HOMEWORK: Find an article from the news. Print it. Read it. Summarize it. Hand in your summary Tuesday, Nov. 15.