Different kinds of leads here:
http://www.notrain-nogain.org/Train/Res/WriteARC/lex.asp
By the way, in this instance, the word "lexicon" means a collection of terms used in a particular profession. So the lexicon of leads refers to all the ways leads are talked about by writers and journalists.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Today's Objectives
1. Identify who you are going to interview, and describe what makes them qualified to speak on your topic.
2. List at least 10 open-ended questions that you plan on asking this person in your upcoming interview.
Remember, one of our core values is curiosity.
2. List at least 10 open-ended questions that you plan on asking this person in your upcoming interview.
Remember, one of our core values is curiosity.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Power of Leads
(before computers, they were called "ledes")
Read this first:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=35609
Read this for examples of good leads:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=35612
One more source:
http://www.poynter.org/resource/35609/PowerofLeads.pdf
Read this first:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=35609
Read this for examples of good leads:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=35612
One more source:
http://www.poynter.org/resource/35609/PowerofLeads.pdf
Monday, February 22, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
News Story assignment
You will need to post a news story on your blog, by the end of class Friday.
We've discussed two kinds of leads already.
Here are two examples of news stories about the same topic: the government is beginning to ban texting while driving.
This is from a student newspaper.
This is from CNN, a professional news site.
Notice some of the basic parts of a news story.
You have a lede, which is the start of the story.
You have the actual news, or what happened that is important enough to share.
You have the background facts that talk about why the news is important.
You have some quotes from some of the stakeholders, or the people who consider this an important issue.
In every news story, you should aim to answer 7 questions:
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
So What?
Click here for some more background on those seven questions.
Your assignment is to write a news story on a topic of your choice for your blog. It will be due Friday at the end of class. You need to answer all seven questions.
We've discussed two kinds of leads already.
Here are two examples of news stories about the same topic: the government is beginning to ban texting while driving.
This is from a student newspaper.
This is from CNN, a professional news site.
Notice some of the basic parts of a news story.
You have a lede, which is the start of the story.
You have the actual news, or what happened that is important enough to share.
You have the background facts that talk about why the news is important.
You have some quotes from some of the stakeholders, or the people who consider this an important issue.
In every news story, you should aim to answer 7 questions:
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
So What?
Click here for some more background on those seven questions.
Your assignment is to write a news story on a topic of your choice for your blog. It will be due Friday at the end of class. You need to answer all seven questions.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
what is news?
What is news?
-Truth, information, without bias, current, important enough for other people to know.
-Related to specific real-life person, event, happening, statistic or fact.
-What is important for some may not be important for someone else.
-There is judgment of what is news.
-If your topic is drunk driving, drunk driving itself is not the news. The news is that someone was arrested for drunk driving, or someone killed an innocent person while drunk driving, or a law was passed about drunk driving.
-If your topic is photography, then photography itself is not the news. The news is that a famous photographer is coming to town, or that the local museum has a new photography exhibit, or that Canon – a company that makes cameras – has released a new kind of camera.
Elements of a news story:
Lead: the beginning of the story.
The Nut Graph: “In a nutshell” what is the news?
Sometimes the nut graph and the lead are the same; sometimes, they’re not.
All news stories should answer the 7 basic journalistic questions:
Who
What
When
Where
Why
How
So What
-Truth, information, without bias, current, important enough for other people to know.
-Related to specific real-life person, event, happening, statistic or fact.
-What is important for some may not be important for someone else.
-There is judgment of what is news.
-If your topic is drunk driving, drunk driving itself is not the news. The news is that someone was arrested for drunk driving, or someone killed an innocent person while drunk driving, or a law was passed about drunk driving.
-If your topic is photography, then photography itself is not the news. The news is that a famous photographer is coming to town, or that the local museum has a new photography exhibit, or that Canon – a company that makes cameras – has released a new kind of camera.
Elements of a news story:
Lead: the beginning of the story.
The Nut Graph: “In a nutshell” what is the news?
Sometimes the nut graph and the lead are the same; sometimes, they’re not.
All news stories should answer the 7 basic journalistic questions:
Who
What
When
Where
Why
How
So What
two kinds of news story leads
Your basic "what happened story..." - hard news lead
Example #1
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002189982_webcaphillfire25.html
Example #2
http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=4903388
A "softer lead" where the actual news comes a little bit later...
Example #1
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20050207&slug=lunar07m
Example #2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR2010012503078.html
Example #1
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002189982_webcaphillfire25.html
Example #2
http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=4903388
A "softer lead" where the actual news comes a little bit later...
Example #1
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20050207&slug=lunar07m
Example #2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR2010012503078.html
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Your first assignment
Hello,
I'd like you to respond to this post by giving me your blog's web address. Write it below in the comments section.
Your first assignment is to post your vision statement for the blog. A couple sentences will do.
You can start it with, "This blog is about..." or "In this blog, I plan to..."
Then, I want you to post a picture on your blog somewhere.
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