| Variant title |
Writing and reporting for the media |
| Contents |
Machine generated contents note: SECTION I THE TOOLS OF JOURNALISM -- ch. 1 Journalism Today -- Technology and Journalism -- Types of News -- Evolution of the News Business -- Journalism as a Profession -- Journalism Competencies -- The Modern Journalist -- Journalism Style -- AP Stylebook -- Journalism Terms -- Copy-Editing -- Copy Format -- The Writing Coach: The "N.E.R.D." Factor in Getting a Job -- ch. 2 Selecting and Reporting the News -- News Characteristics and News Elements -- Timeliness -- Impact or Magnitude -- Prominence -- Proximity -- Unusualness -- Conflict -- Other Characteristics -- The Nature of the Medium and the Community -- Types of News -- The Concept of Objectivity -- What Is Not Newsworthy? -- Offensive Details -- Sensationalism -- Rumors -- Sexual Assault -- Names of Juveniles -- Trade Names -- The Importance of Accuracy -- Accuracy in Facts -- Accuracy in Names -- Accuracy Is a Priority -- Guest Columnist: Why I Stayed at a Small-Town Newspaper |
| Contents |
Note continued: The Reporter's Guide to Accuracy -- Review Exercises -- ch. 3 Newswriting Style -- Simplify Words, Sentences and Paragraphs -- Eliminate Unnecessary Words -- Quiz -- Remain Objective -- Respecting Diversity -- Racism -- Sexism -- Ageism -- Avoid Stereotyping Other Groups -- Additional Newswriting Considerations for Digital Media -- The Reporter's Guide to Newswriting Style -- Review Exercises -- ch. 4 The Language of News -- The Effectiveness of Words -- Mastering Grammar -- Nouns -- Verbs -- Independent and Dependent Clauses -- Active and Passive Voice -- Appositives -- Common Grammatical Errors -- Run-on Sentences -- Comma Splices -- Agreement Errors -- "That" -- "Which" Confusion -- "Who" -- "Whom" Confusion -- Misplaced Modifiers -- Dangling Modifiers -- Personification -- Parallelism -- Syntax -- Spelling -- Punctuation -- Writing Like a Pro -- Diction -- Precision -- Use Strong Verbs -- Problems to Avoid -- Overuse of Adjectives and Adverbs |
| Contents |
Note continued: Cliches -- Slang -- Technical Language and Jargon -- Euphemisms -- Profanity -- Stating the Obvious -- First-Person References -- Negative Constructions -- Echo -- Gush -- Vague Time References -- Use of the Present Tense -- Excessive Punctuation -- The Writing Coach: Become a Power Lifter When Picking Verbs -- The Reporter's Guide to the Language of News -- Review Exercises -- SECTION II THE LAW AND ETHICS OF JOURNALISM -- ch. 5 Libel, Privacy and Newsgathering Issues -- Libel -- The Elements of a Libel Suit -- Who Is a Public Official? Who Is a Public Figure? -- Major Defenses to Libel Suits -- Steps for Avoiding Libel Suits -- Privacy -- Intrusion -- Giving Publicity to Private Facts -- False Light -- Appropriation -- Newsgathering Issues -- Access to Nonjudicial Events and Records -- Access to Judicial Proceedings -- Confidentiality for Sources and Information -- The Reporter's Guide to Libel, Privacy and Newsgathering Issues -- Review Exercises |
| Contents |
Note continued: ch. 6 Ethics -- Codes of Ethics -- Ethical Decision Making -- Who and How Many? [Two Questions] -- What Is the Purpose of the Story? [Two Follow-Up Questions] -- Can I Explain My Decision? [Six Questions] -- The Potter Box -- News Media Credibility Considerations -- Ethics Issues Regarding Conduct -- Plagiarizing and Fabricating Information: Never Acceptable -- Finding Sources -- Recording Interviews: Audio Recorders and Video Cameras -- Eliminating Conflicts of Interest -- Maintaining Objectivity -- Interviewing Victims -- Respecting Privacy of Sources -- Avoiding Deceit: Posing and Misrepresentation -- Witnessing Crimes and Disasters -- Ethics Issues Regarding Content -- Avoiding Speculation: Get the Facts and Provide Accurate Context -- Using Visuals: Newsworthy or Sensational? -- Altering Images -- Deciding When to Name Names -- Covering Killers -- Reporting on Public Figures and Celebrities -- Reporting Rumors and Speculation |
| Contents |
Note continued: Reporting on Terrorism -- Publishing Ads -- The Writing Coach: Journalists Should Understand: Victims Face Wall of Grief -- The Reporter's Guide to Ethics -- Review Exercises -- SECTION III THE BASIC SKILLS OF JOURNALISM -- ch. 7 Basic News Leads -- Prewriting -- Identifying the Central Point -- Story Outlines -- Planning the Digital Story -- The Summary News Lead -- Sentence Structure in Leads -- Guidelines for Writing Effective Leads -- Be Concise -- Be Specific -- Use Strong, Active Verbs -- Emphasize the Magnitude of the Story -- Stress the Unusual -- Localize and Update -- Be Objective and Attribute Opinions -- Strive for Simplicity -- Some Common Errors -- Beginning with the Attribution -- Minimizing the News -- Using Agenda Leads -- Using Label Leads -- Listing Details -- Stating the Obvious -- Reporting the Negative -- Exaggerating -- Distorting the Story -- Following All the Rules -- Forgetting Your Audience -- Using the First Draft |
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Note continued: The Writing Coach: Oh Where, Oh Where Does the Time Element Go? -- The Reporter's Guide to Writing Leads -- Review Exercises -- ch. 8 Alternative Leads -- Criticisms -- Types of Alternative Leads -- "Buried" or "Delayed" Leads -- Multiparagraph Leads -- Quotation Leads -- Question Leads -- Suspenseful Leads -- Descriptive Leads -- Shockers: Leads with a Twist -- Ironic Leads -- Direct-Address Leads -- Words Used in Unusual Ways -- Other Unusual Leads -- The Reporter's Guide to Writing Alternative Leads -- Review Exercises -- ch. 9 The Body of a News Story -- The Inverted-Pyramid Style -- Organizing the Information -- Writing the Second Paragraph -- Ending the Story -- Complex Stories -- The Hourglass Style -- The Focus Style -- The Narrative Style -- Using Transitions -- Explain the Unfamiliar -- The Importance of Examples -- The Use of Description -- The Need to Be Fair -- The Final Step: Edit Your Story |
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Note continued: The Writing Coach: How to Find the Right Endings to Stories -- The Reporter's Guide to Writing News Stories -- Review Exercises -- ch. 10 Quotations and Attribution -- Quotations -- When to Use Direct Quotations -- When to Use Indirect Quotations -- When to Use Partial Quotations -- When Sources Seek Quote Approval -- Blending Quotations and Narrative -- Explaining Quotations -- To Change or Not to Change Quotations -- Deleting Profanities -- Editorialization -- Attribution -- The Purpose of Attribution -- Statements That Require Attribution -- Guidelines for the Placement and Frequency of Attribution -- Direct Quotations -- Partial Quotations -- Indirect Quotations -- Word Choice in Attributing Statements -- Identifying Sources -- The Writing Coach: Do You Use Said Enough? -- The Reporter's Guide to Quotations and Attribution -- Review Exercises -- ch. 11 Interviewing -- Preparing for the Interview -- Selecting Interview Sources |
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Note continued: Researching Sources and Topics -- Preparing Questions for the Interview -- Conducting the Interview -- Selecting a Location -- Organizing the Questions -- Dealing with Reluctant Sources and Asking Tough Questions -- Special Situations -- Taking Notes -- Recording Interviews -- Final Thoughts -- Writing the Interview Story -- Guest Columnist: Interviewing Three People about a Deadly Accident -- The Reporter's Guide to Interviewing -- Review Exercises -- ch. 12 Feature Stories -- Finding Story Ideas and Gathering Information -- Parts of Feature Stories -- The Lead of a Feature Story -- The Body of a Feature Story -- The Ending of a Feature Story -- Types of Feature Stories -- Profiles or Personality Features -- Historical Features -- Adventure Features -- Seasonal Features -- Explanatory Features -- How-to-Do-It Features -- Occupation or Hobby Features -- Behind-the-Scenes Features -- Participatory Features -- Other Types of Feature Stories |
| Contents |
Note continued: The Reporter's Guide to Features -- Review Exercises -- ch. 13 Writing for Broadcast News -- The Broadcast News Story -- Leads -- The Hard Lead -- The Soft Lead -- The Throwaway Lead -- The Umbrella Lead -- The Body of a Story -- Updating Broadcast News Stories -- Guidelines for Copy Preparation -- Formatting Copy -- Editing Copy -- Timing Copy -- Reviewing Copy -- Story Length -- Story Script -- Using Audio -- Using Video -- Sources for Broadcast News -- News Services -- Newspapers, Online News and Broadcast News Sources -- Public Relations News Releases -- People -- Broadcast Interviews -- Writing the Broadcast Story -- Writing for the Audience -- Writing for Your Announcer -- Being a Broadcast Journalist -- The Reporter's Guide to Broadcast News Writing Style -- Review Exercises -- ch. 14 Visual Journalism -- The Roots of Visual Journalism -- Visual Journalism Today -- Ethics of Visual Journalism -- The Digital News Package -- Capturing Photographs |
| Contents |
Note continued: Capturing Video -- Creating Good Video -- Capturing Audio -- Required Technology -- Digital Video Recorder -- Digital Camera -- Digital Audio Recorder -- The Reporter's Guide to Visual Journalism -- Review Exercises -- SECTION IV APPLYING THE SKILLS OF JOURNALISM -- ch. 15 Speeches and Meetings -- Advance Stories -- Covering the Speech of Meeting -- Follow Stories -- Organizing Speech or Meeting Stories -- Writing Effective Leads -- Writing Transitions -- Remember Your Audience -- Check Facts -- Adding Color -- Report What You Hear -- Describe What You See -- The Writing Coach: The Expectations of Public Officials toward Journalists -- The Reporter's Guide to Reporting Speeches and Meetings -- Review Exercises -- ch. 16 Brights, Follow-Ups, Roundups, Sidebars and Obituaries -- Brights -- Follow-Ups -- Roundups -- Sidebars -- Obituaries -- Writing the Biographical Obituary -- Writing the Feature Obituary |
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Note continued: The Reporter's Guide to Writing Brights, Follow-Ups, Roundups, Sidebars and Obituaries -- Review Exercises -- ch. 17 Public Affairs Reporting -- Crime and Accidents -- Police Sources -- Key Police Documents -- Respecting Victims -- Writing the Crime or Accident Story -- Local Government -- City and County Governments -- School Districts -- Courts -- General Information about the Court System -- Criminal Cases -- Civil Cases -- Guest Columnist: Developing Sources on the Police Beat -- Guest Columnist: Journalists Deliver the Information the Public Needs -- The Reporter's Guide to Public Affairs Reporting -- Review Exercises -- ch. 18 Introduction to Investigative Reporting -- What Is Investigative Reporting? -- Whom and What to Investigate -- Developing an Investigative Story -- The Story Idea -- Resources -- Planning the Story -- Gathering Documents -- Developing Sources -- The Investigative Interview -- Writing the Investigative Story |
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Note continued: Using Technology in Investigative Reporting -- Using Computers to Get Answers -- Using Social Media -- Using Statistics -- Ethical Issues in Investigative Reporting -- Guest Columnist: Developing Investigative Story Ideas -- The Reporter's Guide to Investigative Reporting -- Review Exercises -- ch. 19 Journalism and Public Relations -- What Is PR? -- PR Agencies -- Corporate, Nonprofit and Government PR -- Working with News Media -- Advance Stories -- Event Stories -- Features -- Discoveries and Results -- Tips for Effective News Releases -- List a Contact and a Follow-Up Person -- Send the Release on Time -- Use Journalism's Five W's -- Write Well -- Localize Information -- Provide Visuals -- Provide Links -- From the Journalist's Perspective: Working with Press Releases -- The No. 1 Problem: Lack of Newsworthiness -- Limited Interest -- Contrived Events -- Rewriting for Newsworthiness -- Rewriting for Wordiness |
| Contents |
Note continued: The No. 2 Problem: Lack of Objectivity -- Advertisements -- Eliminating Laudatory Adjectives and Puffery -- Telling the Public What to Do -- Other Problems with News Releases -- Stating the Obvious -- Absence of Solid Facts -- One-Sided Stories -- The Reporter's Guide to Public Relations -- Review Exercises. |
| Abstract |
A former United States Poet Laureate shares secrets about viewing the world from a poet's perspective, explaining how "jabberwalking" poets draw inspiration from everything they experience to express themselves in creative ways. |
| General note | Includes index. |
| Genre/form | Problems and exercises. |
| Genre/form | Didactic poetry. |
| Genre/form | Didactic poetry. |
| LCCN | 2018019923 |
| ISBN | 9780190649425 (paperback text) |
| ISBN | 0190649429 (paperback text) |
