JOURNALISM EDUCATION CONCEPTUAL & STRUCTURAL GUIDES By JOEMAR L. FURIGAY
GETTING STARTED THE IMPORTANCE OF STOCK KNOWLEDGE
• WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW WELL, BY HEART • LEARNED FROM YEARS OF EXPERIENCE/EXPOSURE • GAINED FROM LOTS OF READING AND WRITING • LEARNED FROM THE WISE AND EXPERTS
GETTING STARTED START WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT/INTERESTING NEWS VALUE • ODDITY/RARITY/EXEMPLARY • PROXIMITY • EMOTIONAL APPEAL – DRAMA, CONFLICT, COMEDY, IRONY • HISTORICAL ASPECT/ HISTORIC FACT • SENSORY APPEAL—VISUAL, AUDIO, TEXTURE, SIZE, LENGTH, WIDTH/BREADTH
HOW NOT TO GET STARTED DON’T EVEN THINK OF TRYING TO IMPRESS YOUR AUDIENCE WITH BIG AND LONG WORDS THAT YOU DON’T EVEN USE IN YOUR ORDINARY DAILY CONVERSATION
DON’T USE ANY TECHNIQUE, DEVICE OR SET OF WORDS THAT WOULD BE FAMILIAR ONLY TO YOU OR TO A FEW AND UNKNOWN TO MOST PEOPLE.
NEWS VALUES Time-honored News Values 1. TIMELINESS
OF PUBLIC INTEREST
2. PROMINENCE 3. PROXIMITY
New News Values
4. IMPACT
(As proposed by Poynter)
5. RELEVANCE
AUTHENTICITY
PERSPECTIVE
VERIFICATION
ACCOUNTABILITY
6. HUMAN INTEREST 7. RARITY/ODDITY 8. SIGNIFICANCE/ IMPORTANCE 9. CURRENCY 10. CONFLICT
NEWS ANGLE LOOK FOR: •What is NEW, NOW, JUST HAPPENED •What will likely happen NEXT •What will happen SOON •Who is immediately or will soon be affected by or involved in what happened or will happen •What has changed either slightly or significantly
• Try to think like a working journalist instead of like a student or teacher.
• Recall the News Values and look for them in the story before you. • Look for specifics, not generics.
OVERALL POINTERS
Most important FIRST.
Not chronological
Focus on facts. No fiction. Just facts. Attribution Direct to the point, Economy of words No to one-sourced stories Varied perspectives and dimensions
ACCURACY BALANCE CLARITY,
COHESION
DELIVERED WITH UNITY
ETHICAL FLOW
OVERALL POINTERS
Subject-verb agreement
Spelling, punctuation
Use of prepositions
Use of pronouns
Proper tenses of verbs Sentence construction
Whether ENGLISH Or FILIPINO
REMINDERS
Journalism writing is very different from essay writing. In essay writing, you start gradually, introduce, set the stage before you even go into discussing the main subject matter. With journalism articles, you start STRONG, tackle the subject matter IMMEDIATELY. Whether the article is news, feature, opinion, investigative, or documentary. Journalism is history in a hurry. The ideas are expressed in an urgent pace. Do not waste your reader's time. Your article should be readable in a matter of minutes.
Typology of Articles • Timing: Advancer, Live, On The Day, Day After/Post-Event, Timeless Feature • Storytelling Approach/Method: News, Feature, Opinion, Investigative, Images, Sound, Videos, Infographics • Subject: Events, People, Places, Issues, Situations • Topics: Hard News, Features, Editorials, Opinions, Sports, Science, Lifestyle, Entertainment
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How to write the Lead Typical Lead: The Department of Education (what the DepEd did) at (where) on (when). Better Lead: (Who, what, so what) The Department of Education (what the DepEd did/will do) to (why the DepEd did what it did) by (how the DepEd did/will do what it said it did/will do) at (where) on (when).
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How to write the Lead Even Better Lead:
The Department of Education (what the DepEd did/will do) to (why the DepEd did what it did) by (how the DepEd did/will do what it said it did/will do) at (where) on (when). WRITE ALL OF IT IN 35 WORDS OR LESS. 12
How to write the Lead Much Better Lead: (Who will directly benefit from what the DepEd did or will do) (What the DepEd did/will do) (Why did/will the DepEd do/will do what it said it did/will do) (How the DepEd did/will do what it said it did/will do), the Department of Education (DepEd) said (when).
The (what the DepEd did/will do) (when the DepEd did/will do what it said it will do). 13
The Body of the Article • The second paragraph supports the thrust of the lead • Back up the lead with an authoritative quote about something specific or concrete (no motherhood statements please) • Follow the hierarchy of facts of your lead when presenting the details of the story in the body • As much as possible, give your news a face of real live person/s. Include quote/s from a person/s who will feel the impact of the news. Not a fictitious person. Real and alive. • Close or end the article with a substantive quote and with information on what is expected to happen next 14 about the story subject.
Hallmarks of Effective Storytelling in Journalism Articles
People-focused. Emphasis on the people whose lives will be affected or changed. They are the real VIPs. Give your story a real person's face. The usual VIPs are for paragraph 3 or 4 in the body of the story as supporting details. Mention the VIP in the lead or in the 2nd paragraph if that VIP is your source or attribution. 15
Hallmarks of Effective Storytelling in Press Releases
Always address this point: Why does your news matter to the people? Let the body of the story elaborate on why your news matters. Show how it matters. Money matters. How much programs and projects cost matters. Cost to the proponent and cost to the beneficiary. People are practical. Money means practical, doability or lack thereof.
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HIERARCHY OF FACTS Lead:
2nd para – Details of WHO
Who is affected
QUOTE 1
What happened
3rd para – Details of WHAT 4th para – Details of WHY
Why did it happen
5th para – Details of HOW
How it happened ===============
6th para – Details of WHERE
Where it happened
7th para – Details of WHEN QUOTE 2
When it happened Source/attribution WHO, WHAT, WHY, HOW MAY BE INTERCHANGED DEPENDING ON THEIR RANKING IMPORTANCE
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8th para – Other details from the Source
10 PARAGRAPHS TOTAL
WRITING NEWS
The Inverted Pyramid (Associated Press style)
The Nut Graf (Wall Street Journal style)
Newsfeature, Hourglass (Roy Peter Clark, American Journalism Review; Poynter) Five Boxes http://www.poynter.org/2002/helping-writerstake-charge-five-tools-for-editors-5/3929/
The Personality Profile
The Case Study approach (for investigatives)
News Lead Examples
Typical and plain. The Department of Education reopened on Monday the application process for senior high school (SHS) vouchers.
Better. The Department of Education on Monday reopened the application process for senior high school (SHS) vouchers for Grade 11 students intending to enrol in private schools for the coming school year.
News Lead Examples
Much better. Incoming Grade 11 students seeking to enrol in private schools can apply again for senior high school (SHS) vouchers, the Department of Education said on Monday.
Much, Much better. Incoming Grade 11 students seeking to enrol in private schools can apply again for senior high school (SHS) vouchers, the Department of Education said on Monday, less than two months before the next school year opens.
News Lead Examples
Improved further. Incoming Grade 11 students seeking to enrol in private schools can apply again for senior high school vouchers, the Department of Education said on Monday, less than two months before the next school year opens and SHS is implemented in the country for the first time. Much improved. Incoming Grade 11 students seeking to enrol in private schools can apply again for senior high school vouchers, the Education Department said on Monday, 53 days before SHS is implemented nationwide for the first time.
Pointers
Lead: 35 words or less (up to 10-12 seconds in Filipino or other language) Often the most important fact answers the question “WHO WILL GAIN OR BENEFIT OR FEEL THE IMPACT OF WHAT HAPPENED?. There are three kinds of WHO:
Who made or generated the news?
Who will gain/benefit or feel the impact of what happened?
Who is the source/attribution of the details of the facts reported?
The Inverted Pyramid
Writing the News Article • • • •
Straight News
Lead Body Headline Story Length
• Lead: Direct to the point; Declarative sentences; Simple, compound, complex, compound-complex; 35 words or less • Body: 10 paragraphs or more, Two quotes (one in the 2nd/3rd paragraph and the other at the tail end of the Story), Sequence of information follows the order of appearance of facts in the lead • Headline: Summary of the Story
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The news is NOT... The signing of the memorandum of agreement The inauguration of a building The conduct of a seminar The launch of a program/project The visit to a project site
The meeting of two or more people The introduction of a new product
The issuance of a new directive, order, memorandum The award that you received 25
The news is... Not Just the EVENT The NEWS is what that event MEANS TO AND HOW IT AFFECTS PEOPLE. Not just the PEOPLE The NEWS is how and why those people MATTER TO OTHER PEOPLE. Not just the ISSUE The NEWS is how and why that issue IS AFFECTING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. Not just the situation The NEWS is how and why that situation INVOLVES MANY PEOPLE AND CHANGES PEOPLES' LIVES. 26
