NOTES ON MENCHERCHAPTERS 2 & 3COMM 260W – Fall 2015

Furness

COMPONENTS OF A NEWS STORYChapter 2

News stories must have:• A ccuracy of fact and language.• B revity in making the point succinctly.• C larity so there is no doubt about what happened.

News stories need to be:

Accurate – info is verified (pg 40)• Names, job titles, names of places, etc.• Precision with writing, descriptions, terms, verbs (think of

“he fled the meeting promptly” vs. “he departed the meeting promptly”)

News stories need to be:

Properly Attributed – reporter identifies sources• Attribution refers to two concepts: 1. Statements are

attributed to the person making them, 2. Information about the events not witnessed by the reporter is attributed to the source of the information.

• Sometimes people are off-record or for background only, otherwise should be mentioned

• Attributing material to a source does not prove its truth. All a reporter does when attributing information is to place responsibility for it with the source named in the story. Attribution says only: It is true that the source said this.

News stories need to be:

Complete – contains specifics that support the lead• Complete stories are written by reporters who anticipate

and answer the questions their readers, viewers and listeners will ask.

• Every generality in your story should be followed by a specific: Highest: How high. Most: How many. Way down: How low.

News stories need to be:

Balanced and Fair• All sides are presented…to a degree. SEE POINT #1 in the

recommended Rosen reading.

The Washington Post “Deskbook of Style” makes these points:• No story is fair if it omits facts of major importance or significance. So fairness

includes completeness.

• No story is fair if it includes essentially irrelevant information at the expense

of signifi cant facts. So fairness includes relevance.

• No story is fair if it consciously or unconsciously misleads or deceives the

reader. So fairness includes honesty—leveling with the reader.

• No story is fair if reporters hide their biases or emotions behind such subtly

pejorative words as “refused,” “despite,” “admit.” So fairness requires

straightforwardness ahead of fl ashiness.

• No story is fair if innocent people are hurt.

News stories need to be:• Objective – writer is dispassionate.• Brief and Focused – gets to the point, sticks to the point.• Well-written – stories are Clear, Timely, Interesting and

GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT.

WHAT IS NEWS?Chapter 3

News Values• Timeliness – Events that are immediate & recent.• Impact – Events likely to affect many people.• Prominence – Events involving well-known people or

institutions.• Proximity – Events that are geographically and

emotionally close to readers.• Conflict – Strife, antagonism, warfare have provided the

basis of stories since early peoples drew pictures on their cave walls of their confrontations with the beasts that surrounded them.

News Values Cont.• Unusual – Events that deviate sharply from the expected,

that depart considerably from the experiences of everyday life make news.

• Currency – Occasionally, a situation long simmering will suddenly emerge as the subject of discussion and attention.

• Necessity – The journalist has discovered something he or she feels it is necessary to disclose.