Week 6: Journalism 2001October 18, 2010

Its’, its or it’s?

1. Its2. Its’3. Or it’s?

Egradebook Doublecheck assignments correct in egradebook:

– http://www.d.umn.edu/egradebook

Mid-term alerts to students with Ds, Fs

If grading today:– A: 90+– B: 75-89– C: 60-74– D: 45-59– F: 0-44

Review of last week’s news

Hard News:(murders, city council, government, etc.)– Major local stories– Major national/international stories– Major sports stories

Soft News:(retirements, school programs, human interest)– Local stories– National/international stories– Sports stories

North Dakota Proposal!

Due Tonight: Police beat story

Covering speeches

Speeches: Before, during …– Before

Research the speaker.

Request an advance copy of speech.

Ask if picture- taking will be allowed.

– During Get a good seat. Estimate the size

of the audience. Monitor the mood

of the crowd. Take along a tape

recorder.

Covering speeches

… and after– After

Create a compelling lead.

Avoid topic leads. Include minimal

background/ biographical data.

Highlight speaker’s key points.

Convey tone of speech.

Beware of false or libelous comments.

Speech story checklist

Speaker’s name Relevant

credentials Reason for speech Time, day and

location

Description of audience

QuotesCommentsResponsesSpeaker’s fee

Hard News 2: Attend City Council Meeting next Monday, October 25

Story Due:– Thursday, October 29

Covering meetings

Explain issues, how decisions are made, and what it means

– Start with research.

– Clarify. Condense. Concentrate.

– Encourage readers to attend meetings.

– Go early.– Dress

appropriately.

Covering meetings

Explain issues, how decisions are made, and what it means

– Stick around after the meeting.

– Distill meandering malarkey into meaningful news.

– Remember, meetings are not always news.

Covering meetings

Meeting story checklistGroup/agency

nameLocation and length

of meeting Important decisionsQuotesReactions

Crowd sizeAtmosphereGraphicsUnusual eventsWhat happens

next?

Covering meetings

Personalizing meetings– Write about real

people.– Write about real

issues.– Look for ways to

involve your readers.

Where to find info about next week’s meeting?

Duluth City Council Agenda:– http://www.duluthmn.gov/

Let’s look at last year’s class

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/lkragnes/fall2009jour2001umd/

Covering politics

Covering campaigns and elections– Prioritize.– Get to know the

candidates.– Do your homework.– Use reliable experts.– Decide what matters.– Brainstorm story ideas.– Spread onto the Web.

Covering politics

Keeping tabs of governmental policies and players

– Decision making– The election

process– Money

Getting the facts Meetings Speeches News releases News conferences Network of sources Documents

Unfortunate truths about covering politics

– Politicians lie.– Politicians will

schmooze you so they can use you.

– People don’t want to read about government process.

5

– Everybody believes your stories are biased.

– You must peel away layer after layer to get to the truth.

An awfully long day…

Another wayward sign! What’s the correct spelling?

1. Souvenirs!2. Souvanirs

Sports Reporting Assignment

Final story due: November 8 Any challenges?

Out-of-Class Assignment:Due October 25

From information provided the University of North Carolina, write a short story about a survey the students completed.

Write your story in Microsoft Word, doublespaced, and email a copy of the story as an attachment to: lkragnes

Make sure to copy yourself on the email

Hard News 1 Stories Interesting stories! A lot of red marks: Next story will be

easier…–Constructive criticism that will help

you write your next story Stick to third person, past tense Watch style errors

–Dates, titles, numerals, spelling Remember the 5Ws and H!

Avoid restating question Many used quotes effectively

– High up in story, direct and indirect Need demographic information to give

reader perspective:– What’s that?

Age, where from, where went to college, One sentence summary lead the strongest Punctuation inside quote marks

– “Blah blah blah,” she said.

For rewrites…

Include where/when interviews conducted

Work in candidates’ names Take out opinions! Keep quotes from sources together Use one source per paragraph Fix style errors! Paragraphs 2-3 sentences max

Election day is approaching and college students from the Duluth area may not be certain whom they will cast their gubernatorial vote for yet, but they’re certain that higher education is important to them.

With the governor election in a few weeks, voters still have time to learn about the candidates and issues, and that is time they just might need.

While shopping in Wal-Mart last week, Duluth residents ranked education as the highest among important issues addressed in the upcoming Minnesota governor election.

As the next election for Minnesota governor quickly approaches this November, students at the University of Minnesota Duluth are expressing their plans to vote due to concerns about higher education and job opportunities.

Former Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton holds a significant lead over the Republican state Rep. Tom Emmer in the Minnesota gubernatorial election, a recent study conducted among Duluth residents in Mount Royal Fine Foods has found.

In-class Assignment: Due today Editing classmate story

– Make changes, give to reporter– Editing form returned to me: Worth 5 points

Rewrite Hard News 1 stories– Using all of the editing suggestions,

rewrite/edit your story– You MUST make style changes – or no points!– Email final copy of story to:

lkragnes@d.umn.edu Worth 5 points

– Stories will be posted on class website

Portfolio

Store academic information on your Electronic Portfolio. Each student has 100 mb of storage.

Access Electronic Portfolio at: https://portfolio.umn.edu/portfolio/index.jsp