What makes the news?

Mark Blacklock

News

FRESH, UNPUBLISHED, FACTUAL INFORMATION

...about what?

IMPACT – what effect does it have on people?

PROMINENCE – celebrity or well known person?

PROXIMITY – close to home or further away?

NOVELTY – man bites dog?

News is not Dog bites man

News isMan bites dog

Charles Dana – Editor of the New York Sun in the 1890s

Man bites dog When Olavi Velkenmaa was attacked by a

wolf - he bit back. Velkenmma was opening a workshop last

week in a small Finnish town north of Helsinki, when he came upon a large male wolf

As the wolf lunged Velkenmaa grabbed its head.

“I was fighting for my life,” he said. “I saw its throat and went for it with my teeth …”Associated Press

Man bites dog

Or at least a hamster

The Sun, March 13, 1986

Dog the biter

BABY No2 SAVAGED BY A ROTTWEILERBy Allison MartinA NEIGHBOUR told yesterday how he used a hammer to fight off a Rottweiler which was savaging a 14-month-old boy. The toddler, Harvey, was bitten in the face, neck and body by his grandmother's dog Tyler.The Daily Mirror

CONFLICT – political battle/sports rivalry?

EMOTION – human

sympathy or

interest?

News Fresh, unpublished, factual information

About unusual events

Which are interesting because of:• Impact• Prominence• Proximity• Novelty• Conflict• Emotion

Writing the news - the five ‘W’s

All stories should contain facts falling into these basic groups:

WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY ……..and HOW

Who is it about?

What happened?

When did it happen?

Where did it happen?

Why did it happen?

How did it happen?

What?

TWO people were killed when a four-seater private plane crashed into a high-rise building yesterday.

Where?

A New York City high-rise apartment block was hit by a four-seater private plane yesterday, and two people died.

When?

DURING the New York rush-hour yesterday, a four-seater private plane crashed into a high rise apartment block, killing two people on board.

Who?

YANKEES pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor were killed yesterday when the baseball player's plane hit a high-rise apartment building in New York .

Why? RADAR analysis suggests Yankees pitcher

Cory Lidle’s plane narrowly avoided a mid-air crash with another aircraft moments before it hit a New York City apartment block.

INTROS – K.I.S.S.

(KEEP IT SHORT AND SIMPLE)

First sentence: the hook

AccurateUnclutteredGrammatical

Short.

HOW TO DO IT

Focus on the main point of the story – the pub test

Uncomplicated – easier to understand immediately

Simple sentence construction – one easy sweep

Every word counts

A crane crashed into a block of flats last night, killing two men

and injuring another.

Daily Mirror.16 words.Punctuation: one comma, one full stop.

Shoppers enjoying a sunny day were surprised when a council put up its Christmas lights yesterday.

Daily Mirror.16 words.Punctuation – one full stop.

Can you improve on this?

World leaders yesterday announced an ambitious plan to end all malaria deaths by 2015, backed by unprecedented funding of nearly $3bn from donors including the World Bank and the Gates Foundation.

31 words; punctuation - one comma, one full stop.

A $3bn plan to wipe out malaria by 2015 was announced by world leaders yesterday.

15 wordsOne full stop

Break

What does this mean, in plain English?

“I give you all and singular, my estate and interest, right, title, claim and advantage of and in that orange, with all its rind, skin, juice, pulp and pips, and all right and advantage therein, with full power to bite, cut, suck, and otherwise eat the same, or give the same away as fully and effectually as I the said A.B. am now entitled to bite, cut, suck, or otherwise eat the same orange, or give the same away, with or without its rind, skin, juice, pulp, and pips, anything hereinbefore, or hereinafter, or in any other deed, or deeds, instrument or instruments of what nature or kind soever, to the contrary in any wise, notwithstanding.”

Resume

Getting it right“Accuracy. Accuracy. Accuracy.” –

Joseph Pulitzer

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Getting it right – and telling it straight

The National Enquirer and Three Mile Island

“It was sabotage!” / “Was it sabotage?”

Secretive couple

Sophisticated communications equipment

Potential lethal weaponry

‘Secretive couple’

‘Sophisticated communications equipment’

‘Potential lethal weaponry’

“The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof shit detector.”

Ernest Hemingway.

Interviewing and writing profiles

• Do some research• Relax and start with the basics• Warm-up questions/easy stuff• Start at the edges and move in (eg Charltons)• Focus questions (‘Do you like playing football?’ cf: ‘How did it feel to score the winner?’)• Listen to the answers; observe the interviewee•Ask follow up questions• Don’t be afraid to ask something again, ask them to slow down, or of sounding dumb• Silence is golden..• Save the bombshell until the end

AN OPEN AND SHUT CASE

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/rams/sport_830_20040923.ram

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSieUhqIR6k

EVERYONE HAS A STORY TO TELL

The secret is to tell it without putting everyone else to sleep! It’s not the CV

“If we wanted to spend all our time writing resumes, we’d all be personnel managers”

Jack Hart – The Oregonian

USE ALL OF YOUR SENSES

How does this person look, talk, dress, dress, interact with others?

How does your subject sit or stand, or sound?

Use the person’s own words – direct quotes.

Collect facts, quotes, anecdotes and find your focus – what intrigues us about this person?

But use details that matter – that tell us something about this person...plans, dreams, ambitions.Profile, then break