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‘Dutch’ Van Kirk

Terrific phrasing

“What took only 45 seconds to fall out of a B-29 air plane [sic], would change the world forever...”

Terrific phrasing


[sic] Use to indicate that the error is the original writer’s, not the current author who is merely quoting it exactly

Terrific phrasing


“He is now a frail old man who spend his days battling health problems and playing the game Scrabble.”

Terrific phrasing

“What took only 45 seconds to fall out of a B-29 air plane [sic], would change the world forever.”

“He is now a frail old man who spend his days battling health problems and playing the game Scrabble.”

“Happiness overcame Van Kirk at that moment when he realized that the bomb had completed its job.”

More terrific wordsmithing “The air has just rippled like a pebble

being dropped into a pool of water.”

More terrific wordsmithing “The air has just rippled like a pebble

being dropped into a pool of water.” “Years later as Van Kirk sits in a big

arm chair in his small, bright inviting house, retelling and reliving that fateful day...”

Giving readers what they want...Or is it pandering?

Giving readers what they want...Or is it pandering?

Some news hacks insist that only they know what’s best for readers:

“This business of giving people what they want is a dope pusher’s argument. News is something people don’t know they interested in until they hear about it...” Reuven Frank, former prez of NBC news

How’s that attitude working out? “By the most tangible and financially

significant measure — total viewership – the story of 2010 was familiar: the audience for network news programs overall continued its quarter-century decline.”

Network news has lost roughly one million viewers/year for 20 years: Pew Research Center for Excellence in Journalism

http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2011/network-essay/glossary/

So what do readers want?

So what do readers want? They’re in a big hurry

So what do readers want? They’re in a big hurry They have short attention spans

So what do readers want? They’re in a big hurry They have short attention spans They want stories that personally

connect... craft stories that focus on the reader rather than on the newsmakers: what does it mean to ME?



But they also want stories: real narrative dramas starring real people



But they also want stories: real narrative dramas starring real people

“Innovate or die.” Richard Curtis, ex- USA Today

The hierarchy: Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Owner: New York Times Company, a New York Stock Exchange listed public company. Bought the Sarasota paper in 1982



Publisher: Diane McFarlin, el queso grande




Executive editor: Mike Connelly, chief news executive





Assistant Managing Editor, Kyle Booth





Assistant Managing Editor: Kyle Booth

City Editor: Bart Pfankuch, assigns and edits most of the local hard news


Also has sports editor, national/foreign editor, community news editor, state/regional editor, real estate editor, editorial page editor



In addition to news side, also has executives running circulation



In addition to news side, also has executives running circulation, advertising



In addition to news side, also has executives running circulation, advertising, and production

Jargon: news slang you gotta know Broadsheet: Sarasota Herald-Tribune

size newspaper


size newspaper Tabloid: smaller newspaper, e.g., The

Sarasota Observer and Pelican Press.


size newspaper Tabloid: smaller newspaper, e.g., The

Sarasota Observer and Pelican Press. Also a pejorative for sleazy/yellow journalism

Terms, terms, terms

By-line: Reporter’s name and title

Terms, terms, terms

By-line: Reporter’s name and title Headline: Big type, almost always

written by copy editors

Terms, terms, terms


written by copy editors Dateline

Terms, terms, terms


written by copy editors Dateline Pull quote/lift-out quote: a juicy

quote from story that’s given special graphic emphasis

Terms, terms, terms


written by copy editors Dateline Pull quote/lift-out quote: a juicy

quote from story that’s given special graphic emphasis

Cutline: the copy underneath a photo that explains what’s going on

Newser aptitude test:Can you be an ink-stained wretch?

Take test on page 29:

Assignment for Nov. 29

Remember: no class next week 11/22



Research the Sarasota-Herald Tribune via its website and Wikipedia, etc.




Research Bart Pfankuch, City Editor




Research Bart Pfankuch, City Editor On 11/29, we’re visiting the H-T for a

tour and session with Pfankuch





tour and session with Pfankuch Develop list of questions we can ask

Pfankuch when we meet with him





tour and session with Pfankuch Develop list of questions we can ask

Pfankuch when we meet with him Meet here on Tuesday 11/29 @10:30

Road trip

We’ll carpool to H-T and return to LAF at about 12:45 p.m.