Advanced Newswriting & Reporting
主题目录
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Advanced
English Newswriting & Reporting: Hone your ability to report and write
breaking news and other important stories in clear, concise, compelling English.
Professor Jim Wolf, wolfj@msn.com
Class meets twice a week, October, November, 2016
Mondays: 1 pm - 2:30 pm, Building 4, Room #427
Tuesdays: 8:15 am – 9:45 am, Building 4, Room #340
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 10:00 am – 11:30 am, Building 1, Room #260
Online classroom: elearning.shisu.edu.cn, “Advanced Newswriting”
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The AP Stylebook is widely used as a writing and editing reference in English-language newsrooms, classrooms and corporate offices worldwide. Updated regularly since its initial publication in 1953, the AP Stylebook provides fundamental guidelines for spelling, language, punctuation, usage and journalistic style. It is widely considered a vital resource for journalists working in English. A tip-sheet drawn from the AP Stylebook follows below. -
10 Resources for Writers -- a collection from the Poynter Institute's News University. As the e-learning project of The Poynter Institute, "NewsU" functions as a school for journalists, future journalists, teachers of journalism and anyone interested in the craft and values of journalism.
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Here are tips for crafting a beautiful "nut graph" -- journalists' slang for a slab of background that puts the story in context. Although often discussed as vital components of feature stories, you can also think of it as the "so what" paragraph. That is, the bit that explains why the story matters. For a helpful discussion of how this works, watch a replay of a chat with Roy Peter Clark, a top writing coach at the Poynter Institute's News University. -
In-class exercise: Cover a mock announcement by U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. For this exercise, consider the news bulletins that would be used for a surprise announcement. Such bulletins are also known in newsrooms as "snaps," "headlines," and "alerts." Unlike most of the news, they're written in the present tense, in a format designed to rush the news to readers for maximum impact, especially to the extent that it may fuel multibillion-dollar trades on international financial markets (which don't like uncertainty). For Trump's announcement, the snaps might look like this:
-- REPUBLICAN TRUMP SAYS QUITTING U.S. PRESIDENTIAL RACE IMMEDIATELY
-- TRUMP ACCUSES DEMOCRATIC RIVAL HILLARY CLINTON OF RIGGING SCHEDULED NOV. 8 VOTE-- TRUMP BLASTS MAINSTREAM MEDIA, DEMOCRATIC PARTY AS "THOROUGHLY CORRUPT"
-- TRUMP URGES SUPPORTERS VOTE INSTEAD FOR HIS RUNNING MATE, GOV. SPENCE OF INDIANAThe followup item, which would run in quick succession, could look like this:
Trump says Quitting U.S. White House Race
Suburban Shanghai, China, Oct. 25 -- Republican Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was dropping out of the U.S. presidential race, accusing Democrat rival Hillary Clinton of rigging the vote.
""Hillary Clinton and her aides have made it impossible to hold a free and fair election on Nov. 8," Trump told a surprise news conference at a journalism class in suburban Shanghai, China, calling on his supporters to vote instead for his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Spence.
After this, an "Update 1" would be crafted, giving more details of Trump's announcement along with background on his position in public opinion polls and his remarks to our class -- a world exclusive.
Here is the text of Trump's announcement, as delivered to our class on Oct. 25, 2016:
"Ladies and gentlemen, Hillary Clinton and her aides have made it impossible to hold a free and fair election on Nov. 8.
The mainstream press and the Democratic party are thoroughly corrupt.
I’m withdrawing my candidacy to be president of the United States.
Instead, I’m urging all my supporters to vote for my vice presidential running mate , Gov. Mike Spence of Indiana.
I will announce additional plans one week from today at a news conference at my new Trump Hotel in Washington DC."
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Here are 10 suggested sources for keeping up with technology and Western news media issues, per Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. -
Submit another group report, of up to 400 words, for Week 3. The deadline is 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, Oct. 30. The group's rotating editor alone should file this report, drawing on suggestions from all group members. Pay particular attention to crafting a strong lead and making sure that there are no holes in the story. Write a headline for your piece, which should weave together more than one development in the area that you are monitoring. Make sure to include the necessary background information, such as a nut graph, so that readers have a complete picture of the latest events, in context. The rotating editor should list her name on the report on behalf of her group. All group members should review the report before it is formally submitted and make suggestions to the editor for improving it. The editor has the final say. Each member of the group will receive the same grade for the group's finished product.
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