Thursday, November 1

Note from Ms. Dewey:

The theatre department has been nominated to apply to the American High School Fringe Festival in 2014. Students in all majors who are interested should come to a meeting in the ensemble with their parent or guardian tomorrow night Thursday Nov. 1^st at 6:30 pm.

Mr. Tirre sent out the list of those students participating in tomorrow's matinee. As always, you are responsible for the missed classed material. I'll have it posted by the end of today. You have until midnight on Sunday to get the work in.

In class: quiz on yesterday's assigned material.

Using the following on line news sources and select four newstories, identifying  the five W's and H as they appear, noting specifically the name given to the feature lead.
http://www.nbcnews.com/

http://www.cnn.com/

http://www.cnn.com/

Copy the following format into a word document and send along. This is due at the end of class.



News source:
Article title and writer
Feature lead:
Who:
What:
When:
Where
Why
How

Wednesday, October 31 test chapter 3 and lead writing

For Thursday, expect a quiz on the five W's and what it is called when it is a featured lead, the most used openings for leads and what should and should not be included.
1) In class Wednesday: quick identification test on Monday's reading.
2) Read the following material and be prepared for the quiz tomorrow. (see above).

Lead Writing
The All-Important First Paragraph	The opening of a news story is called the lead (pronounced lede). It is usually one paragraph, and is usually only one sentence. The typical lead is called a summary lead or straight summary lead, and it, of course, summarizes the story; in other words, it tells the entire story in miniature as specifically as possible. Your job as a journalist, therefore, is to write a clear, fairly short sentence that reveals all, telling the end result of the story. Someone should be able to read the lead and be informed about what happened without reading the rest of the story. A news story essentially has two parts, the lead, which gives the gist of the story, and the body, which adds details which expands on information given in the lead. The body is written in inverted pyramid style: short paragraphs in descending order of importance. We'll talk more about the inverted pyramid style of writing when we study writing the news story. A summary lead should answer two or more of the 5W's and H: who, what, when, where, why and how. Include those that are important to inform the reader. Usually, however, the lead will include, as a minimum, the who, what and when. In deciding what to include in the lead, ask yourself: What is the first question a reader would ask? What is the first thing you would tell another person about the situation or event? This is often called the news peg; it is the reason for doing the story, that aspect that makes an event or occurrence newsworthy. Your lead might also focus on what journalists call the whammy, which is the fact or facts that make the story unique. When writing the lead, you should attempt to feature the feature, which means to put the most important aspect or main point first in the paragraph. Grab the reader's attention with the news immediately, without making him or her read through introductory words to find out what happened. This isn't radio or television news, where the reporter may slide into the heart of the story after an introductory sentence or two, which may be necessary so the listener will not miss important information. The written news story needs no such prompt, and if you slide into the story slowly you'll lose your reader. Newspaper readers expect to be informed about what happened immediately -- no beating around the bush. Leads should: open with bright, interesting, colorful nouns and verbs be brief (often only 20-30 words) be, for the most part, one sentence in length be crisp and to the point effectively summarize the story "feature the feature" include attribution (the source) if needed for credibility give the title for any person mentioned not include personal pronouns such as "we" and "you" not include reporter opinion

FEATURE THE FEATURE

Depending on what you decide is most important, any one of the 5W's or H could be featured, which means it is placed first in the opening sentence.

Take a look at the follow facts:

Who:	Washington television station
What:	withdrew from a project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower
When:	today
Where:	in Silver Spring
Why:	declining revenues
How:	board of directors decided

The lead might read:

A Washington television station announced its withdrawal today from a project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower in Silver Spring.

Which ever of the 5W's is mentioned first is featured in the lead.

1	When the who is featured, it is called a name lead. The example above is a name lead. It features the Washington television station.
2	When the what is featured, it is called an event lead. Withdrawal from a project to construct a 1,200-foot television tower in Silver Spring was announced today by a Washington television station. This lead, however, is awkward because it is in passive voice; in other words, the one doing the action (the Washington television station) is at the end of the sentence as the object. Active voice requires that the subject of the sentence act, which means placing it first in the sentence, as in the first first example. We'll talk more about active/passive voice in a later activity.
3	When the when is featured, it is called a time lead. Today a Washington television station announced its withdrawal from a project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower in Silver Spring.
4	When the where is featured, it is called a place lead. A Silver Spring project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower was canceled today by a Washington television station. This, too, is passive rather than active voice.
5	When the why is featured it is called a cause lead. Because of declining revenues, a Washington television station announced its withdrawal today from a project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower in Silver Spring.
6	When how is featured, it is called a manner lead. After a decision by the board of directors of a Washington television station, a project to construct a 1,200-foot television transmitting tower in Silver Spring has been canceled

The most used openings for leads are the who and the what. The least used, in other words the weakest, are where and when. Rarely are place and time the most important aspects of the story, although they are usually included in the lead paragraph.

Below are examples of leads which feature the various 5W's & H. The words that make up the "W" that is featured are in bold face type.

Who

Many gay and bisexual teens know plenty about AIDS and still don't protect themselves against the disease, two studies indicate. A railroad worker threw a switch too soon and sent an Amtrak passenger train crashing head-on into a parked freight train, killing two people and injuring 44 others, investigators said Saturday. (However, even though this begins with the who, the lead co-features the why, the cause of the train wreck.)
Reckless drivers who don't seem to be drunk may well be high on cocaine or marijuana, according to roadside tests that indicate drugs may rival alcohol as a hazard on the highway.

What

Jars and cans tumbled off store shelves and telephone poles swayed when an earthquake that was a "real good shaker" rumbled through Central California yesterday. A pack of wild monkeys terrorized a seaside resort town south of Tokyo last week, attacking 30 people and sending eight of them to the hospital with bites. (This also CO-features the who.)
A would-be victim turned the tables on a suspected burglar early Sunday, sending him running from her house with a bullet wound to his chest, police said. (This also CO-features the who.)
A Soyus spacecraft docked flawlessly with the Mir space station Saturday, bringing a fresh crew of two Russian cosmonauts and a Frenchman to the orbiting outpost -- along with a bottle of French wine.

Why

With more amateurs cutting wood for use as an alternative to high-priced heating oil, hospitals are coping with an increasing number of injuries due to chain-saw accidents, reported the American College of Surgeons. Two railway technicians who overlooked a wheel problem may be charged with negligent manslaughter in Germany's worst rail disaster, a news magazine reported Saturday. (This also CO-features the who.)

How

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. plans to sell seven out-of-state lumber mills and expand production at 17 others in order to boost output by up to 40 percent. (The how in this lead is also the what.)

Examples of when and where leads are not given here because you should avoid using them. Professionals avoid them, so examples are hard to find.

We can learn how to feature the feature, and avoid other mistakes, by looking at examples of poorly written leads.

WHAT NOT TO DO.
NOT TO DO

Incorrect:

Sen. Robert Brown spoke to the assembled student body of Oakdale High School at 3 p.m. in the high school gym.

Who spoke is usually secondary in importance to what was said. And, the mechanical details -- time, date and place -- do not necessarily have to be included in the lead, since the event has already taken place. They can be worked in later, perhaps the second or third paragraph. "Assembled student body" is a burdensome, unnecessary phrase, and "high school" is used twice in one paragraph. Avoid repetition.

Incorrect:

At 3 p.m., March 18, in the high school gym, Robert Brown spoke.

Time and date (the when angle) are almost never important enough to merit first consideration in the lead, yet they are often used to kick off a speech story. The heart of this story is not included in the lead at all. Note, too, that in this reference the title for Robert Brown (senator) has been omitted. Titles should always be included on the first mention of an individual in the story.

Incorrect:

To further our interest in ecology, Sen. Robert Brown spoke today in the high school gym.

The why angle is usually not the most important aspect of a story and, therefore, it seldom works as the take-off point for a news story. Also, the use of second person (our), unless it's in a direct quotation, should be avoided in news writing.

Incorrect:

Last Friday, March 18, all of the sophomore, junior and senior students assembled in the gymnasium. After Student Body President Gary Winchman led the students in the flag salute, Vice Principal Barry Jones presented Sen. Robert Brown, who talked about ecology.

This is filled to the brim with details that don't belong in a lead. It is basically written in chronological order rather than focusing on the "feature." It is dull, too long, and needs severe copy editing. In fact, it needs complete rewriting. It is also more than one sentence; most leads can be written as one smooth, flowing sentence.

Incorrect:

"We must clean up our rivers and streams and get the internal combustion machine out of the automobile and sit hard on the Food and Drug Administration to remove additives from our foods if we are ever going to clean up the air we breath and make our world a pleasant place to live in again," stated Robert Brown, senator, to the assembled student body of Oakdale High School on Friday, March 18, in the gym at 3 p.m.

The quotation is too long, covers too many subjects for the lead. In addition, mechanical details such as date and time, can be worked in later. Since the event has already happened it is not necessary to tell the readers the place and exact time in the lead. "Stated" is a stuffy, greatly over-used word for attribution. Save it for quoting material from official documents rather than people.

Correct Example:

Pollution must be stopped and air and water cleaned up in order to make the world more livable, Sen. Robert Brown told students at Oakdale High School last Friday.

This lead zeroes in on the main message delivered, which is what the audience would be interested in, and it gives the source at the end of the lead rather than at the beginning. Since Brown's exact words are not given, no quotation marks are used.

Correct if writing for your school newspaper and Brown spoke at your school:

Pollution must be stopped and air and water cleaned up in order to make the world more livable, Sen. Robert Brown told students last Friday.

It is not necessary to give the name of the high school, since he spoke at the school and the newspaper is written for and distributed to the school community. Notice that this lead summarizes or paraphrases what the senator said rather than giving a direct quotation. The story would then elaborate on what he had to say about these topics, using direct quotations, indirect quotations and paraphrases.

Tuesday, October 30.......continuation of Monday

These are the terms for which you are responsible.  Test tommorow.  Make sure you understand the steps for brainstorming and the confidence yield rate for random samples.

Friday, October 26, day 3 of debate project

Debate project due today.    Send along to dmpalond@frontiernet.net.     Thank you!

Thursday, October 25 day 2 presidential debate

 I am at a conference today. Everyone know what to do. The debate assignment is due at the close of class tomorrow.
See yesterday's blog for review of assignment.

Monday, October 29 Deciding What is News

Students are allowed to sign-up for the parentconnect system to see their grades. They MUST use their RCSD e-mail address, if they try to use a personal e-mail address, they will be denied access.  School e-mail is your id number @stu.rcsdk12.org

This week we are looking at what specifically constitutes news and the mechanics of writing a news story.  You have two days in class to read the following scanned information taken from a journalism text. You should be able to change the size for easier reading.  On Wednesday you will have a test on this material, where you will be asked to define the key terms. I suggest you open a word document and as you read the material type out the definitions.  easy, easy.









Wednesday, October 24 Framing the presidential debate

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50133689n

What is a Debate?

A debate is a formal, oral contest between two individuals or teams who present arguments to
support opposing sides of a question. Debates follow a set of rules so that participants can state their positions and attack their opponents' views in a fair and orderly manner.

To begin, please read the following information on the types of debates and the history of presidential debates. THEN look at the assignment.



How Are Debates Used?

Forensic debates: Formal debates are held in schools or university debating societies as

exercises to sharpen thinking and speaking skills and to examine issues.

Legislative debates: The House of Representatives and the Senate debate a bill by

allotting fair procedures and equal time for arguments for and against the bill. The English

House of Commons was the model for this process. State legislatures have provisions that are

similar.

Political debates: For instance, the Lincoln-Douglas debates for the Senate seat in Illinois

in 1858 gave the first speaker 60 minutes, the second 90 minutes, and the first speaker 30

minutes at the end. They were festive occasions in the open air, with thousands in the

audience.

What's the recent history of presidential debates?

The first televised Presidential debates in 1960 provided the thin margin of victory for John F.

Kennedy in a very close election. Despite their popularity, no more debates were held for 16

years. They resumed in the Ford-Carter election in 1976. Since then, debates have been a

perrmanent and very important feature of presidential elections.

                                        FRAMING A DEBATE

ASSIGNMENT: DUE by the Sunday night at midnight  October 28. You can of course be very productive and get it in early. You have three class days.

Before you do anything, you should familiarize yourself with the the framework being used to analyze Monday night's presidential debate, as well as the background information on how the debate was to be set up. This NY Times article will make the debate much more relevant and interesting. Do not forgo reading it. (see below). You will then listen to the debate- sometimes fast forwarding, other times repeating sections- to find examples of from the following list. Perhaps everything is not included, but you find many. You will take notes, quoting the canditate as needed.  (write down those words / phrases). When you have completed your notetaking, you will compose a well-written commentary on the debate of no fewer than 300 words,  the thesis being how the candidates employed age-old rhetorical methods to gain votes in the upcoming election. You will use specific information from the debate to support your statements. As always, you will include an analysis statement. 

             ie: Mr. Romney employs ________________________ when he notes ________________________. This served to _______________________________, Mr. Obama countered with ________________________________, which served to show (or indicated or proved, etc).

        

The mechanics of doing this assignment: open up a word document and copy and paste the criteria listed below. As you listen to the debate, plug in Romney and Obama's words as they might apply.  Once you have listened through the debate- and yes, you will skim over some- you will take your notes and organize them into paragraphs. Look at the above thesis statement.

Note: the following was published in Sunday's paper.

Monday’s Debate Puts Focus on Foreign Policy Clashes

By DAVID E. SANGER

 

When President Obama and Mitt Romney sit down Monday night for the last of their three debates, two things should be immediately evident: there should be no pacing the stage or candidates’ getting into each other’s space, and there should be no veering into arguments over taxes.
This debate is about how America deals with the world — and how it should.
If the moderator, Bob Schieffer of CBS News, has his way, it will be the most substantive of the debates. He has outlined several topics: America’s role in the world, the continuing war in Afghanistan, managing the nuclear crisis with Iran and the resultant tensions with Israel, and how to deal with rise of China.
The most time, Mr. Schieffer has said, will be spent on the Arab uprisings, their aftermath and how the terrorist threat has changed since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. No doubt the two candidates will spar again, as they did in the second debate, about whether the Obama administration was ready for the attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed J. Christopher Stevens, the American ambassador, and three other Americans. Mr. Romney was widely judged to not have had his most effective critique ready, and this time, presumably, he will be out to correct that.
The early line is that this is an opportunity for Mr. Obama to shine, and to repair the damage from the first debate. (He was already telling jokes the other night, at a dinner in New York, about his frequent mention of Osama bin Laden’s demise.)
But we can hope that it is a chance for both candidates to describe, at a level of detail they have not yet done, how they perceive the future of American power in the world. They view American power differently, a subject I try to grapple with at length in a piece in this Sunday’s Review, “The Debatable World.”
But for now, here is a field guide to Monday’s debate.

 

LIBYA AND BENGHAZI Both candidates will come ready for a fight on this topic, but the question is whether it is the right fight. Mr. Obama already admitted mistakes on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and promised to get to the bottom of them, but the White House has been less than transparent about what kind of warnings filtered up from the intelligence agencies before the attack on the consulate, and whether there was a way that American security forces could have arrived sooner, perhaps in time to save some of the American lives. No doubt the argument will focus on a narrower issue: why the administration stuck so long to its story that this was a protest against a film that turned into something worse, rather than a preplanned attack by insurgents. For Mr. Romney, the task is to show that the Benghazi attack was symptomatic of bigger failings in the Middle East, a road he started down in the last debate, but an argument he never completed.

 

IRAN With the revelation in The New York Times on Sunday reported by Helene Cooper and Mark Landler that the Obama administration has secretly agreed in principle to direct, bilateral talks after the election, the urgent question for the candidates is this: in a negotiation, what would you be willing to let Iran hold onto in return for a deal that gave the United States and Israel confidence that Tehran could not gain a nuclear weapons capability? It’s a hard question for both men.
Mr. Romney has said he would not allow Iran to have any enrichment capability at all — something it is allowed under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as long as it is abiding by the treaty’s rules — a position that would kill any talks. But Mr. Obama does not want to say the obvious: that he is willing to allow Iran to hold onto some face-saving enrichment capability as long as it does not retain its stockpiles of medium-enriched fuel, which can be converted to bomb-grade. Also, look for answers to the question of whether the United States would back up Israel if it decided to conduct a military strike against Iran. Mr. Romney wants to show that Mr. Obama has created “daylight” between the United States and Israel; Mr. Obama wants to demonstrate that while he has Israel’s back, he is trying to protect the country from taking an action he considers unwise, at least at this stage.

 

CYBERWAR Mr. Obama cannot talk about “Olympic Games,” the covert program that the United States has conducted against Iran, with Israel’s help, using a cyberweapon against another country for the first time in history. But do Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney consider cyberweapons a legitimate tool in America’s arsenal, or too risky, since the United States is the most vulnerable country in the world? We have never heard either candidate answer the question.

 

AFGHANISTAN There was a time when Mr. Romney declared that America should not be negotiating with the Taliban, but that it should be killing all the Taliban. He stopped saying that after his aides suggested that it sounded like a prescription for endless war. Now both Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama say they think that America should be out of Afghanistan by 2014, the internationally agreed deadline for the withdrawal of forces, though Mr. Romney has the caveat that he wants to hear from his generals first. (The generals thought that Mr. Obama’s insistence on setting a clear deadline for withdrawal was a bad idea — as did Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and many others.) So what do we want to hear from the candidates?
Lots.
For starters, if it looks as if Kabul could fall back into Taliban hands in a few years, do either of them think the United States should re-intervene? It would be nice to know if Mr. Obama agrees with his vice president, Joseph R. Biden Jr., that all American troops should be out by the end of 2014, since the White House plan calls for an “enduring presence” of 10,000 to 15,000 troops that would back up the weak Afghan security forces and keep an eye on Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. (The remaining base would also be a place to launch drone strikes into Pakistan and Afghanistan, when necessary.) And for Mr. Romney, if he believes the pullout in Iraq was too hasty, and the pullout in Afghanistan risks making the same mistake, what kind of continuing presence would he have in mind?

 

THE ARAB UPRISINGS Afghanistan is already in America’s rearview mirror, but the Arab uprisings are not. Mr. Romney says that the rise of Islamic governments is an Obama administration failure. The White House says that if you have free elections in Islamic nations, you cannot be surprised when the Muslim Brotherhood and the harder-line Salafists win control of the government. The question is how to deal with these governments: conditional aid, to ensure American values are respected? Trade restrictions? Gentle persuasion?
This would also be the area to understand when and why each man would advocate future interventions. Mr. Obama joined in the Libya strike, which Mr. Romney thought was a mistake. But Mr. Obama has been hesitant to do much in Syria — a very different kind of conflict — while Mr. Romney says he would arm the rebels with heavy-duty antiaircraft and antitank weapons. Since the light weapons are already going into the wrong hands, how exactly would he find a way to overthrow Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad?

 

CHINA Perhaps the most important long-term subject of the debate. Mr. Romney promises a hard line, saying he would declare China as a currency manipulator from Day 1 of his presidency. But he has not said much about Day 2, or Year 2. This is the moment for each candidate to describe how he would counter China’s growing claims in the South China Sea and other disputed territories, how he would handle trade tensions, and how he would manage a world in which the United States, for better or worse, is going to be reliant on Chinese investment in American debt for years to come. And it is the moment for each to give his view of the leadership change under way in China, where three-quarters of the top political posts are about to change hands.

Framing a debate is a method of giving political thoughts a context or a lens through which to see the issues at stake. Each side of a debate will try to control how an issue is seen, as this is crucial to gaining credibility and the political support needed to pass legislation or advance an agenda.

                                                       STYLE vs. FUNCTION

1. Language   Language is important in framing concepts. For instance, when President George W. Bush took office in 2001, he used the term "tax relief" where the common term had been "tax cut." Relief here indicates an alleviation of suffering and so makes arguing against tax cuts difficult because many people want relief. This tactic worked because the Democrats were soon using the term, a turn of events which worked in favor of the Republican agenda to lower tax rates.

You +1'd this publicly. Undo
2. Imagery  imagery involves one or more of your five senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, sight). The speaker uses a word or phrase to stimulate your memory of those senses. This is a powerful tool in creating a connection to the audience. Remember our senses are often separate from our intellect.

3. Repetition Not only must a politician devise a new way to frame a debate with language or image, but  (s)he needs to have the new frame repeated. Repeating a message helps to make it effective. In this way, Democrats were able to frame President George W. Bush as lacking gravitas. Republican education reform became known as "no child left behind," a position that few could argue against without appearing to be against children.

4.  Persuasion techniques
 Politicians’ most powerful arguments can be misleading. In fact, research shows we’re often
swayed by faulty logic. As you listen to the presidential candidates debate the issues, give them
the “logic check-up.”  Listen carefully to the both canidates. Note if any of the following techniques in used and in what context.





Appeal to Emotion- summons fear, anger or pity.


Bandwagon- encourages the listener to do something because it is popular
“More and more of us want new blood in Washington, and we’re voting for Jones.”
Card Stacking-Presents the evidence in a partial or slanted way.

“The average income is rising” - technically correct, but only the top 10% incomes are up.


False Cause-Insists that one event caused the other just because it came first.
“As soon as Jones was elected, savings banks began to fail.”


False Dilemma-Poses only two choices when there are a variety of possibilities.
“Choose Smith and you’ll get inflation; choose Jones and the budget will be balanced.”
Glittering Generalities - says little specifically, but conveys .“John Jones has made this nation a better place.”


Hasty Generalization-Bases a conclusion on insufficient evidence.
“Dropping out of school must be a problem because I saw an article about it.”
Name Calling- Uses negative labels to stigmatize opponents.
“My opponent is a card-carrying liberal.”
Slippery Slope:-Claims that an event will lead to an uncontrollable chain reaction.
“First they outlaw machine guns, and then they’ll take your hunting rifles.”
Testimonial -    Convinces only through the endorsement of a respected personality.
“If he’s okay with General Colin Powell, then he’s okay with me.”














 




“



















 











 











 











 




H




Slippery Slope: Claims that an event will lead to an uncontrollable chain reaction.





“First they outlaw machine guns, and then they’ll take your hunting rifles.”





H




Testimonial: Convinces only through the endorsement of a respected personality.

“If he’s okay with General Colin Powell, then he’s okay with me.”
 

Tuesday, October 23...day 2 of newsworthy

At the close of class, the newsworthy project is due. Please make sure you have 1) incorporated specific textual evidence for each of your selections 2) identified the source of your story and 3) checked your writing for grammar, spelling and punctuation.  Thank you.

Make sure you have your earphones tomorrow. You will not be able to share.

Monday, October 22 what is newsworthy?

Anyone who was absent on Friday must make up the reflection writing by the close of today. Marking period 1 is over.

Begin by reading the information as to what makes something newsworthy. When you have made yourself familiar with the definitions, read the assignment that follows. To complete, please open a word document. This is due at the close of class tomorrow / Tuesday.

What Makes Something Newsworthy?

Factors Journalists Use to Gauge How Big a Story Is            By Tony Rogers

Over the years editors, reporters and journalism professors have come up with a list of factors or criteria that help journalists decide whether something is newsworthy or not. They can also help you decide HOW newsworthy something is. Generally, the more of the factors below that can be applied to your event or story, the more newsworthy it’s bound to be.

Impact or Consequences

Generally, the greater the impact a story has, the more newsworthy it is. Events that have on impact on your readers, that have real consequences for their lives, are bound to be newsworthy.

An obvious example would be the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In how many ways have all of our lives been affected by the events of that day? The greater the impact, the bigger the story.

Conflict

If you look closely at the stories that make news in any given day, chances are most of them will have some element of conflict. Whether it’s a dispute over banning books at a local school board meeting, bickering over budget legislation in Congress, or the ultimate conflict – war – conflict is almost always newsworthy.

Conflict is newsworthy because as human beings we’re naturally interested in conflict. Think of any book you’ve ever read or movie you’ve ever watched – they all had some type of conflict. Without conflict, there would be no literature or drama. Conflict is what propels the human drama.

Imagine two city council meetings. At the first, the council passes its annual budget unanimously with little or no argument. In the second, there is violent disagreement. Some council members want the budget to provide more city services, while others want a bare-bones budget with tax cuts. The two sides are entrenched in their positions and in the city council chambers the conflict erupts into a full-scale shouting match,

Which story is more interesting? The second, of course. Why? Conflict. Conflict is so interesting to us as humans that it can even make an otherwise dull-sounding story – the passage of a city budget – into something utterly gripping. And the ultimate conflict – war – is always a huge story.

Loss of Life/Property Destruction

There’s an old saying in the news business: If it bleeds, it leads. What that means is that any story involving loss of human life – from a fire to a shooting to a terrorist attack - is bound to be newsworthy. Likewise, nearly any story that involves property destruction on a large enough scale – a house fire is a good example - is also bound to be news.

Many stories have both loss of life and property destruction – think of the house fire in which several people perish. Obviously loss of human life is more important than property destruction, so write the story that way.

Proximity

Proximity has to do with how close an event is geographically is to your readers or viewers. A house fire with several people injured might be big news in your hometown newspaper, but chances are no one will care in the next town over. Likewise, wildfires in California usually make the national news, but clearly they’re a much bigger story for those directly affected.

Prominence

Are the people involved in your story famous or prominent? If so, the story becomes more newsworthy. For example, if an average person is injured in a car crash, chances are that won’t even make the local news. But if the president of the United States is hurt in a car crash, it makes headlines around the world.

Prominence can apply to politicians, movie stars, star athletes, CEOs – anyone who’s in the public eye. But it doesn’t have to mean someone who’s famous worldwide. The mayor of your town probably isn’t famous, even locally. But he or she is prominent in your town, which means any story involving him or her is likely to be more newsworthy. Prominence can apply on a local, national or international level.

Timeliness

In the news business we tend to focus on what’s happening this day, this hour, this minute. So events that are happening now are often more newsworthy than those that happened, say, a week ago.

Another factor that relates to timeliness is currency. This involves stories that may not have just happened but instead have an ongoing interest to your audience. For example, the rise and fall in gas prices is something that’s been happening for several years, but it’s a story that’s still relevant to your readers, so it has currency.

Novelty

Another old saying in the news business goes, “When a dog bites a man, no one cares. When the man bites back – now that’s a news story.” The idea, of course, is that any deviation from the normal, expected course of events is something novel, and thus newsworthy

For each of the following, find a story in one of the papers below that fits the criteria. In a approximately 50 words for each, explain why this is so, pulling  out the specific textual evidence that supports your choice.

1.     Impact or consequences

2.     Conflict

3.     Loss of life /  property destruction

4.     Proximity and prominence

5.     Timeliness

6.     Novelty

 For each of the above, use a different news source from the list below. Make sure to name your source. As well, make sure you choose one non-American news source.

1.     New York Post  http://www.nypost.com/  

2.     The Village Voice    http://www.villagevoice.com/

3.     Democrat and Chronicle  http://www.democratandchronicle.com/

4.     Los Angeles Times  http://www.latimes.com/

5.     San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/

6.     Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com/

7.     Honolulu Star Advertiser http://www.staradvertiser.com/

8.     Catholic Courier http://www.catholiccourier.com/

9.     Boston Globe http://bostonglobe.com/

10.                          Miami Herald http://www.miamiherald.com/

11.                         Toronto Sun http://www.torontosun.com/news/

12.                         The Telegraph (UK) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

13.                         Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/

14.                          The Standard Hong Kong http://www.thestandard.com.hk/

15.                         The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/