Judging News Entries

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Judging News Entries

• Small and Medium Schools
• April 25, 2007
• Presenter Barbara Benish

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How can you improve?

• Leads
• Quotes
• Missing information
• Endings
• Miscellaneous items

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Rules for writing leads

• Leads should not include the who, what, where,
  when, why and how. Those facts can go deeper in
  the story, keeping the news at the top.
• The shorter the better. In general, no more than
  25 words in your lead.
• Be objective. Use attribution for opinions.
• Use strong, active verbs. Not is.
• Break the rules only when you have a good reason.

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Your leads

• Lead with the newest information
• Somewhere between the night of April 10 and the
  morning of April 11, seven school buses were
  vandalized.
• The Colby School District referendum failed to
  gain enough votes on Feb. 21 with a 53 percent to
  47 percent defeat. The vote totaled 576 No to
  510 Yes.

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Work for interesting quotations

• To get interesting quotations, you need to ask
  interesting questions.
• What did you do next?
• What happened next?
• Mainly, dont ask yes/no questions.
• Establish rapport with the subject. Get them
  relaxed before you bring out the tape recorder or
  your notebook.

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Rules for selecting quotes

• Quotes should be used when they have impact, or
  when what was said, and how it was said, gives
  insight into the person being interviewed.
• If a quote is boring, paraphrase.
• Avoid orphan quotes where one or two words in a
  sentence are quoted.
• Avoid bionic quotes These (quotes) need help to
  work (well.)
• A weak quote is worse than none.

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Select quotes for

• Authenticity
• Insight
• Vividness
• Unexpectedness
• Emotion

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Some of your quotes

• Our Bridge Builders have been planning this
  since the start of the year, social studies
  teacher and adviser Hayden Knight said.
• (When she first found out) my mom said that she
  already knew. She was disappointed, but she is
  still supportive. (Now) she is looking forward to
  it. Story on teen mothers
• Senior Tessa Srock said, I started doing the
  30-hour famine in sixth grade. They showed a
  video of starving children in tiny shacks during
  my Sunday school class. I knew then that I wanted
  to do something about it.

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More of your quotes

• Principal Robert Nickel also could not believe
  what happened. I would never have suspected
  anything like that happening, he said. The part
  that bothers me most is that somebody working
  with our kids ended up being somebody we couldnt
  really trust. School voyeurism case
• Spectator Matt Duginski commented that the game
  was very comical and an enjoyable experience
  overall, especially when comparing the size of
  grown men riding itty-bitty donkeys. Donkeyball
  game

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Missing information

• A story shouldnt leave the reader wanting more
• A story quoted a student saying there is a 50
  percent drop-out rate among Hispanic students
  because they are not legal citizens. What was
  missing?
• Statistics to back that up.
• Tell why they got so involved that they decided
  to drive to Madison and meet with the governors
  office about illegal immigration.

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• Another story hinted at controversy over the
  theme for a school dance. What was missing?
• Who decides on a theme?
• Whats the process for determining a theme?

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Your endings

• Avoid being preachy  and long
• Going without food for a good cause isnt that
  difficult, just ask someone who has done it. They
  will tell you that hanging out with your friends
  helps you get through it, as does knowing how
  much good you are doing to help the less
  fortunate around the world. Just raising 60
  takes care of one child for two months. Thats
  only a dollar a day. The next time you get home
  and take the change out of your pocket, think
  about what good it could do for someone else, and
  save it to donate to World Vision.

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• Avoid editorializing
• As for Stephanie and Karin, they made decisions
  for what they thought was right in their lives at
  the time. Congratulations to each of you and good
  luck to you and your babies.
• Keep these tips handy and stay healthy! Story
  on eating healthy.

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• Not soooooo long!
• The September election results showed that the
  taxpayers were definitely in favor of the fine
  arts referendum. Support for the artificial turf
  football field was never strong enough to pass.
  The passing of the endowment fund shows the
  taxpayers support and will ensure that the field
  is properly maintained for many years to come.
  The taxpayers show of support for the fine arts
  program in Ripon will benefit many students over
  the coming years and will keep educational
  programs alive in Ripon High School.

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Miscellaneous

• Use paragraphs more liberally If its a new
  thought, it should be a new paragraph.
• Think of using sidebars for long, complicated
  stories.
• Dont forget to identify who your sources are.
  Not everyone will know who a person is by their
  name.

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• Lead-ins shouldnt repeat what the quote says.
• Right now, the administration is working on ways
  to deal with the budget issues. Programs are
  being prioritized to see what should be cut
  first.
• Were trying to prioritize things, and obviously
  the most important thing is the education of our
  kids, said Dr. Schaid.

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• Make sure you give all sides of each story.
• Proofread more carefully.
• The small town of Dundee was literally shut down
  for the reveal of the Koepke familys new 4,500
  square foot home provided by the ABC program
  Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

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What you did right?

• Leads
• Quotations
• Miscellaneous
• Endings

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Leads that work

• Summary leads
• Leading up to casting their ballots for the Nov.
  7 elections, first-time voters at Xavier came to
  an unsettling realization there is no such thing
  as the perfect candidate.
• Standing up for a belief can take courage. On
  Feb. 15, two Berlin students did just that.
  (Story on students who met with governors office
  to voice their opinion on illegal immigration.)
• Some may recognize Mrs. Herrild as the
  diminutive, happy-go-lucky business teacher at
  East DePere High. But behind her bright smile and
  positive attitude, Mrs. Herrild is constantly
  fighting an incurable battle with Multiple
  Sclerosis.

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• Sodas, popcorn, chicken and other fried foods
  will no longer be served in the cafeteria next
  year if the school boards proposed School
  Wellness, Nutrition and Physical Activity policy
  passes.

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• Question leads
• In this day and age most people cant fathom
  going more than a few hours without having
  something to eat. So how do you suppose people in
  third world countries go for weeks at a time,
  eating and drinking nothing but weeds and filthy
  water? (Story on students who raised awareness of
  world hunger at by going without food for 30
  hours.)

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• Descriptive leads
• Many of your may have played h-o-r-s-e on the
  basketball court, but the name of the game was
  Donkeyball. These four-legged friends and their
  riders took to the court to hoop it up at the
  Donkeyball game

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Quotes that work

• Both congressional candidates are being
  incredibly stupid and immature with their
  campaigns. Story on election, and in
  particular the Kagen / Gard race.
• I dont want people to feel sorry for me. I just
  want them to learn something about MS. With that,
  I will feel something good came out of this.
• It really is more of a cat-and-mouse game, he
  said. Students usually overhear a situation or
  are asked to join in. (Story on Quick 50, where
  students earn 50 for turning in alcohol, drug or
  weapon tips.)

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Other things you did right

• You defined and explained terms
• The schools budget is divided between fixed and
  unfixed costs. Fixed costs make up about 90 of
  the budget and include things such as salaries,
  electrical bills and other necessary costs. The
  other 10 consists of the instructional budget
  and goes toward buying things such as textbooks
  and other classroom supplies.
• Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that attacks the
  central nervous system of the body, which
  includes the brain, optic nerves, and spinal
  cord. Scar tissue on the brain forms, which
  distorts nerve pulses to and from the brain,
  causing symptoms that can include paralysis.
  

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• Nice job summarizing background material
• Tony Overton, 21, has been formally charged with
  the possession of child pornography, invasion of
  privacy with the use of a security device,
  capturing an image of nudity, reproducing a
  representation of nudity and invasion of privacy
  in a public place with a person present.

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Endings that work

• Quotations that sum up story
• I dont want people to feel sorry for me. I just
  want them to learn something about MS. With that,
  I will feel something good came out of this.
• Its like saying McDonalds should be more
  healthy because its making people fat.
  McDonalds isnt making people fat. Its the
  peoples choices where they go and eat the food
  thats making them fat, senior Annah Peterson
  said.

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• More quotation endings
• There are some things you cant prevent from
  happening, Smejkal said. You use your best
  judgment when you hire people, and you hope that
  is all goes the way it should. School
  voyeurism case.

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• End with the last bit of information
• To catch the familys reaction watch the show
  when it airs at 7 p.m. Nov. 19 on ABC. (Extreme
  Makeover in Dundee.)
• The public is invited to attend an informational
  meeting 7 p.m. June 8 in Volm Theatre. (Story on
  school consolidation program.)

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Coming up with story ideas

• Referendums, school consolidation/building
  proposals, budget cuts, etc.
• People who have overcome diseases, odds
• News of the day Extreme Makeover, missing
  students, police news (vandalism, underage
  drinking, etc.)
• Elections
• Issues that affect teens teen pregnancies,
  health and obesity, etc.
• Remember events of the past Sept. 11, etc.

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If you ever have questions

• Contact me at benish_at_uwosh.edu