Writing for Online Journalism

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Writing for Online Journalism

• Part 2 A.P. Style, Leads, Quotes

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A.P. Style

• Associated Press the worlds largest news
  agency
• Members contribute stories that other members can
  use. Non-members pay a fee.
• Used by 1700 newspapers and 5,000 TV and radio
  stations.
• The only news agency in the U.S. since the
  collapse of United Press International.
• Common Trouble Spots

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• ANATOMY OF
• A NEWS SATORY
• HOME PAGE
• 1) Headline is
• informative and
• enticing.
• 2) Lead gives an
• intriguing summary
• INTERNAL PAGE
• 3) Headline is more
• traditional, direct.
• Lead answers Ws
• 4) Cutline explains
• the photo without
• being obvious.

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A Lead answers The Ws Journalists spend
about half of their time writing leads, because
they are the foundations of stories--the story
flows from the lead

• Who is subject(s) of the story
• What is the action of the subject(s)
• When is the time of the action
• Where is the place of the action_________________
  ____________
• Why explains reasons for the action
• How describes the way the action happened

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EXAMPLE Lead

• Lead (identify the Ws) Mary Winkler, half of
  what has been described as a perfect couple,
  was indicted by a grand jury today on first
  degree murder charges in the March 22 shooting of
  her husband, the minister Matthew Winkler.

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Subsequent Paragraph Ampliphies Lead( and notice
language and phrasing)

• He was a passionate young minister and she his
  quiet, substitute-teacher wife, beloved and
  respected in the town of Selmer, Tenn. The
  alleged murder has left his congregants desperate
  to find a motive to explain why, seemingly out of
  nowhere, Mary Carol Winkler allegedly shot her
  husband dead and ran away with their three
  daughters, confessing to the crime three days
  later.

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SENTENCE LENGTH

• As in advertising, long sentences can be
  effective, though shorter are easier to read.
  Below is a lot of info in just two sentencesHe
  was a passionate young minister and she his
  quiet, substitute-teacher wife, beloved and
  respected in the town of Selmer, Tenn. The
  alleged murder has left his congregants desperate
  to find a motive to explain why, seemingly out of
  nowhere, Mary Carol Winkler allegedly shot her
  husband dead and ran away with their three
  daughters, confessing to the crime three days
  later.

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TENSE

• Use present tense when possibleespecially in
  headlines.
• Even though past tense works for that storybook
  approach, present tense is usually more gripping
  and immediateWinkler Confesses to Murdering
  Her Minister Husband

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Inverted pyramid

• Most important information info first
• Progressively less important info in each
  subsequent paragraph.
• Story could be cut at any point or readers could
  stop reading.

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Feature Story Leads Can Be More Creative

• This is Your Brain Online has snappy fragments
  in the leadThe high school sophomore who stays
  up all night adding to her blog. The 14-year-old
  who plays Warcraft for 12 hours at a stretch.
  The honors student who says she has no problem
  writing her English essay while IMing with her
  boyfriend and compiling iTunes play lists. Teens
  will swear up and down that technology they wont
  turn off is harmless fun.But what if theyre
  wrong?

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Kinds of Leads

• Descriptive Lead (Like the one we just saw)
• Quote lead I never thought Id be a
  millionaire makes us want to know how this
  happened.
• Anecdotal Lead The first time Ron Sims tried to
  set up a county office to study the effects of
  global warming, he was mocked. A Seattle Times
  editorial said King County Council members Sims
  and co-sponsor Bruce Laing were belching
  hyperbolic clouds of rhetorical gas, and
  suggested they instead buy some tomato plants and
  steer manure. Theyre not laughing now.

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Using Quotes

• Can lend credibility and life to your story
• Quote vivid language, official information, or
  key facts including who, what, when, where,
  why/how.
• You can use a quote for verification For
  example, if you use the line People are flocking
  to the beaches, you might want to quote a
  beachgoer for a personal perspective or a city
  official for an authoritative perspective.
• You must use the exact words said.

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Attribution

• In journalism, crediting your source is called
  attribution (attributing the information to the
  source).
• You do not have to attribute common knowledge or
  well-established facts (e.g., George Washington
  was President from 1789 to 1797).
• However, if you report that a painting of
  Washington was stolen yesterday, you will need to
  say according to police.
• A suspect allegedly did this or that, or did it
  according to the prosecution (etc.)
• Standard journalism practice is to name your
  source in the text but not to use parenthetical
  citations, footnotes, or list of resources.

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Quoting vs. Paraphrasing

• Exact QuoteMayor Fox said, Beachgoing
  populations are higher this year than in any year
  past.
• ParaphrasedMayor Fox reported record numbers of
  beachgoers this year.

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Interview Tips

• Write down questions in advance
• Arrive early
• Be respectful and appreciative
• Record interviews when possible
• Start with general questions that put interviewee
  at ease
• Stay as neutral as possible (dont lead the
  witness)
• Ask open-ended questions
• Take notes

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Questions?