JournalismMarch 25-26

Journal

Free Write

Current Events

Finish Presentations

The following people/groups still need to present their PR projects. Breanna M Hannah/Breanna Haley, Grecia, Angel Noah/Madison Clay

Don’t forget you are responsible for giving them a score, and coming up a question on the rationale of their issue, and a question on the implementation of the campaign. Also, be respectful or it will effect your grade.

BroadcastHow to write broadcast news copy.

What do you notice

Watch this…

What do you notice about the: broadcast itself? the news anchor? the stories? the way the stories are delivered?

Share your observations.

Basic Rules for writing Broadcast Copy

1. ALL copy must be typed on standard size paper. Use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, no lower case when writing TV news copy. 

2. Double-space all copy.3. Page layout: ALL copy must have, in

the upper left hand corner, a Slug (the name or topic of the story), the writer's Name and the Date, each on a separate line, single-spaced.

Rules Cont.

4. Use end marks (###) to indicate the end of each story. Use (-more-) if your copy must continues onto additional pages.

5. Type and print only ONE STORY on each page, and do not use backsides of paper.

More Rules

6. Never split words or hyphenate phrases from one line to the next in news copy.

 7. Use short, simple, conversational

sentences. This helps others (like anchors) read your writing smoothly while under stress. Do not run on and on and on. Write the way we talk...SIMPLY.

Even More Rules

8. Use present-tense verbs in the lead sentence

9. Use present-tense verbs THROUGHOUT the story whenever possible.

10. Use active voice. This is the “subject-verb-object” sentence structure.

Example: THE BOY HIT THE BALL.

Rules for naming names

11. Use the FIRST AND LAST NAMES of people in a news story the FIRST time they are mentioned. Thereafter in that story, use the last name to refer to that person, OR some other creative reference. Example: MICHAEL JORDAN (the first time)...THE SIX-TIME N-B-A CHAMPION (the second time)...JORDAN (the third time)...THE FORMER CHICAGO BULL FORWARD (the fourth time)...back to JORDAN...etc.

More Rules

12. TIME references: Follow the basic rules above, hyphenate, and specify "in the morning, evening or tonight." Do NOT use" am" or "pm." (i.e. two-15 this morning, noon, seven-45 this evening, at eleven tonight, midnight.)

13. Ages (when relevant) go BEFORE names, and are hyphenated: (i.e. 78-YEAR-OLD BOB DOLE, TWO-MONTH OLD SUSAN LAKE).

Editing Rules

14. HAND EDIT ALL COPY BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR COPY FOR AIR USE.

Completely darken out mistakes or words you do not want aired. ACCURACY is important! Correct spelling, fact, and other errors. Be thorough. Take pride in your writing.

Organization of Copy –Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect- the cause is your main point and it’s followed by 1 or more effects.

Cause- Another heavy snowstorm has brought our city to a standstill.

Effect- Schools will remain closed for a second straight week.

Organization-Problem-Solution First state a problem, follow with an explanation of

a solution and then tell the results.

Problem- The Oakcrest School District is facing serious money troubles.

Solution- School board president Jimmy Smith and two other school board members say the only way around the problem is to cut school programs.

Results- Betty Pendleton says that because last year’s spending cuts didn’t help avert this year’s budget crisis, the only real alternative is to raise taxes.

Organization-Comparison

Show similarities and differences between two people, plans, products or proposals

Comparison- The two leading candidates for Student Council president have similar backgrounds. Barry Miller and Julia Alegria are both honor students…

Assignment

Read a story from the school paper. Rewrite the story into broadcast style, using one of the organizational methods you have learned.

Help with Newscast Project

Select several stories from the school paper. Choose a wide range of stories: hard news, sports, features, etc.

Rewrite the stories in broadcast style Determine the order of the stories.