Welcome to JOU 3117 News Reporting & Writing Assoc. Professor & SFNS News Director Dan Evans email: daevans@fiu.edu 213.321.3661 (m) @EditorDanEvans
What we re covering Introductions > Who am I? Who are you? What do you hope to get out of this class? Review syllabus and class infrastructure > What are we learning this semester? Assign police coverage areas. The lede > Who, what, when, how, and why the hell should I care? The bio > Write like a professional athlete! You in the third person.
Introductions What is your name? Tell me something unique about yourself. What interests you in journalism/media? What would your ideal job be? What do you hope to get out of this class?
Now Read This! The role of a journalist: http://www.mediahelpingmedia.org/training-resources/ journalism-basics/345-the-role-of-the-journalist
Review the syllabus
Overall Goals Reporting and Writing > Putting together a beautiful, well-written 500-700 word story Quoting AP Style at Parties > Everyone loves the guy/gal who knows when to capitalize a title and when to lowercase it. Amiright? Honing the B.S. Detector > The difference between the official tale and the real one. Falling in love with journalism > The best job in the world
Your Beats
Broward Co. Cities Dania Beach http://daniabeach0l.gov/ Davie http://www.davie-0l.gov/ Deer0ield Beach http://www.deer0ieldbeach.com/ Pompano Beach http://pompanobeach0l.gov/ Plantation http://www.plantation.org/ Sunrise http://www.sunrise0l.gov/ Miramar http://www.ci.miramar.0l.us/ Hallandale http://www.hallandalebeach0l.gov/ Lauderhill http://lauderhill-0l.gov/ Wilton Manors http://www.wiltonmanors.com/ North Lauderdale http://www.nlauderdale.org/ Southwest Ranches http://www.southwestranches.org/
Miami-Dade Cities Aventura http://www.cityofaventura.com/ Cutler Bay http://cutlerbay-0l.gov/ Hialeah http://www.hialeah0l.gov Key Biscayne http://keybiscayne.0l.gov/ Miami Lakes http://www.miamilakes-0l.gov/ Miami Springs http://www.miamisprings-0l.gov/ North Miami http://www.northmiami0l.gov/ North Miami Beach http://www.citynmb.com/ Palmetto Bay http://www.palmettobay-0l.gov/ South Miami http://www.southmiami0l.gov/ Sweetwater http://cityofsweetwater.0l.gov/ West Miami http://cityofwestmiami0l.com/
General Instructions Your coverage will focus on the city you choose Coverage will be hard news, not soft features You will need to spend a significant amount of time in your city
Beat Assignments
Time for a break? Or we can keep going and leave early
The Lede Definition Types Straight Lede Anecdotal Lede What not to do Burying the Lede Anecdotal Lede KISS Keep It Simple Stupid You re smarter than a 5th grader. Your readers may not be
Sample Fact Sheet Source: Deputy Bo Lolly of the Broward County Sheriff s Department Information released today (Monday) Story is for the Miami Herald
Carl Hancock, 19, was arrested after a chase by deputy sheriff s last night in Hollywood. Dept. Bo Lolly said he saw Hancock and another man on two motorcycles on Airport Road. Both were nude. When they saw the deputy s car, the two went in different directions. Lolly caught Hancock three miles away. Hancock told Lolly that he and his friend had a bet to see how long they could ride nude without getting caught. He was wearing only boots and a belt. Hancock was booked on suspicion of lewdness and driving without a license. He refused to ID his pal. (Source: Broward County Sheriff s Department)
The Lede: What s Important
The Basics Who When What How Why should I care?
The lede is the first sentence of a print news article. Hard-news lede vs. anecdotal lede Hard news ledes are usually 25 words or fewer, and contain effectively everything the reader needs to know about a story. Other grafs are to provide additional detail and context, but the heavy lifting is done up front
Print Writing Tips Print writing is done almost solely in the past tense. In our class, that s the only tense you ll be using. AP Style is our Bible. Biggest issues for young journalists: numbers and titles. Learn them. Love them. When trying to determine what s the most important, think about what you would tell your best friend. Unless it s someone famous (or locally well known), names are generally not important for the lede. Avoid the verb to be
Carl Hancock, 19, was arrested after a chase by deputy sheriff s last night in Hollywood. Dept. Bo Lolly said he saw Hancock and another man on two motorcycles on Airport Road. Both were nude. When they saw the deputy s car, the two went in different directions. Lolly caught Hancock three miles away. Hancock told Lolly that he and his friend had a bet to see how long they could ride nude without getting caught. He was wearing only boots and a belt. Hancock was booked on suspicion of lewdness and driving without a license. He refused to ID his pal. (Source: Broward Sheriff s Dept.)
What s the most important? Names? Action? Arrest? Outcome?
Action!
A Broward Sheriff s deputy gave chase to a pair of nude men riding motorcycles Sunday night, arresting one near Airport Road.
Bio Write a bio of yourself, using the third person. This should be 150 words or fewer. When you re done, email to daevans@fiu.edu and you re FREE!
Homework Reading: Miami Herald and New York Times (daily) Practice: Write hard news ledes from provided sheet. Due May 18 at 12 pm. Begin News Sense from Poynter U: http://www.newsu.org/courses/news-sensebuilding-blocks-news Due June 1 at 12 pm. Field Work: Go to your city. Walk around for at least an hour, determine the location of a police station fire station and city hall. Talk to people on the street about the most important issue facing their city. Get three responses and contact information from residents. Take a selfie in front of your city hall, and email that and the responses to me (including contact info) to daevans@fiu.edu. Due May 23 at 12 pm. BUT Be prepared to talk briefly about your city next class. Who s the mayor? Have there been any controversies recently? What s the latest news on the place?
Assoc. Professor & SFNS News Director Dan Evans email: daevans@fiu.edu 213.321.3661 (m) @EditorDanEvans