Features
(500-600 words)
Features are less timely stories about individuals or about lifestyle issues. In fact, they should be timeless and could go in any issue. They are often several paragraphs long. Written like a piece of short fiction. You will want to have at least three sources in your feature and remain unbiased to the topic. Features are usually not related to a current event. Tell your stories through the experience of individuals in your school community. The more your readers are affected, the more importance they will place on a story.
Expectations for TFT: You are expected to write one an issue but the more the better. They won't always be used in the issue they are written for because they are timeless, they can be used in other issues.
Examples of Topics:
The best books not to read
Cell phone messages
Coincidences
Part-time jobs
Organizing a Feature
1. What is your subject? (clear focus for the story)
2. What are you trying to say? (Can you translate this into a summary sentence?)
3. How will you say it? (Structure)
4. Have you said it well enough? (Walk away before editing it.)
Leads
May run as many as six to ten paragraphs before the reader discovers the subject of the story. They make the reader want to keep reading. May start with an anecdote or description that draws the reader into the scene before revealing the topic.
Allusion lead refers to a well known person or song
Example: Mirror, mirror on the wall. Isn't that me down the hall? (a story about twins)
Compare/Contrast lead
Example: In football, as in physics, pressure is the measurement of force upon an object . . .
Descriptive lead uses figurative language to paint a picture.
Example: "There was little talk, only the sound of cleats on the locker room floor . . .
Quotation lead can be from a memorable interview or a famous quote
Example: "With great power comes great responsibility," said Uncle Ben in the film Spiderman . . .
Staccato lead uses short phrases
Example: Call it sickness. A season. A phase. . . .
Imitation Style lead mimic another piece of writing
Example: Check out that Internet athlete. That's him boarding the bus. . . .
student version: Check out that Editor-in-chief walking down the hall. Arms filled with . . .
Blurbs
*Blurbs may be used as extended cutlines.
News
(500-600 words)
“Anything that will make people talk.”
News is information we have not heard and can inform the reader of an event. It is written from a third person point of view. It is to be reported in an unbiased manner (this means covering all angles of the story and not giving opinion), provide a detailed and accurate account. With news, use the inverted triangle (see below) and a minimum of three primary sources (see Interviewing for how to incorporate sources). Paragraphs should be one to three sentences long.
Expectations for TFT: This may vary, but there is a minimum of one per issue. What would be ideal, however, would be at least two. 450 words is not that much writing, so apart from interviews, news stories should not take much time to write.
The five principles to think about when writing a news story:
- Timeliness – will the event happen close enough to when the paper is published?
- Prominence – includes someone who is well known and easily recognized by the public
- Proximity – happens close to home
- Human Interest – involves people
- Rarity – something that is not covered and interesting
5 W’s and H
Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How
Facts, Interest, and Audience
Facts: words, numbers, and pictures must be adequate, accurate, and timely
Interest: how much meaning the story has to the readers
Audience: people who will be reading the story and their values and interests
Leads
Must be 27 words or less and be one sentence and one paragraph long. Usually they are summary leads, not feature leads. Leads never begin with A, An, or The. Avoid starting with a label or the name of the school or team. Get to the point in the first half dozen words. Summarize and start with important information. Don't bury the important stuff at the end or the middle of the story.
Direct News Lead:
It gives the facts and uses the 5 W’s and H in first two paragraphs.
Summary Leads:
Summarize the story in the first paragraph and then adds specific details such as names, dates, ages, and locations in the second paragraph.
Sources
Cite a source at least once for every paragraph. Better, cite a source for every sentence.
Inverted Pyramid
News stories are not written in chronological order. Put the most important information first and the least important at the end.
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Tips for conducting a successful interview.doc Size : 21 Kb Type : doc |
Interviewing
Leading up to:
- Research, before you conduct an interview. Know your information about the person, organization, etc.
- Write questions out to bring to the interview and space them out on your paper so that you can write your answers below them. (Ask open-ended questions.)
- Arrange a time to meet with the person you will interview. Be flexible. Try to conduct as many as possible in person.
- Arrive on time and dress nicely.
During:
- Record on a phone or electronic device and also take notes
- Ask questions
- Listen carefully
- Write down answers
- Comprehend what is being said
- Prepare for the next question
- Ask follow-up questions
Concluding:
- How do you spell your name?
- What is your title?
- Where may I reach you if I have questions? (Is email or phone better?)
- When is a good time to call?
- Who else do you suggest I talk to about this subject?
- Why would that person be a good source?
After:
Shortly after, listen to your recording and take notes, read your notes and highlight quotes or points you think are significant. Add notes about your impressions. Fill in missing words, write out abbreviated words, and rewrite or type the notes.
Date your notes and keep them in case the editor has questions.
Organizing your Interviews
You have three or more interviews done. Here is how to organize the pages of notes you have taken in your notebook:
- Type up everything you wrote down. Chances are, if you are a true reporter, your notes will look pretty mush like chicken scratch. The sooner you transform your cryptic notes the more accurate they will be.
- Sort out quotes by topic
- Sort out quotes in two categories, "awesome" and "weak". For example: "It was such a phenomenal night! Everyone really showed true Spartan Spirit." is much better than this quote: "Yeah, it was pretty cool. It was fun.
- Possibly use a flow chart (see below)
- Sometimes, you will have a fill-in article already written. This is when you write everything but leave a blank space for the quotes. Then you can just plug in your quotes, if this is the case. The benefit of this type of article is that you know what you are searching for when you interview and therefore you can come away with the quote that you want (aka dream quote). However, the downside is that it can make you narrow-minded when you go into an interview and wind up just asking for a quote rather than interviewing.
Quotes Flow Chart within the Inverted Pyramid
This chart can be used as a reference on how you should organize your sources, quotes, content, etc. within your story.
Introduction Paragraph/Lead Sentence: In this paragraph, start off with the lead sentence; that includes the 5 W's and H. Following the lead sentence, hsould be one to three follow up sentences supporting or explaining what was just said. If you have a quote that supports the lead sentence exceptionally well, you can tie it in, if you find a way that flows well. But, remember, a quote (unless an indirect quotation) always marks the beginning of a new paragraph.
Supporting Paragraphs: After you introduce or summarize your primary objectives of the article, this is when you really start using quotes to back up your information. The entire body of the story should have tons of quotes; this is the only way you are going to establish credibility. The important thing to remember is that you are organizing your quotes based off of content, not who it is.
Step 1: Topic Sentence. This is different from a lead, in that it just states what your next quotes or facts are going to be about.
Step 2: Quotes. This is when you pull all of your quotes (from credible sources) pertaining to your topic sentence. The order in which you put your sources isn't really important, however, you should try to put the stonger quotes first.
Step 3: Conclusion/Transition. Before moving on to a new topic sum up what you just talked about, and provide a clean flow to your next topic.
Remaining Supporting Paragraphs: Just repeat the steps above. Keep in mind that information goes from most important to least important.
Kicker: This is just journalism jargon for conclusion. It should tie up all information, however, sometimes, a story just ends. This could be a good point to end with a quote that wasn't used earlier. Remember, you can't say, "Go Spartans!" So let someone else do it for you.
Key Points:
*Don’t start a story with a quote.
*Each time you use a direct quote, it is a new paragraph.
*Supporting paragraphs should be organized from most important to least important.
*Your quotes should be organized by content, not the source. Also, they should be organized in order of importance.
*Kickers can be quotes.
Sports
(400 words)
We usually write game coverage and sports features. Game coverage includes any games that we have not covered in the paper yet up until the paper comes out. It is best to go to the games and report on what you see. You can give halftime scores, big spreads, etc. This is written in the same fashion as News using the inverted pyramid.
Expectations for TFT: You do not have to have a sports story unless it is assigned to you. If you are interested in writing sports, talk with the Sports Editor. Sports writers are always needed.
Tips for writing game coverage
Do not use boring phrases such as: “The team won”; “the team lost”; “this was a good game.” Instead use: “Spartans chained the Huskies” or “The Salida Spartans slid into the baseball season.” Use more words pertaining to the other teams’ mascots. Be witty.
Tips for interviewing
Get a complete interview rather than just quotes from players. Interview athletes, coaches, spectators, etc. Cover top performers first and then seniors. (See interview page for more details)
Features
Features can be about sports events in town or the community, March Madness or other tournaments, new sports starting up, athletes at our school, etc.
