Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Chapter three summary
Chapter three goes into greater detail about the reporter skills necessary to be a good editorialist, and the differences in news values between a good straight news story and a good editorial.
The same values apply to each: impact, proximity, conflict, prominence and timeliness. However, timeliness has less value in an editorial than a spot news story.
A case study mentioned in the chapter about domestic violence emphasizes this point. The story of Jeanmie Purcell's murder was quickly reported, but a larger editorial about domestic abuse in Kentucky written by Maria Henson was not published until 13 months later after extensive research and interviews had been conducted.
The next tip listed in the chapter was going directly to sources for facts.
The internet and secondary sources (such as newspaper morgues) are unreliable as the information they contain may have errors. The best way to find solid facts is through interviews and primary source research while keeping the focus of the editorial on people.
The final topic of the chapter was on challenges the newspaper media faces. The general public views the media to be primarily liberal (or in some recent cases very right-wing).
This causes mistrust in the public, and causes doubt on whether a reported can rise above his or her political views when writing a story. Added to this difficulty is the trouble some people have in differentiating between straight news articles and opinion pieces.
The best way to counter these obstacles is through balanced views of issues while not pulling punches.
The same values apply to each: impact, proximity, conflict, prominence and timeliness. However, timeliness has less value in an editorial than a spot news story.
A case study mentioned in the chapter about domestic violence emphasizes this point. The story of Jeanmie Purcell's murder was quickly reported, but a larger editorial about domestic abuse in Kentucky written by Maria Henson was not published until 13 months later after extensive research and interviews had been conducted.
The next tip listed in the chapter was going directly to sources for facts.
The internet and secondary sources (such as newspaper morgues) are unreliable as the information they contain may have errors. The best way to find solid facts is through interviews and primary source research while keeping the focus of the editorial on people.
The final topic of the chapter was on challenges the newspaper media faces. The general public views the media to be primarily liberal (or in some recent cases very right-wing).
This causes mistrust in the public, and causes doubt on whether a reported can rise above his or her political views when writing a story. Added to this difficulty is the trouble some people have in differentiating between straight news articles and opinion pieces.
The best way to counter these obstacles is through balanced views of issues while not pulling punches.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Chapter two summary
An editorialist has to know what they are talking about and who they are talking to. To do this, writers should develop a field of expertise--such as technology, sports writing or local politics and write to a specific audience.
The audience is the writer's primary concern. If no one reads the column, then it is wasted space on newsprint. The editorial board's job is to know who their audience is by analyzing them demographically and psycho-graphically.
Demographic groups of people are divided by factors such as age, race, location and income. Psycho-graphic groups are divided among those with common interests such as hobbies, political alignments and religions.
Editorialists pick a target audience which they can reach through their medium, then write about current issues which affect them.
The sun exploding in one billion years will interest no one alive today, but the county raising property taxes will. It is important to remember that the best way to find the issues that people are interested in is to walk and talk with people within the local community.
The audience is the writer's primary concern. If no one reads the column, then it is wasted space on newsprint. The editorial board's job is to know who their audience is by analyzing them demographically and psycho-graphically.
Demographic groups of people are divided by factors such as age, race, location and income. Psycho-graphic groups are divided among those with common interests such as hobbies, political alignments and religions.
Editorialists pick a target audience which they can reach through their medium, then write about current issues which affect them.
The sun exploding in one billion years will interest no one alive today, but the county raising property taxes will. It is important to remember that the best way to find the issues that people are interested in is to walk and talk with people within the local community.
Chapter one summary
Chapter one summarizes the basic news values and principles, and the key differences between standard news writing and editorial writing.
A writer's first responsibility is to the public. As a columnist, this means taking a specific side on an issue--supporting one candidate over another, supporting or attacking a proposed plan, fully explaining why and sticking with it. The writer must cover both sides of the issue to do this, or they risk being ignored.
A good editorialist is a good reporter. This means he or she must have experience as a journalist in order to make judgment calls on issues to support or not.
Columnists, like all journalists, must avoid conflicts of interest and quickly bring to light any errors in reporting in order to maintain the public's trust.
There are several things to consider beyond what issues to write about.
Columnists must realize that pain will be involved in their writing. They will draw anger towards themselves--or occasionally cause emotional distress for the friends and family of public figures under scrutiny.
This is an inevitable part of writing. It is the writer's job to determine how to minimize harm and create the most benefit possible for the largest number of people (such as using the utilitarian standard).
A writer's first responsibility is to the public. As a columnist, this means taking a specific side on an issue--supporting one candidate over another, supporting or attacking a proposed plan, fully explaining why and sticking with it. The writer must cover both sides of the issue to do this, or they risk being ignored.
A good editorialist is a good reporter. This means he or she must have experience as a journalist in order to make judgment calls on issues to support or not.
Columnists, like all journalists, must avoid conflicts of interest and quickly bring to light any errors in reporting in order to maintain the public's trust.
There are several things to consider beyond what issues to write about.
Columnists must realize that pain will be involved in their writing. They will draw anger towards themselves--or occasionally cause emotional distress for the friends and family of public figures under scrutiny.
This is an inevitable part of writing. It is the writer's job to determine how to minimize harm and create the most benefit possible for the largest number of people (such as using the utilitarian standard).
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