One of the best things about being a journalist is that no day is the same – events often dictate what you’ll be doing. It’s a great profession for those who are easily bored, but journalism does require the ability to think and act quickly – and write accurately. No matter how long you are in the business, or what your beat is, the ability to produce on deadline is a critical skill.
Happily, New York City is a great place to hone deadline journalism skills because so many things are going on in any day – some planned and some not. Here is an example of an Associated Press Daybook – a daily listing of planned events. Most involve a news conference and news release, and reporters usually have enough lead time to do a little research before heading out on the story. This is the first type of news story you’ll cover this fall.
Key challenges for new journalists on deadline are figuring out which facts are critical to a story and how to get them, then arranging the gathered material in a way that engages the reader and best tells the story. Such proficiency doesn’t come overnight, and you’ll get a lot of practice assignments and drills here to develop these skills.
You can practice some things now, though, to put you a couple of steps ahead for the fall. In one section of your admissions test, you were asked to take a number of facts and quotes and arrange them into an interesting story. Here are two (#1 and #2) more exercises like that, to give you practice in shaping a story in a way that is compelling, hits all the important points and eliminates the unnecessary.
Another rudimentary exercise is to take notes from a live event on TV and write up your version of a story, then compare it to written coverage you see in a newspaper or on a news web site. Some of Mayor Bloomberg’s news conferences are videotaped (look for events with video links) – you could try your hand at writing up one of them. You don’t have the opportunity to ask him a follow-up question or interview someone affected by what he’s announcing, but you could list the questions you would have asked.
Covering breaking news is harder to practice on your own, but you can read or watch news accounts of events, such as a fire in a highrise or a police sweep, a runway show or a concert, and see how the reporter shaped his/her version – and how that compared to the competition. How did the reporter capture your attention and hold it? How did s/he use quotes to back up the story or add to it?
Here’s an announcement of an indictment recently filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Try your hand at writing this up. What research/interviews would have added to your story? Here’s the version The New York Times printed the next day following a news conference – what else did that reporter do to add to the story? What angle did the reporter focus upon? Indictments may not be your cup of tea; you may want to cover music. But if Lady Gaga gets indicted, you’ll want to be prepared!
Trying to write up a story based on the indictment proved to e a bit of a challenge for me as I found myself getting lost in the many details including what the suspects were charged with and the dollar amounts of drugs and other items being sold in Manhattan. What I did find is that if I did not understand something or needed more detail , I looked it up. For example I did not know the provisions of the “Drug Kingpin” statue , but I knew that knowing when it was established and how crucial it was to bringing down this narcotics ring would help shape the story. I then was able to decide what details I needed and the ones I did not.
In the New York Times piece Moynihan added details of the arraignment that gave pertinent information about whether or not the suspects were out on bail and how they pleaded. Also Moynihan spoke directly with and got quotes from Lori Pollock , member of the Manhattan North Narcotics division of the NYPD. The article focused on the new stature and how its establishment and provisions helped bring down this drug ring.
I would like to work on some more of these.
Hi Melissa,
Glad to see you tackled the exercise. If you’re looking for more practice, here are the websites for the four other district attorney offices in the city — go to the “Press Information” or “Press Release” tabs and you’ll find plenty of fodder worthy of “Law & Order.”
http://www.brooklynda.org/
http://www.queensda.org/index2.html
http://bronxda.nyc.gov/frames.html
http://rcda.nyc.gov/Home.html
Casey Anthony is objecting to a proposal that she sell her life story as part of her bankruptcy. Her attorneys filed a motion this week in federal bankruptcy court in Tampa asking a judge to reject the proposal.:
Remember to explore our favorite web-site
<http://www.foodsupplementdigest.com
I was reading the “Inside Pitch” I picked up at a Ray’s game this week.
Some fans enjoy curving their brims themselves, while others like it to be done for them.
Well, for our type of games this issue is non-existent for the most part.
Here is my site … Baseball Heroes Hack
Take more family outings and simply enjoy being a mother.
Read your policy to ensure it covers all of these and that it will cover all of the costs, as some comprehensive
classic car insurance policies will only cover a percentage such as 80%.
Server overload tends to make the load times even worse for the
reason that of the sum of on the internet data being
pulled down all the time as effectively, so logging off
of Play – Station Network can make your load times better.
Here is my web blog; Carros Tunados
Bring a monetary gift If you choose to participate with a cash donation, give whatever you feel comfortable giving. The shower host will start the tree off for guests by tying a bill or small envelope on the tree, and guests will follow suit. There is usually no way to tell who gave what amount. In this instance, bring a card separate from the cash for the bride.
Sunglasses are more than just pieces of plastic they help represent what your individual style is. There are hundreds and hundreds of different designers and styles to chose from. The most important thing to remember is that sunglasses are like shoes you can never have too many pairs.The Art of Writing Thank
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_played_the_president_in_national_treasure_2_book_of_secrets
Je me suis engag茅 en tant que membre de l’茅quipe de l’impact 脿 Hollister
The actress is not giving up on the silver screen. She’s getting lots of attention for her work in the small movie Drinking Buddies, which hit theaters last summer, and she’ll head back to work next summer after giving birth to her first child. But she expects to continue to devote significant energy to Conscious Commerce.One Sole at a Time
mentelocale.it
http://blogs.esa.int/rocketscience/tag/burn/
The division has these suggestions for consumers to reduce temptations for raccoons in residential areas:
AloeforMocha is one of the best skin care lines I tried in a long time. My skin has never felt better! It super soft to touch, I haven experienced any breakouts, and it glows!
I read your post and seems to me one of the best post I ever read. Thanks guys I like it very much. I get everything whatever I need to know about that topic. I have a very big friend list and more importantly, I am thinking to share everything with my friends what I learn about your post and also thinking to refer your website to learn more. Thanks buddy. Keep doing your great work. wish you the best of luck
On Dec. 24, 1913, 73 people, most of them children, died in a crush of panic after someone falsely called out “Fire!” during a Christmas party for striking miners and their families at the Italian Hall in Calumet, Mich.
These home security systems will help monitor and detect intruders, but theyre not the ones responsible
for locking the door or closing the kitchen window. It is therefore advisable
for home owners to use reliable mechanical devices for trustworthy protection. Although home security can be
expensive, it does not have to be costly to be effective.
The first Bus: 6:00am;
Old England tait tomb dans son escarcelle en 1999, rachet aux descendants du fondateur. Cr en 1867 par un vendeur du Bon March , Alexandre Henriquet, le temple du bon go t anglais s’installe peu apr s boulevard des Capucines, c t de l’Op ra de Paris o se trouve toujours son navire amiral. L’enseigne d tient en outre un magasin Lyon, un autre Toulouse et une vingtaine au Japon en partenariat avec un distributeur local. Pour enrayer le vieillissement inexorable de cette institution, Richemont a tent de rajeunir son offre sous la houlette d’un pr sident arriv il y a deux ans et demi, Marc Vincent. Las. Faute d’investissements suffisants, Old England ne sera pas un second Burberry la marque anglaise qui a connu une seconde naissance ces derni res ann es. Et le groupe suisse ne peut qu’ent riner l’ chec de sa politique de diversification de la fin des ann es 90.Le luxe comme vous ne l
Ik eigenlijk alleen iets zeggen als ik iets toe te voegen. Natuurlijk is het niet eens met een post is makkelijker omdat ik iets nieuws te melden hebben automatisch, terwijl als ik het mee eens, ik zou niets nieuws toe te voegen hebben.
Welche Art von Vogel ist das? Ist es ein gro脽er Vogel? ein schwarzer Vogel? eine Elster? welche Art von Vogel ist das und wo kann ich finden.
Of course Elham is just one in a multitude of moveable feasts. But her passion for her business is a sign of what may come. Jordan is a neighbor to some of the richest culinary traditions in the world, the countries of the spice routes that connected east to west, the collectors of herbs and seeds, flora and fauna that make surprise appearances in our modern cuisines but are still largely undiscovered. Perhaps those like Elham, who seek to build a future on their culinary past, will find a good home in Jordan and finally introduce the gastronomic secrets of their homes to the public.A Natural Antibiotic for Ear Infections