Chapter 2 of WaRN was about blogs and their relevance to the changing landscape of reporting and news in the current world. It goes into detail about different uses/applications of blogging in reporting news. A concept I found intriguing was the book’s description of the relevance of blogging; I think it is interesting how much emphasis is placed on blogging when nowadays blogs have fallen to the wayside in favor of more multimedia focused social media, as opposed to the primarily text-based blogging. I feel as though blogging was a better way of having an online presence, as it didn’t have to necessarily be focused on pictures of you/be linked to your actual name, instead allowing more creative/curated expression and writing as opposed to showing your photography skills off, although this could be a portion of it. Another interesting point from the reading was the portion that discusses ethical issues, especially in relation to citizen journalism. As we live in the time of fake news, it’s interesting seeing the viewpoint of ethical issues from a blogging perspective, and considering the ethical issues that could arise from everybody with internet access being able to be their own “journalist”. As time has went on, issues of credibility and the proliferation of social media/networks giving more people more access to a broader scope of information and disinformation, the issues and possibilities for solutions brought up in this chapter are essential to consider.
The first part of this reading that I found interesting was the importance of revealing the results of a story first, rather than giving the buildup and then the results. This is what sets journalistic writing apart from other forms of writing, as it is one of the only kinds of writing where it is best to put the end of the story first. Readers will feel it is a waste of time to read build up information at the beginning of a report, and it is best to get right down to the facts of a story and reveal background information after.
A second part of this reading that I found interesting was how hard it might be to find the focus of a story. The textbook suggests thinking about how you might tell a story to a friend, and I think that approach is a really smart way to think about it. The focus of a story is what leads to a catchy headline, so figuring it out is absolutely essential to find the true draw of a story. It is also important to keep the focus in mind while crafting the actual story, as sidetracking is possible, and returning to the point of the story can prevent the author from going off on a tangent.
Within chapter two of our course textbook on the idea of the “Basic News Story,” I found much of what was laid out interesting regarding the writing process and how it differs from what I do in more academic, long-form writing. For instance, I found the idea on page 33 interesting, where visual effects and infographics with more multimedia options are now a part of the writing process. For example, you wouldn’t want to duplicate information that could be viewed visually. To me, that was a different way of thinking about the significance of words on the page in a spatial sense and how you might have to extend your perspective to think of what would be most visually compelling to the reader in not just sentence structure but with the possibility of charts, boxes, photos, etc. Another area within the chapter that I was drawn to was some similarities to much of my writing. I think of how those skills of arranging information to reach whatever the intended goal apply to many different writing genres. As the chapter mentions, in a basic news story, it is essential to identify the main idea or “the focus” and develop a lead, body, and ending. It made me think of how engrained that idea is to me just under different names such as thesis, body, and conclusion. I also found it very helpful at the end of the chapter, where the authors explain how certain grammar rules might change, like quotations or in-text citations.
I think that the most important part of the focus of a report is the nut graph in a “nutshell” and the quotes that reports collect and can add them. I feel like quotes help with the reporter legitimacy to the reads as well as the news site or paper that is displaying the article/story. A reporters job is to report and that meanings asking questions and collecting responses. Its the same in podcasts that is just oral. I think a good reporter needs to know how to listen to the people they are interviewing. If they do not then they do not get the facts of what they are reporting on. This is crucial for the paper or news site to survive and to be accurate for its readers. Why would anyone who wants real news want to read news that does not have all of the facts in them. What is an attribution? This helps make what you say for the information you collect as a report and then backing it up with quotes and information or statistics.
Feature leads this was a new term I learned through this chapter on page 24 it states, “ A lead that starts with a story or description about a person, place or incident, is called a “feature lead” or an “anecdotal lead.’ ”. I think this is a very important element to get your reader hooked and invested in the story you are telling by illustrating a background and a connection to who the story is about. A second term I learned about in this chapter was on page 27 with the term Attribution which is used to heighten the credibility of a story. This was another important term to me in the sense that they discussed the problems associated with attribution from social media and how those two aren’t necessarily properly associated.
Another element that such out to me was towards the end of the chapter it breaks down for you a bunch of ways to start and/or pursue a story and a checklist of shorts to help ensure you are covering all of the right bases when it comes to communicating on an event.
Learning about the basic structure of a news story/article was really interesting, and it made me wonder how long it took for this structure to become the basis for most stories. Even though it is relatively simple, it definitely takes many different factors into consideration to optimize the amount of readers a story gets, and I think these different methods, and the psychology behind them, are fascinating. I also enjoyed learning about the basic questions of the news story, because they addressed the priorities of both the journalist and reader in a really effective way.
This chapter shared the important and key factors in creating a news story. While reporting news seems simple enough, this chapter showed the different styles and elements needed to keep viewers interested. Something that caught my eye was the skill of writing to place the viewer at the scene. The description should hold basic elements such as who, what, when, where, and, why; together the description should be vivid enough to place the reader at the scene. Most news affects the public in some way so it’s the reporter’s job to explain that. I noted how journalism plays into Democracy where the news reports happenings and from there the people have a say or influence based on how it affects society. I also noticed the importance of using quotes and attributions for first-hand accounts of a story. Having a public person making a statement on the news helps others connect to the story and may aid in public opinions on the topic. I liked when the book quoted, “…a reporter should consider quotes as the spice of the story, not the meat and potatoes.” Quotes add character to an article because readers can pick up on emotions, and tone and can be influenced in an ‘unbiased’ way based on what they perceive from the piece. When creating a news article, it’s important that reporters drive to get to the center of the story and share as much detail as possible to reach and connect with the public.
I found that in chapter two of WaRN there were certain aspects that I found important to journalism as a whole. For starters, I found the first thing that the chapter extremely important, this being the aspect and goal of finding the focus when doing journalism. The quote that I liked about this was “Because readers and viewers are bombarded with so much information these , they want to know the point of the story quickly, so you need to put the focus in the first sentence or within the first few paragraphs of the story”. As someone who does read a lot of what would be called “journalism” whether it’s through social media or a newspaper company themselves, I do feel like sometimes I will skip an article and some of that could be avoided by adding in something to grab my interest right away within the first couple of paragraphs or even the opening headline of the article. I do think that this strategy is important in writing in general because you always want to grab someone’s attention early so you can convince them with your words to read the entirety of the work. I also liked the different questions that the book used in order for us as the writers to figure out what that focus is. The second thing I thought was important was Knowing the basic details of a news story and how these can help benefit your story as a whole. I think that having an understanding of the basics and how to use them can only help you not harm you.
The success of une football, and what football brings to a college campus. Interviews from head coach, and members of the coaching staff who were a part of the first recruiting class. Talking about what it is like to start a footbll program. Interview people who have been around and see how the culture has changed since the programs inception.
The turn around of une dining at the forum. How it used to be last semester and what it is now. Will take interviews from staff and hopefully the person who runs UNE dining who made the call.
I think of the elemt of would you twll this to a friend, I think at its core thats what news is. You have to ask yourslelf, would you tell someone this ? It also needs a catchy headline to draw the people in and then use the other elemets of reporting to drive the story. I think quotes are important as well, it provides a conversation like portion to the story, I wouldnt want someone to tell me something, id want to read it as if i am there.
Rich outlines a diagram to be followed by journalists writing a basic news story. This is as follows: Lead (this gives the most important information about the story), nut graph (this is the main point of the story), lead quote (this backs up the lead), facts/quotes (this is self-explanatory), and the ending. These are all important in creating a cohesive and interesting story, while also allowing for flow and easy readability.
I also found the potential for digital translation to be interesting. In the format of a website, which is of course what most news sources are using now, news is allowed to be displayed differently than in a newspaper, in a way that still catches the attention of a reader without disrupting the flow of the story. This can be included as audio or video files that are related to the story.
I like how in this chapter it went over the different leads you can take with a news story and how usefully different styles could be. This was interesting to me because it makes me better understand want goes into each of the news. I also like how the book talks about when each of the styles are used and the advantages of them. The leads they talk about are summary leads, hard-news leads, and feature leads. Each of these leads have their own purpose and the book really helps to understand each of them and when they would be used. Another element of the chapter I found interesting was the visual aspects. Visuals can be helpful to display what you are writing or talking about. Visuals can also give the media more of an identity as well by adding photos the company only has or using different visuals in a way others do not do. I like how the chapter talks about the importance of visuals by stating they are crucial and can enchase the news. The chapter also states about different types of visuals like charts that might be overlooked more than a picture however add a lot to the story.
1. This chapter went into a deep dive on the basic news story AKA a hard news story, and right off the bat before I even finished the first page I knew more about different types of news stories and the things that might distinguish them from one another. Before this chapter I had no idea that there were different types of stories, I summarized that there were different styles to write news stories but I had always thought that to be a personal choice of the journalist/author of a story rather than an actual type of format for a story to be written in.
2. The chapter went into depth about the structure and format of the hard-news story, and I had no idea that any of this existed, maybe i just never read that many news stories and maybe I am truly hopelessly naive, because now thinking about it for 2 seconds it clear and obvious that there has to be some structure in how news stories are written but before I just simply believed that a journalist wrote what they wanted and how they wanted only bending to the will of their editors and superiors, but now I know of the existence of the different archetypes of stories there are to tell.
Headlines make all the difference in a news report. Interestingly, the reader must work backward to get the full story since they are given the focus to gain their attention. To answer the who, what, where, why, and how, readers are to work out the finer details as they move through the piece in the reverse manner of a typical story. The idea of ‘telling a friend’ is appealing and beneficial for the journalist to capture the main focus from the beginning. Readers uncover the critical information following the primary action; if they are intrigued, to reach the conclusions to their questions. Varying methods employed by journalists, I find the ‘nut graph’ fascinating due to its slight relation to the proper topic, followed by the real story and context.
Quotes and their attributions have quite a few rules on their own. While utilizing outside information, journalists must be cautious of plagiarism, as it can occur in numerous ways. Even using a simple Twitter post may result in a journalist’s dismissal. When obtaining quotes from individuals about a story you cover, one must ensure your source has agreed to use their interview on air. A concept many may not consider, but it is an ethical quandary that journalists have faced. With so many rules and guidelines, journalists must ensure they are not overstepping and reporting accurately and in the correct format.
Journal #4: Report on 2 interesting elements of the chapter and help explain why those elements are important?
There was a lot of really useful information in this chapter that I didn’t know before reading so that made it hard to just pick two things. The first thing that stood out to me from the chapter Impact and attribution sections. The element in the impact section that piqued my interest the most was the last sentence where it states “social media sites encourage readers and viewers to interact with the news.” For me It’s crazy to think about how much more audiences are able to be involved with the news because of social media and how that has shaped the way that news is delivered and received. Because audiences are able to interact with the news on a regular basis, it is easier for news stations to know what they should be focusing more on and in what areas they can improve. Also if there is a breaking news story audiences are able to help gather information and send it in to help form the story as it’s developing. The other element that caught my attention from this chapter was in the attribution section where it states “With the proliferation of social media (Blogs, Twitter, and other sites) it is even more difficult to determine the validity of information.” There are many upsides for using social media as a news outlet but now that news is able to travel from person to person in the blink of an eye it is easier than ever for misinformation to be put out to the public and spread like wildfire. The scary thing about it is that there are no regulations that can stop the spread of misinformation on these platforms and there is nothing we can really do about it.
14 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 4”
Chapter 2 of WaRN was about blogs and their relevance to the changing landscape of reporting and news in the current world. It goes into detail about different uses/applications of blogging in reporting news. A concept I found intriguing was the book’s description of the relevance of blogging; I think it is interesting how much emphasis is placed on blogging when nowadays blogs have fallen to the wayside in favor of more multimedia focused social media, as opposed to the primarily text-based blogging. I feel as though blogging was a better way of having an online presence, as it didn’t have to necessarily be focused on pictures of you/be linked to your actual name, instead allowing more creative/curated expression and writing as opposed to showing your photography skills off, although this could be a portion of it. Another interesting point from the reading was the portion that discusses ethical issues, especially in relation to citizen journalism. As we live in the time of fake news, it’s interesting seeing the viewpoint of ethical issues from a blogging perspective, and considering the ethical issues that could arise from everybody with internet access being able to be their own “journalist”. As time has went on, issues of credibility and the proliferation of social media/networks giving more people more access to a broader scope of information and disinformation, the issues and possibilities for solutions brought up in this chapter are essential to consider.
The first part of this reading that I found interesting was the importance of revealing the results of a story first, rather than giving the buildup and then the results. This is what sets journalistic writing apart from other forms of writing, as it is one of the only kinds of writing where it is best to put the end of the story first. Readers will feel it is a waste of time to read build up information at the beginning of a report, and it is best to get right down to the facts of a story and reveal background information after.
A second part of this reading that I found interesting was how hard it might be to find the focus of a story. The textbook suggests thinking about how you might tell a story to a friend, and I think that approach is a really smart way to think about it. The focus of a story is what leads to a catchy headline, so figuring it out is absolutely essential to find the true draw of a story. It is also important to keep the focus in mind while crafting the actual story, as sidetracking is possible, and returning to the point of the story can prevent the author from going off on a tangent.
Within chapter two of our course textbook on the idea of the “Basic News Story,” I found much of what was laid out interesting regarding the writing process and how it differs from what I do in more academic, long-form writing. For instance, I found the idea on page 33 interesting, where visual effects and infographics with more multimedia options are now a part of the writing process. For example, you wouldn’t want to duplicate information that could be viewed visually. To me, that was a different way of thinking about the significance of words on the page in a spatial sense and how you might have to extend your perspective to think of what would be most visually compelling to the reader in not just sentence structure but with the possibility of charts, boxes, photos, etc. Another area within the chapter that I was drawn to was some similarities to much of my writing. I think of how those skills of arranging information to reach whatever the intended goal apply to many different writing genres. As the chapter mentions, in a basic news story, it is essential to identify the main idea or “the focus” and develop a lead, body, and ending. It made me think of how engrained that idea is to me just under different names such as thesis, body, and conclusion. I also found it very helpful at the end of the chapter, where the authors explain how certain grammar rules might change, like quotations or in-text citations.
Journal #4
I think that the most important part of the focus of a report is the nut graph in a “nutshell” and the quotes that reports collect and can add them. I feel like quotes help with the reporter legitimacy to the reads as well as the news site or paper that is displaying the article/story. A reporters job is to report and that meanings asking questions and collecting responses. Its the same in podcasts that is just oral. I think a good reporter needs to know how to listen to the people they are interviewing. If they do not then they do not get the facts of what they are reporting on. This is crucial for the paper or news site to survive and to be accurate for its readers. Why would anyone who wants real news want to read news that does not have all of the facts in them. What is an attribution? This helps make what you say for the information you collect as a report and then backing it up with quotes and information or statistics.
Feature leads this was a new term I learned through this chapter on page 24 it states, “ A lead that starts with a story or description about a person, place or incident, is called a “feature lead” or an “anecdotal lead.’ ”. I think this is a very important element to get your reader hooked and invested in the story you are telling by illustrating a background and a connection to who the story is about. A second term I learned about in this chapter was on page 27 with the term Attribution which is used to heighten the credibility of a story. This was another important term to me in the sense that they discussed the problems associated with attribution from social media and how those two aren’t necessarily properly associated.
Another element that such out to me was towards the end of the chapter it breaks down for you a bunch of ways to start and/or pursue a story and a checklist of shorts to help ensure you are covering all of the right bases when it comes to communicating on an event.
Learning about the basic structure of a news story/article was really interesting, and it made me wonder how long it took for this structure to become the basis for most stories. Even though it is relatively simple, it definitely takes many different factors into consideration to optimize the amount of readers a story gets, and I think these different methods, and the psychology behind them, are fascinating. I also enjoyed learning about the basic questions of the news story, because they addressed the priorities of both the journalist and reader in a really effective way.
This chapter shared the important and key factors in creating a news story. While reporting news seems simple enough, this chapter showed the different styles and elements needed to keep viewers interested. Something that caught my eye was the skill of writing to place the viewer at the scene. The description should hold basic elements such as who, what, when, where, and, why; together the description should be vivid enough to place the reader at the scene. Most news affects the public in some way so it’s the reporter’s job to explain that. I noted how journalism plays into Democracy where the news reports happenings and from there the people have a say or influence based on how it affects society. I also noticed the importance of using quotes and attributions for first-hand accounts of a story. Having a public person making a statement on the news helps others connect to the story and may aid in public opinions on the topic. I liked when the book quoted, “…a reporter should consider quotes as the spice of the story, not the meat and potatoes.” Quotes add character to an article because readers can pick up on emotions, and tone and can be influenced in an ‘unbiased’ way based on what they perceive from the piece. When creating a news article, it’s important that reporters drive to get to the center of the story and share as much detail as possible to reach and connect with the public.
I found that in chapter two of WaRN there were certain aspects that I found important to journalism as a whole. For starters, I found the first thing that the chapter extremely important, this being the aspect and goal of finding the focus when doing journalism. The quote that I liked about this was “Because readers and viewers are bombarded with so much information these , they want to know the point of the story quickly, so you need to put the focus in the first sentence or within the first few paragraphs of the story”. As someone who does read a lot of what would be called “journalism” whether it’s through social media or a newspaper company themselves, I do feel like sometimes I will skip an article and some of that could be avoided by adding in something to grab my interest right away within the first couple of paragraphs or even the opening headline of the article. I do think that this strategy is important in writing in general because you always want to grab someone’s attention early so you can convince them with your words to read the entirety of the work. I also liked the different questions that the book used in order for us as the writers to figure out what that focus is. The second thing I thought was important was Knowing the basic details of a news story and how these can help benefit your story as a whole. I think that having an understanding of the basics and how to use them can only help you not harm you.
The success of une football, and what football brings to a college campus. Interviews from head coach, and members of the coaching staff who were a part of the first recruiting class. Talking about what it is like to start a footbll program. Interview people who have been around and see how the culture has changed since the programs inception.
The turn around of une dining at the forum. How it used to be last semester and what it is now. Will take interviews from staff and hopefully the person who runs UNE dining who made the call.
I think of the elemt of would you twll this to a friend, I think at its core thats what news is. You have to ask yourslelf, would you tell someone this ? It also needs a catchy headline to draw the people in and then use the other elemets of reporting to drive the story. I think quotes are important as well, it provides a conversation like portion to the story, I wouldnt want someone to tell me something, id want to read it as if i am there.
Rich outlines a diagram to be followed by journalists writing a basic news story. This is as follows: Lead (this gives the most important information about the story), nut graph (this is the main point of the story), lead quote (this backs up the lead), facts/quotes (this is self-explanatory), and the ending. These are all important in creating a cohesive and interesting story, while also allowing for flow and easy readability.
I also found the potential for digital translation to be interesting. In the format of a website, which is of course what most news sources are using now, news is allowed to be displayed differently than in a newspaper, in a way that still catches the attention of a reader without disrupting the flow of the story. This can be included as audio or video files that are related to the story.
I like how in this chapter it went over the different leads you can take with a news story and how usefully different styles could be. This was interesting to me because it makes me better understand want goes into each of the news. I also like how the book talks about when each of the styles are used and the advantages of them. The leads they talk about are summary leads, hard-news leads, and feature leads. Each of these leads have their own purpose and the book really helps to understand each of them and when they would be used. Another element of the chapter I found interesting was the visual aspects. Visuals can be helpful to display what you are writing or talking about. Visuals can also give the media more of an identity as well by adding photos the company only has or using different visuals in a way others do not do. I like how the chapter talks about the importance of visuals by stating they are crucial and can enchase the news. The chapter also states about different types of visuals like charts that might be overlooked more than a picture however add a lot to the story.
1. This chapter went into a deep dive on the basic news story AKA a hard news story, and right off the bat before I even finished the first page I knew more about different types of news stories and the things that might distinguish them from one another. Before this chapter I had no idea that there were different types of stories, I summarized that there were different styles to write news stories but I had always thought that to be a personal choice of the journalist/author of a story rather than an actual type of format for a story to be written in.
2. The chapter went into depth about the structure and format of the hard-news story, and I had no idea that any of this existed, maybe i just never read that many news stories and maybe I am truly hopelessly naive, because now thinking about it for 2 seconds it clear and obvious that there has to be some structure in how news stories are written but before I just simply believed that a journalist wrote what they wanted and how they wanted only bending to the will of their editors and superiors, but now I know of the existence of the different archetypes of stories there are to tell.
Headlines make all the difference in a news report. Interestingly, the reader must work backward to get the full story since they are given the focus to gain their attention. To answer the who, what, where, why, and how, readers are to work out the finer details as they move through the piece in the reverse manner of a typical story. The idea of ‘telling a friend’ is appealing and beneficial for the journalist to capture the main focus from the beginning. Readers uncover the critical information following the primary action; if they are intrigued, to reach the conclusions to their questions. Varying methods employed by journalists, I find the ‘nut graph’ fascinating due to its slight relation to the proper topic, followed by the real story and context.
Quotes and their attributions have quite a few rules on their own. While utilizing outside information, journalists must be cautious of plagiarism, as it can occur in numerous ways. Even using a simple Twitter post may result in a journalist’s dismissal. When obtaining quotes from individuals about a story you cover, one must ensure your source has agreed to use their interview on air. A concept many may not consider, but it is an ethical quandary that journalists have faced. With so many rules and guidelines, journalists must ensure they are not overstepping and reporting accurately and in the correct format.
Journal #4: Report on 2 interesting elements of the chapter and help explain why those elements are important?
There was a lot of really useful information in this chapter that I didn’t know before reading so that made it hard to just pick two things. The first thing that stood out to me from the chapter Impact and attribution sections. The element in the impact section that piqued my interest the most was the last sentence where it states “social media sites encourage readers and viewers to interact with the news.” For me It’s crazy to think about how much more audiences are able to be involved with the news because of social media and how that has shaped the way that news is delivered and received. Because audiences are able to interact with the news on a regular basis, it is easier for news stations to know what they should be focusing more on and in what areas they can improve. Also if there is a breaking news story audiences are able to help gather information and send it in to help form the story as it’s developing. The other element that caught my attention from this chapter was in the attribution section where it states “With the proliferation of social media (Blogs, Twitter, and other sites) it is even more difficult to determine the validity of information.” There are many upsides for using social media as a news outlet but now that news is able to travel from person to person in the blink of an eye it is easier than ever for misinformation to be put out to the public and spread like wildfire. The scary thing about it is that there are no regulations that can stop the spread of misinformation on these platforms and there is nothing we can really do about it.