Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Tuesday /Thursday Midterm
Writing For the Media
Midterm Exam
Instructor G. D. Brogdon
Posted on Oct. 11, 2010
Due on Oct 13th By 5 pm
Part#1
Instructions:
Your Midterm is a writing assignment. Do Not post your assignment on the blog!!!!
This assignment is to be completed in a Word Document and emailed to me. Please email it to gdbrogdon@gmail.com
It needs to be written in journalist style, as well as You need to email the completed assignment to me.
Also, Please use your AP Style Book, if you don't have a Style Book, I suggest you purchase one. You will need it throughout your Mass Communications studies. Check the Campus Book Store for one. This link is a modified version of the AP style maunal-http://www.apstylebook.com/
Midterm Assignment Introduction
One of the easiest and often times, the first type of journalistic writing a beginning reporter is assigned are obitstories. or Obituaries. These have all the elements of journalistic writing. They are written in inverted pyramid as well as requires the WHO, What, Where, and How. As well as it has a flair of creativity that catches, and keeps the readers attention.
Part. 1
Your Assignment
Your assignment is to write Your Own Obituary in Journalistic style.
(who, what, where, when, and how) As well as write it so that it engages the reader, and shows some creativity in your writing. Please give details into the subject's life as well as other important details or lesser known details that most people may not know about you, that will engage the reader. In other words, write the Obituary you would like some junior writer 60 to 80 years from now to write about you.
For detailed information on how to write an Obituary go to: http://www.jprof.com/reporting/obitstories.html
Part 2. Please answer these questions in detail.
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Thursday, October 7, 2010
How to Write a News Lead - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com
How to Write a News Lead - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com: "A well crafted news lead will provide the hook to get readers interested in the story. There are different types of leads and different methods to write leads. A better understanding of news leads will help you grab readers and make them stick around."
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Writing effective text for the Web
This information can be found at
Writing effective text for the Web is more than just stringing words together and hoping for the best. It goes beyond just conveying information. If you really want to capture the interest and engagement of your users and members, the text needs to do much more. Ideally, you want your writing to:
- attract their attention
- grab their interest
- pull them into the content
- add real value to their work
- make then want to register or return, and
- increase their sense of trust in your community.
These consideration apply whether you're writing an editorial, news item, announcement, feature article, or forum posting.
Scannability/ Readability
Skimming instead of reading is a fact of the Web and has been confirmed by countless usability studies. Web writers have to acknowledge this fact and write for scannability.
Structure articles with two or even three levels of headlines. Nested headings also facilitate access for blind users with screen readers. Use meaningful rather than "cute" headings.
Brevity
Be brief and to the point. Web users are looking for solid, helpful information and/or advice on well targeted topics. Most of what they need to know about the topic can be concisely covered in the web equivalent of two or three printed pages. In fact, much can be covered in just one focused page.
Information
The information must be organized well to ensure ease of navigation and usability. Remember to view your SIG site from your visitors perspective.
Highlight the information which your visitors would find interesting and not that which you consider important. Group similar batches of information together, and keep the navigation consistent throughout the SIG site. Do not build a menu with countless choices on your SIG site. This would bewilder and confuse the visitors and they would leave without exploring further.
Title
Start with a punchy, attention-grabbing Title. 'Latest insights from our Euro correspondent' is much more attractive than 'Minor changes in the monetary and fiscal systems'.
- Don't use capitals in the title of your article. In general keep the use of capitals to a minimum as it's not considered good internet etiquette TO SHOUT
- Don't change the colour of your titles
- Keep titles as short and as snappy as possible
A good abstract and/or synopsis will encourage people to read your article, but try not to make it too long as it can make your page look strange, and can reduce the number of articles appearing on your index page forcing people to click through to the second page.
It's usually best to write a special short summary that gives overview of the article for the synopsis field. Also watch out for extra spaces at the end of your summary as this will add extra white space to your index page. A long synopsis will reduce the number of articles that are displayed on your index page, and it should only be an overview of the article to encourage people to click on the link and read on.
If you do not enter a synopsis then the default text displayed will be the first few lines of text of your articles which looks messy.
Preparing the full article
Writing the Body Text the first paragraph should always contain the key points. Don't bother with any lengthy preamble. Web readers want the information directly. In particular, they don't want to have to scroll down the page. Any content which requires scrolling is called "below the fold" (it's a newspaper term to describe the lower half), and will probably never be seen by 80% of your readers. So get the core information into the first paragraph.
The second and third paragraphs might contain supporting information. Again, to help readers grasp this quickly, you should consider using bullet points and lists. Put any longer explanation or background briefing towards the end, so that people can find it if they really want it.
Embedding links
Embedding links is always a good way to refer or to outsource additional information. Consider the following when using embedded links:
- Do not place long link addresses directly within the text. It forces the page out of alignment, and will break it. Instead link a single word as click to the targeted address.
- Do NOT overload your text with links
- (The following applies to KB SIG editors only!)Whenever you enter an article via the Content Management System (CMS) the there is a link to 'HTML tips' in the CMS which gives you some basic HTML formatting tips.
In the body of your story try and keep paragraphs quite short. A large block of text on a page can be hard to read so don't be afraid to break it up into smaller pieces to make it more readable.
Means of attractiveness
Text alone is a relatively boring medium for presenting your information. There are many simple tricks and means which engage the reader with your content:
- Don't play with the colour of your Iedits or in articles. From a usability perspective a title is a link and it is best to keep them the same colour site wide
- A colour scheme for a Web site usually consists of one or two principal or foundation colours and an accent colour or two. Avoid using colour as a visual cue. However, if you need to use colour as a visual cue, make sure that you have provided adequate alternate cues
- Design your site initially in black and white, adding colour only to the final design. This is not only helpful in designing a user-friendly site for colour blind users but is always an excellent and effective design technique
- Add a photograph, perhaps of a speaker, building, or book relevant to your story. If an author of a story has a who's who record then by using the who's who link it will automatically cross reference the story to their record. You can find out if they have a record by clicking on 'Select Who's Who' entry and doing a search on their last name. Where you can cross reference articles to Who's who records. This is a great piece of community functionality which we should use as much as possible
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Web 2.0 Applications
Delicious.com-Social Bookmarking
From now on all your bookmarks will be instantly accessible both in your Firefox browser and from your bookmarks page on the Delicious website. This means that any changes you make to your bookmarks in either location will be synchronized. For example adding or deleting a Delicious bookmark in Firefox will add or delete it from your bookmarks page on Delicious. Learn more...
Here's what you need to know to get the most out of this powerful new tool.
Note that if you imported your existing Firefox bookmarks to Delicious they should be here now. If they are not, don’t worry, the import process can take a few minutes. If you asked to be notified by email when the import is complete remember to check there first If you did not import your existing bookmarks during sign up you can still do it now by going to our imports page.
<img width=1 height=1 src=//geo.yahoo.com/p?s=2015250088&A_pn=Unnamed%20Page> <img width=1 height=1 src=//geo.yahoo.com/p?s=2015250088&A_pn=Unnamed%20Page>
HIDE Did you know you can filter your bookmarks by certain media types? Find out how to filter your bookmarks by media types.
Quick Tour of Firefox Add-On
Getting started with bookmark buttons
About the Delicious Bookmark Add-on
The Delicious Bookmarks Add-on enhances your existing Firefox bookmarking system with a new set of tools to help you create, manage and search your bookmarks.From now on all your bookmarks will be instantly accessible both in your Firefox browser and from your bookmarks page on the Delicious website. This means that any changes you make to your bookmarks in either location will be synchronized. For example adding or deleting a Delicious bookmark in Firefox will add or delete it from your bookmarks page on Delicious. Learn more...
Here's what you need to know to get the most out of this powerful new tool.
Saving A New Bookmark
To make a new bookmark, just click the 'Tag' button, then add any tags or notes you want, and then hit the save button. Searching And Browsing Your Bookmarks
To search or browse all of your bookmarks, just click the Bookmarks button and the Delicious sidebar will appear. This enables you to browse all your bookmarks or instantly search them by typing in the 'Search' box. Learn more...Note that if you imported your existing Firefox bookmarks to Delicious they should be here now. If they are not, don’t worry, the import process can take a few minutes. If you asked to be notified by email when the import is complete remember to check there first If you did not import your existing bookmarks during sign up you can still do it now by going to our imports page.
The Delicious Bookmarks Toolbar
The new Delicious bookmarks toolbar gives you quick access to your bookmarks via your Favorite Tags or bundles. Note that when you create favorite tags they show up in both the Delicious toolbar and the Delicious Bookmarks menu. Status bar Icons
If you look down at the bottom right of your browser you’ll see some new icons in the status bar. They will give you quick access to the Delicious website, notify you about new activity in your network and inbox.Change Log
Click here to view the change log for this extension.Friday, September 24, 2010
Writing ForThe Media syllabus
Writing For Media
MCOM102
Fall 2010
T-TH-12:30-1:45
Instructor: Ms. Gloria D. Brogdon
Office: #3 Trustee Hall
Hours: T 9:00-1:00
R 1:00-5:00
Also available by appointment
Phone: 405-514-3248
e-mail:gbrogdon@claflin.edu
e-mail: gdbrogdon@gmail.com
(Syllabus Created by Dr. Jullian Williams)
Course Description
In this course, students will learn the principles and techniques of writing for the mass media. Due to media convergence, it is important to write effectively for various audiences. Changes in technology require that students understand how to communicate skillfully across multiple platforms, including the internet.
Course Objective
The objective of this course is to develop proficiency in writing for multimedia. A professor once said that the writing process is like learning to ride a bicycle: it takes practice. Therefore, exercises, assignments, and diagnostic tests will be conducted with the intent of skill level of students over time. It is important that students also be familiar with differing styles and formats, policy issues, ethics, and legal issues involved in the effective presentation of written material.
Required Textbook: Stovall, J.G. 2009). 7th Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
· assess their level of improvement in basic grammar and style from the beginning of this course to the end
Method of Measurement:
Students will be given an AP Language Skills pretest and posttest
· demonstrate their proficiency in writing mechanics, clarity and conciseness across multiple media formats
Method of Measurement:
Students will be produce accurate news, Web, advertising and other materials through regular class exercises and assignments
· demonstrate proficiency in writing including basic grammar and style
Method of Measurement:
Students will be given regular writing exercises and assignments including
an AP Language Skills pretest and posttest
· demonstrate their knowledge of concepts, terms, and other material taken from lectures, textbook material, discussions and handouts from class. Students will be given a midterm exam
· create a comprehensive project which reflects an understanding of material covered throughout the semester
Method of Measurement:
Students will develop a final project
Grading Formula:
Participation (includes attendance) 5%
Pretest-posttest 5%
Exercises/assignments 60%
Midterm 10%
Final Project 20%
____
100%
Instructional Methods and Technology Strategies
This course is taught at a writing lab at Claflin University. Course material will be presented in the form of lectures, class discussions, and presentations. Some class periods will be used to work on special assignments. Assignments are expected to be typewritten and turned in on time. Students must respect deadlines in the same way they would in a professional arena. Failure to meet deadlines will result in a zero or loss of points. If a personal matter arises which would prevent your turning in an assignment on time, you must provide appropriate documentation.
Classroom Etiquette
Claflin University is a center of higher education. Therefore, when you enter the classroom, you are expected to act like an adult. Students must be considerate of others and refrain from disruptive activity. This includes loud talking during lecture, rude comments, and coming and going out of class during lecture. Computer activity must be restricted to material related to this course.
Honor Code
Claflin University students are to abide by a Code of Honor which is designed to provide an environment where academy integrity is maintained. The following is a quote from the university’s policy statement:
“Claflin University prohibits all forms of academic or scholarly dishonesty, including written or oral examinations, term and research papers or theses, modes of creative expression, and computer-based work. Scholarly dishonesty includes, lying, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and the falsification or misrepresentation of experimental data.”
Plagiarism is defined as submitting the work or ideas of another as one’s own. It is regarded as theft, and is a serious offense. Those who are found guilty of plagiarism are subject to suspension from Claflin.
Disabilities Note
Claflin University adheres to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. If you have a disability that may require assistance or accommodations, or if you have questions related to any accommodations for testing, please contact the Student Supports Services office. Students should also speak with this instructor in a timely manner to arrange for appropriate accommodations.
Schedule Reading
Aug. 23 Orientation
Aug. 25 Overview of Course
Aug. 27 Importance of grammar, punctuation, and spelling
Aug. 30 Skills Pretest
Sept. 1 What is good writing? Chapter 1
Writing Assignment
Sept. 3 Writing With Clarity Chapter 2
Go over Assignment
Creating Your Blog
Sept. 6 Labor Day
Sept. 8 Parts of Speech Chapter 2
Sept. 10 Basic Tools of Writing
Writing Assignment
Sept. 13 Basic Tools of Writing (continued) Chapter 2
Sept. 15 Writing For An Audience Chapter 4
Conventions and Practices
Sept. 17 Writing for Broadcast News Chapter 5
Writing Assignment
Sept. 20 Broadcast Newswriting (continued) Chapter 5
Writing With Unity
Sept. 22 Broadcast and the Podcast Chapter 6
Creating a Podcast
Sept. 24 Interviewing
Podcast Assignment
Sept. 27 Writing for the Web Chapter 7
Content and format
Sept. 29 Writing For the Web (continued) Chapter 8
October 1 Writing For the Web (continued) Chapter 8
Writing Assignment
Oct. 4 The TV News Blog
Oct. 6 The TV News Blog (continued)
News Assignment
Oct. 8 News Blog Assignment Due
Oct. 11 Midterm Review
Oct. 13 Midterm
Oct. 15 Editing and Rewriting
Oct. 18 Fall Break
Oct. 20 Style and Script Formats
Oct. 22 Feature Writing Chapter 9
Oct. 25 Entertainment/Sports News
Writing Assignment
Oct. 27 Writing Advertising Copy
Oct. 29 Advertising and the Audience
Nov. 1 Print v. Broadcast Ads
Nov. 3 Writing Accuracy
Writing Assignment
Nov. 3 The Visual Element
Nov. 5 Sight, Sound and Motion
Nov. 8 The Power of Photography
Nov. 10 Visual Cues
Nov. 12 Writing for Public Relations
Nov. 15 Internal and External Publics
Nov. 17 Press Releases
Nov. 19 Word Precision
Writing Assignment
Nov. 22 Communication Law and Ethics
Nov. 24-26 Thanksgiving Holiday
Nov. 29 Ethics Review
Dec. 1 Posttest
Dec. 3 Last day of classes: Review of Final Project
Monday, September 13, 2010
Exercises in Grammar, Usage and Associated Press Style
A Newsroom-Classroom Collaboration
http://newsroom101.com/NR_exercises/practice1.html
| Exercises in Grammar, Usage and Associated Press Style |
http://newsroom101.com/NR_exercises/practice1.html
Media Quiz
As a Journalist, you have to be up on your current events. Let's see just how good you are at current events. Click on the link below and take the quick current events quiz, then post your score on your blog. We will discuss your results in class.
Good luck!!
http://features.journalism.org/quiz/the-media-quiz/?q=11
Good luck!!
http://features.journalism.org/quiz/the-media-quiz/?q=11
10 Ways to Write a Great Lead for a Blog Post
http://northxeast.com/10-ways-to-write-a-great-lead-for-a-blog-post/
Why? Because if you don’t catch the reader’s attention, they won’t read the article.
The same applies to blog posts: after the headline, the most important words you write are in the lead paragraphs. If you want people to actually read your post (and thus come back to your blog for more), you need to focus on that lead.
A great lead should do the following things:
Here are some tips for doing that:
Why? Because if you don’t catch the reader’s attention, they won’t read the article.
The same applies to blog posts: after the headline, the most important words you write are in the lead paragraphs. If you want people to actually read your post (and thus come back to your blog for more), you need to focus on that lead.
A great lead should do the following things:
- Grab the reader’s attention.
- Make the reader want to read more.
- Set the tone for the rest of the post.
- Summarize what the post is about.
Here are some tips for doing that:
- Start with a story.
People love an engaging story. Now, you don’t want to tell a long story, but a short and catchy anecdote that illustrates your main point will often get your reader wanting to read more. You can tell that story in a paragraph or two, but much longer and you’ll bore the reader. - Be concise.
Again, you don’t want to bore the reader. Say what you have to say in a few sentences, and then get into the meat of the post. The mistake many bloggers make is rambling for a few paragraphs, which will lose many a reader. - Shock them.
The humorist Maddox knows how to shock readers, and gets them wanting to read more. And he does it in the opening paragraph. For example, in one article he asks, “Why are parents afraid to beat their kids?” I don’t advocate trying to shock your readers every time (although it works for Maddox), but once in awhile this might be effective. - Ask a question.
Why do question headlines work? Because they engage the reader, making the reader think about the answer to the question, and making him want to know the answer. Don’t start every blog post with a question, but there are many times when a question lead would work extremely well. - Rewrite.
Don’t spend all day writing your lead before you get into the rest of the post. Just write what you think is a decent lead, move on, and finish the post. Then come back and look at your lead with a critical eye. And rewrite it, making it more concise and more engaging. - Get them curious.
Asking a question is one way to get a reader curious, but there are many others as well. You want to share something with the reader in the first paragraph or two that doesn’t complete the picture, leaving the reader wanting to find the final piece of the puzzle. If you tell them that there are four reasons that reading this article will boost their career, they will most likely want to know what those four reasons are. But be sure to deliver — don’t tease and then leave them hanging. - Paint a picture.
Start a post by getting the reader to imagine an image, painting with vivid detail that image in the reader’s mind. With such an image, the reader will be engaged and immersed in the world you’ve created with that picture. - Use a staggering stat.
Don’t fill a post with a whole bunch of stats, or you will lose the reader. Three stats in a post is a good limit, but one stat in the lead is enough. Just make sure it’s a great stat, that blows the reader away. 10 million acres of rainforest were cut down during the time it took to read this sentence. Of course, you shouldn’t make stats up like that, but you get the idea. - Make a promise.
If you tell the reader how you will solve a problem for him, how you will make his life better with this post, that’s a promise you’re making that you need to deliver on. But that promise will send a clear message to the reader that this is going to be a very useful post to him, and make him want to read the whole post. Again, be sure to deliver. - Use a metaphor.
Actually, a metaphor is just a way of painting a picture, but it’s a specific technique that really works. And its imagery, if done right, can capture a reader’s imagination while making your point much clearer.
Using the Inverted Pyramid to Write News Articles
Using the Inverted Pyramid to Write News Articles
By Steve Thompson
Writing news articles isn't always fun and sometimes it's downright tedious. The rules of journalism are complex, leaving novice writers confused about how to move forward. The fact is, however, that news articles are among the most popular, and you can learn to write news articles using the "inverted pyramid" style of journalism.
The inverted pyramid is a journalism tactic that describes how news information should be dispatched to the reader. When you write a news article, you should know that your readers are usually wanting to get the gist of "what happened", but may not have time to read the entire article. That is why you use the inverted pyramid; it means that readers will continue to look at your articles. While you don't have to use the inverted pyramid style, it is a widely-accepted way to write news articles and can actually improve your writing.
Essentially, the inverted pyramid style means that you give the most important or interesting details first, and then continue to dribble less-important information throughout the body of the article. Ideally, you'll want to give the most important information in the first paragraph, and save the least important information for last. This allows the reader to digest the information in the order of most importance and to move on to the next article if he or she is just browsing. Since news articles are usually short anyway, this gives the reader the best of all worlds.
The first sentence of a news article - called the "lead" - should answer the two most important questions about the subject of your article: Who and What. The Who is who your article is about - be it a person, a business or a place - and the What is what happened to that person, business or place to make the story newsworthy. Sometimes the Who and the What are obvious, while there will also be times when you have to carefully select the most important subject to write about.
For example, take a look at Stephanie Guidry's AC news article Duane "Dog" Chapman Set to Be Extradited to Mexico. Her first sentence reads like this:
"According to the Associated Press, Duane "Dog" Chapman's request not be extradited to Mexico on charges of deprivation of liberty has been denied."
In this opening sentence, Guidry used the inverted pyramid to answer the Who and the What of the article. Who is Duane "Dog" Chapman and What is his request not to be extradited was denied. These are obviously the two most important facts to be given in the article, and she started with them.
After that, Guidry goes on to dribble out the less-important information of the article, just as the inverted pyramid style suggests. She details the amount of bail that "Dog" posted, his wife's quote and the information regarding the person whom he brought back to the States with him. At the end, Guidry tells the reader who "Dog" is and where he can be found on television.
When writing a news article, you'll want to use the inverted pyramid to appeal to your readers. Not only will you appear to be a professional journalist, but your readers will also get the information they need right off the bat. News articles are often skimmed, and if your readers can't find the information they want immediately, they will likely search for a different source of information.
Takeaways
- The inverted pyramid is a journalism tactic that describes how news information should be written.
- The inverted pyramid style means that you give the most important or interesting details first
- When writing a news article, you'll want to use the inverted pyramid to appeal to your readers.
More resources
- www.journalism.org
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