Less is More

There's an old saying in journalism: "Less is more."

Forget about the times you wrote as much as you could about something in order to impress the teacher or give your reader the impression that you really know what you're talking about. In journalism brevity is key. Hard news stories must be concise or you'll confuse and lose the reader. While feature stories allow writers to be more descriptive and more creative, that doesn't mean you should necessarily start writing a lot more. Right now we're focusing on short profiles so that means first do thorough reporting and interviewing, then pick the very best information to write your story. Don't give the reader all of the information. While your words may be sacred to you, you have to be able to cut what's not necessary and edit wordy phrases.

Think of it as fat-free writing.

Click on the links below to see three more examples of 300-word stories by Brady Dennnis, then comment on which you like the best and why.

Looking for a laugh

One minute and $123 dollars

As time goes by

Let's talk . . . and LISTEN

Although everyone in the class still needs more practice with writing hard news leads and writing stories that follow the basic inverted pyramid structure, we're going to move for now towards other forms of journalistic writing, beginning with basic feature writing. Features rely more heavily on quotes and interviews, so we need to spend some time in and out of class considering and practicing what makes a good interview.

It's true that the best interviews are like good conversations. That is, in most cases the interview should be a comfortable give-and-take session where you and the person you interview talk with each other, not at each other. Of course, if the interviewee is hostile or defensive, this may not be the case. But the three best things you can do to have a good interview are:

1) Prepare thoroughly by researching the topic and/or the person and list questions.
2) Take good notes and record the interview if possible.
3) Listen very attentively.

Being a good listener is the most important thing you can do. One of the biggest mistakes many inexperienced reporters make is worrying so much about what question to ask next, that they don't realize something important or unexpected that the interviewee has just said.

Here are a couple of short videos I would like you to watch. The first is some good advice about interviewing from network anchor Katie Couric. The second is from National Public Radio's Scott Simon.

The most important journalistic equation

It's a simple formula:  Lack of attribution = lack of credibility = lack of readers.

There is nothing difficult about attribution. It's simply saying who or what your source is, whether it's a fact, an opinion or a quote. As we've discussed in class, attribution is the soul of journalism because without it, your article or broadcast is not believable. Reporters need to protect themselves. In the event that the information proves to be false, at least the reporter can truthfully say that her source was wrong, not her. And attribution establishes credibility by showing  readers or listeners where they can go if they challenge anything in the article or if they want to obtain more information from your sources.

Getting the story first is nice. Getting it fast is nice too. But getting it right supercedes everything else. Without journalistic integrity, reporters or publications have nothing to offer readers or listeners. Recently an Irish college student conducted a media experiment that, unfortunately, major news organizations failed. The results were alarming and should make everyone -- especially aspiring journalists -- remember to not only attribute their own facts, but to check and re-check any unattributed information they obtain online. Click here to read an article about the hoax.

Tweeting in Journalism

Alright, so I admit it. I'm one of those middle-aged adults who is highly skeptical of the intrinsic value of Twitter. But I'm evidently not alone. According to a recent 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll, only 15 percent of Americans believe that Twitter is an important new tool for mass communication.Thirty-nine percent said the microblogging site is a fad that will fade away, while 43 percent had either heard of it but didn't know what it is, or had never heard of it.

My colleague Larry Baker has recruited me to sign up for a Twitter account, so I'll see if this social media experiment changes my viewpoint. Either way, I readily admit that Twitter has its usefulness for certain people -- not only celebrities -- but journalists and bloggers. During breaking news, in particular, both professional and citizen journalists have used Twitter to great advantage. For example, Twitter was a useful tool in reports about the Iranian crackdown on mass demonstrations this year, especially after Western journalists were deported from the country. Click here to read how journalists are using Twitter. To tweet or not to tweet? That is the question.

Deep Throat: Patriot or Traitor?

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Free expression or animal rights?

The First Amendment is the foundation of an open society. Two of the five protections guaranteed by the First Amendment -- freedom of speech and freedom of the press -- help ensure that we provide citizens with a "marketplace of ideas" free from censorship. Yet the right to free expression often comes into conflict with other rights, especially when it infringes on the safety or morality of others. Yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre, for example, is not protected by the First Amendment. Neither is child pornography or material that is considered obscene in nature. This is why the First Amendment is not just a static document that was written by our forefathers over 200 years ago. Because society and technology change and evolve, the First Amendment is continually challenged by cases that need to be interpreted by the courts.

Click here to read about a First Amendment case that is currently before the Supreme Court. You be the judge.

Convergence journalism

"Convergence journalism" is a new type of journalism that combines various forms of media (writing, video, photos, and more) to create a larger journalistic project. The web is an ideal platform for convergence journalism, and papers like The Washington Post are moving toward multimedia presentations. More newspapers are discovering that it's not enough to simply put the exact same content from their paper on the web. Their product on the web has to offer something different than their paper product -- something of real value. 
                                                                                                                                                
For a good example of convergence journalism, click here to read an article from The Washington Post about the recession's impact on a Midwestern family.

After reading, share some of your immediate reaction -- either about the story itself or about its presentation. Do you think this story has more of an impact reading it online than it would in a traditional newspaper? Why? Do the photos, for example, make you feel more or less sympathetic toward this family?