Classroom bulletin: Story 4

Which of these leads answer the basic journalism questions (who, what, when, where, why and how)? Which entice the reader to keep going? Which get straight to the point? Which identify the individual featured right away to the reader? I encourage you to take one and figure out a way to make it shine.

As a young child, Lindsay Niemi protected worms from getting crushed and helped bugs back onto their legs. Looking back, she understands those small acts were part of her passion to care for the health and safety of animals.

Would you like the opportunity to travel all over the world as a job requirement? Most people cannot say they love their career but Nancy McMullen, who travels the world for her work, said, “I really LOVE my job.”

Are you freaked out when you see a spider crawling up your wall? Would you rather die than touch a beetle? Or, are you the type who would turn over a rock or a rotting log just to see what was living under it? If the latter describes you, then a career in entomology may be the perfect fit

Nicole Zur has always had a passion for the written word. It was this same passion that inspired her to pursue a career in a field she loves.

If you’re looking for guitar lessons, or a guide into the music world, Justin Johnson is your man.

 It's not uncommon, today, to see students in their 30s sitting along side those most recent high school graduates.

Jen McCorkle knows what it means to succeed despite challenges.

Jamie Haddox is a 27 year -old woman pursuing a career in journalism here at Anoka Ramsey Community College.

On August 14th, Megan Meyer and Mickey Cease tied the knot.

If you want opinions you can always as a sports fan and Jamie Newburg is no exception when he shares his views on his favorite team, why he loves sports and more.

OF NOTE:
• Don't use courtesy titles like Mr. or Ms. in news stories. Merely refer to people by last names.
• Be sure to identify your subject to the audience right away. You typically need an age and a town. When writing stories for the ARCC newspaper, be sure to identify the person as an ARCC student (or faculty members, etc.).
• Refer to people by their last names in news stories. Never use first names.
• Remember to properly identify subjects in your stories. For this class, you should include not just the person’s age and city of residence, but also the fact that he/she is an ARCC student.
• “Added” is a great word to use in place of “also said.”
• Use shorter paragraphs in news stories. The average should be one to three sentences long. You should always have more than one or two paragraphs in a news story.
• Use past tense not present for statements of attribution: reflected not reflects, said not says, stated not states, etc.
• The college name needs a hyphen in it: Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
• When you are writing a feature story, be sure to include a quote within the first couple paragraphs so that the reader gets to know the subject in his/her own words.
• Please remember to submit photos as jpg attachments to the dropbox. Images in Word docs are just screen images and can't be used for publication.

A GREAT WAY TO END A FEATURE STORY IS...
With a quote from the subject. It’s nice to end a feature story with the words of the person you were writing about.

KEEP YOURSELF OUT OF THE STORY
It gets harder to keep yourself out of the story when you begin conducting your own interviews. But remember to never use statements such as: “She told me,” “I think...”, and “Here at ARCC.” Never use the words “I,” “me,” “us,” or “our” in news stories unless they are in direct quotes.

ATTRIBUTE INFORMATION
Remember to attribute all information in a news story. You have to point out that so-and-so said this or thinks that. Otherwise the reader will assume you think so.

Also, don’t assume that by putting quotation marks around a sentence that the reader will know who said it because the last time you put in a quote it was from the same person. Always, always, always say “she said” after or before a direct quote.

BRING YOUR GRADES UP
I encourage you to take advantage of the extra credit options I offer. Submit a photo with a story to earn 20 extra credit points. Submit a video for 100 extra credit points.

When submitting a photo, remember to upload it to the dropbox as a JPG attachment. Don’t pop it into the Word doc as that won’t work for publication because it is just a screen image.

DON’T ASSUME A READER KNOWS WHAT THE ACRONYM STANDS FOR
Don’t assume your reader know what PSEO or ARCC means. Instead, write out the full name or term the first time you use is in a news story and then follow that with the acronym in parentheses. After that you can just use the acronym.
EXAMPLE: Call is an 18 year old PSEO student at ARCC.
FIX: Call is an 18 year old student at Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) through the Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program.  As a PSEO student, Call doesn’t have to pay for his own tuition.

DON’T INCLUDE YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE STORY
The reader doesn’t need to know what questions you asked during the interview. The reader doesn’t need to see the frame of your interview at all. Avoid phrases such as: “When asked...” or “he answered.” Just provide what he/she said.