Journalism Basics for the 21st Century
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2019
Pages: 144
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2019
Pages: 144
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This is an exciting time to start a career in media. And what better way to begin than with a textbook filled with lively language and examples that connect the topic to your life experience - a guide that feels more like a conversation than a series of lectures. Journalism Basics for the 21st Century is designed for the introductory student who wants a text that feels like a conversation in an accessible, affordable format.
Whether you are a first semester college freshman or a successful professional returning to the classroom to finish a degree, the concepts and the examples in Journalism Basics will serve you well both in the college classroom and in your professional life. All areas of media practice demand tight writing, an adherence to standard practices, and an eye for lively details in telling the story.
Journalism basics for the 21st Century provides vocabulary and concepts and examples that wil help you become that effective media practitioner whether you intend to blog, to broadcast, of to write for traditional print outlets.
Preface
Chapter One: Finding the Story
Pay Attention
Read Widely
Use Material Provided by Others
The Process of Finding the Story
Listening
Specialized Reporting
Summary
Active Reading Checklist
Chapter Two: Ledes
Components of the Lede
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why and How?
Buried Ledes
S-V-O: The Key to Tight Ledes
Subject-Verb-Object for Content
Nut Graf
Summary
Chapter Three: Structuring the Story: The Inverted Pyramid
Leading with the Lede
The Nut Graf: Putting the Lede in Context
Working Down the Pyramid
What If the News is Thin?
Patterns of Arrangement for Structuring that Pyramid
The Press Release
Summary
Chapter Four: Interview Basics
Preparation—Do Your Homework
Interaction—Doing the Interview
Listen Carefully
Follow-Up—After the Interview
Understanding the Communication Principles Behind the Interview
Relationship Model
Building the Relationship
Where Professionalism and Personal Blur
When Relationships End
Decoding Information During the Interview
Controlling Ambiguity
Paralinguistics
Summary
Interview Toolkit Checklist
Chapter Five: Audience Needs—For Whom are You Writing?
Reader/Viewer
Attitudes and Values
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Empathy and Sympathy
Analysis or Stereotyping?
Summary
Checklist: Basic Query Etiquette
Chapter Six: Research and Fact Checking
Two Types of Narrative Materials
Researching for Content
Organizing the Research Material
Summary
Research Worksheet
Chapter Seven: Investigative Journalism and Journalist Credibility
Ida Tarbell
Muckraking
Modern Investigative Journalism
Why Investigate?
Basic Narrative Theory
Journalist Credibility
Summary
Chapter Eight: Language, Manuscript Formatting, Copyediting
Language
Words as Symbols
Analogy
Choosing Words Deliberately
Associated Press (AP) Style
Manuscript Preparation and Copyediting
Quotation and Attribution
Summary
Chapter Nine: Journalism History
Newspapers, Books, and the Printing Press
Technology and Speed
Rise of Mass Market Communication
Summary
Chapter Ten: The Portfolio
Contents
Appearance
Resume
Organization
Summary
Appendix A: Skills Resume Outline with Prompt Boxes
Appendix B: Sample Skills Resume