The Basic News Story T. “That doesnit mean it should be hard to read. Quite the contrary. I really should be asic news story is told upside down, It usually is called a hard-news story called an easy-news story because the facts are presented in a direct form that makes it easy for the reader to get the most important information quickly A hard-news story often presents the result of a news event first, so the key facts are in the first few paragraphs. Ifa news story were a mystery story, you would solve the mystery in the beginning and then devote the rest of the story to telling the reader how and why it happened, For example, if state officials who regulate higher education—often called the Board of Regents—met yesterday to discuss an increase in tuition at universities in your state, you wouldn't write that the Board of Regents met to consider a tuition You would give the results. What did the regents decide? This is a direct approach: “The Board of Regents voted yesterday to raise undergraduate tuition next fall at state universities by $100 to $4,700." Or you might stress the impact on readers tion will increase next fall by $100 for undergraduate students at the day by by writin state’ universities” Then you could explain that the decision was made ye the Board of Regents and give details about the tuition increase and its impact. Here is an example Students at the University of Alaska will pay more for tuition next year. The Board of Regents approved a 5 percent tuition increase at its meet Tuesday Students taking 15 credits semester will pay $4,290 annually, which is $210 more than they pay this year, The cost for lower division credits will increase to $134 from the current $128,86 Part L= Understanding News Notall basic news stories have to start with sucha direct approach, Some stories start ‘witha storytelling approach, such as an anecdote about a person or place. Regardless of how you start your story, all news stories are developed around one main point—a focus. The rest of the story should contain quotes, facts and information to support that focus. Because readers and viewers are bombarded with so much information these days, 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: | In printand Web media, the focus is usually identified by a headline. In broadcast news, the anchor will ead into the story by identifying the main point. Regardless of the medium, the focus should be high in the story, but in some cases if the story is compelling enough, it could be a little lower, Most of the techniques discussed in this chapter apply to all media. Because you will need to produce news for convergent media, the next chapter explains different techniques for print, broadcast and online delivery. Chapters later in the book will provide more detail about writing for broadcast and the Web. The following questions will help you find a focus: Finding the Focus | What's the Story About? To determine the focus of a news story, ask your: self, “What's the story about?” Try to answer that question in one simple sentence. Think of focus as a headline for your story. How would you describe the main idea in a few words? What makes this story newsworthy? You could use this focus state ‘ment as your lead if you decide you want the first sentence to get directly to the point of your story. How Are Readers or Viewers Affected? Why should rea care about your story? This is the “so-what” factor. Is there somethi | interesting or unusual that will afect your audience? If you were trying to convince someone to read or view your story, what point would you stress? ders or viewers: important or 1 | | How Would You Tell the Story to a Friend? Another way to determine | your focus is to use the “tell-a-riend” technique. This is a natural conversational | method, particularly important in broadcast writing, Imagine that yout frend asks what thestory isabout and what happened, Chances are that you might talk about the most interesting information first. Thinking in these terms will give you a clue for your lead and your organization. | In this example, the focus is in the first sentence, which is the lead. It tls what the story is about and how it affects the reader. Its also written in a conv | Shona tone, The second parapaph and the west of the story provide at nd information to support this main idea Focusin thelead If you have a job, you have no privacy | information passing through a company when it comes to using the office | Headline Bye on privacy at work ‘employers can do as they see fit with the | computer Second paragraph From monitoring e-mails to captur supporting the lead ing instant. messag Chicago Tribe 's among friends,Chapter 3 The Basic News Story 37 Nut Graphs The “nut graph’ isa sentence or paragraph identifying the focus of the story. The term was coined more than 50 years ago by The Wall Street Journal ina memo to its staf. The memo said a story must have one central theme that must be expressed in a “nutshell summary” high in the story. The concept of the nut graph has since become a standard formula forall news stories your lead explains the focusin the first sentence, you dont need a separate nut graph, However, if your lead does not identify the main idea ofthe story, you need a nt graph to explain the focus. Lead When freshmen begin college, they | young people have been heading off in often feel like the world istheir oyster. | pursuit of higher education. ‘That term Unfortunately, many 18-and 19-year~ | is used to describe the typical weight ‘olds are swallowing that big oyster in| gain many freshmen experience their ‘one gulp—and bellying up for seconds | first year away from Nut graph Theresa name for this behavior—its called the “freshman 15” and it hasbeen 4 part of college life far about aslo fim Baker, Lawrence Kan.) Journal Basic Questions All news stories answer some basic questions: who, what, when, where, why and how? As newspaper readership declines and competition increases because of all-day coverage in broadcast and online media, editors increasingly want the answer to another question: So what? What isthe significance to readers? How can you make readers see and care about the story? Eugene Roberts, a former editor at The New York Times and The Philadelph Inquirer, tes this story about how his editor influenced him to write vividly enough to make the reader see. Roberts was a reporter at the Goldsboro News-Argus in North Carolina. His editor, Henry Belk, was blind, Many days Belk would call in Roberts to read his stories to him, and Belk would yell, “Make me see. You aren't q making me see” Advice from Roberts: “The best reporters, whatever their backgrounds or their personalities, share that consummate drive to get to the center ofa story and then put the reader on the scene. Much has changed in the media since Roberts was a reporter many years ago. But his advice is just as relevant today. Identify the center of the story, which is the focus, gather information to make the reader see, and write a compelling story to t make the reader care Elements of the Basic News Story News stories in all media share some common elements, Every news story is based structure includes headline and middle, called the “body,” and an ‘on one main idea—the focus, The basic news stor three general parts:a beginning, called the “lead| a8 Pat 1 Undestanding Neve ening. Aeryon dtr he oes wie the end and nti feted Here Headline The healing isthe line on tp of the tory tha ls the reader wha the story i papers where the etor a maybe the reporter/writer he headline asl |} to access the full story headline. The two headlines together give the reader a quick overview of the story’s Hcaine Sakon spawn a new eists Deck ead sammaryiner vind. nmbers and aig summary blurb strength threaten to add the fish to the list of endangered species. But some question ifthe Northwvest will pay the price to save the animals. Los Angeles Tes Even though you may not write the headlines for your stories, you can use the concept as a writing tool, If you are having trouble identifyin story, think of @ headline for it, Broadcast news scripts dont include headlines, but the concept will help you find focus the main point of a Lead | At the beginning of the story, the hook that tells the reader what the story is about is called the “lead.” A good lead entices the reader to continue readin | story, the lead usually is written in one sentence—the fist sentence ofthe story—and | gives the most important information about the event. But ev have a creati sda “soft lead” or “feature lead” Inahard-news na basic story can e lead, cal Summary Leads: ‘The most common type of lead on a hard-news story is called a “summary lead” because it summarizes the main points about what happened. It answers the questions of who, what, when, where, why and how. The rest of the story laborates about what, why and how. amesChapter 3# The Basic News Story 39 Hard-news leads do not have to answer all those questions in the first sentence if doing so would make the lead too long and difficult to read, Shorter leads of fewer than 35 words are preferable, but that number is only a ideline, The writer has to decide which elements are most important to stress in the first sentence. The summary lead in the following example stresses who, what, where and hens the rest ofthe story gives more details, such as the names ofthe professor and the suspect A Northwestern University professor ‘of heating sciences was shot and seri- ously wounded in a university parking | | Jot Thursday Feature Leads: A lead that starts with a story or description about a person, place ot incident, is called a “feature lead” or an “anecdotal lead” Many feature leads begin with a description of a person who is a key source inthe story. Because a fea~ ture lead does not explain the focus ofthe story immediatly, you need to follow the Jead with a nut graph asin this example: Lend When he was a little gil, Leo said he | his wife own, about their cats and about hated wearing dresses. Today the Ball | how he quit smoking three months ago ‘State University graduate student is sit- | and cant live without nicotine ting in his office, clad in khakis anda | But Leo’sdemureappearance betrays Nut graphs button shir his extraordinary past, In 1999 he began At first encounter, Leo, whoaskedfor | the process of physically transitioning his last name not to be used, looks like } from a woman named Lynette into a 2 typical thirty-something guy: side- | man named Leo burns, goatee, a litte pudgy but noth ing out ofthe ordinary. Ina raspy tenor | rice, he talks about the store he and | Nut Graph The “nut graph” isa sentence or paragraph that states the focus—the main point 3 of the story. It should tellin a nutshell what the story is about and why it is news~ worthy. In a hard-news story with a direct summary lead, the lead contains the a focus, so you don't need a separate nut graph, But the nut graph is crucial when a story starts with a feature lead because the reader has to wait for a few paragraphs to find out the reason for the story. The nut graph should be placed high in the story, generally by the third to fifth é paragraph. But ifthe lead is very compelling, the nut graph could come later, Rigid rules can ruin good writing,40 Part 1 e Understanding News Anecdotal lead SANTA CRUZ—Until Hollywood film major Wesley Adkins said he’ many at this weekend astruggling artist. But hy the | students are leaving school, including time he graduates, the junior may wish he was a business major, Already his | ation ceremonies, with huge financial student loans total S Nutgraph As the cost of attending UC Santa (Crue, of for that matter mest any uni dover the ps Support for the Lead The lead should be supported, or backed up, with facts, quotes and statements that substantiate information in the lead. Here is an example: GAINESVILLE, Fla—A. University. | parking lot but has never conscious of Florida law student suffering from | remembered what occurred during aninesia after mysteriously disappear- | the five days she was missing, said Lt. ing in July has recalled her abduction | Spencer Mann, a spokesman with the tunder hypnosis, authorities sai. cha County Sheridl's Otic Elizabeth “Libby” Moris, 32, slowly her dlsappearance fom the Oaks Mall Quotes or Sound Bites Nal After the lead the body ofthe story should support the focus with information fom Hi | sources, quotes or fact that explain the main idea, I you havea good quote or sound yi bite from a source, it should be placed high in the story after the lead or nut graph. The first quote that backs up the lead is called the “lead quote” or the “augmenting quote” It is usually the strongest quote you have, and it supports the concept in the lead without repeating the same information or wording, In broadcast news a good sound bite following the lead is equivalent to the lead quote. | A lead quote isn't required in al stories, but a strong quote or sound bite within 4 paragraph or two after the lead helps make the story more interesting. Ifthe lead does not contain all the information about who, what, when, where, why and how, these questions should be answered in the body of the story. In this example, the lead {quote isin the third paragraph: PENSACOLA, Fla,—Soon-to-be grad. ‘Wedont push himy’said his mothe uuate student Michael Kearney hasnt | Cassidy Kearney. "He pushes us. We just 89 major yet—but give him time, | tryand keep up with him bheS only 11 \] Michael will begin tackli studies atthe University of West Florida graduate in Pensacola this summerChapter 3 # The Basic New Story 4 Impact Whenever possible, the writer should explain how the news affects readers. The “impact” sentence or paragraph should answer these questions: What is the signifi cance of this story? What in the story makes the reader care? Sometimes the impact is explained in the lead or in the nut graph; sometimes itis lower in the story, in an explanatory paragraph | Not all stories can show direct impact on readers, but they should all have a clear | | paragraph explaining the reason for the story. In some stories, such as poli the impact is that the news happened in the community and should be of interest to local residents. stories, Home users are now the top tar Internet attackers, who are launching | increasingly sophisticated | Thats the soberi f from Symantec latest Internet security threat report, released toda Online news sites provide impact in several interactive ways: Databases let read ers search statistics about education, crime or property values in their communities; interactive calculators give readers a chance to figure what a tax increase might cost them; and feedback questions or polls ask readers to comment on issues, Attribution Where did you get the information? Who told you these facts? How can the reader be sure what you say is true? The “attribution” provides those ansivers. You need to attribute ali quotes—exact wording of statements that people made—and much information that you did not witness. Ifthe information is common knowledge or indisputable, you do not have to attribute it. You also need to attribute any state~ ments that express opinions, (A mote complete discussion of how to use quotes and tribution comes later in this chapter.) “The attribution should be in the lead for controversial or accusatory inform: but in many other cases it can be delayed so it doesn't clutter the lead. Police stories ofien have attribution in the lead, especially if you get the information by telephone or ifthe information is accusatory Lead with atribution ST, PETERSRURG, Fla A. 15 yeu old boy was stabbed twice in the chest Thursday ateroon when he apparent tid to break up a ight ina crowed parking lot at Northeast High Schoo, Bacup ae and cho ofc wil he | stabbing believed tohave occurred ahr tone student took another’ hat, was the fist they could recall at Pinellas County42 Part 1" Understanding News In the next example, general attribution isin the lead, but the specific attribution is in the third paragraph. The sources for the study are too cumber the lead, some to use in Lead with A smoky bar may be more harmful to indoor ir pollution virtually disap- Backup general your health than a city tre filled with | pears when smoking is banned, accord with specific attribution dlesel truck fumes, according to a new | ingto the study published inthe Journal tribution study of Occupational and Environ Smoky bars and casinos have up to | Medicine and partially funded by the ticles | Robert Wood Johnson Foundation of than air in highways and city streets | New Jersey, a philanthropic o red with diesel trucks, the study | tion devoted to health care. Context/Background Is there any history or background the reader needs in order to understand how 1 problem ot action occurred? Put the story in perspective. Ifthe story is about a fire, accident or crime, how many other incidents of this type have occurred in the community recently? Most stories need some background to explain the action, as in this example: Nutgraph Thats the advice of University of Towa security chief Dan Hogan in light sleeping women, Hogan said. But there was no force or violence, In each of recent reports of a prowler slipping | instance the man ran when the woman into unlocked dormitory rooms at | discovered him. Lead Lock your doors. | Two times the man touched the night. More recently, a woman in Burge Backup with lead quote “I cant stress that enough," he said. | Hall heard someone at her door. She Ws avery serious situation’ ‘opened itand sawa man running down, Background Since Aug. 24, there have been six | the hall, Hogan said. reports of a man entering women’ , rooms between 3 a.m. and 5:30 am, | Vers Armstong leme Gi PrearCiicen Five incidents were in Burge Hall and ne was in Currier Hall Elaboration, Supporting points related to the main issue constitute “elaboration.” ‘These can be statements, quotes or more detail to explain what happened, how and why the prob- lem or action occurred, and reactions to the event. In this part of the story, seek other points of view to make sure you have balance and fairness, A story based on one source can be too biased. The preceding story about the University of Iowa continued with more explanation:Chapter 3 = Th i Droll, ditector of residence \ said main doors 10 the halls | i ere locked from midnight to 6 a. cach resident has a key. Some floors Have 24-hour visitation | Ofien students feel more secure than they should because the buildin i large and are home to many of thei i | ii esac newssioy 48 if | | i if | Fairness and Accuracy Ifthe story involves conflict, you should always get comments from both or all sides of an issue. Avoid one-souce stories. Also, make sure you attribute your sources: including information you use from Web sites, other news organizations and quotes or statements from people you interview. Endings ‘The most common type of ending includes one of these elements: future action, a statement or quote that summarizes but does nat repeat the previous information, or more elaboration, Ifthe future action isa key factor in the issue, it should be placed higher in the story. Avoid summary endings that repeat what you have already said, Ina basic news story, end when you have no more new information to reveal. ‘The ending on the Iowa story follows the residence director's comments about why students feel secure in large buildings where they have friends: Summary quote ending “That's a strength, but it can also be a weakness in terms of people securing their rooms” Droll said A common order for a news story might look like this: = Lead Nut graph (if feature lead is used) Lead quote or compelling sound bite (if one is available) Supporting facts or impact More quotes and comments (or sound bites) from sources ditional information, facts or comments from sources Ending Visuals Visual elements such as photographs, charts and other graphic illustrations are crucial to news presentation in print and online information. They also enhance news releases or media kits in public relations. Photographs and other graphicjing News Hl | Convergence Coach I the focus ofthe story is unclear to broadcast view: they will urn to another channel. Ifthe focus in ‘an online story is nat clear in the headline or summary blurb under the headline, readers may not even click ino your online story, Ask yoursel | Focus is crucial in print, broadcast and online news. | hese questions: ‘= What is the most important idea that will entice viewers to listen to your st lick into your story? 1y oF online readers to ‘= Before you write your story for any medium, write ‘a focus sentence in fewer than 35 words, This also can be the lead of your story for an online site or a broadcast story. Now convert the focus into a headline of no more than six words for an online site. Here's an example from an Associated Press story illustrations not only help make your story look good; they can also make it easier to read. Hel Summary Blurb A parag mary blurb Itis placed about, you are really envisioning a summary bl write the summary blur blurb may be on an index p. help readers know they have 1 If your story is about a conflict, xe some other visual elements used to enhance news stor 1» Headline: Campus 2 arrests jump percent, = Summary blurb under the headline: Sex, di ‘= Online stories often have questions or polls seeking readers' feedback. If ou were seeking feedback on the main idea of your story, what question would you ask? The question may give you a clue for fin ing your focus. Have you answered the questions of who, what, when, how, why and explained the imp ‘on the reader or viewer? ct ave you contacted sources on both sides of the issue ow the headline. When you ask yourself what the story is atb, Even thot you should use the concept to write your focus statement. In online news the summary and lead of the s ge linking to stories inside t accessed the correct stor blurb is published directly over the story, the lead does not have to repeat the sum. mary, Itcan be more creativ Headline Papers a lesson in criminology AUSF professor Summary blurb term papers to criminology mi A. Engler Anderson's tetm papers werent just bad. They were a crime, said cone professor Anders that he sold term papers to two ows a paper tral to er student wanted on charges he soh , asin this example: | Theirmajor? Criminology: The charge—selling aterm paper or dissertation to another person—is only ‘a second legree misdemeanor, but if he is caught, Anderson will be held with ut bail because he filed to appear fora ‘court hearing this week. St Peers (Fa) Tes University of South Florida students ‘ory may be the same because the site. The repetition can But in print stories when theChapter 3 The Basic News Story 455 Department, received two papers that he thought were “awful” and then discovered | they were written by Anderson, a former student. “The story then explains how William Blount, chairman of the USF Criminology | | Pull Quote A good quote might be broken out ofthe tory placed in larger type fndused at a poit of entry to entice the reader. Although a copy editor wil decide | tihich quote fo pul or graphic display, when you write your story, consider which | {quotes cul be used to entiee readers Then use your best quotes high in you stor. inva sory explaining sexual harassment this “pull quot” from an. employment lawyer was used for emphasis 1 ehink w hit on me, and say, ‘No va he law says entitled 10 have you accept my rejection of you, andi shouldnt interfere with my work Facts or Highlights Box Information from a story is sometimes set off in a “facts box’ also called a “highlights box,” for reading at a glance or providing key points in the story. A facts or highlights box can include the dates in a chronology Or the main points of a proposal or meeting, Its especially useful for breaking sta- tistics out of a story. Although some information from a facts box may be crucial to inelude in the story, the writer should guard against too much repetition. CNN uses a highlights box at the top of major news stories on its Web site. The box contains four to five bulleted facts from the story to give readers a quick sum- mary of the main points asin this example: Big area of Antarctica melted in 2005 Vast areas of snow in Antarctica iS reed in the summer of 2005 a of California melted s NASAThisis the most signcant i thawing in 30 years inchuding high elevations and far4G Part 1 = Understanding News jere is an example of a facts box that accompanied a story from The Kansas City Star about the dangers of lightning. These statistics were not repeated in the story Lightning deaths and injuries Figures below sere compiled from 35 years of US, lightning statistics. Location of incident = Open fields, recreation areas oll): 14% Under tees (no = Water-related (boating, fishing swimming, et = Golfigolf under trees Month of most incidents Deaths by state, top five ‘= Florida, Michigan, Texas, New York, Tennessee Sune National Orsanic ant At Infographie A chart, map, graph or other illustration meant to provide infor- mation is an “infographic” E ams of plane crashes ‘or major accidents and illustrations explaining how something works. The most common type of infogra amples of infographics are diay hic, called a “location map” pinpoints the location of an accident, a crime or any other major news event. It is the reporter's responsibility to supply the information for those maps. So when you report a story that may need a map, make sure you gather information about the exact location of the event by noting the streets, the number of feet or yards from a spot where an explosion or major crime occurred, or any other crucial information that would help readers visualize the location, The University Daily Kansan, the campus newspaper of the University of Kansas, used the location map and graphic shown here to accompany a story about a traffic accident in which a student was killed Many of the visual elemer .—such as headlines, boxes of information and summary sentences—are written by copy editors, and decisions about display are made by these editors or by page designers. However, reporters are expected to plan. photos for their stories and to provide information for some of the graphics. When. a chart, a graphic or a facts box will accompany your st you need to consider SEChapter 3 # The Basic stoy 47 | age | ! FH A Infgraphic from The University Daily Kansan Reprinted with permission whether the story needlessly duplicates information that could be presented visu ally, So in the writing process, don't just think about information to put into your story; think also about information to pull out for visual devices. Audio and Video for Online Delivery Audio and video are crucial fortele- vision news stories, but if you ate writing the story for a print publication, you still should think about sound and sight. Most news organizations have Web sites these days, so you should plan to record the interviews for posting on the organization's Web site, Even if you dont shoot the video yourself, you should discuss with an editor whether your story will need video so that a photographer can be assigned to the story Examples of Basic News Stories The following examples will show you how elements of the basic news story fit together for print or online delivery. The first example is a standard news story with a summary lead. The story is organized in “inverted pyramid” form, giving the most important information first and the rest in descending order50 Part 1 = Under nding N Quotes and Attribution Good quotes can back up your lead and substantiate information in your story. In addition, good quotes let the reader hear the speaker. But boring quotes can bog ready said, its better to paraphrase or down sto what you have es. IF they repe eliminate them, In a broadcast story, sound bites take the place of quotes. er, a columnist and writing coach for the Detroit Free Press, said repor cers should consider quotes as the spice of the story, not the meat and potatoes, 1 to the newspaper the way they come to a party” she said, “They want to talk to interesting people. Long quotes usually are not very interesting” When to Use Direct Quotes Tere are some guidelines for deciding when to use quotes: «= Isthe quote interesting and informative? = Can the quote back up the ead, the nut graph or a supporti 1g point in your story? «Ask yourself Is the quote memorable without referring to your notes? Ifso, its probably a good quote. «Do your quotes repeat your transitions? Could the quote or the transition be eliminated? In broadcast news avoid introducing a sound bite wit a transition that repeats what the source will say. Thats called “parroting,’a technique that should be avoided. = Can you state the information better in your own words? Ifso, paraphrase. 1» Does the quote or sound bite advance the story by adding emotion, interest or new information? = Are you including the quote or sound bite for your source or for your readers ‘or viewers? That is the most important question of all. The readers’ and view cers interests always take priority Here are some types of quotes or sound bites to avoid: 1« Avoid direct quotes when the source is boring or the information is factual and. indisputable, For example, a city official who says, “We are going to have our gular monthly meeting Tuesday night” is not worth quoting directly «= Avoid any direct quote or sound bite that isnt clearly worded. Ifa government says something in bureaucratic lan tion and then paraphrase. oli stand, ask for clavfi juage that you don't fully under = Avoidl accusatory quotes from politicians or witnesses of a crime, If you intend 0 include any accusations, get a response from the person accused. A direct quote of sound bite does not save you from libel. If police or other criminal justice officials make accusations in an official capacity, you may use direct or indirect quotes, provided that you attribute them carefully + Avoid quotes that don't relate directly to the focus and supporting points in your story, Some of the best quotes a source says may have nothing to do with n than to use them poorly your focus. I's better ta lose theHow to Write Quotes I else has said, The format for writing sound bites in a broadeast script differs from } print style and will be explained in the next chapter and in the broadcast chapter. For | ee eee | A « Always put commas and periods inside the quotation marks; “There are no i Se ara eee ena i if the punctuation refers to the quoted mater {quotation marks: He asked, “When does the semester end?” Who said, itends soon”? aph: » Each new speaker must be quoted in a separate par “Never place quotes from two speakers in the Polk sad, ven ifs short?” Janet Rojas asked. ‘es, Polk answered me paragraph” Professor Les » Dont attributes single quote more than once. If you have two quoted sentences ame paragraph, you need only one attribution: from the same speaker in the ‘You must study your Associated Press Stylebook” the professor said You will have a test Tuesday on mate rial inthe Fist 30 pages” 1 “When the quote is two or more sentences in the same paragraph, attribute it after the first sentence,” Carol English said. “Don't make the reader wait until the end ofthe paragraph to discover who is speaking” + Attribution in the middle of a quote is acceptable but not preferable if it inter rupts the thought: direct quote. Butit sal right ifthe quote is very long, However, ifs better to put it atthe end of a complete sentence # Don't tack on long explanations for the quote. Ifthe quote isnt clear by itself, paraphrase. For example, avoid the following: When asked how he learned about the fire at his apartment complex, he said, 1 heard the news on the televisionked how he learned about «Instead, introduce t e quote with a transition; He was ata friends house when the fre broke out at his apartment 1 heard the news on television,” he «Limit the use of partial quotes. They are acceptable when the whole quote ‘would be cumbersome, but too many partial quotes makea story choppy. And the reader wonders what was left out, Ifyou follow a partial quote with a full one, you must close the partial quote: MeDonald says he sees the government as “weak and inept” and fraugh major-league problems! There’ a crisis in our leadership, MeDonald says. «Limit the use of ellipses, which are sets of dots that indicate part of the quote is missing, ince; four (one of which is the period) for an ellipsis at the end of the sentence. Use the ellipsis when you are condensing, whole quotes or long passages from which you delete several sentences. Its useful for stories about speeches or excerpts from court rulings. Be careful not to leave out ‘material that would change the speaker’s meaning. Use three dots for the middle of a s When to Use Attribution All quotes must be attributed to a speaker: In addi tion, you need to attribute information you paraphrase, In print and online writing, the attribution may follow the quote, but in broadcast writing, the attribution must come first. In many cases in broadcast news, the name and title of a speaker may be superimposed over the video on the bottom screen so you don't always need to introduce the source in a sound bite Plagi journ ism Copying the words of other writers is plagiarism, a cardinal sin in ism. Even if you paraphrase information your om other publications,Chapter 3 « The Basic News Stay 58 you are plagiarizing if you don't attribute it, Plagiarism is grounds for dismissal at ‘most news organizations. Ifyou take information from written or online resources, nes for material you need and dont make sure you attribute it, Here are some guid need to attribute: You don't need to attribute facts that sre on record or ate general knowledge The trial will resume tomorrow. A suspect has been arrested in connection with the slaying of a 16-year-old gir] in Hometown last week. You don't need to attribute information that you observed directly ‘The protesters, carrying signs and chanting songs, gathered in the park. « You don't need to attribute background information established in previous stories about the same subject: The defendant is accused of killing the three Overland Park women whose bodies have never been found. « You do need to attribute information you receive from sources if it is accu: satory, opinionated and not substantiated and if you did not witness it especially in crime and accident stories, However, you don't always have to attribute everything in the lead. The following statement is factual, so no attri bution is needed: A 2-year-old girl escaped injury when a mattress she was sitting apartment in flames at on catight fire and engulfed the stud Wheatshocker Apartments. «Attribution is needed here, however, because the cause of iris accusatory and the amount of damage is speculative: A 2-year-old girl playing with a started the fire at the Wheatshocker Apartments near Wichita 0,000, University that caused about damages, fire authorities aid Thursday ‘she was just kind of flicking it, and she eauight the bedding on fire? said fire Capt. Ed Brickne 37) Eagle | | |able. Although there are many synonyms for said, they make the reader pause. Said does not. Don't worry about ov vusing the word, rictly speaking, said, the past tense, should be used if someone said some- thing once. Ifsomeone ays the same thing, use says, the present tense. However, that rule is very restrictive. You could also just use said for most hard-news stories and use says for feature stories (if says seems appropriate to the context). In either case, keep the tense you choose throug if you start with says, continue using it for the test of the s writing “says” gives more immediacy. | Wording of AttebationsFormnsthar-nes sors he wad tipi out the storys ry. In broadcast «= Avoid substitutions for said, such as giggled, laughed or choked. 1s almost impossible to giggle, laugh or choke at the same time you are speaking. Ifyou ‘want to convey the emotion, write it this way: “Tm going to try out for the circus” she said, laughing. 1» Use according to when you ate referring to inanimate objects: “according toa study” It is acceptable to say “according to police” but not preferabl People talk. Use said ot says when you attribute to peoples according to is vague. = Normal speaki g order is preferable. You should place said ai pronoun. Ifthe person has along title, said can be placed before the name and tite Awkward: “Normal speaking order is preferred said the professor Preferable: “Normal speaking order is preferred,” the professor said. Overview Attribution This mation to one speaker for several p a technique that allows you to attribute infor .graphs without attributing each statement or each paragraph. tis useful when you are giving a chronology of events, asin a police story. But if you change speakers, you need to use attribution for the new speaker Overview attribution is a brief statement followed by a colon, Police described the incident this way ‘Witnesses said this is what happened: Police gave this account: Second References The second time you refer to a source in your story, use the last name only. If you have several sources—or two sources with the same last name, such as a husband and wife | phrase: use the full name again or an identifying | James Jones, the director of public safety, was injured in a three-car crash | yesterday, Jones was taken to Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for bruises and released| | Would you continue reading a news story ifthe focus isnot clear in the first few paragraphs? yes No Not sure Chapter 3 The Basic News Story 55 Ifyou have mentioned several other people and want to get back to Jones later in the story, remind the reader who Jones is by using his tte: Public Safety Director Jones said he would return to work Monday Titles When a persori ttle is used before the name, capitalize it, as in the preceding example, When itis used after the name, use lowercase letters: Police Chief Ron Olin said the crime ra e has gone down, Olin, police chief of Lawrence, said the crime rate has gone down, 8 Courtesy Titles Most newsp courtesy titles—Mr., Miss, Mrs. or Ms.—before people’ names. There are exceptions. The New York Times and The Wall Strect Journal still use courtesy titles. Other newspapers use them in obituaries. For general purposes in this book, courtesy titles will be eliminated unless they are contained in examples from newspapers that still use them. apers and TV scripts no longer use 1 Basic news story: Write a story based on the following, information. Write a focus sentence before you start your story. For this story, your focus sentence should the results of the study. If you want a lead that ts directly to the point, your focus sentence could also be your lead, Once you've written a focus sentence, add a sugges- tion for visual presentation—a photograph, chart, facts box or other graphic illustration, Decide what facts, if any, should be duplicated in the story and the praphic. Then organize the story by placing fects, quotes and elaboration in an order with the most important information near the top of the story to the least important material and perhaps ending with a good quote. The following material is based ‘on a story from The (San Bernardino, Calif.) Sun. Whotwhat: A study comparing the death and accident rates of left- and right-handed people. When: Study was conducted last year and was reported in today’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. Where: Study was conducted by Diane Halpern, a psy- chology professor at California State University at San Bernardino, and Stanley Coren, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, Why: To determine why fewer left-handed people are ‘among the elderly population How: Researchers studied death certificates of 987 people in two Southern California counties. Relatives were queried by mail about the subjects’ dominant hands. Backup information: The followi necessarily in the order they should be used in your story points are not The researchers found that the average age at death for right-anded people was 75, for left-handed people 66; left-handed people represent 10 percent of the U.S. population; right-handed females tend to live six years longer than left-handed females, and right-handed males live 11 years longer than left handed males; left-handed people were four times ‘more likely to die from injuries while driving than ight-handers and six times more likely to die from accidents of al kinds. Halpern said, “The results ae striking in their magni- tude.” Halpern is right-handed.