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________________________________________News Writing
News Writing: Story Lead-ins
I recently came across this YouTube clip of a lead story I did at WSB-TV in Atlanta, and thought it would be a great example to help illustrate a few basic points I wanted to make this week about crafting story lead-ins. In the above clip, long-time veteran anchors John Pruitt and Monica Pearson pitch [...]
First Jobs: Work Flow
A friend is applying for a job titled “multi-media journalist” – which launched an hour-long discussion between the two of us about this growing trend – sometimes called the multi-platform journalist, the backpack broadcaster, or (rather irreverently) the one-man-band… photo credit: stevendepolo We talked at length about the best ways to approach that position, and manage time efficiently. Setting [...]
Ethics: Selling vs. Storytelling
I used to have a managing editor who would emphatically declare, “Let ‘em buy time!” whenever someone would pitch a story about a new product or service. It’s common to be faced with the opportunity or desire to report on something somebody else is selling. It’s human nature to want to discuss the latest gadget, the [...]
News Writing: Gentrification
If you’re not familiar with the concept of gentrification, you’ll likely cozy up to it in your first job. (Just please promise me you won’t say “gentrification” or any version of the word in your story.) Every semester, an intern comes to me with a story idea about “what’s happening” in East Austin, arguably the area [...]
News Writing: Auntie No-Rules
I don’t like rules. (Since I can hear my husband laughing from miles away… Let me clarify:) Seriously. I’m borderline obsessive/compulsive, but I don’t like rules. I don’t like rules about speeding in my car. I don’t like rules about what I’m supposed to eat. I don’t like rules about who I can speak to when [...]
News Writing: Tease Tips
As an addition to my last post… I thought I’d share my favorite list of tease tips. My executive producer gave it to me early in my career and I still use it as a quick go-to when I’m stuck on a particular tease. (I wish I could attribute it properly, but I’m not sure [...]
News Writing: Time, Time, Time…
I get to talk with a class of middle-school students about my job tomorrow, and one of the advance questions they asked me to discuss is: How long should a story be? Whoa. That’s a loaded question for a producer. Short answer? As long or short as it deserves. In other words, I like to think there are no hard [...]
First Jobs: Continuing Coverage
A newsroom discussion about continuing coverage the other day made me realize – that’s definitely something I didn’t learn in college. The ability to tell a story well, over a series of reports, as it develops, is a valuable and marketable skill. Tonight, I wrote updates on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the mass shooting [...]
First Jobs: How Special Are the Specialists?
I recently had an ex-intern ask me if it’s worth specializing as a journalist – that is, working toward being or accepting responsibility as the “technology reporter” or the “health reporter” or something similar. Looking around my newsroom, I can see some serious benefits to having those people around. But I can also see why [...]
Internships: Following Crews on Breaking News
Here I am in Seattle, Washington working with award-winning photojournalist Katie Johnson at a breaking news scene. On this particular day, we were covering a head on collision caused by a drunk driver that resulted in the death of a young Seattle Police officer. As is the case with breaking news, our goal was to [...]
