How do we know this?
The tunnel kept collapsing on rescuers, Chenn said.
Is it because Chenn said it to us?
No, it's not. It's because Chenn put it in his report, and then we read the report. So, proper attribution would be something like this:
The tunnel kept collapsing on rescuers, Chenn said in his report.
Let's not forget attribution to the actual source from which we learned of what we are writing about.
Attribution needs to go with everything we didn't witness, and needs to be attributed to the source of information. Often, that source is someone we interviewed. But in other cases, like here, it's the fire report we read. Be sure to cite it, so people know from where you got your information.
So, if your source is a fire report, treat attribution to that report in the exact same way we would treat attribution from an interview subject. And that's true whether our source of information is a person or a report or a stone tablet or graffiti on a wall.
In this story, odds were you should have offered a repeated, according to the fire report over and over again, in graf after graf. That's okay. Just like human source attribution, we simply need to be consistent and thorough, even if it is a bit repetitive.
Also, in this story it would have been wrong to attribute things to the responding officer. That's because you didn't get information from the officer, you got it from the report he wrote.
If we talk so someone, we attribute the person. If we get it from a report the person wrote, then we either attribute it to so-and-so-wrote in a report (or, in the case of witnesses, so-and-so said, according to the report), or we simply attribute it to just, the report said.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Rescue: Was It ...
. . . a fort the kids were building? You know, with gates and turrets and moats and solid stone walls and stuff?
Or a tunnel that was a kind of play-fort?
It's the former, right?
So, why just call it a fort when it was really a tunnel?
It's not wrong that you refer to the fort in some way; just make sure the context is correct. One of you found a great way to say it: the boys were digging a tunnel to create a play fort.
Or a tunnel that was a kind of play-fort?
It's the former, right?
So, why just call it a fort when it was really a tunnel?
It's not wrong that you refer to the fort in some way; just make sure the context is correct. One of you found a great way to say it: the boys were digging a tunnel to create a play fort.
Rescue: Who, What, WHEN, Where, Why
Quite a few of us never said what time the collapse took place. Even more of us never said when the boy was pulled out of the tunnel, and at what time the boy died.
Time often matters as one of the five W's. But in this case, it's especially important to the telling of the story.
Time tells you how difficult it would have been for the boy to be okay after being buried for so long. Time tells you how difficult it was to dig out the boy, in that it took so long.
In this case, specific times are important bits of data that help show the reader what happened, and not just leave them being told by you.
You say it was a difficult rescue. The times help readers see that.
In every story you write, try to determine which data sets help explain the story and show readers what they need to see in terms of evidence supporting your overall angle.
Time often matters as one of the five W's. But in this case, it's especially important to the telling of the story.
Time tells you how difficult it would have been for the boy to be okay after being buried for so long. Time tells you how difficult it was to dig out the boy, in that it took so long.
In this case, specific times are important bits of data that help show the reader what happened, and not just leave them being told by you.
You say it was a difficult rescue. The times help readers see that.
In every story you write, try to determine which data sets help explain the story and show readers what they need to see in terms of evidence supporting your overall angle.
Rescue: Why Did A Few Of Us ...
. . . forget to make any mention that the city's zoning board was to be notified about the site's hazard to children, as indicated at the end of the report?
Isn't that an important detail relating to where the story may go from here, and detailing consequence for what happened?
Also, some of you referred to the site owner generically, but you never named the company directly. Why is that? Isn't that specific and useful information? Wouldn't readers want to know who owns the land, in the same way they want to know who died? Isn't who one of the five W's every story should have?
Finally, if this was a real story you were doing for a real news organization, what would have been some additional steps in reporting this story? Let's get some good answers.
Isn't that an important detail relating to where the story may go from here, and detailing consequence for what happened?
Also, some of you referred to the site owner generically, but you never named the company directly. Why is that? Isn't that specific and useful information? Wouldn't readers want to know who owns the land, in the same way they want to know who died? Isn't who one of the five W's every story should have?
Finally, if this was a real story you were doing for a real news organization, what would have been some additional steps in reporting this story? Let's get some good answers.
Rescue: Writing With (AP) Style
When do you spell out avenue and street, and when do you abbreviate it?
In AP Style under addresses, it says to abbreviate when used with a specific street number, like 8397 Liberty Ave.
But when using just the street name without a number, it's spelled out, like Liberty Avenue.
Also, the abbreviation for avenue is Ave., and not Av. I know the latter was what was in the report, but we are supposed to translate anything outside of quotations to conform with AP Style.
Elsewhere in AP Style, we had issues with whether to spell out numerals, or use digits instead. We had issues on whether to use just the first name, just the last name or a person's full name on second references. We had issues on how to properly list ages.
I'm not going to revisit these here, since we've gone over these instances in multiple previous AP Style blogs. But I do ask that you review EVERY AP Style blog post from the semester, and find the answers yourself.
It's easy to find every AP Style post. Just click on the label below this post that reads, "ap style," and all the posts will chain together.
Every blog post has labels describing its topic area, and clicking on any of those labels will bring up every similarly-labeled item we've done, period. Please use that as a short-cut resource if there are subject areas in which you'd like a refresher.
In AP Style under addresses, it says to abbreviate when used with a specific street number, like 8397 Liberty Ave.
But when using just the street name without a number, it's spelled out, like Liberty Avenue.
Also, the abbreviation for avenue is Ave., and not Av. I know the latter was what was in the report, but we are supposed to translate anything outside of quotations to conform with AP Style.
Elsewhere in AP Style, we had issues with whether to spell out numerals, or use digits instead. We had issues on whether to use just the first name, just the last name or a person's full name on second references. We had issues on how to properly list ages.
I'm not going to revisit these here, since we've gone over these instances in multiple previous AP Style blogs. But I do ask that you review EVERY AP Style blog post from the semester, and find the answers yourself.
It's easy to find every AP Style post. Just click on the label below this post that reads, "ap style," and all the posts will chain together.
Every blog post has labels describing its topic area, and clicking on any of those labels will bring up every similarly-labeled item we've done, period. Please use that as a short-cut resource if there are subject areas in which you'd like a refresher.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
JRN 200: Second Story Pitches ...
... include:
- How a town will recover from the loss of a historic hotel in a fire
- Differences in school hours at different schools
- Popularity of Lansing's parks
- Football players and their off-season demands
- Lives of MSU students after they graduate
- Why taxes are so high in one community
- Plans to revitalize one city's downtown
- Parking at MSU; why so frustrating?
... and more!
Overall, I think it's a very strong set of topics. These are all ones that can be locally reported (the ones in out-of-area locales are in places where students taking this class actually are this summer); they all regard trends and issues in that they're not hooked simply on the fact that something's happening; they seek context through looking at pros and cons and who's affected and in what ways. Really nice bunch.
A few of you did NOT send in a pitch. Big mistake. Each of these out-of-class stories are worth around 10 percent of your final grade, so these are the projects on which we have to be perfect. The deadline clock is already ticking (see related blog post); you need to get me a pitch ASAP. You will also be docked on your final assignment grade for missing the tip sheet deadline.
Still, it's better than blowing off your assignment. If you miss your story deadline, you will blow a hole in your final semester grade that will be so severe you will be hard-pressed to do better than a 2.5, at best and potentially much worse, in this class.
That's by design. In journalism, an editor can work with a piece of junk story that's submitted before a deadline. An editor can print, post or air something that's never turned in. And in this business, along with getting facts wrong it's an unforgivable sin.
Let's get on it, folks.
A few of you did NOT send in a pitch. Big mistake. Each of these out-of-class stories are worth around 10 percent of your final grade, so these are the projects on which we have to be perfect. The deadline clock is already ticking (see related blog post); you need to get me a pitch ASAP. You will also be docked on your final assignment grade for missing the tip sheet deadline.
Still, it's better than blowing off your assignment. If you miss your story deadline, you will blow a hole in your final semester grade that will be so severe you will be hard-pressed to do better than a 2.5, at best and potentially much worse, in this class.
That's by design. In journalism, an editor can work with a piece of junk story that's submitted before a deadline. An editor can print, post or air something that's never turned in. And in this business, along with getting facts wrong it's an unforgivable sin.
Let's get on it, folks.
JRN 200: Your Tuesday 7/5 Homework
First, we will need to write a practice story slugged LAWSUIT. The background material is a court document (which you may refer to as the lawsuit in attribution) that can be found in the 11th edition of Reporting For The Media, Chapter 18, Ex. 6, p.397.
For this exercise, the circuit court is the Ingham County Circuit Court. The school district is the East Lansing School District. All relevant individuals and institutions live or are located in East Lansing.
Also, here are explainers of some basic terms: plaintiffs are people who are filing a lawsuit, and making accusations. Defendants are the people being sued and accused. Damages are what plaintiffs seek from the defendants, if the defendants are eventually found guilty.
Plus, keep in mind everything contained in a lawsuit is an allegation that has yet to be proven in court. So, in describing things, I would advise you to overdose on the liberal use of allegedly.
For this assignment, your deadline will be no later than 9 a.m. Wednesday, to omars@msu.edu.
Also, if you haven't already you should be receiving your graded first out-of-class story shortly; no later than 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, for sure. The rewrite of your first out-of-class story will be due no later than 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 13 by email to omars@msu.edu.
For the rewrite, do whatever suggestions I have noted, whether that involves additional reporting, AP Style fixes, rearranging story structure, whatever. You do not have to do a rewrite, but I strongly encourage you to do so.
If you do the rewrite, then your assignment grade will be the average between your original one and the rewrite.
For this exercise, the circuit court is the Ingham County Circuit Court. The school district is the East Lansing School District. All relevant individuals and institutions live or are located in East Lansing.
Also, here are explainers of some basic terms: plaintiffs are people who are filing a lawsuit, and making accusations. Defendants are the people being sued and accused. Damages are what plaintiffs seek from the defendants, if the defendants are eventually found guilty.
Plus, keep in mind everything contained in a lawsuit is an allegation that has yet to be proven in court. So, in describing things, I would advise you to overdose on the liberal use of allegedly.
For this assignment, your deadline will be no later than 9 a.m. Wednesday, to omars@msu.edu.
Also, if you haven't already you should be receiving your graded first out-of-class story shortly; no later than 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, for sure. The rewrite of your first out-of-class story will be due no later than 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 13 by email to omars@msu.edu.
For the rewrite, do whatever suggestions I have noted, whether that involves additional reporting, AP Style fixes, rearranging story structure, whatever. You do not have to do a rewrite, but I strongly encourage you to do so.
If you do the rewrite, then your assignment grade will be the average between your original one and the rewrite.
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