Media

2007 Conference Newspapers

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(see also "YAG News")

The students who participate in the News Media section of Youth and Government are responsible for taking pictures and writing news stories about the events that occur throughout the year at our conferences. Media delegates unite the conferences with news about every aspect of conference life. The Media branch publishes one paper at each district conference, along with a paper every day of State Conference.

 Objectives

  • Provide an opportunity for Youth and Government participants to gain knowledge and experience in journalism relative to government.
  •  Enable program participants to learn the technical and stylistic aspects involved in successful media coverage. This includes accurate reporting, editing and layout.
  • Teach program participants that team work and staff coordination are vital ingredients of successful journalism.
  • Emphasize the importance of communication skills and new values including the separation of issues from personalities.
  • Provide other Youth In Government participants with accurate, reliable and useful information.
  • Offer opportunity to learn how the individual works in a safe situation under the stress of deadlines.

Delegate Training Materials

ON DEVELOPING THE IDEA

  Stories begin with an idea. That raises the question of where ideas come from.

They can come from someone else, of course, but writers who develop their own ideas tend to execute them better. They are more enthusiastic, more inquisitive and have more of a sense of ownership (it should be quickly stated, however, that the fleshing out of an initial idea can best be achieved in collaboration with others: Two minds are better than one).

You arrive at a good idea by answering the following questions:

What interests you? What creates emotion: makes you mad; makes you happy/sad; makes you inquisitive??

Who interests you?

What do you want to look into more or learn about?

How good is the idea: Will it contain information? Will the information be significant enough to be of interest to others?

If you sit down and try to answer questions like the above, you probably will come up with some possibilities for stories to write. But generally ideas are generated more spontaneously. A brainstorm. You see, hear or read something that triggers another idea. A conversation gives you an idea.

The problem is that ideas tend to go in one ear and out the other. Ever wake up in the middle of the night with a great solution to a problem and then wake up the next morning and forget what it was?

Ideas, for many of us, are like jokes: We tend to forget them.

Most writers carry a little notebook or keep a journal. It is a way of capturing the germ of an idea that can be built on.

Don Murray, the author and writing guru, never goes anywhere without his daily journal, an 8x11 spiral notebook in which at various times during the day he jots down thoughts or descriptions of what he literally sees or things he sees in his mind's eye. Here's how he describes the evolution of an idea:

"My columns usually begin with the ordinary. My eye catches a glint from an insignificant element in my life or the lives of those around me, and I see it suddenly with humor, anger, sadness, amusement, nostalgia, concern--emotion gives it significance."

Here's another little exercise that might be worth trying: Write down three ideas you think may be interesting for your publication...for your eyes only.

Take your best idea. Write an answer in a word or two or three to the basic questions each story should contain, if there is an answer: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?

Talk over the idea with someone else before you start working on it.

What are the criteria for a newsy idea?

1. Does it have timeliness?

2. Is it of importance (affects many)?

3. Will it be of general interest to the reader?

4. Is it relevant?

5. Does it involve the public's right to know?

6. Does involve the public's need to know?

7. Will it inform/educate/guide/entertain readers?

Few of us are Einsteins, but that doesn't mean we don't have good ideas. The test is whether we are conveying information that is relevant to the reader. Take it from Susan Trausch, who has been a humor columnist, business writer, Washington correspondent and editorial writer at the Boston Globe:

"Ideas come from just living and doing the daily battle--standing in line at the bank and always being in the wrong one; spending a day trying to get the funny noise out of the car and discovering it's a tube of lipstick under the seat; living in an apartment with cardboard walls; having your credit card rejected in front of your fellow man. I write about the little annoyances that are big pains, and those are everywhere."


THE REPORTING PROCESS

Think of the process of reporting as collecting.

Effective writing is built with specific, accurate information.  Collect facts, collect impressions, collect quotations, collect details.

Before going out to do the reporting or interviewing, sit in a quiet corner and figure out what questions need to be answered. Put yourself in the place of the person you picture as the reader of your story.   Write down the questions and bring them with you as you do research, as you attend a speech or a meeting or as you do an interview.

You're not an expert, so don't be afraid to ask dumb questions.

You're not perfect, so don't be afraid to double-check spelling or facts, even if it is embarrassing for you to say, "Could you repeat that please?" or "Would you mind spelling that again, a little slower?"

Use all your senses: What does the auditorium or room or house look like? What do you  see or hear or even smell?

Reporting complemented by writing skill is what produced the following excerpt from Saul Bellow's Seize the Day:   

"On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay about the doorways of butcher shops and fruit stores. And the great, great crowd, the inexhaustible current of millions of every race and kind pouring out, pressing round, of every age, of every genius, possessors of every human secret, antique and future, in every face the refinement of one particular motive or essence--I labor, I spend, I strive, I design, I love, I cling, I uphold, I                     give way, I envy, I long, I scorn, I die, I hide, I want. Faster, much faster than any man could make the tally. The sidewalks were wider than any causeway; the street itself was immense, and it quaked and gleamed and it seemed...to throb at the last limit of endurance."                     

Details tend to reveal. 


ON WRITING

Think of writing as a conversation.

If you read James Nuland's book, How to Die?, you would have seen a quote from Laurence Stone, an 18th Century novelist: "Writing is but a different name for conversation."

This concept was driven home to me when I was Editor of the Boston Globe and invited Don Murray to be our writing coach. The first day he walked through the newsroom and arrived at my doorstep, Murray said:

"I can tell you who your best three writers are."

I couldn't resist, asking which ones, and he pointed to two women and a man who indeed were among the very best writers.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Because," said Murray, "their lips move when they write."

Writing is a personal process, so maybe it's appropriate that the three main elements all start with the letter "I". They are:

1. Information--words are symbols for what we learn.

2. Importance--that is, what is significant (which we often find in the insignificant details).

3. Interest--if it affects the reader, it has passed the test.

The Steps:

1.       Writing is a process. Do an outline. There is a logical order to storytelling.

2.        Write a one-sentence summary. William Faulkner mounted a 3 x 5 card on his typewriter with just a couple of words that reflected the theme of his novel, so that he would never stray from the point as he wrote. Good writing means throwing away much of what you have collected and synthesizing or hanging onto only what matches the central theme of the story.

3.       Writing is the story's voice. Determine voice. The tone should match the essence of the story. Is it best told   in an inverted pyramid structure? In first person? As an essay, following the standard format? Or in free form? The options are many. But when you are deciding which option best tells the story, you will eliminate a lot of options in order to allow the voice of the story to be heard properly.

4.       Writing is discovery. You are now ready to start your conversation. How? Just get it down on paper. Let yourself go and be surprised about what happens. Walt Whitman once said he never knew how his poems would end: "I just let her come until the fountain is dry." Edward Albee is quoted as having said, "I write to find out what I'm thinking about." Some people find they can write better without using notes, then come back and fill in the details. Don't worry about spelling or punctuation or capitalization or grammar. Faulkner said, "There are some kinds of writing that you have to do very fast, like riding a bicycle on a tightrope."   

5.       Good writing has a beginning, middle and end. Many writers get stuck on the beginning. My advice? Skip the first paragraph, start with the second and come back to it. Another technique is to write about 15 first paragraphs in different ways as fast as you can, even abbreviating words, virtually scribbling. Soon you will find you are borrowing elements from one paragraph and using it in another. Then you look back and pick the one you like best...or continue on with the second paragraph and go back later. The middle should come easy, if you have an outline.                                                           

6.       Finally, the ending. Well, it may be final, but it also is lingering. The last paragraph sticks in the reader's mind. So you should make a special effort to have a good final paragraph--not a summary, but something that captures the essence of the story. It may be a nugget of information that you have stored up like a squirrel. Many good writers often know what they are going to say in the last paragraph before they write the first paragraph. The possibilities are endless (pun intended). Look at how other good writers end their stories to get some ideas.


HOW TO CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW

Interviews have four stages that precede the writing of a story:  arrangements, preparation, the actual interview and the reconstruction.

ARRANGEMENTS--Spontaneous interviews, except in connection with breaking news, seldom contribute to thoroughness.  Once you have decided to interview someone, call in advance to make an appointment.  Identify yourself by your name and the name of your publication.  If you feel the need to do so or are asked to describe what the story is about, be brief and general.  The shape of the story might change as you continue your reporting.  If you are interviewing several persons in connection with your story, interview the principal person last, because you will be better prepared based on what you learn from the earlier interviews.

PREPARATION—Do as much research as possible in advance on the person and/or topic you are working on.  Sources might include the library, public records, the internet and people you know who can provide background information.  Prepare your questions in advance in writing and bring them to the interview.  Refer to them but don't show them to the interviewee, because it creates too formal an atmosphere.  Ask other questions as they might arise, based on what the interviewee says or something new that might come to you on the spur of the moment.  Bring two pencils (or pens) and paper.  A stenographer's notebook is usually easier to handle than a large pad but use whatever is comfortable.  Bring a tape recorder if you can but be sure to get the permission to use it from the person you are interviewing.  You also should take notes, because it will help in the reconstruction phase, and, yes, tape recorders fail occasionally.

THE INTERVIEW—It is inadvisable to launch right into the interview unless you are only being given a few minutes.  Some casual conversation to start with will relax both of you.  Questions should be as short as possible.  Give the respondent time to answer.  Be a good listener.  If he or she prattles on, it is appropriate to move on as politely as you can.  You might say something such as:  "Fine, but let me ask you this…".  Try to draw out specifics:  How long, how many, when, etc.?  Absorb the atmospherics of the locale where the interview takes place, with particular attention to what might be a reflection of the interviewee's personality and interests, such as photos of children or bowling trophies or a paper-littered desk or a clean one, etc.  Note characteristics of the interviewee that might be worth mentioning in your story, such as pacing, looking out the window to think, hand gestures and the like.  Invite the person to call you if she/he thinks of anything pertinent after the interview.  It often happens, so be sure to provide your name, email address and phone number on a card or piece of paper before you leave.  If that person has a secretary, be sure to get that person's name and telephone number, too, in case there is some detail that needs follow-up and, again, leave information as to how you may be contacted.  If a photo is needed and is not taken during the interview, be sure to make arrangements then to have one taken at a later time.

RECONSTRUCTION—As soon as it's practical after the interview, find a quiet place to review your handwritten notes.  In your haste while taking notes, you may have written abbreviations for words that won't mean anything to you a day or two later.  Or some of your scribbling may need deciphering, and, again, it is more likely you'll be better able to understand the scribbles soon after the interview.  Underline or put stars alongside quotes that seemed most compelling. One star for a good quote, two stars for a very good one, etc.   It will speed the process when you get to the writing stage.  One other thing to look for in your notes:  the quote you wrote down might not make a lot of sense, unless you remember what specific question it was responding to.  In short, fill in whatever gaps exist in your notes that will help you better understand them when writing.

ON BEING A REVISIONIST

      "I love revision.  Where else can spilled milk be turned into ice cream?" Author Katherine PattersonWhat does it mean? "Seeing again...."

What does it NOT mean? Editing. Editing is getting a story ready for the reader; revision is luxury of satisfying yourself. You should wallow in it.

Think of revision as an ongoing process that starts when you first think about how you will write a story to the point when you turn it over to an editor. Think of it as being nothing but a fun, positive process.
Revision is writing. This is you fashioning a sculpture in writing--molding, shaping, adding, subtracting... Think of yourself as a sculptor. The first draft is when you take a big chunk of clay and sort of mold it into a shape that looks roughly like a bust of a person. You have a rough idea that this glob of clay has a chin and a nose...but the eyes and lips are not apparent. You are writing a rough draft.


Writing Coach Don Murray, who has written a whole book on the topic of revision, says, " "Rewriting begins before you put the first word on paper and continues until you edit the final draft--which may, in turn, inspire revision."

When I was a reporter driving back to the newspaper after an assignment, I would run ideas through my mind of various versions for the "line" or the opening sentence or the closing sentence. Then when I got back to the paper I would pour it out as fast as my mind could recreate it, changing it as I went along, not worrying about spelling or capitalization or punctuation, just getting words on paper.

Then I would a walk to the water cooler.

When I returned to the typewriter (I'm dating myself), I would either tear up what I had done and start over with a totally new fast draft, or I would begin the revision process. The revision process. How does that work? First you give it a quick scan for obvious additions or deletions, still not worried about grammar or such fine points.

Then read it aloud to yourself. Now that sounds contradictory, but you should try it, and you will discover that you can actually hear the music of your writing. Sometimes it sounds pretty nice. Other times you choke on a discordant note.

After that, I would go through the piece from top to bottom, asking myself a variety of questions that soon became second nature:

·         Is it accurate? When in doubt, check it out. When I would ask my father how to spell a word, he would always respond the same way: "Look it up." The same is true with facts. Don't guess. Don't rely on someone else. Check it out.

·         Is it focused? By that I mean, is there a single theme throughout. If I have written a "line", is every sentence supportive of it. If not, it would be distracting to the reader and should be eliminated. At this point, try writing a title for the piece. Not a headline, but a title. You'd be surprised how that helps clarify the focus.

·         Is it too long or too short? Once I wrote a piece for an MIT publication based on an interview of more than an hour. I was told to keep it to 300 words. That's not much. Then I was told it would be the cover piece of this issue and therefore could only be 200 words long. My second piece was better than the first.

·         Is the story clear? An editor I once worked for used to say, "The readers you care about live in three deckers, not in the ivory tower at Harvard."

·         Are things in the right order? (Some people actually try writing an outline after they write their story.

·         Does it flow? Kurt Vonnegut, the novelist, says, "Don't put anything in a story that does not reveal the character or advance the action." The same is true for the kinds of stories you write for your publication.

·         Is there enough significant detail? Is there enough or too much description?

·         Is it the right "voice" for the story? You don't right an obituary with a flippant tone.

Is it me? Only you can answer that question, but after a while you will see that you have developed a style of writing, just as you have a style for carrying on conversations, whether you realize it or not.

Then there are two bigger questions?

Where is the tension in the story? The rain fell for 36 hours. So what? The rain fell for 36 hours and forced 300 people out of their homes in Helsinki.

Does the story contain any surprise(s). When you learn from the reporting process--or even the writing process--then what surprised you will most likely surprise the reader--or most of them anyway. "In 1956 Helsinki experienced its worst flooding. The Fire Department had to pump out 50 basements of homes. This week the Fire Department pumped out 250 basements. In '56, 10 roads had to be closed. This week 25 roads were closed to automobiles...etc."

Now that you have answered all these questions, you can go back and fix up your typing and the grammar and take out all the cliches and jargon!

Remember, revision is the fun part of writing. Or as Bernard Malamud used to say, "I love the flowers of afterthought."

Good writers spend lots of time at revision. Don't be fooled by how simple and clear some of their writing seems to be. Harvard economist/author John Kenneth Galbraith once wrote:

"In my own case there are days when the result is so bad that no fewer than five revisions are required. However, when I'm greatly inspired, only four revisions are needed before, as I've often said, I put in that note of spontaneity which even my meanest critics concede."

So...You are now sculptors.


ON BEING AUTHORITATIVE

It's important to write with authority, because written words carry weight. How can you be sure to do so?

The techniques vary slightly based on the type of writing you are doing. Let's confine our attention to opinion writing and news/feature writing.

On opinion: A person can write with authority if he or she is a bonafide expert on a subject. Otherwise, it is necessary to quote others, in effect borrowing the expertise of others. It also lends authority to include the arguments of those who take the opposite position from yours.

On news/feature: Writing style is one way of instilling authority, but a surefire way is to do extensive reporting. We differentiate for the reader between material that we know through our own accord with what we obtain from other sources. Two basic types fall under the "know-of-own-accord" category: common knowledge and what we see/hear ourselves. It is common knowledge, for instance, that Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, so we don't have to credit the Pentagon for that fact. If we attend a soccer game and see the player score by kicking a high shot with his right foot, we don't have to quote the coach to that effect. Otherwise we employ attribution both to provide verification and to instill authority. The most common form of attribution is linking a person or written source to a direct or indirect quote. However, any proprietary information that is obtained through reporting or research should be attributed--and that includes public information. It is important to weave attribution into the story as elegantly as possible so that the story doesn't read like a bumpy road. In some cases, when information from several sources is intermingled in a story, it is appropriate to carry a line at the end of the story, possibly in italics or in parentheses, giving credit: (Some information from this story came from Associated Press reports and from the Encyclopedia Britannica). This often occurs when historical information is incorporated into the story. The use of confidential or unnamed sources should be avoided altogether. In the professional press there are times it is appropriate. However, even in those cases, strict adherence to certain procedures must be carried out to maintain integrity and even at times withstand legal action.

Several ethical issues flow from the desire to write with authority. Three of the most important are: conflict of interest, honesty and plagiarism.

On conflict: A writer must be independent or neutral in connection with the story subject matter. If there is any doubt about such independence, it behooves the writer to state any affiliation, past or present, with any of the persons, organizations or issues covered in the story. Even an appearance of conflict can undermine a story. An example might be a social friendship with a business or governmental person being the focus of a story you are writing.

On honesty: The writer must never invent. Go through the story in the revising process with an eye toward finding any point in the story where a fact might have been guessed at or not double-checked or where there might be a element of slight exaggeration or distortion.

On plagiarism: Passing off the work of someone else as your own, in whole or in part, is a serious violation of trust between the writer and reader.


ON RIGHT WRITING

            Writing is more than throwing words onto paper.  It is a form of story telling that requires us first to determine in our own mind what the heart of the story is.  What is its essence?  Until we come to grips with that essential element, we should refrain from putting pen to paper. 

Novelist Anne Dillard expresses this paramount premise in the following way:

“There’s no virtue in writing per se.  It’s like dribbling.  Can you make the shot? Is the question.”  

A Veteran’s Vision

We gain further insight from our guru, Don Murray, whose wisdom stretches across a dozen books and hundreds of articles:

“Writing is thinking, and thought begins not with a conclusion, but with an itch, a hint, a clue, a question, a doubt, a wonder, a problem, an answer without a question, an image that refuses to be forgotten.

“Such fragments are caught on the wing, when I think my mind is somewhere else.”                 

 What’s Your Vision?

Few of us have reached the level of a Dillard or a Murray, but we nevertheless have stories within us that need telling.  And we should tell them in our own way, drawing word pictures with our signature attached.  All that’s needed to begin with is a desire to tell our stories, to share them with others. 

Mission, Goal and Objective

Our stories live within us, dying to be told so that they may live outside of us.  We can either dribble out the words or write them right.

·     Be a Storyteller

·     Engage, instruct, entertain

·     Provide new  perspective

 

What’s Right?

Specific aspects that enrich stories are:      

·     Right focus, Right Approach, Right Thinking

·     Right tone, Right content, Right words

What’s Wrong

Specific aspects that detract from stories are:

·     Lack of single focus

·     Lack of structure

·     Lack of people

·     Lack of the unexpected

·     Lack of revealing detail

·     Lack of that little extra reporting

·     Lack of voice

·     Lack of revision

 Recommendations

What are some tips that might enable inexperienced writers to learn what’s right?

·     Study the techniques of writers you like/respect

·     Write your story in your mind away from the computer: 

“I assign the writing problem to my subconscious,”  says Murray.

·     Decide structure & write fast

·     Let the story unfold

·     Tell the reader what she/he may not know        


Notes

 

 

 

Links

Links on Story Ideas
After you have looked for info on bills your club is working, unusual judicial information, or other local interest stuff.

Note: All content from other sources require citing said source.

Your First Stop

  • MSN Group for Oklahoma YAG Media
         Joining this group is a must for all Media delegates! This is the main way we all keep in touch throughout the year. Valuable communication happens here.

Real hard news links

  • Oklahoma News Stand
         From the Oklahoman to the Tulsa World to the Ryan Leader, this seems to be pretty inclusive. Even includes links to some college papers. Perhaps some inspiring material.
  • The AP Wire
         Again, perhaps this will inspire you to some sort of greatness.

Links for infotainment

Research Stuff

  • Megasources
         This is a HUGE list of links, but can be great if you have an idea and just need research to back up your story.
  • HS Journalism
         Some interesting stuff here for both print and video folk.