September 21, 2009 Archives

As I noted in class, my battery died after the first 21 minutes or so of the mock press conference, so we'll all have to rely on our notes from that point on.

Press Conference 2.mp3

Why is "allegedly" such an important word?

It's listed as being due today, but in fact I want you to come ready for another exercise like the accident press conference.

You will write a short breaking news story, based on the information you get from today's workshop.

Submit to Google Docs as soon as you can (within hours? certainly by the 25th), and share with me and a partner.

You can post one blog entry, with your responses from both readings.

As with the accident reports, a breaking news crime story is typically written overnight, while all the people that you might want to contact for quotes are asleep.  The value of this kind of story is that it is filed quickly, and free of errors.  Given those restrictions, how much room is there for depth and style?

Breaking news crime story:
Brackenridge man shot fleeing robbery attempt

Since several students in the class have reported frustration or impatience with the short accident report, here's an example of a more in-depth story, written about the latest courtroom development, in a story that was originally covered as a breaking news "crime" story.  This is the latest development in an ongoing story; the crime itself is mentioned, but that was weeks ago. What is the actual news in this story?

Court story:
Plea deal reached in Jeannette enslavement, kidnap case

http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_35.htm