Categories: CultureEthicsJournalismPhilosophyPoliticsRhetoric

Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy.

Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy.

Some basic concepts:

  • What is Newsworthy? Recent events that are unusual, nearby, have widespread/significant impact, or involve celebrities are more newsworthy than events that are stale, distant, have limited/trivial impact, or happen to average people. (9 min audio.)
  • Objectivity: Traditional journalism reports fairly from all sides of an issue — even the side the reporter thinks is wrong.
  • The Inverted Pyramid: Start with whatever is most important, not with who spoke first at the meeting you were assigned to cover. A traditional news story does not build to a climax — it gives away the ending (who won the game, when Route 30 will reopen, what happened at the board meeting) in the very first sentence.
  • Details Drive the News: Emphasize newsworthy quotes from credible sources (decision-makers, witnesses, experts, stakeholders). Let quotes do the heavy lifting in your news stories. (See also “Journalists Prefer ‘Said‘“)
  • Conflict of Interest: If you or a close relative are in a club or on a team, then you can’t write a news story on it. (You might write an editorial, or a column, as long as you disclose your relationship to the subject.)

Similar:

  • Sesame Street had a big plot twist in November 1986
  • I played hooky from work to see Wild Robot with my family
  • I’ve been teaching with this handout for over 25 years, updating it regularly. I just remo...
  • Sorry, not sorry. I don't want such friends.
  • In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. @thepublicpgh
  • Despite its impressive output, generative AI doesn’t have a coherent understanding of the ...

    • Post was last modified on 11 Jan 2020 11:21 pm

    Leave a Comment
    Share
    Published by
    Dennis G. Jerz
    5 years ago

    Recent Posts

    Sesame Street had a big plot twist in November 1986

    My older siblings say they remember our mother sitting them down to watch a new…

    4 hours ago

    I played hooky from work to see Wild Robot with my family

    I played hooky to go see Wild Robot this afternoon, so I went back to…

    2 days ago

    I can’t fix this broken world but I guess I did okay using #blender3d to model this wedge-shaped building for my #medievalyork #mysteryplay project.

    3 days ago

    I’ve been teaching with this handout for over 25 years, updating it regularly. I just removed some references to poorly focused overhead transparencies! #overdue

    I first started teaching with this handout in 1999 and posted it on my blog…

    3 days ago

    First they came… #kristallnacht @nccheshu

    First they came… #kristallnacht @nccheshu

    6 days ago

    Sorry, not sorry. I don’t want such friends.

    Back in 2003, shortly after I moved with my wife and two young children to…

    1 week ago