Journalistic Perspective

National to Local News Stories

One of the best ways to find an article to write about for a news story is to take a national news event and write how it impacts your local community.

Is your area in an economic slump like the rest of the country? Are you in a major resurgence? Interview local politicians or college professors and get their take on the local economy. Check with your local realtors and homebuilders, you can even check with local merchants and get their stories.

There are always national political stories that will have local impact. Talking to local leaders will give you insight into the impact that the national political environment will give to you. Often “man on the street” comments can be interesting to bring into an article.

Is crime in your area following the national trends or is your area staying independent from the national scene. Compare and contrast the good and the bad to give your readers a point of reference. Most have no idea what the statistics are and the comparison can help show where there is good and where your area needs to improve.

There are constantly new breakthroughs in science, medicine and technology. Did your local area contribute to any of the current breakthroughs? How will these improvements impact your local scientists, doctors and engineers? Not all improvements are good, try to find an opposing view and get both sides to weigh into the issue.

There are always changes happening in education. Check with your local schools, at all levels, to see the impact that the national issue will or will not have in your area.

Don’t forget to include the latest fun and games. National events often impact local events.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Local purchasing, News style, United States

Quote the Source

Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as: “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work.” Because the above sentence has been quoted and referenced back to Dictionary.com, everyone reading this article knows that this author did not create that definition. It has not been plagiarized.

If the author had said that plagiarism is the unauthorized use and close imitation of the language. And left it at there, then they would have been plagiarizing the meaning from Dictionary.com. There was no quote showing where it began or ended and no reference to the source.

But you changed the “or” to an “and” as you “rewrote” the quote. This is a simple change but nothing from the original quote really changed in the second. This would still have been plagiarism.

What if someone else wrote the material and then I turned it in as my own, but the other person never published it? Yes, that is still plagiarism because the work is still someone else’s and you have turned it in as your own. This is a moral and ethical issue. Did you do the work? Did you create the turn of phrase? Copying a phrase here and there from the other source, but filling it in with mostly your own material can still be considered a form of plagiarism.

If you are not sure if you are plagiarizing then the safest and best thing to do would be to cite your sources. If you are wondering if you should cite where you received the ideas then cite the source. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

Filed Under: Career, General Tagged With: Citation, Originality, Plagiarism

Key Steps To Writing New Articles

Writing any news article is a process, a logical sequence of steps, you follow each time you write. Whether you are just starting out or are an experienced professional you will go through the same basic steps.

1)    Gather the news that you will be reporting. You are looking for details that will give meaning or clarify the concepts. You must have facts to write the article.
2)    Determine your dominant idea. This will become the reason to write your article. You will focus on this idea and use your facts to illustrate and substantiate your idea. Without your dominant idea your article will tend to meander around without any sense of going anywhere.
3)    As you work with your dominant idea you gather your facts and determine which ones keep your story moving towards or substantiate that idea. Discard all facts that are irrelevant to your theme.
4)    Write your story. Write the whole story as quickly as you can.
5)    Reread your story. Begin to edit for flow, content, grammar and spelling. Spell check does not catch all misspelled words. Edit to make your story more powerful and compelling. Step away from the article for awhile and then edit it again. Your words are just that, words. They are not your babies. You can cut them out and re-arrange them and no one will be hurt. Be brutal to your words.
6)    Writing a story is almost never a five step process, always done in the same order. As you gather the news you are looking for your theme and you often will visualize the article in your mind’s eye. Editing the article often brings discarded facts back into the story. Be flexible.

Filed Under: Journalism, News Tagged With: Article (publishing), Idea, Proofreading

The Myth of Opionionless News Reporting

Every unbiased article that has ever been written has been biased. Journalists have been trained to report the news in a balanced and unbiased format. Nonetheless, the quotes they use and the adding or removing of content will influence the bias of the article.

We as a human race are biased. We all have opinions. As journalists write articles they process everything they are writing through these biases and opinions. As they write an article their natural bias and opinion will be masked from them and will appear as normal clean journalism, without opinion…to them.

In the old TV show, Sergeant Joe Friday would state, “Just the facts, Ma’am.” And the facts would be laced with her opinions and emotions. His questions would bring out those opinions and emotions. To find the truth as Friday saw it, he had to know the bias to better understand the truth.

This is still true today. While watching any newscast the political leaning of any network can easily be seen. It then becomes easier to see bias and know that bias will impact the opinions or supposed non-opinions of the newscast.

How does a station or any news agency become politically biased one way or the other? The owner, directors and editors control the content flowing through the facility. If the station is conservative then when a liberal turns in their non-biased article, the conservative infrastructure sees the “blatant” liberalism and requests the article be written without the liberal bent. Swap conservative and liberal for the liberal news agency and you will have the same thing happening the other way.

If a news agency is known as liberal or conservative in nature then it becomes easier to recognize that natural bias in the factual reporting of the agency. The viewers can then better gage the reality of the information and filter it within their own biases and opinions.

Filed Under: Journalism, News Tagged With: Bias, Conservatism, Liberalism

Donating Your Car to Charity The Right Way

During the process of finding and purchasing a new vehicle, you have come to realize that your old car can’t be traded in. You love that car but the financial reality has set in. However, you may not need to see it being hauled off to a junkyard.

Donating your car to a charity like Kars for Kids is a very worthwhile option. However, be aware that this donation is not as easy as it sounds and you need to make sure your car makes it to a reputable charity. In many cases, you’ll see ads asking that you donate your car to a particular charity. However many of these are fraudulent. Many are intermediaries who donate only a fraction of the car’s value to a charity.

Also be aware of those donation programs that are touted by well-know celebrities. Do a bit of investigation and find out if the agency actually gives a significant amount of the cars value to the charity.

Here are some other tips for donating your car.

Find a charity, such as Kars 4 Kids, that will accept your vehicle directly. The charity should also be registered as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. You can look this up on the Better Business Bureau’s website. Kars 4 Kids is just such an organization whose goal is helping children attain educations using funds from your donation.

If you can, deliver the car to the organization yourself. This will save the charity money, as they will not have to pay someone to pick up your car.

Protect yourself from any future liabilities. Make sure that that title is transferred properly so that if the car is involved in an accident at a later time, you will not be held responsible.

Donating your car is a very charitable thing to do; just make sure you do it correctly.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Charitable organization

Is There Any Such Thing as “Unbiased Reporting” ?

If ten people see a robbery there will be ten different accounts of what happened. Most of the accounts will be similar but there will also be major differences. Why?

Each of us process everything that happens around us through our own reality filters. We look at events and then filter or process them through the filters of what has happened to us in the past. All events are processed this way. Why would the news be any different?

Conservatives claim that CBS, NBC and ABC are biased to favor liberal view points. Liberals claim that Fox news is a conservative mouthpiece. Each of the news services claim that they are reporting the news as they see it and they are not biased but are allowing the viewers or listeners or readers the opportunity to decide for themselves.

In reality they are all biased and all reporting the news in their own “unbiased” way. They also know that their viewers, listeners or readers will process the information and make their own conclusions. It comes back to the reality filter within each of us.

CBS, NBC and ABC probably are more liberal in their reporting, just as Fox is more conservative. Each is trying to be neutral in their reporting but they always look at the world through their own filters. Each draws certain audiences which like the presentation of the news based on their own filters.

There are even people who watch both types of newscasts so they can see the differences of the newscasts and then make decisions about what “really happened” based on their own filters of the newscasts. Are you confused yet?

Can newscasts change public opinion? Absolutely. Are newscasts politically biased? How can they not be? Trying to neutral bias causes a bias. We cannot live without bias as we are all human. Recognize the bias and make your own decision.

Filed Under: Media Tagged With: American Broadcasting Company, CBS, NBC

Finding News Stories

Beginning journalists deal with a number of challenges, not least of which is the question of how to find stories to cover. While many journalists who are employed with a news source are provided assignments, even they are expected to uncover story ideas of their own based on the happenings of their local communities and the larger world. Finding news stories can be a daunting task; no one ever calls up a journalist to give them story ideas like the movies would have us believe. Instead, reporters are forced to scramble for ideas on their own.

One of the best ways to find news stories is to start with the sources. For instance, following up city and county police department’s daily activities can provide a number of story ideas. You can also check with your local school board; be sure to request a copy of the publicly available meeting minutes. Reviewing the records of public meetings may point you toward some very interesting story ideas. Attend city council and town hall meetings, and be sure to arrive prepared to record and take notes.

If you are more interested in social activities, try watching for free events and lectures sponsored by local colleges or organizations. You can also write about amateur sporting events, review a restaurant or bar band, or even a film or local play. Once you have a concept or idea, look for people whose insight would make an interesting commentary. Plan your questions, schedule some interview, and then gather your notes for your article. Because citizen journalism has become so prolific of late, you should have little problem finding a home for any well-written and researched pieces that you create. If all else fails, you can always start your own blog to have a place for your writing.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Citizen journalism, Journalist

Interviewing Techniques

Good interviewing technique is essential for those working in the media, especially those working as investigative reporters. Developing good technique is not easy and may in fact take years to perfect. However, there are a number of tips and tricks one can use to help improve interviewing technique. The first is to be prepared. Begin by preparing the location where the interview will take place. While many journalists prefer to meet their subjects in public places, it is important to choose a spot that will not be too loud or have a great deal of customer traffic. Small, quiet restaurants and coffee shops can be ideal interview spots.

Journalists should also have their questions prepared well in advance of the interview. It is important to consider the answers that your subject may have for you, and to prepare for any new avenues of discussion that could branch from your initial questions. You will also want to be ready to delve deeper into your subject’s responses. Instead of just accepting his answer, ask him why he feels that way, or how he came to learn that fact.

The questions themselves deserve a great deal of thought and planning before the interview. Open-ended questions will likely lead the interview off into unknown territory, while closed-ended questions will merely provide you with “yes” or “no” answers. You will want to be careful to create an open and friendly connection with the subject of your interview. Questions that will alienate him or cause him to go on the defensive are probably counter to your intended goals and should be avoided.

Finally, be prepared to record your interview, either with detailed notes or by using a voice recorder. Because you will want to be able to quote your interviewee, you will need to make sure that you catch his words verbatim; for that reason, recording may be the best alternative, provided that your subject agrees to being recorded.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Employment, Interview, Job Search

Defining Plagarism

Although most American school systems begin teaching the concept of plagiarism at the earliest possible opening, most U.S. citizens are still not able to adequately define the word in terms of written and other published content. Plagiarism, at its most basic level, is the use of work by another without crediting, attributing or gaining permission. In those early school days, most teachers saw plagiarism as students copied text, word for word, from encyclopedias or other source material when doing reports. Students are heavily encouraged to read the source material and then rephrase into their own words. For many young students, this is not an easy task. Teachers may be better off encouraging their students to first make sure they understand the written content before trying to rephrase it.

Plagiarism in the upper grades of high school more often applies to copying work from previous students. Many unscrupulous students over the years have borrowed or purchased previously submitted work from former students and presented it as their own. Teachers have become more savvy about this process, and by the middle of the first semester or so, many educators can spot the glaring differences in vocabulary and tone that is common in plagiarized work.

By the time they reach college, students should be aware the plagiarism is a serious offense. Many colleges will fail, suspend and even expel students who have been found guilty of plagiarism. Additionally, plagiarism becomes even more complicated when students are asked to comment about various published works. Many young people are unsure how much of what they say has been influenced by their reading, and exactly when and how often those source materials should be acknowledged in citations and footnotes. Every college student should study the concept of plagiarism before attempting written work in order to ensure that they have the principles and rules for citation fully defined and incorporated into their practices.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Academic dishonesty, Plagiarism, Student

Which News Stations Lean Left or Right

There is little question that most of the popular news outlets in the American media have a tendency to lean to one side or the other on most subjects such as human rights, taxation, social services and national defense. However, discovering which stations are more likely to present views you can identify with can be a daunting task. For most Americans, watching at least one station of each bent can be extremely beneficial, as you are much more likely to receive the entire story, rather than just the points that are important to one group of people.

While there have long been news commentators that can be identified as right wing, such as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, left wing commentators may not be so easily named. Rachel Maddow, in her aptly named show on MSNBC, often provides a more left wing commentary to current events and news happenings. MSNBC hosted another liberal news show framing commentator Keith Olbermann until he resigned in early January 2011 over a dispute with the station management.

Finding news talk shows on the radio may be an easier way to ascertain the political leanings of a specific commentator. For instance, NPR has traditionally given a more humanistic, liberal bent to their news reporting. The aforementioned Limbaugh has had numerous radio talk shows over the years and continues to commentate, even following a number of personal embarrassments. While many people believe that you can tell the direction of bias in a news commentator by listening to who he criticizes, that it not always the case. In fact, the best commentators will be sure to mention every political decision that they can find issue with, whether or not they belong to the same political party as the government or elected official involved. This is typically how reporting by any one person or station can be deemed as fair and equally balanced.

Filed Under: Media, News Tagged With: Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Talk radio, United States