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40 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Lead
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The opening paragraph of a news story that summarizes the story by giving the most important of the 5W's. It is usually one sentence in length and focuses on giving the end result of the story, or the newest information in an ongoing story. It is, essentially, telling the story in miniature.
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Inverted pyramid
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Journalism instructors usually describe the organization or structure of a news story as an inverted pyramid. The journalist top-loads the essential and most interesting elements of his or her story, with supporting information following in order of diminishing importance.
This structure enables readers to stop reading at any point and still come away with the essence of a story. It allows people to enter a topic to the depth that their curiosity takes them, and without the imposition of details or nuances that they would consider irrelevant. Newsroom practicalities represent another rationale. The inverted pyramid structure enables sub-editors and other news staff to quickly create space for ads and late-breaking news simply by cutting items ("throw-aways") from the bottom ("cutting", literally, at the papers that still use traditional paste up techniques). The structure frees sub-editors to truncate stories at almost any length that suits their needs for space. Poor structure typically begins with a faulty lead. Steeped in the raw material of their interviews and research, apprentice news writers often fail to anticipate what readers will find most interesting or to sum up the information quickly. These elements of the story are presented only after the lead in an article's later paragraphs. This is the reason for the popular newsroom admonition: "Don't bury the lead!" Some writers start their stories with the "1-2-3 lead". This format invariably starts with a 5W opening paragraph (as described above), followed by an indirect quote that serves to support a major element of the first paragraph, and then a direct quote to support the indirect quote. |
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Types of sources
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Stored
Articles, journals, book, that contains info others have complied by publishing Observation What one views themselves Personal Talking to people who were there, and are experts on a subject 3 interview sources Pro Against Close to it |
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Interviewing guidelines
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Different types if questions
open ended question probing question Aggressive question, attempting to get to an answer continuous questioning |
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News story vs. editorial
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objective vs. subjective
News Story short Concise to the point less interesting diction Editorial Developing voice literary devises longer sentences and paragraphs |
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News values
Timeliness |
How recent did it happen?
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News values
Currency |
Does it deal with current issues?
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News values
Proximity |
How close is it to the news source
(P.D. Does not report a shoplifter in FL) |
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News values
Prominence |
How important or famous are the people involved?
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News values
Conflict |
Is there a conflict?
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News values
Bizarre |
How different/strange is it?
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News values
Impact |
How many people, and how much does it effect them?
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Principles of news writing
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1. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth
2. Its first loyalty is to citizens 3. Its essence is a discipline of verification 4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover 5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power 6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise 7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant 8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional 9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience |
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1st amendment
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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion" or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to peaceably assemble, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. |
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Near vs. Minnesota
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Printed anti-semetic, local government was controled by jewish gangsters
Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697 (1931), was a United States Supreme Court decision that recognized the freedom of the press from prior restraints on publication, a principle that was applied to free speech generally in subsequent jurisprudence. The Court ruled that a Minnesota law that targeted publishers of "malicious" or "scandalous" newspapers violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (as applied through the Fourteenth Amendment). Legal scholar and columnist Anthony Lewis called Near the Court's "first great press case." It was later a key precedent in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), in which the Court ruled against the Nixon administration's attempt to enjoin publication of the Pentagon Papers. |
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New York Times vs. Sullivan
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Sheriff jailed NYT reporter
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), was a United States Supreme Court case which established the actual malice standard which has to be met before press reports about public officials or public figures can be considered to be defamation and libel; and hence allowed free reporting of the civil rights campaigns in the southern United States. It is one of the key decisions supporting the freedom of the press. The actual malice standard requires that the plaintiff in a defamation or libel case prove that the publisher of the statement in question knew that the statement was false or acted in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. Because of the extremely high burden of proof on the plaintiff, and the difficulty in proving essentially what is inside a person's head, such cases—when they involve public figures—rarely prevail. Before this decision there were nearly US $300 million in libel actions outstanding against news organizations from the Southern states and these had caused many publications to exercise great caution when reporting on civil rights, for fear that they might be held accountable for libel. After the New York Times prevailed in this case, news organizations were free to report the widespread disorder and civil rights infringements. The Times maintained that the case against it was brought to intimidate news organizations and prevent them from reporting illegal actions of public employees in the South as they attempted to continue to support segregation. |
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New York Times vs. United States
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New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971), was a United States Supreme Court per curiam decision. The ruling made it possible for the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers to publish the then-classified Pentagon Papers without risk of government censure.
The U.S. President Richard Nixon had claimed executive authority to force the Times to suspend publication of classified information in its possession. The question before the court was whether the constitutional freedom of the press under the First Amendment was subordinate to a claimed Executive need to maintain the secrecy of information. The Supreme Court ruled that First Amendment did protect the New York Times' right to print said materials. 6-3 The decision finally stated that the Supreme Court agreed with the two lower courts which had originally decided that the Government had not met that burden, so the prior restraint was not justified. This final decision was not signed by any particular justice. The Per Curiam opinion itself in this case was very brief because all the Court wanted to state was that it had concurred with the decisions of the two lower courts to reject the Government’s request for an injunction. The Justices’ opinions included different degrees of support for the clear superiority of the First Amendment and no Justice fully supported the Government’s case. Because of these factors, no clear and exclusive law appears to have come out of this case. Nevertheless, the significance of the case and the wording of the Justices’ opinions have added important statements to the history of precedents for exceptions to the First Amendment, which have been cited in numerous Supreme Court cases since. |
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Tinker vs. Des Moines
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February 24, 1969
Summary: Students were suspended by school officials for wearing a simple black armband to school to protest Vietnam War. U.S. Supreme Court held that students’ speech was protected. Students, the Court held, do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,” and school officials may not punish or prohibit student speech unless they can clearly demonstrate that it will result in a material and substantial disruption of normal school activities or invades the rights of others. Disruption of learning environment is a standard as to whether students freedom can be taken away (wearing inappropriate shirts) http://www.splc.org/law_library.asp?id=2 |
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Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier
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January 13, 1988
Summary: The principal of Hazelwood East High School outside St. Louis, Mo., censored from the student newspaper a special teen issue section that included articles on teen pregnancy and the impact of divorce on students that he found objectionable. Members of the student staff sued. The U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri held that students' First Amendment rights were not violated, 607 F.Supp. 1450. The students appealed. The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the District Court decision, 795 F.2d 1368, primarily relying on the Supreme Court’s 1969 decision in Tinker v. Des Moines. The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals decision and held that a high school-sponsored newspaper produced as part of a class and without a “policy or practice” establishing it as a public forum for student expression could be censored where school officials demonstrated a reasonable educational justification and where their censorship was viewpoint neutral. |
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Bethel vs. Fraser
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Bethel School District v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986), was a United States Supreme Court decision involving free speech and public schools.
On April 26, 1983, Matthew Fraser, a Spanaway, Washington, high school senior, gave a speech nominating classmate Jeff Kuhlman for Associated Student Body Vice President. The speech was filled with sexual innuendos, but not obscenity, prompting disciplinary action from the administration. Though the Court distinguished its 1969 decision Tinker v. Des Moines, which upheld the right for students to express themselves where their words are nondisruptive and could not be seen as connected with the school, the ruling in Fraser can be seen as a limitation on the scope of that ruling, prohibiting certain styles of expression that are sexually vulgar. General trend towards restrictions on student speech |
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Prior restraint
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Prior restraint is a legal term referring to a government's actions that prevent communications from reaching the public. Its main use is to keep materials from being published. Censorship that requires a person to seek governmental permission in the form of a license or imprimatur before publishing anything constitutes prior restraint every time permission is denied. More recently, prior restraint has often taken the form of an injunction or other governmental order prohibiting the publication of a specific document or subject. Sometimes, the government becomes aware of a forthcoming publication on a particular subject and seeks to prevent it. In other cases, the government attempts to halt ongoing publication and prevent its resumption. These injunctions are also usually considered to be cases of prior restraint, because future publications are stopped before they start.
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Privilege
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Reporters' privilege in the United States, is the qualified (limited) First Amendment right many jurisdictions by statutory law or judicial decision have given to journalists in protecting their confidential sources from discovery.
The First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits have all held that a qualified reporters' privilege exists. Furthermore, thirty-one states have enacted shield laws protecting journalists' anonymous sources. |
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Shield Laws
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A "shield law" is legislation designed to provide a news reporter with the right to refuse to testify as to information and/or sources of information obtained during the newsgathering and dissemination process.
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Defamation
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In law, defamation (also called calumny, libel (for written publications), slander (for spoken word), and vilification) is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image. It is usually, but not always, a requirement that this claim be false and that the publication is communicated to someone other than the person defamed (the claimant).
In common law jurisdictions, slander refers to a malicious, false and defamatory spoken statement or report, while libel refers to any other form of communication such as written words or images. Most jurisdictions allow legal actions, civil and/or criminal, to deter various kinds of defamation and retaliate against groundless criticism. Related to defamation is public disclosure of private facts, which arises where one person reveals information that is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person. "Unlike [with] libel, truth is not a defence for invasion of privacy." False light laws are "intended primarily to protect the plaintiff's mental or emotional well-being." If a publication of information is false, then a tort of defamation might have occurred. If that communication is not technically false but is still misleading, then a tort of false light might have occurred. |
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National security vs. freedom of the press
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There will always be a tension
New York Times vs. USA Pentagon papers were published and made unclassified NATIONAL SECURITY CANNOT OVERRIDE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS Relates to freedom of information act, and watch dog journalism |
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Morse vs. Frederick
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Morse v. Frederick, 127 S. Ct. 2618 (2007), was a First Amendment student free speech case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a school principal may, consistent with the First Amendment, restrict student speech at a school-supervised event when that speech is reasonably viewed as promoting illegal drug use.
In 2002, 18-year-old Joseph Frederick was suspended from the high school where he was a senior after he displayed a banner reading "BONG HiTS 4 JESUS" across the street from the school in Juneau, Alaska, during the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay. Because schools may take steps to safeguard those entrusted to their care from speech that can reasonably be regarded as encouraging illegal drug use, the school officials in this case did not violate the First Amendment by confiscating the pro-drug banner and suspending Frederick. |
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Transparency
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Good reporting is displayed by reporters who show all of their sources and where their information comes from.
Reason for that: Stephan Glass |
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Freedom of Information Act
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Freedom of information legislation, also described as open records or (especially in the United States) sunshine laws, are laws which set rules on access to information or records held by government bodies. In general, such laws define a legal process by which government information is required to be available to the public. In many countries there are constitutional guarantees for the right of access to information, but usually these are unused if specific legislation to support them does not exist.
Over 70 countries around the world have implemented some form of such legislation. Sweden's Freedom of the Press Act of 1766 is thought to be the oldest. Other countries are working towards introducing such laws, and many regions of countries with national legislation have local laws. For example, all states of the United States have laws governing access to public documents of state and local taxing entities, in addition to that country's Freedom of Information Act which governs records management of documents in the possession of the federal government. A related concept is open meetings legislation, which allows access to government meetings, not just to the records of them. In many countries, privacy or data protection laws may be part of the freedom of information legislation; the concepts are often closely tied together in political discourse. A basic principle behind most freedom of information legislation is that the burden of proof falls on the body asked for information, not the person asking for it. The requester does not usually have to give an explanation for their request, but if the information is not disclosed a valid reason has to be given. |
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“Watchdog”
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Watchdog journalism refers to forms of activist journalism aimed at holding accountable public personalities and institutions whose functions impact social and political life. The term lapdog journalism is sometimes used as a conceptual opposite to watchdog journalism.
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Why is investigative journalism important in a democratic society?
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Investigative journalism is important in a democratic society, because it keeps governments in check.
It allows the people to fulfill their first amendment right by having a voice (beyond running for an election). Gives citizens the information they need |
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What are the tools of investigative journalism?
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Anonymous source
In journalism, a source is a person, publication or other record or document that gives information. Shield laws Sunshine laws Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act Request The investigation might call for the reporter to make use of activities such as surveillance techniques, analysis of documents, investigations of the performance of any kind of equipment involved in an accident, patent medicine, scientific analysis, social and legal issues, and the like. Investigative journalism requires the scrutiny of details, fact-finding, and physical effort. An investigative journalist must have an analytical and incisive mind with strong self-motivation to carry on when all doors are closed, when facts are being covered up or falsified and so on. You must be able to think on your feet. Some of the means reporters can use for their fact-finding: studying neglected sources, such as archives, phone records, address books, tax records and license records talking to neighbors using subscription research sources such as LexisNexis anonymous sources (for example whistleblowers) going undercover Investigative journalism can be contrasted with analytical reporting. According to De Burgh (2000) analytical journalism takes the data available and reconfigures it, helping us to ask questions about the situation or statement or see it in a different way, whereas investigative journalists go further and also want to know whether the situation presented to us is the reality. All government funded or ruled organization are capable of being investigated, which they much show all records unless deemed classified by the head of state. Sunshine laws Any and all laws ensuring for openness and transparency in government operations, such as Freedom of information legislation, and open meeting laws. |
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What is the freedom of information act? How does it help investigative journalists?
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Freedom of information legislation, also described as open records or (especially in the United States) sunshine laws, are laws which set rules on access to information or records held by government bodies. In general, such laws define a legal process by which government information is required to be available to the public. In many countries there are constitutional guarantees for the right of access to information, but usually these are unused if specific legislation to support them does not exist.
Over 70 countries around the world have implemented some form of such legislation. Sweden's Freedom of the Press Act of 1766 is thought to be the oldest. Other countries are working towards introducing such laws, and many regions of countries with national legislation have local laws. For example, all states of the United States have laws governing access to public documents of state and local taxing entities, in addition to that country's Freedom of Information Act which governs records management of documents in the possession of the federal government. A related concept is open meetings legislation, which allows access to government meetings, not just to the records of them. In many countries, privacy or data protection laws may be part of the freedom of information legislation; the concepts are often closely tied together in political discourse. A basic principle behind most freedom of information legislation is that the burden of proof falls on the body asked for information, not the person asking for it. The requester does not usually have to give an explanation for their request, but if the information is not disclosed a valid reason has to be given. |
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What are some famous success stories of investigative journalism?
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Ida Minerva Tarbell (November 5, 1857 – January 6, 1944) was an American teacher, author and journalist. She was known as one of the leading "muckrakers" of her day, work known in modern times in the progressive era as "investigative journalism." She wrote many notable magazine series and biographies. She is best-known for her 1904 book The History of the Standard Oil Company, which is 654 pages long and was listed as number five in a 1999 list by the New York Times of the top 100 works of twentieth-century American journalism.[1] She began her work on The Standard after her editors at McClure's Magazine called for a story on one of The Trusts. She thought the public would be bored by the story of the oil regions, even though its head John D. Rockefeller, Sr. had bankrupted her father.
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Give the name of at least one well-known investigative journalist working today.
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Seymour Hersh
Seymour (Sy) Myron Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is a United States Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters. His work first gained worldwide recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. His 2004 reports on the US military's mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison gained much attention. Hersh received the 2004 George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting[1] given annually by Long Island University to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting. This was his fifth George Polk Award, the first one being a Special Award given to him in 1969. In 2006 he reported on the US military's plans for Iran, which allegedly called for the use of nuclear weapons against that country.[2] In 2008 he reported on US covert action plans against Iran.[3] |
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What is the difference between a feature and a straight news story?
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Feature
A story that goes further than straight news coverage, and usually focuses on the human interest elements of a situation or event. The feature story may be written to inform or entertain, and it can be on a multitude of topics from the trivial (students favorite singing groups) to the serious (teenage depression). Straight News An objective article written about an event or situation. |
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What is/ was “The New Journalism”? How has it influenced the contemporary feature?
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A type of writing in which the journalist presents factual information in a form usually used in fiction. New journalism emphasizes description, narration, and character development to bring readers closer to the human element of the story, and is often used in personality profiles and in-depth feature articles. It is not compatible with "straight" or "hard" newswriting, which is generally composed in a brief, fact-based style.
Hunter S. Thompson, Gay Talese, Thomas Wolfe, Joan Didion, and John McPhee are well-known New Journalists. (See also Journalism.) John Franklin Shows in feature writing the ability to blend journalistic and literary elements to improve the story telling |
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Who are some well-known feature writers today? What publications are well known for publishing in-depth features?
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Deneen Brown
John Franklin Susan Orlyan The New Yorker The New York Times Mag Atlantic Monthly |
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AP Style
What is it? |
The Associated Press
Style journalists should follow Short sentences Spellings Adviser is correct, not Advisor is not Punctuation ALWAYS USES FEWER CHARACTERS SIMPLER LANGUAGE CLEARITY Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, usually called the AP Stylebook, is a style and usage guide used on newspapers and in journalism classes in the United States. The stylebook is updated annually by Associated Press editors, usually in June, and is available in both trade and spiral-bound editions, with the latter containing extra content specific to journalists working for the AP. |
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What are some ways that it differs from MLA format? (in a general sense)
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MLA is the literary style (english classes)
Has different rules Rules have to do with literary styles |
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Current Events
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Use examples from certain current events
role of press tension between national security and free press examples Gov. Illinois Rod Bagoyavitch county sheriff McFaul |
