Full Description
Writing and Reporting for the Media introduces students to what reporters do-engage the world around them, generate story ideas, gather information, and effectively write a wide variety of story types. This classic text's reputation is built on its thorough grounding in the basic skills that aspiring reporters need.
Section One introduces students to the current journalism landscape and the foundational tools of journalism, including news judgement, newswriting style, and grammar and language choice. In Section Two, the text explores questions of libel, privacy, newsgathering issues, and ethics. Section Three teaches students to write summary and alternative leads; organize and write the body of a news story; interview sources and integrate quotations; write feature stories; write for broadcast news; and integrate photo, video, and audio elements. Finally, in Section Four, students learn about specific areas of journalism, including covering speeches and meetings; writing brights, follow-ups, roundups, sidebars, and obituaries; public affairs reporting; investigative reporting; and public relations.
The text engages students through its use of clear, accessible language and extensive examples, often drawn from recent news articles about important contemporary topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the war in Ukraine. Extensive and realistic practice exercises at the end of each chapter give students the opportunity to apply and master the skills under discussion.
Contents
Preface
1: Journalism Today
2: Selecting and Reporting the News
3: Newswriting Style
4: The Language of the News
5: Libel, Privacy and Newsgathering Issues
6: Ethics
7: Basic News Leads
8: Alternative Leads
9: The Body of a News Story
10: Quotations and Attribution
11: Interviewing
12: Feature Stories
13: Writing for Broadcast News
14: Visual Journalism
15: Speeches and Meetings
16: Brights, Follow-Ups, Roundups, Sidebars and Obituaries
17: Public Affairs Reporting
18: Introduction to Investigative Reporting
19: Journalism and Public Relations
Appendix A: City Directory
Appendix B: Summary of AP Style
Appendix C: Rules for Forming Possessives
Credits
Index
