Course OutlineIntroductionThis course is offered as a subject Journalism for second year or third year, and also available as an elective to other students. Although the content is the same, Journalism students must complete an additional assessment task.Subject DescriptionThe purposes of this subject are to develop news reading and writing skills for the print media, and help to understand the difference between English news and Chinese news.Students will be introduced to a range of core themes, including identifying story ideas, news writing style, selecting and reporting the news, writing according to a traditional inverted pyramid approach, and writing specialized types of stories.Assessment is built around the development of fundamental reading and writing skills, including the ability to convey often complex information in a concise way, the ability to analyze news written by different news agency. Students will be expected to submit a range of stories and other writing tasks for assessment.Learning OutcomesOn successful completion of this subject, students will be able to:1.Understand the basic principles of news writing.2.Identify story angles in news events/issues.3.Be able to research stories and conduct interviews that add significa ntly to a story’sdevelopment4. Write news stories that will appeal to a broad readership.AttributesIn meeting these objectives, students will develop skills relevant to the following: 1. A commitment to continued and independent learning, intellectual development, critical analysis and creativity.2. Self-confidence combined with oral and written skills of a high level.3. A capacity for, and understanding of, teamwork.4. An ability to analyze issues logically, as well as to evaluate different options andviewpoints and to implement decisions.5. An appreciation and valuing of cultural and intellectual diversity and the ability to function in a multicultural or global environment.Chapter 1:Format and StyleOverviewNews reporter have developed a very different format and writing style so as to express all kinds of information to the reader clearly and accurately. These rules are so important and basically used that students in this field should master it before they begin their reporter careers.In this chapter, we will learn:1. Start your news story with the news format, though it can finely vary between one newspaper and another;2. Use special editing-symbols listed here to correct all the errors after you finished the news story;3. Double check the accuracy of every fact reported in the news stories you write, make sure that there are no more name, number, place and other spelling mistakes;4. Avoid sexual and other stereotypes in your news stories.ContentⅠFormat And StyleAlthough most newsrooms no longer contain typewriters, students must still learn the traditional news story format and copy-editing symbols, for a number of reasons:1. Newspapers that have not installed the electronic equipment continue to use the traditional format and copy-editing symbols and to employ some typesetters.2. Reporters and editors may have to handle some typewritten copy from free-lance writers, public relations agencies and a variety of other sources.3. The traditional format and copy-editing symbols are still used by some magazines, book publishers and advertising agencies.ⅡNews Story FormatReporters have developed a unique format for their stories, and each story you write should follow the guideline suggested here.1. Type each news story on separate 8 by 11-inch sheets of paper2. Type your name, the date and a slug line in the upper left-hand corner of the first page.Example:Slug line can help reporters identify and keep track of stories that are being prepared for publication. It also provides a quick summary of each story’s topic.A. Slug line should not exceed two or three words and should be as specific as possible, but not vague slug line.Example:Mayor’s Speech (good)School FireSpeech (vague，might be confused with each other) FireB. Avoid jokes, sarcasm and statements of opinion that would cause embarrassment if the slug line were accidentally published, as sometimes happens.Example:A reporter in California was asked to write about a party given by several prominent women. He slugged it “Old Biddies”Example:A writer at the Boston Globe wrote the slug line to criticize a speed given by President Carter，so the lead editorial published the next morning bore the headline, “ Mush from the Wimp. ”3. Begin each story one-third to one-half of the way down the first page. The space at the first page provides room for your byline, a headline and special instructions to your paper’s typesetters.4. Newspapers place a dateline at the beginning of the first line of each news story to indicate the story’s geographical source.A. Dateline includes the name of the city, printed entirely in capital letters and followed by a comma, the abbreviation for the state in upper/lower case and a dash.Example:LEXINGTON, Ky.----PORTLAND, Ore.----B. Some major cities such as Boston, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, are used alone, without their state.SHANGHAI ---C. Local news do not add the name of the state, use only name of other cities,5. Type on only one side of each pages, keep your paper neat, uniform and easy to read.A. Do not leave any extra space between paragraphs.B. Avoid starting a sentence or paragraph at the bottom of one page and finishing it at the top of the next page.6. If a story is continued on a second page, write the word “more” at the bottom of the first page and circle it to indicate that the word is not the part of the story and should not be set in type.7. Begin the second page about one inch from the top of the page, with your last name, the page number and the slug line in the upper left-hand corner.8. Below the last line of every news story, in the center of the page, place one of these “end marks”:-12-# # #-0-ⅢCopy-Editing SymbolsIf you make a mistake while typing a story, or if you want to edit a story after typing it, use the copy-editing symbols is faster and easier than retyping the story.ⅣAccuracy of Facts and SpellingDouble check the accuracy of every fact reported in all the news stories you write. Errors will damage a newspaper’s reputation and may seriously harm people mentioned in the stories.You will also be penalized for errors in diction, grammar and style.1. Be especially careful to check the spelling of people’s name.A. When you’re finished with the story, check the spelling of every name.B. Check against your notes, but that’s not enough. Check against written source s, which include business cards, legal documents, phone books, web sites or public record database.C. If you find a conflict, check again with the source.D. Check the title, too.2. Check every number. Double-check each number, too. Again, your notes are not enough. Check documents, reports, databases, web sites.3. Check the quotes.A. Double check the quotes against your notes and/or recordings. Check word for word. If the quote has a “not” in it, be sure that it made it into your story.B.Ask, if you’re not sure. If you can’t make out something in your notes that you think was important, call the character back.You can say, “I thought this was what you said, but I just wanted to be sure.” She may confirm, correct or elaborate. And she might tell you a couple things she thought of after the interview, stimulated in thought or memory by your questions.4. Check technical matters. If you’re writing about technical matters, such as scientific or legal matters, you probably have simplified for the reader. Run your description past an expert to make sure you haven’t misunderstood or confuse d something important.ⅤAvoid Sexual and Other StereotypesIn the past, news stories seemed to emphasize women’s domestic and sexual role as wives, mothers, cooks, seamstresses, housekeeper and sex objects. During the 1960s and 1970s, woman began to complain that such stereotypes are false and demeaning---that women are human beings, not primarily housewives and sex objects.There is a typical document about sexist.Also, journalists are trying to avoid sexist title and comments. Many big news agencies have developed their notebook to help avoid this in details, such as The Press Associated, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. All they mentioned:1. Avoid using “man” as a generic nounThe Engl ish language tends to use “man” as a generic noun. It is as if men represent the whole human race.2. Avoid using “he” as a generic pronounUnless the gender of the subject is known and is relevant to the context, avoid using “he” as a generic pronoun.3. Avoid associating men and women with certain professionsI t’s common to associate men and women with certain professions. Try to use gender-neutral terms to name these professions.4. Avoid gender stereotyping, avoid seeing women as possessionsA. Do not assume conventional kind of gender relations.B. Alternate the word order in phrases that include both sexes so that neither women nor men always go first, to avoid giving the impression that women are after-thoughts.C. Identify women as individuals, persons in their own right, rather than assomeone’s wife, mother, grandmother or widow, unless it is appropriate given the specific context.D. Avoid seeing women as possessions by naming them in reference to their husbands or fathers.ⅥCopy Preparation Checklist1. Have you started typing one-third to one-half of the way down the first page and one inch from the top of all following pages?2. Do you have the slug line (no more than two or three words) that specially describes your story’s content?3. Is the story typed and double-spaced, with only one story on a page?4. Is each paragraph indented and marked?5. Have you used a pencil and the proper copy-editing symbols to correct all your errors?6. Have you made certain that no words are divided and hyphenated at the end of a line, and that no sentences or paragraphs are continued on another page?7. If the story continued on a second page, have you typed and circled “more” at the bottom of the first page; type your name, page number and slug line at the top of the second page; and typed “-30-,””###” or “-0-” at the end of the story?8. If the story originated outside your community, have you add the proper dateline?9. Have you used the city directory to verify the spelling of all names used in the story and checked and drawn a box around those names every time they are used?10. Have you be careful to avoid sexual and other stereotypes?Suggested Reading:1. Resources to help ensure accuracy“How to cur e the corrections plague,” a discussion among newsroom trainers: /list/acc.aspGregg McLachlan’s “L-E-A-R-N from your mistakes”:/train/res/report/learn.aspGregg McLachlan’s “Get to the source of attribution”:/train/res/report/attr.aspChip Scanlan ’s “Getting it Right: A Passion for Accuracy”:/column.asp?id=52&aid=179392. Resources to help avoid gender sensitive wordsAfter the 1995 Beijing Conference, UNESCO published its Guidelines onGender-neutral Language. The following is a selection of language tips from the document.The entire handbook can be downloaded from UNESCO’s Women and Gender Equality site: /women/index_en.htmAssignmentsSection 1: TITLES ---replace these titles with words that include both men and women.1. Businessman2. Congressman3. Craftsman4. Fatherland5. Founding fathers6. Mailman7. Man 8. Mankind9. Man-sized 10. Salesman11. Statesman 12. WorkmanSection 2: NOUNS AND PRONOUNS ---rewrite the following sentences, avoiding the use of male nouns and pronouns.1. A reporter is expected to protect his sources.2. A good athlete often jogs to build his endurance.3.Normally, every auto mechanic buys his own tools.4.No one knows which of the nation’s congressmen leaked the details to his wife andfriends.5.If a patient is clearly dying of cancer, doctors may give him enough drugs to easethe pain, and perhaps even enough to hasten his death.Section 3: STEREOTYPES---rewrite the following sentences, avoiding sexist language and comments.1. A California man and his wife attended the reunion.2.The bus driver, a woman, was blamed for the accident.3.While the girls were playing tennis, their husbands were playing golf.4.She is 56 years old and a petite grandmother but still plays tennis five days a week.5.While her husband works, Walerie Dawkins raises their children and dabbles inpolitics.6.Mrs. John Favata said she often discusses the stock market with other girls in herneighborhood.7.Mike Deacosta, his wife and their two children---Mark and Amy---served as thehosts.8.Councilman Alice Cycler, the attractive wife of a lawyer and mother of eight girls, isfighting to improve the city’s parks.Section 4:Develop a terminology for your language.。
