J132: No class this week, get your blogs in order by Friday TAGS: class announcements | journalism instruction | writing instruction Friday is the deadline for revising the stories on your blogs. I will evaluate the stories on your blog to determine 60 percent of your final grade. We will not …Continue reading →

J130: You’re not in English class TAGS: essays | journalism instruction | writing instruction Too many journalism students write stories that read like essays, according to this article on About.com. The author, Tony Rogers, argues – rightly – that there is no room for …Continue reading →

J132: In your writing and reporting, focus on specifics TAGS: journalism instruction | nut grafs | story leads | writing instruction This Washington Post story is about how Florida’s Stand Your Ground law has spread to 30 other states, coinciding with a sharp rise in justifiable homicide cases across the country. …Continue reading →

J132: Write about people, not impersonal issues TAGS: journalism instruction | nut grafs | story leads | writing instruction Pay attention to the news stories that you read and you will see that the story structure we discussed this week is used all the time. Here is a story …Continue reading →

J132: Here is a story to study TAGS: journalism instruction | story leads | writing instruction Some of you are writing stories that deal with large issues such as race, education and social media. Some others of you are writing stories that “localize” national or international …Continue reading →

J132: Nut graf #2 – Community gun TAGS: journalism instruction | nut grafs | story leads | writing instruction There usually is an element of salesmanship in nut grafs. Often beginning four or five paragraphs into a story that uses a narrative or descriptive lead, the nut graf is …Continue reading →

J132: Nut grafs – Killer canines TAGS: delayed leads | journalistic instruction | nut grafs | story leads | writing instruction After a missing four-year-old boy was found dead of dog bites last week, the Houston Chronicle published a front-page story on Sunday that looks at statistics. Here is the top …Continue reading →

J132: Delayed leads TAGS: delayed leads | journalism instruction | story leads | writing instruction We focused on hard-news leads for the first half of the semester. Now we will start to explore the different types of delayed leads. Please remember, however, that we will …Continue reading →

J132: One-on-one meetings are mandatory TAGS: journalistic instruction | writing instruction Some of you still haven’t scheduled meetings with me. A few of you scheduled meetings, then didn’t show up. That’s rude. It also is not very smart. These meetings are …Continue reading →

J132: Anatomy of a news story TAGS: second-day story | story leads | writing instruction Writers read. Writers don’t read merely to get information. Writers study the way stories are written. They break the stories apart. They examine how the pieces fit together. If you …Continue reading →

J132: Today’s news – today TAGS: story leads | writing instruction Most newsworthy events are in the news for more than one day. Each day’s story has to reflect the day’s important events. A house fire kills seven people in Third …Continue reading →

J132: Another good story lead to study TAGS: basic story form | story leads | three-paragraph leads | writing instruction Here is another good three-paragraph lead to study. What questions are answered in the first paragraph? Notice how the second paragraph offers additional information and specifics that explains what is …Continue reading →