Scholastic Journalism

C. Dow Tate is a journalism teacher at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas, and the director of the Gloria Shields All-American Publication Workshop sponsored by Dallas County Schools. In 2011, he was named a Kansas Teacher of the Year finalist. He was inducted into the Scholastic Journalism Hall of Fame at the University of Oklahoma and was named a Texas Legend, as one of the most influential people in the state’s 75-year scholastic journalism history. His students’ publications – the newspaper, yearbook and news website -- have earned the nation’s highest honors, including the National Scholastic Press Association’s National Pacemaker and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Gold Crown. Tate has been named the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund’s National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year as well as the Texas Max R. Haddick Teacher of the Year.Sherri A. Taylor teaches graphic design in the Multimedia, Photography and Design Department of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She is also Director of the Empire State School Press Association at Syracuse University, and Director of the School Press Institute, a summer journalism workshop for high school students. As a high school teacher in Irving, Texas, she advised a state and national award-winning yearbook and newspaper. She has been inducted into the Scholastic Journalism Hall of Fame at the University of Oklahoma, was named a Pioneer from the National Scholastic Press Association and received a Gold Key from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. She also received the Max R. Haddick Teacher of the Year award, and named a Texas Legend. She has judged the Society of News Design’s international competition and judged the Katie awards for the Dallas Press Club. She advises a magazine, MPJ, that has won both Associated Collegiate Press Pacemakers and Society of Professional Journalists regional and national Best College Magazine awards.

• About the authors xiPreface xiiAcknowledgments xiiiWalk through xviTimeline xxii1 Understanding news 3Where does news come from? 6News value 6Timeliness 6Proximity 7Prominence 8Audience impact 9Surprise or oddity 10Human interest 10Conflict and drama 10Visual impact 10The importance of audience 11Beat reporting 12Featurizing news 15News in other contexts 17Sourcing news 17Primary sources 17Secondary sources 20Other factors affecting coverage 22Conclusion 252 Interviewing and reporting 29Interviewing 30Developing questions 31Organizing the interview 32Setting up the interview 32Conducting the interview 33Observation 40Reliability of sources 42Internet research 44Conventional research 47Conclusion 483 News writing 51News writing 52The news lead 54Alternative news lead approaches 55Feature leads 59Contrast lead 59Vignette lead 61The descriptive lead 62Developing a news story 63Body of a news story 66Flow and organization 69Potential weaknesses in news writing 69Vagueness 69Wordiness 71Jargon and pretentious vocabulary 71Editorializing 72Numerical distortions 72Passive voice 74Online news coverage 74Using quotes and attribution 75A news writer’s checklist 75Conclusion 774 Writing specialty stories 81Health writing 82Academic writing 85Death coverage 87Speech stories 87Poll story 94Selecting respondents 94Civic journalism 97Yearbook writing 99Unique story angles 101Alternative copy or sidebar writing 101Conclusion 1065 Writing feature stories 111The feature story Idea 112The feature-writing process 113Conclusions 116Elements of feature writing 116Precise writing 117Details 117Pace 118Examples 118Dialogue 118Voice 118Feature story types 124Profiles 124Human interest story 126Informative feature story 130Other types of features 131Conclusion 1326 Sportswriting 139Writing the sports story 140Sports slang and sports language 141Developing a sports story with statistics 142Types of sports stories 143Advance story 143Trend story 145Sports news story 146Game story 146Sports feature story 151Feature leads for sports stories 152Packaged coverage 154Sports webcasting 155Getting started 155The webcast staff 156Conclusion 1587 Opinion writing 165Developing editorial ideas 168Role of the editorial 168Opinion vs. fact 169Editorial writing: the formula 169Editorial leads 170Developing the argument 172Editorial cartoon 172Columns 175Blog writing 176Review writing 178Reviewing tips 178Packaged opinion coverage 183Conclusion 1838 In-depth reporting 189Finding topics for in-depth coverage 192School governing boards 193Athletics 193Curricular areas 193Extracurricular and other areas 194Beyond the school 195Localizing national and state trends 195Getting started 198Full-page coverage 198Double truck coverage 200Beyond the double truck 200Special issues 203The yearbook 203Writing the in-depth story 204Anonymous sources 209Layering information 211The need for accuracy 211Conclusion 2119 Coaching writers and editing copy 215The coaching process 216Planning stage 216Collecting stage 216Writing stage 217The lead 217Body organization and flow 217Proofreading and correcting a story 218Fact check 218Clarity and conciseness 220Detail 220Common editing mistakes 225Using journalistic style 226Names and identification 226Capitalization 227Abbreviations 228Numbers 229Punctuation 229Italics 232Computer-related terms 232Spelling 232Screening sexist language 234Problem words 236Race, ethnicity and other terms of identity 236Coaching writing continues 237Conclusion 23710 Writing headlines 245Headlines: the basics 246Teaser and teller headlines 246Getting the words to fit 246News website headlines 248The appearance of headlines 248Writing a headline 250Writing a teller 250Headline construction rules 253Feature headlines 255Conclusion 25811 Typography and production 263Type: the basics 264Type terms 265Categories of type 267Choosing type 272Factors to consider 272Contrast and creativity 274Consistency 277Production and printing 281Digital toning for printing 281Printing 283Conclusion 28612 Newspaper layout and design 291The importance of design 292Changes in news presentation 292Elements of design 292Information packaging 301Grid and column considerations 301Modular design 306Preparing for design 306Special considerations for design 310Using color effectively 317Pacing the newspaper’s design 317Conclusion 31913 Yearbook design 323Speaking the language 324Getting ready to design 327Designing the pages 331Special considerations 335DVD and interactive coverage 341The use of color 343Conclusion 34314 Online journalism 347Creating web publications 348Website hosting and privacy policies 350Assembling a publication website 351Creating online content 353Multimedia content 354Involving the readers 358Enhanced yearbook content 360Design of the website 361Cooperative efforts 368Conclusion 36815 Visual storytelling: pictures, art and graphics 371The importance of visuals 372Photographs 374Technical parameters 374Content and composition 375Telling stories through images 380Picture packages or groups 380Picture stories 381Digital shooting 384Lenses 384Flash 386Camera bodies 387Captions and cutlines 387Cropping photographs 389Photo editing 389Abuse of images 391Photo alteration 396Art and illustrations 396Information graphics 400Other graphic forms 400Conclusion 40116 Advertising in newspapers and yearbooks 405Creating an advertising program 406Preparation 406Advertising policy 409Business knowledge 411Preparing for the sales call 411The sales call 411Telephone sales 414Creating an advertisement 414Define the message 414Creating the advertisement, one step at a time 417Some other considerations in ad design 418Conclusion 42117 Student press law 427Who, what, where, when and how – and student press law 428The law 428The First Amendment 430Unprotected speech 431The Supreme Court and speech in school 436Tinker 437Fraser 438Morse 438Hazelwood 439Post-Hazelwood cases 442Conclusion 44818 Ethics for student journalists 451What is ethics? 452Ethics, the law and the First Amendment 452Media ethics 453Newsgathering ethics 454Publishing ethics 456Post-publication ethics 457Common ethical issues journalists face 458Quotes 458Anonymity and confidentiality 459Conflicts of interests 460Crimes, victims and the suspect 460Photo integrity 461Using someone else’s photographs or artwork 461Ethical lapses – gaffes, quandaries and journalistic felonies 461Fabrication 462Plagiarism 463Lies, deception and undercover reporting 463Stolen materials and unauthorized access 464Identification of groups/stereotyping/sexist/racist/personal details 464News vs. opinion 464Obscenity, profanity and vulgarity 464Web reporting 464Journalism codes of ethics 467Conclusion 46719 Careers in the media 471Studying media in high school 472After high school 474After college 475Advertising 475Public relations 476News organizations 476Magazines 477Multimedia photography 478Wire services 480Broadcasting 482Freelancing 482Other opportunities 482Conclusion 483Professional and student organizations 485Glossary 488Index 498

“If you can only use one journalism textbook in your class, this is the once to choose. Scholastic Journalism, 12e is comprehensive, well-organized, and up-to-date and it is sure to meet the needs of any journalism classes, from those dealing with traditional news reporting and feature writing to online journalism and graphic design of newspapers, yearbooks, or multimedia projects.”  (The Worlds of R. A. Hortz, 1 September 2013)