Ravyn Hardwick

@02877564

Assignment #1) Seven Attributes of a Successful Reporter

In the article, “Pre-writing- To be a successful reporter” (in “Articles” in Blackboard) the author
names several attributes of a successful reporter. What are the seven? What in your opinion are
the top two attributes and why? At least 250 words

Article link: https://courses.p2pu.org/en/courses/1054/content/2206/

The seven attributes of a successful reporter are discussed in the article “Pre-writing- To
be a Successful Reporter”. According to the author, a successful reporter is a generalist, quick,
curious, pleasant, honest, courageous, and smart. A successful reporter is a generalist by being
able to cover a wide range of topics and talk to a variety of people. As a reporter it truly is about
“knowing a little about a lot”. Successful reporters are also quick and curious. They go after
stories immediately and are persistent when trying to get in contact with people. A successful
reporter is inquisitive, asks a lot of questions, and enjoys reading to find out new information.
Successful reporters are pleasant because they know that their reputation matters in their line of
work. Due to this, successful reporters want to have pleasant encounters with those they meet. A
successful reporter is honest and courageous. They seek the truth, act on their own initiative, and
make sure they always honor their word. Successful reporters are brave and not afraid to stand
alone. They enjoy being the first and build thick skin to protect themself from the inevitable
criticism. Lastly, successful reporters are smart. They are knowledgeable on many different
topics and do their diligent research before every story/interview.

In my opinion, the top two attributes that successful reporters have from this list are
honesty and curiosity. I feel that honesty is the main and most important attribute because
without honesty how can someone truly be a reporter. Reporters are the documenters of history,
so they must be documenting the truth and not lies. One of reporters’ main codes of ethic is to
seek truth and report it, so without honesty there is no truth. Curiosity is also very important
because it leads to some of reporter’s best work, in my opinion. Successful reporters want to tell
the best story and they need all the details they can get to do just that. Without curiosity,
reporters would not have the will to want to do the background research and write such important
stories.
Assignment #2) The Standup Syndrome

Read the article, "The Standup Syndrome" which can be found in Blackboard under “Articles”
(and in the link below)

Discuss "No Attribution" and "Getting it Backward" and then explain in a Word Document
which of the two infractions you believe is worse, and why. What does attribution precedes
assertion mean? *At least 300 words

Article link: https://ajrarchive.org/article.asp?id=1682&id=1682

After reading “The Standup Syndrome”, I have a new appreciate for reporters and their
standups. In “No Attribution” it was stated that reporters frequently appear to ignore traditional
journalistic practices during the seconds when their faces and voices, are on the air. At this point,
attribution may or may not be present. When reporters ignore the journalistic practices all kinds
of stereotypes and speculations are welcome. Reporters plagued by the standup syndrome simply
express their views or just drop a line because it's catchy. I never realized how common this was
with reporters until I read this article, and now I plan to make a conscience effort not to
contribute to it. “Getting it Backward” was no surprise to me because everything discussed was
not foreign information to me. In this section of the article how reporters work “’backwards”
when recording their standup in the field was discussed. This concept was nothing new to me
because this is always how I produced my packages. I don’t know why but working backwards
has always worked for me. It has always made writing my script so much easier after the fact due
to having a standup to build from. However, working backwards can be way more challenging
when working for a news station. It was discussed in the article that reporters usually have to
meticulously come up with a piece of their story that will not change so that their standup will
still be relevant when all the b-roll, interviews and script is put together. This is something that is
not easy and takes a lot of planning and brainstorming. Overall, I feel that “No Attribution” is the
worse infraction as a reporter. It is a known fact that reporters are not supposed to be bias in their
reporting, so I find it quite sad honestly that some reporters forget this basic principle for the
short time being. Reporters are used to being in front of the camera, so your standup is not the
moment you decide to get a “big head” and say whatever you feel.

“Attribution precedes assertion” means that the action of regarding something as being
caused by a person or thing in your standup as a reporter should come before declaring
something as a definite fact. In other words, I would say that quote means as a reporter it is
always better to play it safe and attribute your story to one person or thing during your standup
rather than to assert your own thoughts and feelings and state something as a fact during your
standup. Asserting as a reporter could be taken as bias which is why many say assertions are
honestly not necessary.