News writing exercises. Each provides a set of facts or a scenario, and it's up to you to produce a story.

Car Crash

It's 10:30 p.m. You're on the night shift at the Centerville Gazette and hear some chatter on the police
scanner about a car crash out on Highway 32, a road that runs through a rural area of town. It sounds
like a big crash, so you head to the scene.

Shooting

You're on the night shift again at the Centerville Gazette. You phone the cops to see if anything's going
on. Lt. Jane Ortlieb of the Centerville Police Department tells you there was a shooting tonight at the
Fandango Bar & Grill on Wilson Street in the Grungeville section of the city.

Shooting Follow-Up No. 1

You're back at the Centerville Gazette on the day after the shooting outside the Fandango Bar & Grill on
Wilson Street in the Grungeville section of town. You phone the cops to see if they have anything new
on the case. Lt. Jane Ortlieb tells you that early this morning they arrested an ex-con named Frederick
Johnson, 32, in connection with the shooting.

Shooting Follow-Up No. 2

It's the day after police arrested Frederick Johnson in connection with the shooting death of Peter
Wickham outside the Fandango Bar & Grill. You call Lt. Jane Ortlieb of the Centerville Police Department.
She tells you that cops are having a perp walk today to take Johnson to the Centerville District
Courthouse for his arraignment. She says to be outside the courthouse at 10 a.m. sharp.

House Fire

It's Tuesday morning at the Centerville Gazette. Making your usual phone checks, you get word from
the fire department about a house fire early this morning. Deputy Fire Marshal Larry Johnson tells you
the blaze was in a row house in the Cedar Glen section of the city.

School Board Meeting

You’re covering a 7 p.m. meeting of the Centerville School Board. The meeting is being held in the
auditorium of Centerville High School. The board begins with a discussion of ongoing cleanup at
McKinley Elementary School, which experienced water damage during heavy rains and flooding two
weeks ago in the city’s Parksburg section, near the Root River.

Plane Crash

It’s 9:30 p.m. You're on the night shift at the Centerville Gazette. You hear some chatter on the police
scanner and call the cops. Lt. Jack Feldman says he’s not sure what’s happening but he thinks a plane
crashed near Centerville Airport, a small facility used mostly by private pilots flying single-engine craft.
Your editor tells you to get over there as fast as you can.
Obituary

You're on the day shift at the Centerville Gazette. The city editor gives you some information on a
teacher who has died and tells you to bang out an obit. Here's the information: Evelyn Jackson, a retired
teacher, died yesterday at the Good Samaritan Nursing Home, where she had lived for the past five
years. She was 79 and died of natural causes. Jackson had worked for 43 years as an English teacher at
Centerville High School before retiring in her late 60s. She taught classes in composition, American
literature, and poetry.

CEO Speech

The Centerville Chamber of Commerce is holding its monthly luncheon at the Hotel Luxe. An audience of
about 100, mostly local businessmen and women, is in attendance. The guest speaker today is Alex
Weddell, CEO of Weddell Widgets, a local, family-owned manufacturing firm and one of the city’s largest
employers.