The Most Basic Basics

 Journalistic writing differs from academic writing.

 Injournalism, it is not about using a lot of big

words and flowery language to impress people.
Journalism should be easy to read and follow.

 Longer does not automatically equal better.

 Most newspapers are written at a high-school

reading level.
 Lede – the introduction of a story. The first few grafs.
This is what sets a story up and pulls readers in.
Sometimes, written “lead.”

 Graf – paragraph.

 Nutgraf – the graf or grafs that sum up what the

purpose of the story is. Why it’s being told. What the
information the writer is trying to convey.

 Copy – the written text of a story.

 Hard lede – Straightforward. Gets to the information
in right away. Often referred to as AP lede because
almost all AP stories have hard ledes.

 Anecdotal lede – Sets the piece up with a short story.

 Scene-setter – Sets the scene.

 Question lede – Opens by posing/asking a question.

A lead (or an intro) is the beginning
paragraph for a story.
 It is the hardest part to write as it sets the
tone and introduces the reader to the rest of
the story.
 A good lead paints a vivid picture of the
story with a few words.
 The lead must be accurate, short and crisp.
 The lead should reflect the mood of the
story.
 Straight Ledes
 Descriptive Ledes
 Quotation Ledes
 Question Ledes
 Persona Ledes
 You Ledes
 Contrast Ledes
 DeLayed Ledes
 Bind or identification Ledes
 Anecdotal Ledes
 Gag Ledes
A good lead incorporates the inverted
pyramid style with the most important facts
first.
 It tells readers what they want to know in a
creative manner.
 If the reader only read the lead, he or she
would have a solid grasp of the story.
 The accident report can be written in a
straight lead.
 Journalists often resort to summary leads
pressed for time.
 Twochildren at play were killed today when
a sports car jumped the curb outside
Prospect Park and ran them down. Twelve in
the group were injured.
 A descriptive lead describes how an event happened rather
than simply telling what the event is about.
 BRIGHTON, England (UPI) -- Mrs. Pamela Bransden slowly
counted five, snapped into a hypnotic trance, and gave
birth to an eight-pound baby. It was as easy as that.
 Today she relaxed at her home here, delighted that she has
become Britain's first self-hypnosis mother.
 Eyewitness accounts can provide the background for
writing lucid descriptions which help the reader to
visualise a news situation.
 An ominous silence, broken only by the call of a faraway
bird, hung over the battle-scarred hills when suddenly an
explosion followed by the yells of charging troops smashed
the stillness.
 Quotes frequently are the essential
documentation for a lead and should be used
immediately after a paraphrase that summarises
them.
 Here paraphrasing the verbatim quotation
permits the removal of unnecessary words.
 But if a verbatim quotation itself is very
important or interesting, it can be the lead
itself.
 This lead would add an element of interest such
as drama, pathos, humour, astonishment, or
some other factor that will reach out to the
reader.
 Itinvolves the use of the first person singular
in the lead.
 Normally such a use is discouraged except for
a columnist or such privileged writers.
 The `You' lead is intended to make a
personal appeal to the reader involved in a
complicated situation.
 The second-person approach reaches out to
involve the reader and capture his/her
attention.
 Here is an example, fairly typical of a trend
toward consumerism in the news:
 Ski fans, here's your opportunity!
 The recent storm deposited five inches of
powder snow on Pleasure Mountain and the
public ski lift is being operated . . .
A situation can be exploited in an interesting
way so that an ordinary item stands out.
 The reporter delves in several paragraphs to
find out what had happened.
 The reader must get the story by reading to
the end of the story.
 Ifthe person concerned is not well known in
the community, his/her name is less
important than other salient facts that
identify the person. eg. "a 80-year-old
woman" instead of her name.
 A police inspector's son was attacked with a
knife by some miscreants on Mount Road this
evening.
 The victim Pratap Daniel, 20, has been
admitted to a private hospital and his
condition is critical.
 anecdotal ledes, unfold more slowly. They
allow the writer to tell a story in a more
traditional, sometimes chronological way.
 The objective is to draw the readers into the
story and to make them want to read more
A journalist who writes a funny story put up
the saddest face in a newsroom.
 Journalistic homour requires the skilled and
practice.
 Here is how an AP reporter wrote when a
woman broke her leg trying to climb out of a
locked London public toilet:
 LONDON -- What's a lady do when trapped in
a loo?
 Quote lede – Opens with a quote.

 Buried lede – when the engaging part of a story,

the part the writer probably should have started
with, is further down in the piece, or “buried” in the
article.
 Hard news stories – breaking news of the day. Very
timely. Not a lot of room for creativity. No opinion. This
is often the standard news story you would expect to see
on the front page.

 Game/event stories.

 Features – less time-sensitive than hard news stories. Can

be tied to an event in terms of timeliness or can be
completely timeless.

 Columns – Opinion pieces.

 Do not miss deadline. Ever. Ever. EVER.

 Always check spelling of names, teams, places,

etc. Then check them again.

 Withthe invention of spell check, there’s no

excuse for having words spelled wrong.

 Nevertrust your memory for facts. Confirm that

information. Double-check stats.
 Clean copy will make you an editor’s favorite writer.

 Do not use three words when one will do.

 Closer Dave Simms was able to put the game away.
 Closer Dave Simms put the game away.

 Bennett pitched seven innings of shutout ball.

 Bennett pitched seven shutout innings.
 Some things will be obvious by context.
 The Spartans beat the Trojans 3-0 in the game on
Wednesday night.
 The Spartans beat the Trojans 3-0 on Wednesday night.

 Sea City pitcher Phil Bennett struck out four Tucson

batters.
 Sea City pitcher Phil Bennett struck out four.
 When quoting, try to put the speaker’s name before
said.
PREFERRED: “The offensive line played a great game,”
quarterback Peyton Manning said.
AVOID: “The offensive line played a great game,” said
quarterback Peyton Manning.

 Usefull name on first reference. Then last name

throughout.
 Structurenews stories with essential information
high (early) in the story.
 For example, in a game story, the score should always be
in the first graf, if not the first sentence.

 Invertedpyramid – a way of structuring a story so

the most important information is at the top and
information gets progressively less central to the
story.
 Comes from the Associated Press Stylebook and
Briefing on Media Law.

 Style and usage guide used by newspapers and in the

news industry in the United States. It is the basis for
virtually every news publication’s style – when to
capitalize, use numerals, preferred spellings and
abbreviation.

 Some papers/sites have their own additional style

guides. But the basis for those is going to be AP.
 Considered the Bible of journalism. The industry
standard.

 Ifyou have any interest in becoming a journalist,

buy and learn the AP Stylebook.
 Spellout one through nine. Use numerals for numbers
10 and up.
 Games in a series
 (Game 1, Game 2, Game 3)

 Numbers with decimal points

 4.2 points per game, 2.45 ERA

 Football yardage
 Brady threw a 5-yard pass.
 Bush rushed for 3 yards.
 Made vs. Attempted
 Paul Pierce was 3-of-6 at the free throw line.
 Joe Mauer went 2-for-5 against Cleveland.

 Records
 The Raiders fell to 0-8 on the season.
 After going 3-0 in July, Johan Santana went 2-4 in
August.
 Scores and series records are always numbers.
 Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0.
 The Saints beat the Vikings 14-9.
 The Lakers lead the season series with the Celtics 3-2.
 Toronto FC sits in third place in the Eastern Conference
standings with a 7-9-7 record.
 Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-
2, 7-5 in the US Open semifinal.
 Alternate city and team names in a story.

 Give team name and city on first reference.

 The Boston Celtics signed Shaquille O’Neal in August.

 Spell out positions.

 Shortstop (not SS). Running back (not RB).
 Use a hyphen when a figure is used as an modifier.
 Brees threw a 5-yard pass. (modifying pass)
 Brees threw for 5 yards. (giving a distance)

 Ramirez hit a 420-foot home run.

 Ramirez home run went for 420 feet.
 Cities are singular.
 New York leads the AL East.
 Many feel Miami is the team to beat in the NBA.

 Teams are plural.

 The Yankees lead the AL East.
 Many feel the Heat are the team to be in the NBA.

Note: Even when a team has a singular name – Jazz,

Avalanche, etc. – it is used as a plural noun.
 Differentiate between its and their.
 Cincinnati headed back to its locker room at the half,
trailing 7-0.
 The Bengals headed back to their locker room at the
half, trailing 7-0.

 A team is an its. A club is an its.

CORRECT: Is a team responsible for the behavior of its
players?
INCORRECT: Is a team responsible for the behavior of
their players?
 its (possessive)
 it’s (it is)

 their(possessive)
 there (location)
 they’re (they are)
 Noun Verb
shutout shut out
strikeout strike out, struck out
knockout knock out
lineup line up
playoff play off
kickoff kick off
 One Word Two Words
ballpark home run

ballgame free throw

fastball ball carrier
doubleheader double play
quarterback running back

(When in doubt, do a Google search to see what AP uses.)