Process of Writing News From Information to Story

The Process of Writing News Brian Richardson,Washingtonand Lee University The Process of Writing Newsis a concise text for beginning college-level journalism students, taking an "impact, elements, and words" approach to demystify the reporting and writing process. The book is the product of the author's 19 years as a teacher of reporting and writing, and it is a response to the emerging exigencies of media convergence, writing for multiple media, and computer-assisted reporting. The text approaches writing as a process, using a pedagogy that has proven effective. In each chapter, the book addresses the roles of journalists at several levels of abstraction, beginning with their responsibilities to audiences in a democratic society and continuing with ethical decision making in fulfilling those responsibilities. Each chapter ends with reporting and writing exercises, which allows students (1) an opportunity to develop skills for informing audiences and telling compelling stories for print, broadcast, and online news media and (2) to practice and be evaluated on those skills. Features Includesexercises in every chapter, along with a section on ethics and a summary/strategies section, giving students an opportunity to practice the chapter lesson and build on lessons from earlier chapters. Takes students througha year in the life of a fictional community,including tightly controlled fact sets in each chapter and a City Directory, allowing instructors to monitor student work for factual accuracy and helping students practice the skills they will need in real-world reporting and writing. Presentsstories and situations reporters are faced with accidents and emergencies, computer-assisted reporting, the legal system, using background and not-for-attribution sources, and moreto help students practice pulling together complex elements in an ongoing story. Addressescurrent issues in journalismincluding media convergence, writing for multiple platforms, and newsroom ethics, helping students understand the issues that are part of journalistic decision making and the shared and differing needs of audiences in print, broadcasting, and online media. Focuses on the basics:the journalist's role in a democratic society, defining news, weighing information, using their tools well, separating facts and allegations, proper sourcing, writing leads, choosing quotes and attributing properlyall of which provide students with a solid foundation of skills as they begin their careers. Includesa grammar, spelling, punctuation, and syntax "boot camp,"ensuring that a student's basic writing skills are in good shape. Praise forThe Process of Writing News The author has a keen recollection of what it's like to learn the news writing and reporting process. Step-by-step, using real-life illustrations, the author gives students a lucid view not only of the big picture but also of all the smaller elements that comprise it. My prediction is that students whoRichardson, Brian is the author of 'Process of Writing News From Information to Story', published 2006 under ISBN 9780205454402 and ISBN 0205454402.