Reporting for the Media, Eighth Edition PDF

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Reporting for the Media, Eighth Edition FRED FEDLER, et al. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS EIGHTH EDITION REPORTING FOR THE MEDIA FRED FEDLER JOHN R. BENDER LUCINDA DAVENPORT MICHAEL W. DRAGER New York Oxford OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2005 REPORTING FOR THE MEDIA This page intentionally left blank Oxford Uni...

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Reporting for the Media, Eighth Edition

FRED FEDLER, et al.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

EIGHTH EDITION

REPORTING FOR THE MEDIA

FRED FEDLER JOHN R. BENDER LUCINDA DAVENPORT MICHAEL W. DRAGER

New York Oxford OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2005

REPORTING FOR THE MEDIA

This page intentionally left blank

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Copyright © 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Reporting for the media / Fred Fedler . . . [et al.].—8th ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-516999-9 (alk. paper) 1. Reporters and reporting—Problems, exercises, etc. I. Fedler, Fred. PN4781.F4 2004 070.4⬘3—dc22

Printing number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

2004041579

CONTENTS

Preface

xi

CHAPTER 1 The Basics: Format, Copy Editing and AP Style 1 Producing Copy 2 News Story Format 2 Copy-editing Symbols 4 The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law 8 Accuracy of Names and Facts 9 The Writing Coach—The Lucky 13 Ways to Become a Good Writer Checklist for Copy Preparation 11 Suggested Readings 11 Useful Web Sites 11 Exercises 12

10

CHAPTER 2 Grammar and Spelling 29 The Parts of Speech 29 Basic Sentence Structure 36 Active and Passive Voice 38 Agreement 38 Ambiguous Pronouns 40 Plurals and Possessives 40 “That” and “Which” 41 “Who” and “Whom” 42 Misplaced Modifiers 42 Dangling Modifiers 43 Personification 43 Parallel Form 44 “Because” and “Due To” 44 Spelling 44 Grammar Checklist 45 The Writing Coach—Acronyms Lift Your Writing Suggested Readings 47 Useful Web Sites 48 Exercises 49 v

vi Contents

CHAPTER 3 Newswriting Style 59 Prewriting 59 Simplify Words, Sentences and Paragraphs 62 Remain Objective 66 Checklist for Newswriting Style 71 The Writing Coach–Find the Clear Path to Writing Glory Suggested Readings 74 Exercises 76

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CHAPTER 4 The Language of News 90 The Effectiveness of Words 90 Be Precise 91 Use Strong Verbs 93 Avoiding Problems in Your Writing 94 Words to Avoid 94 Other Problems to Avoid 99 Checklist for the Language of News 103 The Writing Coach—Become a Power Lifter When Picking Verbs Suggested Readings 104 Exercises 105

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CHAPTER 5 Selecting and Reporting the News 122 The Characteristics of News 123 Two Views of 9/11 126 Types of News 131 Public/Civic Journalism 133 Applying the Principles of News Selection 135 The Concept of Objectivity 135 Details Newspapers Are Reluctant to Publish 136 The Importance of Accuracy 138 Suggested Readings 141 Exercises 143 CHAPTER 6 Basic News Leads 146 The Summary News Lead 146 Sentence Structure in Leads 148 Guidelines for Writing Effective Leads 149 Avoiding Some Common Errors 154 Apply the Guidelines to Other Kinds of Leads 157 Checklist for Writing Leads 158 The Writing Coach—Oh Where, Oh Where Does the Time Element Go? Suggested Readings 160 Exercises 161 CHAPTER 7 Alternative Leads 181 Criticisms 182 “Buried” or “Delayed” Leads Multiparagraph Leads 184 Using Quotations 184 Using Questions 185 Suspenseful Leads 186

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Contents vii

Descriptive Leads 186 Shockers—Leads With a Twist 187 Ironic Leads 187 Direct-Address Leads 187 Words Used in Unusual Ways 188 Other Unusual Leads 188 The Writing Coach—Too Many Words Can Muddle Writing Exercises 192

CHAPTER 8 The Body of a News Story 200 The Inverted-Pyramid Style 200 The Hourglass Style 206 The Focus Style 208 The Narrative Style 211 Using Transitions 215 Explain the Unfamiliar 217 The Importance of Examples 219 The Use of Description 219 The Use of Humor 221 The Need to Be Fair 221 The Final Step: Edit Your Story 222 Checklist for Writing News Stories 222 The Writing Coach—How to Find the Endings to Stories Suggested Readings 223 Exercises 224

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CHAPTER 9 Quotations and Attribution 239 Quotations 239 Blending Quotations and Narrative 243 Attribution 246 Guidelines for Capitalizing and Punctuating Quotations 253 Checklists for Quotations and Attribution 255 A Memo From the Editor—Descriptive Writing: Turning a Good Story Into a Great Story 256 Suggested Readings 258 Useful Web Sites 259 Exercises 260 CHAPTER 10 Interviews 269 Why Am I Interviewing? 269 Whom Should I Interview? 270 When Should I Conduct My Interviews? 272 Where Should I Conduct the Interview? 273 What Questions Should I Ask? 274 How Should I Conduct Interviews? 275 Writing the Interview Story 277 The Writing Coach—Figure It: Poetry Can Be in Newspaper Stories Suggested Readings 279 Useful Web Sites 279 Exercises 280

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viii Contents

CHAPTER 11 Writing Obituaries 292 Types of Death Reports 293 Jim Nicholson: No. 1 in Obituaries 297 Obituary Writing Considerations 301 Checklists for Reporting and Writing Obituaries Suggested Readings 302 Useful Web Sites 302 Exercises 303

302

CHAPTER 12 Speeches and Meetings 312 Advance Stories 312 Covering the Speech or Meeting 313 Follow Stories 314 Internet Brings Pornography to Children, Researcher Says Remember Your Readers 320 Adding Color 321 Checklists for Reporting Speeches and Meetings 322 The Writing Coach—Go Beyond the Stick 323 Suggested Readings 323 Useful Web Sites 323 Exercises 324 CHAPTER 13 Specialized Types of Stories 343 Brights 343 Follow-ups 345 Roundups 347 Sidebars 347 Checklists for Writing Specialized Stories 348 A Memo From the Editor—History, Traditions and Culture: Old Glory and Noodle 349 Suggested Readings 351 Useful Web Sites 351 Exercises 352 CHAPTER 14 Feature Stories 368 Selecting a Topic and Gathering Information Types of Feature Stories 370 Types of Feature Leads 380 The Body of a Feature Story 381 The Ending of a Feature Story 382 What does It Take to Be a Top-Notch Writer? Suggested Readings 384 Useful Web Sites 384 Exercises 385 CHAPTER 15 Public Affairs Reporting 393 Crime and Accidents 394 Covering the Search for a Serial Killer Local Government 403 Courts 410 Checklists for Public Affairs Reporting

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368

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Contents ix

A Note About This Chapter’s Exercises 417 The Writing Coach—The “Knows” Have It for Police and Court Reporters Suggested Readings 418 Useful Web Sites 418 Exercises 419 CHAPTER 16 Understanding and Using the Internet 446 A Brief History 446 Journalists and the Internet 447 E-Mail 447 Internet Addresses, Web Sites or URLs (Universal Resource Locators) Search Engines and Subject Directories 451 Mailing Lists and Newsgroups 453 Ethical Considerations 456 Suggested Readings 457 Useful Web Sites 457 Exercises 458 CHAPTER 17 Advanced Reporting 467 Using Statistics 468 Conducting Informal Polls 469 Using Computers to Get Answers 471 Converging Media 472 Checklist for Using Statistics 473 Checklist for Conducting Informal Polls 473 A Memo From the Editor—Good Writing’s Great, but It’s Not Enough Suggested Readings 475 Exercises 476 CHAPTER 18 Writing for Broadcast 498 Writing for Your Listener 498 Writing for Your Announcer 501 Leads for Broadcast Stories 502 The Body of a Broadcast News Story Updating Broadcast News Stories 505 Guidelines for Copy Preparation 505 Editing Copy 507 Putting Together a Newscast 508 Sources for Broadcast News 509 The Newsroom Environment 510 Checklists for Broadcast News Writing Suggested Readings 511 Useful Web Sites 511 Exercises 512

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CHAPTER 19 The News Media and PR Practitioners What Is Public Relations? 524 Becoming a Public Relations Practitioner Working with News Media 526 Elements of a News Release 527 Types of News Releases 530

524 526

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The Journalist’s Perspective: Working with Press Releases The No. 1 Problem: Lack of Newsworthiness 534 The No. 2 Problem: Lack of Objectivity 536 Other Problems with News Releases 538 Some Final Guidelines 540 Checklist for PR Practitioners 540 Checklist for Handling News Releases 541 Guest Column—Transparency Is Paramount 541 Suggested Readings 543 Exercises 544 CHAPTER 20 Communications Law 561 Libel 561 12 Steps for Avoiding Libel Suits Privacy 572 Newsgathering 578 Bar-Press Guidelines 583 Checklists 584 Suggested Readings 586 Useful Web Sites 586 Exercises 587

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CHAPTER 21 Ethics 593 Media Credibility 594 Ethical Decision-Making 594 Ethics Issues 596 Codes of Ethics 610 Checklist for Improving Media Credibility 610 A Memo From the Editor—Some Thoughts on Plagiarism Suggested Readings 613 Useful Web Sites 614 Exercises 615 CHAPTER 22 Careers 622 A Journalist’s Attributes 623 Be the Applicant Who Gets Hired 624 The Industry Needs More Women and Minorities Freelance Writing 629 Checklist for Finding the Right Journalism Job Suggested Readings 630 Useful Web Sites 630

Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Appendix D Appendix E Credit Lines Index 671

City Directory 631 The Associated Press Stylebook Rules for Forming Possessives Answer Keys 657 Common Writing Errors 665 669

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646 655

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PREFACE

Is journalism a social science or a humanity? Do journalists have more in common with sociologists, political scientists and economists or with poets, philosophers and artists? These questions may seem esoteric, but the answers describe what journalists do and suggest how they should be trained. The subject matter of most news stories falls squarely within the domain of the social sciences: crime, the economy, government policies, international relations. Reporters must be familiar with those fields. Some reporters have studied law, economics or diplomacy. Yet the practice of journalism has more to do with the humanities than with the social sciences. Like novelists and playwrights, reporters are storytellers. Like poets and artists, they seek compelling, emotionally powerful images. So what does it take to be a reporter? Good reporters need two characteristics: 1. They must be engaged in the world around them. 2. They must be articulate. Being engaged in the world means reporters have a high degree of curiosity about their beats and life in general, and they feel empathy for the people who are the subjects of their stories. Curiosity helps reporters generate story ideas and develop the stories assigned to them. Good stories emerge when reporters ask why things work as they do, what’s wrong, what’s right and who makes a difference. The more sophisticated the questions reporters ask, the more sophisticated—and interesting—the stories they tell. Curiosity leads reporters to ask about things others may not have considered newsworthy or interesting. The incurious reporter might have a parent who is facing a debilitating disease and see it only as a personal problem. The curious reporter in the same situation recognizes that many people are living with the same problem and looking for support, information and encouragement. From that recognition emerges a great story idea. The incurious reporter may watch the city council award contract after contract to the same company and not wonder why that happens. The curious reporter will ask why the contractor is so successful, whether that success carries over to competition for private sector projects and what connections to the city council the contractor might have. From those questions emerges a prize-winning investigative project. Reporters must be constantly curious, asking about the details of their beats. How do police work? What do they do at a crime scene? How do they handle interrogations? Reporters should ask such questions with no expectation the answers will lead to stories. No reporter can predict what tidbit of information may help unravel a great story. But even if the information yields no story, it might be a fact or insight that helps the reporter understand and explain events to readers and viewers. xi

xii Preface

Being engaged also means having empathy for the sources and subjects of news stories. People in the news often confront highly emotional situations. The sources and subjects may be victims of crime or the relatives of a victim; they may be people who have lost loved ones in a plane crash; they may be athletes who have just suffered a defeat; or they may be community residents worried about how a proposed development might affect their lives and their property. A story about a knife attack by a male employee on a female supervisor is not just an antiseptic crime story or an exercise in deductive logic. It is a story about anger, frustration, betrayal, terror and humiliation. A reporter who cannot empathize with the people involved cannot truly understand their experiences or tell their stories. The ability to empathize does not require reporters to abandon objectivity and impartiality. Empathy differs from sympathy. Sympathy requires one to have the same feelings as another or to achieve a mutual understanding with another. Empathy means projecting one’s personality into that of another so as to understand the other person better. Reporters who have empathy for others can understand them without embracing or approving their emotions. Empathy not only is consistent with objectivity, but it also is probably indispensable for producing a truly objective and thorough story. If reporters cannot understand the emotional states of the people they write about or assess the emotional changes events inflict on sources, they will fail to report the full story. Curiosity and empathy enable reporters to get the who, what, when, where, why and how of a story. Putting those elements into a coherent, interesting and readable story requires that reporters be articulate. Being articulate combines at least two skills. One is the ability to use words effectively, to select the appropriate words and use them correctly, and to arrange them in sentences that are grammatical and properly punctuated. The other skill is the ability to organize the elements of the story—the facts, the quotations and the anecdotes—in a manner that is captivating, informative and dramatic. Reporters who understand grammar and diction can construct sentences that are clear and precise. The skillful writer knows that the following sentences mean very different things: She only kissed him on the lips. She kissed him only on the lips. The skillful writer would also know that one of these sentences accuses the subject of a crime: Wanda sent her husband Bob to the store. Wanda sent her husband, Bob, to the store. The first sentence uses “Bob” as an essential modifier of “husband,” meaning that Wanda has more than one husband and the one she sent to the store is Bob. The sentence implies Wanda has committed the crime of bigamy. The second sentence, because it uses commas before and after “Bob,” makes it clear that Wanda has only one husband, and his name is Bob. The ability to construct clear, correct sentences is fundamental. But a news story may contain nothing but clear, correct sentences and still be impossible to read because the writer has failed to organize the material. Readers crave organization; if they don’t find it, they may stop reading. A story that jumps from one topic to another and back to the first without any sense of direction will confuse readers and drive them elsewhere for information. Reporters need to know how to organize information in a way that makes its significance and drama clear. Usually for news stories, this means placing the newest, most newsworthy information early in the story. But sometimes, writers want to hold some particularly dramatic or poignant fact for the end of the story. All of the skills one needs to become a great reporter—curiosity, empathy, a knowledge of grammar and the ability to organize stories—are skills a person can learn. Some people may

Preface xiii

learn them more easily than others, or some may develop one set of skills more than the others. But anybody who can handle college-level course work can cultivate the skills a professional reporter needs. This eighth edition of “Reporting for the Media” offers many features— some new to this edition—to help students master the skills of news reporting.

Features of Interest As with the previous editions of this textbook, the eighth edition contains several changes. But it also adheres to the approach and practice Fred Fedler developed when he created this textbook 30 years ago. The co-authors who have taken over much of the responsibility for this book hope longtime users will be comfortable with it and new users will find it attractive. Although the eighth edition contains hundreds of changes, some major ones are worth noting: • Electronic supplements to the textbook in the form of Web sites accessible through Oxford University Press contain additional exercises. Some of these exercises are old ones that have been deleted from this or previous editions of the book. Others are new ones we were unable to fit into the book. Material that might update or elaborate on points discussed in the text will be added to the electronic supplements in coming years. • The chapter on grammar has been expanded to include a discussion of the parts of speech. This discussion should lay the foundation for the points of grammar discussed throughout the book. • New and updated examples and illustrations have been added throughout the book. Many of these examples deal with news events that have occurred since the publication of the seventh edition, such as the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the war in Iraq. • New exercises have been added to almost every chapter in the book. Like the old exercises, they are devised to help reporting and newswriting students learn the basics of how to structure news stories, and they challenge students to find and correct many of the errors of grammar and spelling that commonly appear in news stories. • Almost every chapter includes a list of Web sites students can use for finding additional information and instruction. The list of Web sites can be found at the end of the chapters following the bibliography of print sources. • Joe Hight, managing editor of The Daily Oklahoman, has updated some of the columns he contributed to the last edition of the book. • Tommy Miller, the former managing editor of the Houston Chronicle and now a professor at California State University, Fresno, has contributed four columns, which appear at the end of various chapters. • Two journalists who had front-row seats to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Erin Schulte of The Wall Street Journal and Jeff Zeleny of the Chicago Tribune, have contributed columns describing their experiences. Those columns are included in Chapter 5. • Chapter 19 on public relations includes a column by Robert S. Saline, a public relations professional, and Chapter 14 includes a column by Bryan Denham, an assistant profes...