Agricultural Journalism Chapter 3: The News PDF

CHAPTER 3: THE NEWS 1 What is News?  THE NEWS 2 What is News? ❖ News is a piece of information about significant event happens recently and affects the audiences. Events first not news, news produced to report events. ❖ News is any event, idea, opinion that is timely, that in...

CHAPTER 3: THE NEWS 1 What is News?  THE NEWS 2 What is News? ❖ News is a piece of information about significant event happens recently and affects the audiences. Events first not news, news produced to report events. ❖ News is any event, idea, opinion that is timely, that interests / affects a large number of people in the community and that is capable to be understood by people. ❖ News should be very timely. If delayed news becomes history. Every information especially in agriculture should be useful for the beneficiary. ❖ News often delivered trough various media channel such as newspaper, television, radio and internet 3 ❖ news writing – ✓ is an oral and written report of a past, present, or future event. ✓ Factual, truthful, accurate, unbiased and interesting - is accurate because it is based on facts and not fiction. ❖ To be a news an event must be : Significant- importance and interest to –big enough Recently happen Affect the audience-make sense good or bad News should be very timely. If delayed it becomes history  Newsworthy Elements 4  Newsworthiness is the term we use to describe whether or not the topic is interesting enough for people who want to know about it.  It is subjective judgment made by journalist and editors about which evens are important enough to share with the public.  News story is called good “news judgment” when reporter well knows the interest of his audiences. 5 What Makes a Story Newsworthy?  There is a list of five factors, detailed below, which are considered when deciding if a story is newsworthy.  When an editor needs to decide whether to run with a particular story, s/he will ask how well the story meets each of these criteria.  Normally, a story should perform well in at least two areas. 6 1. Timeliness ❑ The word news means exactly that - things which are new.  Recent events are generally more newsworthy than old ones braking news is highly valued.  Topics which are current are good news. If it happened today, it's news. If the same thing happened last week, it's no longer interesting. 2. Significance/impact: the significant of the event  The number of people affected by the story is important. How many peoples are affected? What are the potential consequences? ✓ Example A plane crash in which hundreds of people died is more significant than a crash killing a dozen. 7 3. Proximity  Stories which happen near to us have more significance.  The closer the story to home, the more newsworthy it is.  For example for someone living in Ethiopia, a major car accident the USA has a similar news value to a small care accident near Addis Ababa.  Note that proximity doesn't have to mean geographical distance. Stories from countries with which we have a particular bond or similarity have the same effect. 4. Prominence: celebrities, politicians or leaders of major organization are generally newsworthy than similar events involving less well-known individuals  Famous people get more coverage just because they are famous. 8 5. Human Interest  Human interest stories appeal to emotion of reader or viewer.  In journalism “human interest” refers to the quality of news story engaging and relatable to reader or viewers,  because it focus on the emotional and personal aspects of events or people involved  Types of News Stories 9  It is important to distinguish the various types of news stories because the term “news” is very broad.  In categorizing news, we have to consider news value and standards of conduct. Hard News: it is prioritizes accuracy, timelines and factual reporting.  Important to a large number of people; timely; usually about events in government, politics, foreign affairs, education, labor, religion, courts, etc.  Hard News includes two concepts:  Seriousness: Politics, economics, crime, war, and disasters are considered serious topics, as are certain aspects of law, science, and technology.  Timeliness: Stories that cover current events—the progress of a war, the results of a vote, the breaking out of a fire, a significant public statement, an economic report of note, etc.  Soft News 10  usually less important because it entertains, although it may also inform; often less timely than hard news;  includes human interest and feature stories which may relate to hard news; appeals more to emotions than to the intellect or the desire to be informed  Soft news is sometimes referred to in a derogatory fashion as infotainment and includes two concepts:  The least serious subjects: Arts and entertainment, sports, lifestyles, "human interest", and celebrities.  Not timely: Timely events happen in less serious subjects— sporting matches, celebrity misadventures, movie releases, art exhibits, and so on.  Hard or Soft? (Group discussion)!! 11  Gardening tips and hobby "news“  Warnings about natural disasters  domestic security threats  Cholera outbreak  Sports statistics and game results  Theatre production  Parts of the news story 12 The head line- the “title” of the news story. The lead The body and background 1. The head line - The first feature of a newspaper article to capture the readers’ attention -should be briefly summarize the main point. - it has function to: - present the story in concise/short - tell all about - influence the reader - the head line must be easy to understand - advertise the graphic attractiveness of the paper  Head lines 13 It has two parts a. The head – is the main title/ major part b. The deck or the bank/ subhead line: is a short sentence immediately below the headline. - additional context or detail. - It is primary purpose is to elaborate on the head Three major types of head lines 1. The banner or streamer type – runs across the paper left to right 2. Flash left type headline- blank space left towards right corner 3. Drop or step type head line – usually three lines 1st line left ______________ 2nd line center ___________ 3rd line right ___________  2. The lead 14 ▪ The lead of the article is the first two sentences Articulating the most important statement, ▪ It catches the readers attention ▪ And answer the basic “W H questions who, what, where, when, why, and how. ▪ Ideally 20-25 words ▪ The information presented must be clear, accurately, and easy to understand.  The body and background 15  The body consists of several supporting paragraphs that help to elaborate upon the main claim.  It provide more detail evidence, and context to support the main point. Sequencing News Inverted Pyramid  top-loading the essential and most interesting elements of a story, with supporting information following in order of lesser importance.  Inverted Pyramid cont. 16  Agricultural News 17 ❑ Agricultural news is encompass information and reports related to all aspects of farming , agriculture and food industry  Agricultural news has societal importance  It is about the sector of source of food  There is no one without interest for agricultural news  producers  Researchers  farm input suppliers  Development agents  consumers  Government & Non-government organizations, etc.  Sourcing of news 18 ❑ Government and official news: News about head of state or head of government, Cabinet, legislature and administration. Meeting of Parliament, legislature, local bodies and subsidiary agencies of Government. Money and business news - Businessmen Cultural and religious events-religious leaders. Sports news and events- Sportsmen Science- scientists and economic news- Economist  Sources for agricultural News 19  Having list of sources is vital for quick contact and getting news ❖ Commonly available sources of Agricultural news include:  Individuals who are information rich due to their knowledge, position (responsibility and power-public officials and traditional leaders), Daily activity- engagement, achievements.  …sources for agricultural news 20  Research- Extension organizations and workers  Government and Non-government organizations - National/regional Agri. & Rural development organizations - Farmers coops/unions/Federations - Women and youth associations - Scientific societies  Journalistic Writing 21 Qualities of Journalistic Writing  It should be direct, simple, brief, vigorous, and well- spoken."  Prefer the familiar word to the far-fetched.  Prefer the concrete word to the abstract.  Prefer the single word to the circumlocution.  Prefer the short word to the long....con Qualities of Journalistic Writing 22 Before you begin:  Decide on your message. Write down a single sentence describing what you want to say to your readers. Limit yourself no more than two or three main ideas.  Know your audience. Who are they? What do they know? What are their attitudes?  Define your purpose. What is it you're trying to accomplish- to inform, persuade, or motivate?  Keep your message, audience and purpose in mind as you write  Good writing expresses a clear point, is tightly structured, gram matically and syntactically correct, substantive, and interesting.  General Characteristics of good writing 23  Moreover, the general characteristics of good writing are clarity, completeness, conciseness, creativity,consideration, correctness, credibility, courtesy, and concreteness. 1. Be clear: ❑ Clarity is essential for effective communication. ❑ A clear message ensures received accurately by the audience, avoiding misunderstandings and misinterpretations. Check:  1. Choose short, familiar conversational words.  2. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs  3. Achieve appropriate readability  4. Include illustrations/example, and other visual aids, when desirable. 24 2. Be complete: Be complete" means to provide all necessary information or elements to make something whole, thorough, and satisfactory. include all the necessary facts and background information to suppo rt the message you are communicating. Check: 1. Have you given all the facts? 2. Have you covered the essentials information? 3. Have you answered all his/her questions? 4. Did you PLAN what you said? 25 3. Be concise/ short  Keep in mind the reader’s knowledge of the subject and their time constraints  disseminate the information as quickly and easily as possible. Check:  1. Have you plunged right into the subject of the message?  2. Have you avoided rehashing the reader's letter?  3. Have you said enough, but just enough?  4. Have you avoided needless "filler" words and phrase? 26 4. Be creative:  use different formats (vs. straight narrative) to communicate your message.  graphics, Idea lists, etc. 5. Be considerate:  keep your reader's needs in mind as you write. Ask yourself, 'Why should my reader spend time reading this?'  Keep in mind your audience or reader might not be as receptive.  Check: 1. Have you put the client first? 2. Have you put his/her interests? 3. Have you talked his/her language? 27 6. Be correct:  by checking all your information is accurate and timely.  Double- check your spelling, punctuation and grammar.  Proof read it before you send it!  Check: 1. Have you checked all facts for correctness? 2. Have you verified all numbers and amounts? 3. Is the appearance of the letter effective? Is it clean, well-spaced? 4. Have you checked your spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.? 28 7. Be credible:  A credible source is more likely to be believed and trusted, and their message is more likely to be accepted and acted upon  Strive/struggleto present yourself from a position of reliability and competence.  Write to reinforce your message and make it more believable. 8. Be courteous/polite: Use polite language/words and phrases that show respect, such as "please," "thank you," "I appreciate," "excuse me," and "I'm sorry.“ ❑ Avoid using harsh, offensive, or disrespectful language/word.  Steps in writing 29 DRAFTING:  Give yourself ample time to work on your project.  Find a comfortable place to do your writing.  Avoid distractions.  Take breaks. REVISING:  Review higher-order concerns:  Clear communication of ideas  Organization of paper  Paragraph structure  Strong introduction and conclusion  PROOFREADING: 30  Ask yourself about the three sensitive areas: Content, format and mechanics: A. CONTENT B. Format C. Mechanics  A. CONTENT: 31 Did i: 1. Stick to my point? 2. Use good source and enough sources of information? 3. Organize my information carefully? 4. Check my facts? 5. Use illustration? 6. Consider my readers? 7. Use sufficient detail and description?  B. FORMAT 32 Did I 1. Choose an appropriate title? 2. Use quotations correctly? 3. Use headings and subheadings? 4. Label graphs, charts, and tables? 5. Number the pages?  C. MECHANICS: Did I: 33 1. Check sentences for completeness and sense? 2. Check for consistent verb tense? 3. Check for consistent point of view? 4. Check for subject-verb agreement? 5. Check for proper use of pronouns? 6. Check all spellings? 7. Check for end marks and other punctuation? 8. Check for capital letters and underlining? 9. Check paragraph indentation? 10. Check legibility?  Methods of collection Agricultural Information 34  Various methods of collection of journalistic stories: (a) Direct personal interview- Under this method, data are collected by the investigator through direct conversation with the people. (b) Indirect investigation - under this method, the investigator collects information indirectly by the contact of a third party. (c) Observation - under this method, information is collected by conducting observation (d) Correspondents - under this method, correspondents are appointed in different localities to collect information. (e) Questionnaire - under this method, the information is collected by sending a set of questions in questionnaire. (f) Secondary data are collected from published sources like magazines and periodicals.  Methods of Gathering Agricultural Information 35 Gathering information of News  Interview: is the most common method journalists use to gather information both for print and broadcast/ electronic medias. ❖ What makes good interview?  It should be friendly, but intense conversation  It considers listeners, readers and viewers  The purpose should be clear to the audience  Put interview at ease so that can talk freely. ❖ An interview has three participants  The interviewee  The journalist/interviewee- guides the interview to fulfill audiences expectation  The audience ❖ A good interview is one which satisfies the expectation of all participants 36 ❖ Conditions of interview  On air interview: live with the audiences watching the interview(TV) and hearing (TV and Radio)  Taped/recorded : recorded on video, tape cassette to be aired on later date as a whole or may be edited  Without Taping: the journalist takes notes and use it to write story later  Commonly used by newspaper and magazines  In written form: the journalist sends a set of question and asks for written or Telephoned responses  QUEZE 37 1. List and define the General Characteristics of good writing?(2pt) 2. What makes good interview?(1pt) 3. List and define Conditions of interview?(2pt)