News Gathering: Journalism I CH 1-2
News Gathering: Journalism I CH 1-2
News Gathering: Journalism I CH 1-2
GATHERING
JOURNALISM I
CH 1-2
CH 1: PUBLISHING A
NEWSPAPER
The Newspaper Team
• Whether the newspaper staff is large or small, everyone must
work together to produce a newspaper. Journalism depends on
teamwork.
• The publisher is the head of the whole operation. In
professional newspaper companies the publisher is often the
owner. In school journalism the publisher is the school
administration.
• The principal and adviser (Mrs. Sims) make sure the guidelines
set by the district are carried out.
• The adviser (Mrs. Sims) makes sure the paper gets published by
training the reporters (you) to produce the stories and overseeing
what type of stories go in to the paper.
CH. 1: PUBLISHING A
NEWSPAPER
The Newspaper Team (Continued)
• Students in JI will serve as reporters and editors.
• Reporters will search out story ideas, gather the facts, and write
the stories.
• Editors will edit written material for publication.
• The written material, or all words that will be set in print, is
called copy.
• An editor-n-chief makes final content decisions and supervises
the entire staff in the overall operation of the paper.
• Some reporters cover a beat, which is a particular area of news,
such as sports or entertainment.
• The Prowler has online distribution. This means that the only
method of getting the paper to its readers is online.
CH. 1: PUBLISHING A
NEWSPAPER
The Prowler Team
1. Publisher (School District Guidelines/School Admin.)
2. Editor-in-Chief (Mrs. Sims)
3. Reporters (Students)
Vocabulary
1. Publisher 5. copy
2. Editor-in-chief 6. distribution
3. Editor 7. beat
4. Reporter
CH 2:
NEWS GATHERING
Defining News
Simply put, news is information about events, people, or issues
that the public wants or needs to know. Reporters often refer to
news as “stories.”
Would using tax dollars to pay for a $16 muffin upset tax
payers?
CH 2:
NEWS GATHERING
Hard News and Soft News
• Hard News, also called straight news, is strictly factual
reporting of news that’s current and important.
• Examples: A new administrator has been hired at KMS,
revisions to the dress code, theft of sports equipment
• News that entertains and informs, and is less current and
important that hard news is known as soft news.
• Examples: interview with student musician, survey on
student’s favorite authors, movie reviews
If you have a doubt about any information from a source, double-check it with
another source.
Be especially cautious with Internet sources because anyone can publish
information on the Internet.
If you gather source material on the Internet, use web sites of well-known
newspapers and magazines, government agencies, and high-profile public
service organizations.
CH 2:
NEWS GATHERING
Places to Find Stores and Sources
To find good stories and sources, you have to be active, curious,
imaginative, and self-motivated.
What are the three most common places for you to find stories
and sources for your school paper?
• School: classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, school calendar
• Local community: local media (newspapers, magazines,
TV and radio) libraries, business and community
organizations
• Global community: national and international media, the
Internet
CH 2:
NEWS GATHERING
Beats
Beats vary from school to school. Although we won’t assign specific
beats on The Prowler, here are some common beats for student
journalists:
• Academic beat: math department news, academic clubs
(science club)
• Sports beat: official school teams, soccer club, coach
interviews, pep squad, cheer
• Club beat: school clubs that are not academic or sports clubs
• Administration beat: principals and superintendents, teacher
organizations, school board
• Staff beat: guidance counselors, librarians, janitors, and
other adults who aren’t administrators or faculty.
• Community beat: community events and organizations with
high student interest
CH 2:
NEWS GATHERING
Brainstorming
Some of the best story ideas and sources arise during a
brainstorm with your newspaper staff.
• Mrs. Sims facilitates the brainstorming session
• Appoint a scribe
• Share ideas in an orderly manner (be respectful, all ideas
accepted)
• Vote to rank the ideas in order of interest and importance
CH 2:
NEWS GATHERING
Future Books
Write questions to make your source think. If you can predict an answer,
it’s probably not a good question.
Write questions that reveal how the topic relates to your readers.
CH 2:
NEWS GATHERING
Getting ready for the Interview
When conducting an interview, make sure you have something to
write with and that your questions are written on paper with space
after each question to write the answers.