Journalism Notes Chapt 8 Part 2

Place Modifiers Carefully

(p. 191) – Examples: A feature story on eyeglasses mentioned a “German-made frame for men with snakeskin-covered temples.”

A feature story on eyeglasses mentioned “ a men’s German-made frame with snakeskin-covered temples.

Dr. Laura Marvel told how one woman escaped from slavery during her review of the book.

In her book review, Dr. Laura Marvel told how one women escaped from slavery.

Use Action Verbs

• Choose vigorous, descriptive verbs in the present tense that help the reader or listener see the action as it happens.
• Slide, seize, amble, roar, slam.
• Run the bases or: skipped, walked, strolled, ambled, danced, shuffled, trudged, strutted.
• Don’t substitute for said: exclaimed, stated, explained, chided, mused, barked, not good. The writer’s job is to relay the words, not how they were said. Let the reader interpret that themselves.

• Readers prefer to read precise stories rather than flowery, over-written stories.
• Choose the simpler word if it works.
• Weasel words = vague and generic = some, fun, a lot, things, music.
• Be more specific instead of using weasel words.
• If you interview someone, and they give you a vague answer, ask them to be more specific.

Check Spellings

• Misspelled words are the first thing a reader notices in a newspaper.
• If you don’t check your spelling, you might not be checking facts, either.
• Spell-check is helpful, but here are common words undetected: their/there/they’re, to/too/two, whose/who’s.

• Examples: It was their cake. It was right there last time I checked. They’re my cousins.
• See “Ames, Iowa” p. 187: what can happen when you leave out one letter.
• Dictionaries (online or paper) are key when writing a good news story.

Eliminate Redundancies

• Redundancy: repeating what’s been said or using unnecessary words.
• 10 a.m. in the morning, blue in color, small in size, a dead body, invited guests, etc.
• P. 193 – good list

Choose the Correct Word

Example: After a four-hour public hearing, the city planning commission passed the resolution with one descending vote. (Descending = to go down, dissenting = to vote against).

Example: The Commission on Presidential Scholars is a group of imminent private citizens appointed by the President. (imminent = impending, eminent = respectable position).

The police said they suspect fowl play.

Use Active Sentences

Passive vs. Active Verbs Examples

• Sentences which begin with the names of the person or thing doing the action are active sentences. They typically have active verbs!
• Sentences that use is, are, was, were, or any relatable weak verbs are known as passive sentences.
• Passive sentences lack the power of active sentences.

• Twenty-six proficiency awards were given for student projects.
• Twenty-six students earned proficiency awards.
• The fire was put out by the firefighters.
• Firefighters put out the fire.
• Traveling to the tournament were the debaters, seniors Jeff Dierkson, William Langford, and John Fitzhugh.
• The debaters, seniors Jeff Dierkson, William Langford, and John Fitzhugh, traveled to the tournament.

Journalism Notes Chapt 8 Part 2