Monday, September 20, 2010

Sept. 21, 23: Focus on John Hersey's Hiroshima


HERSEY
This week, we'll be focusing on John Hersey's "Hiroshima." On Tuesday, we'll have a presentation on the book and Hersey's particular style of reportage. On Thursday, you'll have a quiz on the book. This quiz will replace our usual news quiz.

LAST WEEK'S NEWS BRIEFS
If we didn't review your first news brief in class last week, I'll get to you first thing on Thursday. If your story will be old news before Thursday, please let me know and we'll get to it sooner.

Those of you who have already had your news brief workshopped, please be sure to send it to The Insider. You should slug your stories as follows:
Subject line: News Brief -- Your Name -- Subject

Send to the editors:

Rachel Kuskie, editor in chief, at rak57@pitt.edu
CJ Simpson, assistant editor, at cjs112@pitt.edu

NEXT ASSIGNMENT:
E-mail to lljakiela@gmail.com by midnight Wednesday, Sept. 29

A second news brief -- very similar to the first news brief, with one exception. This time, you'll have two relevant sources quoted and present in the piece.

Structure your story like this:

Paragraph 1: Lede
Paragraph 2: Extension of Lede (extra Ws/Hs)
Paragraph 3: Quote from first source (most relevant source; best quote)
Paragraph 4: Additional Ws/Hs, transition
Paragraph 5: Introduction of secondary source
Paragraph 6: Quote from secondary source (strong, good quote)
Paragraph 7: For more information, contact

Choose from the list of upcoming events on the campus calendar OR cover an upcoming event that falls within your coverage area (a.k.a. Greensburg and nearby sites). Be sure to contact your sources now so you don't get stuck later. Go for strong, burst-of-life quotes. Use basic AP Style. Good grammar counts. Accuracy -- both factual and technical -- is essential.

We'll workshop these pieces on Thursday.

FINAL PORTFOLIO REMINDER
Remember to print and save a copy of all your stories and revisions. Use a folder or a binder and keep your stories in chronological order, newest pieces on top. If your story runs in the Insider, print a copy of that version, too, and keep it in your portfolio. You'll turn in your portfolio at the end of the term.

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