What makes a news story different than a feature story?

Blog 10: What makes a news story different than a feature story?

A news story informs readers about facts and who, what, where, when, why, and how. A feature article will also have the same underlying standards as a news story but allows the writer to go in more depth on the topic. More quotes, more people, more visuals, more content. A news story is breaking news and will usually have a lot of dates and times while a feature article takes a deeper look into things. A news story usually has a deadline and is time dependant where as a feature story can be recorded and written and saved for the right time to publish it. News stories must be breaking, if it happens that day, a news story must be written and published that day. A feature can take more time and go more in depth on what has happened and is not time dependant.

News stories contain just enough detail to give the reader a clear picture of what has happened and just of the story in general. Feature stories are more about reader interest rather than time dependency. Facts in feature stories are more elaborate, more interpreted, and contain more emotion and context. Feature stories are something the writer can choose what to write about and news stories are derived by what is going on in the world and community today. Techniques on the writing process are slightly different in each as well. You will need to do background research for both types of stories. Feature stories will often contain anecdotes, description and a lot of attributive verbs and quotes.

What makes a good obituary? Why do readers/viewers read and watch them?

Blog 9: What makes a good obituary? Why do readers/viewers read and watch them?

An obituary is a news story and you need to apply the same type of content and standards as you would for other stories. The lead is important, probably the must important aspect to an obituary. A good obituary will have the who, what, where, when, how, and why in the lead. You must include the time and place of the funeral, the time and place of the burial, visitation time, survivors, date and place of birth, achievements, occupation, and memberships. There are five safeguards for obituary writers to follow in order to make a well written obituary. You must confirm the spelling of names, family members and deceased. You must check the addresses, and you may have to contact the mortuary about correct addresses. You must check the birth date against the age to see if person’s birthday was before or after date of death. You must verify obituary with family or mortuary that will go to the newspaper. You must check your newspaper’s library for stories about the deceased but make sure not to find stories on someone different with the same name. Obituaries are well written when the author mentions a distinguishing characteristic of the person’s life. Usually whatever it is that distinguishes the deceased can be used to make the lead that much stronger. Some other things to remember that make good obituaries are choosing your words, try to avoid much of the language found on mortuary forms. You must also be sensitive to the family, in giving the cause of death. Some families will not want the cause of death to be on there and you must take that into consideration. Also the writer has to be sensitive in handling embarrassing information so don’t put it out there that the deceased was either a homosexual, had AIDS, or any other diseases that the public does not need to know about.

Readers will read obituaries to see who has passed on in the community. Readers are also family and friends of those who have deceased. They want to read it to see what reporters have to say. A lot of people will read obituaries first when they open the paper. Readers want to see if anyone of significance has passed on and local community members to see if he/she knew the deceased.

What makes a speech or meeting story interesting? How can a writer prepare?

Blog 8: What makes a speech or meeting story interesting? How can a writer prepare?

A speech or meeting story is interesting because to the people in the community, and to the subject, this story is the most important item in the newspaper, radio, or television report of the day. All speech and meeting stories require careful reporting and writing. Covering speech and meeting stories have a lot of technical questions and thoughts. You may want to use a video camera, recorder, or digital camera to help cover the story. You must think visuals, sound, and light.

To prepare for speech and meeting stories you must review previous stories on the subject and to check online for any important information pertaining to the subject and topic. A backgrounder on the speaker is very important to do and will make writing the story that much easier. Some speeches won’t require as much background research as others, as long as you are well informed on the speaker and subject. What’s important with this type of story is to be as well prepared as you can. Sometimes you won’t have enough time to do background information before the speech so you may have to wait until after the speech to do that. You must be able to identify the speaker correctly. Middle initials are important. Messing up the name or address or any other information on the speaker will harm your reputation and credibility. Preparing for a news conference story is similar to a speech story on the basis that you must know the speaker and his/her background and why the news conference is happening. In preparing for meeting stories you must know who the people are that are holding the meeting and why they are there for the meeting. You may have to contact some of the key people to find out why they are meeting. You then must study the issues before arriving to be knowledgeable on the matter before you listen to what the people have to say in the meeting.

What makes a good feature?

Blog 7: What makes a good feature?

A good feature will have the same elements of a news story but will go beyond what the news story has. A good feature will have more people and more facts. The context will also be more in depth than a news story. A good feature will also have more photos to give it an easy read and more reader friendly. A good feature will have an element of surprise. The way you write your feature is important, again, to tailor to your audience. You must grab the reader’s attention quickly for them to continue reading because not everyone reads features. If the topic is something of significance to the reader and say for example the topic is country music. You want to write in country music language to tailor to country music lovers, not say, rap lovers.

A good feature will be written the way you want to tell the story. There are few ways to structure a feature but the way you decide to tell the story will make it that much better. So a good feature will have great preparation going into it, and a strong sense of how you want to tell the story. To have a great feature story, you must engage the reader very fast and have a strong theme to the story. Correct grammar and writing play a huge part in features. It’s important for the writer to fall in love with the topic or to be clear on why he/she is writing it.

What makes a good lede?

Blog 6: What makes a good lede?

According to the book, “to determine a lead – a simple, clear statement consisting of the first paragraph or two, you must first recognize what goes into one.” A lead must contain the basic principles of what makes a story newsworthy. The principles are relevance, usefulness, and interest. The lead must give the readers some sort of explanation to questions such as “so what?” and “who cares?” A good lead will contain six basic questions. These questions are who, what where, when, how, and why. If there is something that makes a particular story standout or makes it more newsworthy then the lead must have that! A good lead will have what is most important first. If there is a fire you want to have when and where and leave the how it started after lead or at the end.

When writing leads you should write a few of them and say it out loud to yourself to see how it sounds. A good lead will also gear towards your readers. You want to hook them in, telling them all in important information and write it in a way to tailor to your audience or readers. If you can do all of this you will have a good lede.

Why do numbers matter in writing stories?

Blog 5: Why do numbers matter in writing stories?

Numbers is a huge aspect in writing stories. Certain numbers are to be typed out numerically or in words. It all depends on the situation and what the number is dealing with. If a journalist uses numbers in the wrong way, which can seriously damage one’s reputation or even career. As a journalist, you want to uphold your reputation and credibility. If these mistakes were published it could damage the whole organization’s reputation. Using numbers the right way will help the reader’s better understand your story. Numbers are used differently throughout journalism and it matters if you use them correctly because you do not want to confuse the reader.

What makes a good profile?

Blog 4: What makes a good profile?

A profile, to journalists, is a way to further know the subject or person that will be written about. Even if you know the person, you need to know them better before starting to write anything. A good profile will contain background and biographical information. In order to obtain this information we must do some intensive research. A profile is a great piece to do before interviewing someone. Being prepared will make the profile that much better. Profiles can and will set the scene for the piece of writing or interview. If you know that the person is an animal lover, than you can express that before an interview or even in the lead. The profile should set the scene for what’s to come. A good profile will have a lot of biographical information that can somehow tie into the story or help ask questions in interviews. A good profile will allow the reporter to get inside the story more and to be more prepared.

What makes a news story different than a feature story?

A news story is usually much more of a hard news story where a feature story is much more of a soft news story. In a regular news story a journalist would usually write in the inverted pyramid style of writing. This means that the story would have all the facts from the beginning and these facts would also be the most important facts. The point is to put the most important facts first and end with the least important. Feature stories are usually much longer than a regular news story. In a feature story however the facts are spread throughout the story. A feature story is a special story about a special topic so if a person chooses to read it they are most likely going to read the whole thing so there usually is not such a need to put all the most important facts in the lead alone.

What makes a good obituary?

When a person dies people want to know certain things about that persons death and they can find it all in a good obituary. A good obituary starts off with the most important information first. The most important information would be how the person died. That would be the information you would want to include in the lead of the obituary. You would also want to include where he or she died. Next you should give background information to who this person was exactly. Important details to be included would be if the person had any children, spouses, or family that was close to them. Also you would want to give and information about any achievements the person received during his or her lifetime. To end the obituary you might want to end with a quote about the person taken from a close friend or relative.

What I learned

I learned a lot in this class. I learned all about media, concepts I never knew but mostly I learned about writing for media of course. I always liked writing, and prided myself as a good writer but writing for mass media is completely different and a new challenge that I have yet to conquer. I will keep working at it, however, because I do enjoy it.

I really learned a lot on the field trip because it brought everything we have been learning to reality. I also enjoyed all of the videos we watched of news and real reporting, it made everything we were doing seem more real and exciting.

Another great thing I learned is about current events. I never knew anything about current events and when I say never, I mean it, it was a joke among my family that I didn't even know who the president was. This class forced me to stay updated, and I now receive updates on my phone from the New York Times. I really enjoy being informed and I will keep the updates.

What I learned in this class:

I have gained a lot out of the class; however, it has definitely helped me improved my news writing more than anything else. It may seem self explanatory, as the class is entitled, 'Writing for Mass Media,' but I understand the structure and meaning of a well written news article far more than I did prior to taking the course. Moreover, the class has taught me a large amount of simple grammatical errors that I have been making throughout my career as a writer, therefore improving my general writing ability as well. Although this may be the cliche response, the course truly did help me develop into a better writer and student. On a side note, the field trip to the WPRI-TV station really helped me get a feel for the newsroom, which I hope to be one day be employed in.

What are some ethical problems faced by journalists?

Former Editor-in-Chief of CBC News once said, “Every news organization has only its credibility and reputation to rely on.” Journalists are known for pushing the limits when it comes to writing their stories. When a journalist oversteps his/her boundary, it not only poorly reflects the quality of the journalist, but the reputation of the company. Often journalists are called out on crossing the line, and it can unfortunately mean serious consequences. Some problems that journalists deal with include truthfulness, impartiality, and decency. As to avoid slander and libel, a story must be completely accurate. With absolute accuracy, a journalist cannot be charged with libel. Likewise, a journalist must be wary of his/her word choice. Discriminatory words, intentional or not, can destroy a journalists reputation very quickly. Lastly, a journalist must decide whether all the information they have gathered is worth disclosing; sometimes it can negatively affect themselves and others.

What makes a good multimedia piece?

The ever growing mass media has led the world to internet stories as opposed to newspaper and magazine. That being said, writing a multimedia piece, if done well, attracts a far larger audience. When a reader initially looks at a story, if he/she isn’t drawn in right away immediately, odds are he/she will not continue reading. Creating a good multimedia piece doesn’t take great writing to be considered ‘good.’ There are many other ways to get the audience to read on through the end. A large part is incorporating appealing visuals. Having other attractions to the eye instead of words -- videos, pictures, graphs, etc. These visuals can pique the readers interest in the story and lead them to further reading. Likewise, utilizing the high speed internet by adding outside links attracts the audience too.

What is good public relations?

Public relations is crucial in maintaining the relationship between the media and said company, organization, or celebrity. With that in mind, a public relations representative will issue statements to the public after certain events or mishaps, and is the medium between what the public and the employer he/she is representing. Good public relations entails a variety characteristics. One of which, is informing the client of the actual happenings of the company and what they need to hear, as opposed to ‘sugar coating’ things and telling them what they want. A PR writer also attempts to include persuasion, as to attract the public or avoid slander. Likewise, good public relations is shown through improving and strengthening relationship over long term periods. To continue with a good reputation for many years keeps the customers and clients with the company, which is the main goal overall.

What I learned in this class..

I learned an inexplicable amount in this class, predominantly how to write a good news article for all different mediums of the media, whether that is print, online, public relations, etc. I feel as though I have become somewhat of a professional at the inverted pyramid type of writing and am able to focus in on the most pertinent of details when writing an article. I am now able to understand which information is more important, that should be included in a lede and which information can be used further in the article. I’m really pleased with how I have developed as a writer through this course. As a creative writing and communications double major, I was already successful in creative writing and have enough practice with it through my personal blog, but now I can write for the medias, which has given me more confidence and has broadened my writing horizons.

What are some of the ethical problmes faced by journalists?

Writing about sensitive topics comes the issue of ethical problems, something journalists often face. They must look out for portraying people or companies…countries even in a negative light or invading the privacy of their subject. There is a fine line between all of these different issues, including, plagiarizing and bribery. Good journalists learn how to avoid these different scenarios and are able to complete their best work without infringing upon questions of ethics. Journalists should learn to evaluate the riskiness of their decisions and make rational decisions.

What makes a good multimedia piece?

The internet is becoming more and more of a feeding ground for our every day lives, influencing how people access and absorb information on a daily basis. It is quick and effective, which goes along great with the busy fast paced lives of individuals in this day and age. Considering the length of a story, most readers prefer a short online news article that save them time and allows them to get the information they are in search for. If possible, the writer should opt in using lots of lists and bulleting, that way it draws the eye of the reader and can be an even quicker way for them to get their information. Web stories should also use hyperlinks; utilizing the aspects the Internet provides which is the ability to create an interactive experience for users. Readers also are given the opportunity to respond to what they read, comments are encouraged to help different online news sources improve their site but also allows for readers to interact with one another over a certain topic.

What is good public relations?

Journalists report, and one of the most important things they keep in mind is to be objective in the eye of the public who can get turned off by bias work. Public relations writers on the contrary, tend to persuade audiences to a certain position by using facts and convincing people to change their self made accusations or further strengthen ones views. Unlike a lot of journalists, public relations writers tend to work for a specific company, organization, or client rather than a large and general news corporation. Public relations writers who tend to do well are those who do not ignore hard facts, and even tend to use the ones, which are possibly harmful to their cause. This way, they make their client appear in the best light possible, even taking into account negative aspects that can be more realistic for a reader.

What makes a good radio/TV news story?

Even though it is obvious that stories within the news, radio, and television all have the same objective in creating good news, they all go about it differently. Radio and television have time restrictions and tend to be more censored in what can be talked about as opposed to print. Written news has more leeway in that they may be limited on space, but the stories still tend to be longer. TV and written news have the ability to use visuals to aid in their articles but radio on the other hand does not. Radio has the ability to use audio (TV as well) where as printed news does not.

What makes a news story different form a feature story?

A news story gives hard facts and is in some cases a retelling of an incident or informative on an event or situation that is in the midst of taking its course. A feature story on the other hand can be a variety of topics. Some examples are a profile on a specific person, analysis of an opinion or current issue; for instance, writing about women’s portrayal in the media and your personal opinions on the topic, you would need to be sure to include quotations from a unbiased professional. Other types of features include, background information on local, national, or international events, human-interest stories, humorous reflections, personal experience, etc. It’s clear that as opposed to a news story, a feature article can go more in depth and appear more opinionated on a variety of topics.

What makes a speech or meeting story interesting?

What makes a speech interesting is how the reader draws in the audience. Everyone wants to listen to a person who speaks with conviction, like they know what they are talking about and are informing you and helping the audience to learn rather than just talking at them. A speech needs to engage the audience, rather than being monotone and boring, someone who writes and reads a speech needs to keep the audience’s attention. Keeping the attention of those you are speaking to be most important, because that is what the speech is meant for in the first place.

What makes a good lede?

Lede needs to be concise and to the point, making sure that all pertinent and necessary information is given to the reader within the first two sentences at most. The lede is important because it leads the reader into the story, drawing them in and making them want to learn more about the article at hand. A lede is the information packed part of the format used in writing articles, this format is known as the ‘inverted pyramid’. When a journalist creates their lede, they need to be conscious of the information they are incorporating, using too much information, meaning, facts that aren’t entirely necessary can take away space needed for necessary information. The lede is essentially the most important part of the article because its purpose is not only to inform the reader quickly giving them the basic jest of the article, but it is meant to draw the reader in to want to read more.

What makes a good feature?

A good feature story is much like a regular news story. However, it is not written like a regular news story. A feature story is a story on something that is of very large importance such as some famous persons death. However the story can also be a story on a very big event like the olympics or perhaps a local event. Good feature stories have a beginning that draws in readers, a transition that might repeat it in the middle and quite often an ending that comes back to the beginning. Feature stories can be told in narrative fashion or by sliding from event to event even though not in chronological order. Writers must make sure to be careful how they transition from beginning to middle and end. This type of story may have more detail in earlier paragraphs than you would see in a hard news story.

What makes a good lead?

A lead in a story is defined as a simple, clear statement consisting of the first paragraph or two of an inverted pyramid story. An inverted pyramid story is a story that starts off with the most important information and ends with the least relevant information. The most important information that most if not every lead should contain is defining the who, what, where, when, why, and how. The lead is what draws the reader in and makes them want to continue reading the story. The lead needs to be something that will grab the readers attentions right away. Background information can be important in a situation where the reader knows a person in the story or perhaps that person lives very close to where the story took place. However this information should not be included in the lead because in the grand scheme of things it is simply not the most important facts. Just because the background information may be relevant to some people does not mean it is relevant to everyone. News journalists need to write a story for every demographic and not just one group of people.

Why do numbers matter in writing stories?

Numbers in news media can cause severe confusion but can also help emphasize the significance of the number. Replacing the number with the actually respective word can help simply a story with a large amount of different numbers. However using numbers like percents can help cause misunderstandings within the story if they add normal numbers with the percents. There are many important rules about numbers that journalists should follow to help them avoid confusion in their story.

Journalists have different opinions

What are some of the ethical problems faced by journalists? How are they resolved?

Journalists face many ethical problems. One of these ethical issues are Deontological ethics which is the ethics of duty meaning some actions are always right and some are always wrong. People that are deontologists believe that ends never justify the means. This belief is often called absolutism. Absolutists believe that if an event is interesting, timely, significant or important, it is to be reported, regardless of the consequences.

Another form of ethics is teleological ethics, and this is all about the end justifying the means to get there. In this perspective, if you have to do something bad, such as lie to get a good news story, as long as you have a good news story that possibly exposes something bad in the end you are okay.

Lastly Antinomianism is when journalists believe there are no moral absolutes and that every situation is different and you have to apply your own ethics to each case.

When it comes down to it, journalists have their own opinions of ethics, and have to use there own jurisdiction.

Ehtics and Information

What are some of the ethical problems faced by journalists? How are they resolved?

In today’s news world, journalists face many ethical problems. First off, they have to face the issue with obtaining information illegally then having to choose whether or not they should publish it. Also, when you are stuffing a camera in someone’s face, is that really ethical? Shouldn’t you just wait to have a sit down conversation with the person? Lastly, journalists need to know where to draw the line when they are interviewing them or writing about them—how much is too much?

So today, as you know, journalists have many ethical issues they face each day when they go out looking for a story. They need to decide whether or not it is truly ethical to publish a story and/or photos that were obtained while trespassing illegally. It is important for the public to see this story and photos, but the way it was seen was not legally so the legal power often overpowers the information side. I have seen several times, one in particular, when the New York Times obtained documents from the government illegally about their plans in the Vietnam War and the Times won the Supreme Court case because in their eye it was imperative for the public to see the information in the documents to stay informed. I believe it is unethical to publish a story and photos that were obtained illegally. I would try my hardest to gain them legally then publish the story the right way.

In addition to illegally obtaining a story, I believe it is unethical for reporters and cameramen to stuff cameras and microphones into a person’s face to get a reaction. I remember Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers pushed a cameraman down because he got into Rogers’ face with it. Rogers was fined, but I still believe it was unethical and unprofessional to stuff the camera in the athletes face just to get negative attention around Rogers and the team.

Stemming off that, I think there needs to be a line where the interviewer and/or the person who writes any sort of story follows how much is too much. Therefore, there needs to be a line that the reporter should not cross, where it is okay to ask some questions, and not others, because then it would be unethical and rude to ask some things. For example, when interviewing a Charlie Sheen let’s say, you can ask him about his drug abuse and all that, but questions about how his kids look at him now an how do you think the public thinks of you now is just rude and unethical in my opinion.

First Amendment = Informed Public

Why is the First Amendment so important to journalists? What are some of the rights you have as a journalist?

The First Amendment is so important to journalists because in most countries, it gives them the right to express their thoughts about the current issues in the world. It gives rights to what can be said and what cannot be said. It regulates how the world is able to get information while giving journalists a long leash if you will.

You have many rights as a journalist including the right to the freedom of the press—meaning you can say whatever you please as long as it does not attack someone personally or incorrectly write about in which it would be libel. You do have the right to go into a private property to obtain information as long as you are invited in. Anything besides that would be illegal for the journalist to publish whatever you found while trespassing.

I think the First Amendment is the most important right we have as Americans. It allows us to speak our minds and obviously while doing so we can debate current issues in the areas we live in. It can stir the political pot, and possibly insight change, such as Libya or Egypt. It can result in repression and dissent in China, where they do not have this right, then you and your family disappear without a trace.

We need to remember how important the right is as an American and a journalist because that is how we stay informed. We choose to watch the news occasionally, but we all should watch, listen, read, anything to the news every second we get because many countries don’t have the right to do so.

Ethics: Undefined Lines in Journalism

There are many ethical problems faced by journalists around the world today. For example, many people who have anything negative written about them will instantly look to the writer and sue for libel. Libel is when someone maliciously writes negative comments about someone in a public domain for the world to see. But journalists do have protection from court systems. In a case of libel suit, the accuser must prove to the court system that the journalist in question wrote the comments in some form of hate, trying to maliciously hurt the other person.
Another ethical problem that comes up is blogging. Many of these people who are writing blogs don’t have proper journalism training so don’t know the proper ethics associated with the business. Then they write there blogs and post them online, where everyone can see, and might not be following the rules. The main question of ethics here is who does the blame if something like libel happens? Can the blogger claim that they were ignorant to the situation and get off the hook? Does the blame fall on the owner of the blog website, or can nobody really take the blame because there aren’t really any internet regulations? In my opinion it should fall on the site, unless the site puts up a set of rules and regulations the blogger must agree to before blogging. When they sign that they have read it, it should fall on the blogger and not the website.

The Most Important Write

Ever since I was a child learning about the Constitutional Amendments, I knew the first one, more so than any other, would be important to my life. Being much older now, I fully understand, especially wanting to be a journalist. The First Amendment secures my right to freedom of speech and press, two of the most important things a journalist needs. Without either if these freedoms, journalism simply could not exist. Think about a world of journalism where a journalist could only report the news if it was what government officials wanted them to say. I think that is just absurd. I couldn’t possibly think about living in a society where I wasn’t allowed to have the freedom to say what I wanted to say or publish what I wanted to publish. These ideals will always keep the First Amendment near and dear to my heart and I will always protect those rights for everyone under any given circumstance.

The More, The Merrier: Multimedia in the News

A great multi-media piece relies on many different forms of media coming together to not only create the news story, but showcase the news story. Take your basic written story and flare it up with different genres of media. Add pictures to a devastating story so that people can see the true impact. Instead of just writing down an interview, use the audio clips to show the various emotions the person you were interviewing was doing. Videos are a great way to show what is happening in a particular story. All of these elements in a story together can really add to the story and attract people to read it. We now live in a society where people don’t want to just read, they want to see and hear the news. Different elements of multimedia have almost become as important to the stories as the actual stories themselves. Posted below is an example of this on a story from cnn.com.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/28/severe.weather/index.html?hpt=T1

Public Relations: The Definition is in the Name

Good public relations are about more than good writing. The name public relations is really a great two word definition of what it needs to do, relate to the public. You can have all the great writing in the world, but without being able to connect what you are writing, you don’t have a purpose in public relations. Writing for public relations differs from writing for news because you have to write more in a speech form, yet still get your meaning across to the public in a quick and logical manner. You also have to be careful about what you say when writing for public relations. You need to make sure that you are appeasing whatever audience you are trying to reach so that they will stick with your affiliation.

What are some of the ethical problems faced by journalists? How are they resolved?

It is not uncommon that journalists face ethical problems because they must write about delicate topics everyday. They deal with problems such as the possibility of portraying someone in a bad light, of invading privacy, plagiarizing, accepting money to write stories and many others. Good journalists will know how to avoid these obstacles.

The Potter Box is an affective model to help journalists and reporters make moral decision regarding their work. It allows people to evaluate the riskiness of their actions and come to a rational and respectable result. Crime stories or theft can be very difficult to deal with and some journalists may unknowingly make a mistake that might cost them their career. It is also troubling to write stories on government officials and public figures because they can sue for libel if the reporter is not 100 percent accurate.

Why is the First Amendment so important to journalists? What are some of the rights you have as a journalist?

The First Amendment is so important to journalists simply because it protects them. It allows them to express themselves freely without having constraints or being afraid of retribution. Journalism and the press have always been known as the engine behind social movements and social change. Without the protection of the First Amendment, the press would not have been able to bring about many of the changes that have occurred over the course of history.

The press allows ordinary people to be informed about the people who govern the country. This is especially important in a democratic nation. If journalists uncover the truth about something, they have the right to tell the public and present the facts even if it is about powerful people or corporations. The First Amendment gives them this ‘freedom of press’.

Good Obituary

A good obituary needs to tell a story, commend an individual for the accomplishments during their lifetime. For instance, in our obituary assignment I chose to write about basketball coach legend, ESPY Award winner, and 'Jimmy V Fund for Cancer Research' founder, Jimmy Valvano. The man, the legend. I expressed his many accomplishments, quoted friends and family with their descriptions of who Jimmy was to them, what the country thought of this man and what many basketball coaches past and future aspire to be like. An obituary must encompass the name, age, cause of death, who the individual is survived by, and any information on services that is open to the public. In some instances, age may not be noted in the Obit, as well as the cause of death. Unfortunately, sometimes the details, even non-specific are too gruesome for the public eye.

Journalists enjoying their rights by the first amendment

Why is the First Amendment so important to journalists? What are some of the rights you have as a journalist?

The first amendment is so important to journalists because it is the right to freedom of the press. A journalist has the right to report on what he or she wants to within what their boss allows them to do, or tells them to do. The point is that they have a right to report on what they and their station want, they are not restricted by the government. The government does have rules on libel to protect a citizen or company but they do not have restrictions on what they can publish about the government or famous people.

This Amendment is also so important to journalists because they can serve as watch dogs to the government. When the government becomes corrupt, the media can find out and publish information about it. This is the same for big business, when these businesses get corrupt, the media will try to uncover this. The people that do uncover these sorts of scandals, rather than being punished, are rewarded for their intelligence and ability to uncover a mystery. The reason they are able to be praised, is all thanks to the first amendment.

This is a link on a talk show where the interviewer asks when should the first amendment "lose": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHExkcWKFo

What are some of the ethical problems faced by journalists? How are they resolved?

In journalism, because of the First Amendment, society has very few “rules” for journalists in spite of the special problems they face. Because of this, there are many ethical dilemmas and problems journalists are often faced with. Ethical problems faced by journalists include:

1. Deceit – such as being deceptive to get a story

2. Conflicts of interest

3. Friendship – such as covering stories that involve a personal acquaintance

4. Payola – temptations to accept payment for a story from someone other than from their employer

5. Freebies – accepting gifts from people being covered in a story

6. Checkbook journalism – paying a source for a story

7. Participation in the news

8. Advertising pressure – being exposed to the influence of advertisers and facing conflicts and policies in print and other media

9. Invasion of privacy

10. Withholding information

11. Plagiarism

In journalism, it’s important these dilemmas be resolved. Ethical issues can be resolved through moral reasoning. Ethicists Clifford Christians, Kim Rotzoll and Mark Fackler have adapted a model, called the Potter Box, devised by Dr. Ralph Potter of the Harvard Divinity School, in order to help journalists and other make moral decisions. The model consists of four elements:

1. Appraising the situation

2. Identifying values

3. Appealing to ethical principles

4. Choosing loyalties

The Potter Box is affective in helping journalists analyze and resolve ethical dilemmas. When a journalist is able to overcome and effectively resolve ethical dilemmas, they are able to grow and prosper as reporters.

Why is the First Amendment so important to journalists? What are some of the rights you have as a journalist?

The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of…the press.” The press is protected to ensure the “unfettered interchange of ideas for bringing about the political and social changes desired by the people.”

The free flow of ideas is necessary and important in democracy because people who govern themselves need to know about their government and those who run it. People also need to be informed about the social and economic institutions that affect them on the daily. This information is mostly communicated through newspapers, Internet, radio, and television, hence why the first amendment is so crucial to journalists.

In order to ensure they can do their job to the best of the ability, laws have been passed to make it easier for journalists to learn about government business. For example, all 50 states have open-record laws. The federal government and all the states also have open-meeting laws that require that the public’s business be conducted in public.

The First Amendment and laws on access information allow journalists to effectively and completely keep the citizens of America informed.

What makes a good multimedia peice?

With the web becoming more and more prominent in our everyday lives, multimedia is becoming a significant and influential part of how people access and obtain information on a daily basis.

There are a lot of aspects that contribute to a good multimedia piece. As far as online news goes, there are a lot of things to think about when covering online stories. One major thing to consider is the length of the story. Most readers will appreciate short online news stories that save their time. The reader should be able to obtain the information quickly and easily, leaving no possibility for any confusion. If possible, the writer should use lots of lists and bullets. Lists and bullets get more attention and allow for better comprehension than ordinary sentences and paragraphs.

In multimedia, it’s also extremely effective to include both visual and audio aspects. Such as pictures, videos, graphics, verbal readings, etc. Both of these help enhance the readers experience and reinforce the story by appealing to multiple senses.

Web stories should also use hyperlinks. The Internet is a place where people connect, and websites should utilize this benefit to the best of their ability in order to create and provide a more interactive experience.

And finally, readers should have the chance to talk back. Allowing people to comment on and discuss news stories can not only allows the reader to feel more involved in the experience, but it provides both excitement and opportunity for those reading the news story.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/20/texas.fires/index.html: CNN includes a brilliant photo montage to reinforce the disasters that have been occurring across the state of Texas.

What is good public relations? How does writing for PR differ from writing

Journalists write to serve the public. When they report, one of the most important things they have to keep in mind is to stay objective. Many reporters attempt to avoid exhibiting a personal point of view and never write for the sole purpose of proving something.

Public relations writers, on the other hand, write to persuade the audience of a particular position, using facts to convince people to change their minds, or confirm their positions. Unlike most news-journalists, public relations writers generally work for an organization or client other than a news operation.

There are many aspects that constitute good PR. Effective public relations writers never ignore facts, even when they are harmful or detrimental to the cause they’re promoting. Their job is to make their organization or client appear in the best possible light, which means they should do whatever they can to interpret all news – good and bad – in their favor. A strong public relations representative works as an honest advocate for their company or organization, they don’t lie or distort, but instead use all their facts effectively by playing down certain ones and emphasizing others.

It’s all about editing, music, and direction when it comes to multi-media

What makes a good multi-media piece?

Multi-media pieces are always good, but they can go either way based on many factory. For example, the editing is always a huge concern. The use of music is another factor that needs to be incorporated for the piece to be successful to the audience. Last, the piece needs to have a good plot, and ultimately an ending that satisfies the viewer.

Multi-media pieces need to have great editing. If the piece has unprofessional editing, terrible transitions, and just don’t make sense, the viewer is not going to enjoy it and rate it terribly.

The use of music is such a key factor in multi-media. If you have a highlight video with no music, the emotion from the video that it was supposed to evoke will not be there.

The last factor is the direction of the video. The piece needs to make sense; it needs to have a good intro, a good body of the plot, and definitely a good ending. It the ending is not good, many times, the viewers will rate the video terribly, and not recommend it to other potential audiences.

Public Relations: The Good, The Bad, And The Terrell Owens

What is good public relations? How does writing for PR differ from writing news?

Public relations can obviously be good and bad. It is supposed to always promote good images for the clients these PR firms represent, and it is very different than writing for news.

Writing for news is so different because it is supposed to be always be objective. In PR, it always is subjective to the client to make them look better to the public. Writing for news always has to get out the facts, good and bad. Public relations firms only want to get out the positive facts that favor their client, and sway over the negative comments and concerns the public has about their client.

Public relations can always be bad. For example, when there were rumors that then Cowboy Wide Receiver Terrell Owens was trying to kill himself and took painkillers, his PR representative came out and said he had “6 million reasons to live”. That is a huge example of bad PR. The woman was fired soon after, I believe the next day, due to how she made Owens seem way more depressed than he actually was.

In conclusion, public relations are very different than writing for news. It is generally subjective and only focuses on the positives of their client because that is how they keep their job and make their client look better to the public and media. It can always be good and bad, obviously having a few mix up like the Terrell Owens story I talked about early. It is so much different than writing for a news story in many ways.

Nothing beats sight and hearing

What makes a good radio/tv news story? How is it different than print?

Many factors decide what makes a good radio/tv news story than the same print story. First off, it is always about the visuals. Next, the sound bites always factor in to the effect of getting the writer’s point across. Last, the crispness and shortness to the point of the story on tv or radio.

Visual aids factor in heavily when it comes to judging a story. Everyone loves to see clips of a house that was broken in to, or the site of where the next prom will be because it gives them the opportunity to put themselves, the viewer, into that area and imagine what it is like there.

Sound bites are always better than just written quotes. Sure, you can be affected by a police chief talking about how heroic that man in Brazil was in saving some deaths, but nothing beats that same police chief showing his expression in his voice and how happy he could be more so than just writing it down.

The print stories are always so at length, and sometimes the reader loses track of the point of the story. In both tv and radio, the stores the media presents are crisp, short, always getting right to the point to show the reader why they should care.

In conclusion, many different factors decide why a news story on television and radio is significantly better than the same story in print.

Features > News Stories

What makes a news story different than a feature story?

News stories are much different than features in several ways. They are more formal always saying Mr. This and Mrs. That. They get out the story quicker and focus on the most important facts. Features are more informal and get to know the person before delivering their point.

News stories are always on your television, radio, or print media, almost always the same types of stories. Features are more focused on one topic, or person, and are very lengthy. News stories are always short and get right to the point. Features always have a large background section and talk at length either in an interview or with an anecdote before getting to the focus structure of the piece.

Features are just more interesting and attract more of an audience than regular news stories. I feel as if everyone would get tired of hearing about a reoccurring story about a man who tried to rob a convenient store and got caught later by police. Features are more attractive when talking about a collegiate football like Mark Herzlich who had to spend a year out of football at Boston College, then heroically coming back and predicted to be drafted in the National Football League.

Overall, features are just better than news stories. They don’t always come out like regular stories on the news each day, so they are more interesting and have more content. They are so informal because the writer always gets to know the person, which gives the reader a sense of knowing the person being featured themselves rather than a reporter talk to one person involved in their story and report that story in under a minute and a half.

Obits tell the story of legends

What makes a good obituary? Why do readers/viewers read and watch them?

Obituaries are particularly interesting because they tell the story of the recently deceased person. They bring attention to the family that is suffering through this tragedy and tell who will survive the person that just passed. Obituaries point out what was fascinating about the person who passed, and bring a positive attention to the person and give a positive affect to the reader.

Obituaries are interesting to me because I get to read about the person who died, many times people I never knew. For example, if I did not know the last living person who served in World War II and they passed, I would want to read about their service and their life—this is what an obituary are for.

They attract people to read about the family that is going through a tough loss at the time, and can give them positive attention and support for the families so it will be easier for them to cope with the loss of a family member.

Lastly, I enjoy obits because they tell all the fascinating points in the deceased person’s life, and I like reading them and it gives the reader a sense of imagery to how this person lived their life up to their death.

In conclusion, I find obituaries to be particularly interesting because they help the family gain positive attention. They help people get a feeling of how the deceased person lived their life, and show the interesting points.

All of the Pieces together tell the story

What makes a good multi-media piece?

A good multimedia piece includes text, video, photography, graphics and audio all in one, where none are redundant and each piece presents new information. This means that each piece should tell a new part of the story rather than them being essentially the same thing. In this type of piece a user is able to choose which they want to watch in any order. In a good piece, all included are all interesting to the viewer and the viewer is interested enough to watch, listen, and click on all of them. The Internet makes this easy to do, because you can include all of these factors on one page, with text in the background and other links the viewer is able to click.

Multi-media pieces are a new wave in making news more entertaining and interesting to view. It makes things more interactive, and more young people will be able to pay attention for longer.

What makes a good radio/TV news story? How is it different than print?

Although they all attempt to accomplish the same basic thing, radio news, TV news, and print news all differ from the other in a very significant way. For starters, Radio/TV news story are much more concise than a print story. Since radio and TV news reports are often on a time crunch, they tend to be significantly more succinct then print. Written news, on the other hand, has a little more lee-way – despite limits on space and word count, written stories tend to be substantially longer than TV and Radio reports. Not only that, but the elements used to communicate and create the stories in radio and TV are much different. For example, TV news stories have the ability to use both visual images and sounds to emphasize and highlight the action. Radio news, as well, has the ability to use that audio aspect, something print news cannot. Since written news can’t use audio and visual, it has to effectively and efficiently create and illustrate the story through words.

With that, a good radio/TV news story is one that utilizes all the elements. Not only should the report effectively answer all the basic questions of the story: who, what, when, where, why, and how; but it should also take advantage of the visual and audio privileges, using sounds, images, and footage to make the report both exciting and memorable.

No bias in news stories

What is good public relations? How does writing for PR differ from writing news?

Good public relations is having the public approve and be happy with the company you work for, even if you do something wrong. Good PR is keeping the public informed with what you are doing by writing press releases and advertising all of the good things your company is doing. When companies have scandals, good public relations become harder to have but this is when you can truly tell how good you are at PR work.

Writing for PR is different from writing for news because the who, what, where, when, why and how does not go at the very beginning, you can include these factors throughout the release. It is not written in inverted pyramid style, so important information can be throughout the release rather than most important first, like in a news story. PR releases also always have a bias towards the company, where as news stories are not supposed to have one.

Writing a Good Obituary

Death is never an easy aspect of life to overcome. With that in mind, it is important that when dealing with the subject, as touchy as it may be, that the author writes good obituary to display significance of the deceased.

When writing an obituary, it is pivotal to know and understand who the individual is. An obituary that is poorly written or written with incorrect statements is very disrespectful and can cause more issues. While containing all the basic information -- name, age at death, date, etc. -- a good obituary will display the positives of the individuals life, including accomplishments and the impact he/she had on both individuals and society alike. Likewise, including topics such as hobbies can really draw more respect from the readers. It shows the audience that the person was active and wasn’t wasting his/her life away. Lastly, a key aspect is to let the audience know who the deceased is “survived by.” This means that you are telling the readers who the deceased has left behind (i.e. Mr. Smith is survived by his wife, Laura Smith).

People read the obituaries for a variety of reasons. Some may be old themselves and are reading to see if they know any of the deceased or in small towns, individuals are reading the obituaries because they know the majority of the town members. Whatever the reason may be, it is important that the obituaries are written correctly and respectfully.

Makings of a feature story

A good feature can grab the attention of the audience without piling all the information in the beginning of the story. Even more, a feature includes outside information that isn’t normally included in news stories, and address all aspects of the story. When writing a feature, the author can include a lot more detail and information, while making a longer story for the audience. A feature story allows the writer to include excess information that wouldn’t normally be in one of the succinct news stories. This can include various outside sources, references, quotes, and opinionated pieces. Likewise, the format of the story doesn’t have to be the same ‘inverted pyramid’ style that a regular news story is in.

A news story on the other hand, is very brief and factual. With the ‘inverted pyramid’ style, the writer puts the key information in the beginning of the article, in order to ensure the attention of the audience. A news story must only contain factual information that briefly, but clearly explains the story. Also, regular news stories contain the most important information in the lede of the story.

Radio/Television vs. Print

A good radio/television is more complicated to create than what meets the eye. With the audience being able to use multiple senses to acquire information, the broadcasting networks must appeal to them.

However, radio/television stories are usually on the shorter end of the spectrum, meaning the networks have less time to project the information to the audience. With print stories, the author writes an article and it goes on a website or in a newspaper for the audience to maybe read. These print stories are often seen as boring, when they could be watching the story and getting audio/video clips. Television stories, on the other hand, usually contain audio clips as well as visuals, while also addressing the same information that is in the print stories.

Moreover, it is often difficult, with a deadline, to prepare television stories to go on air. With an article, the deadline must be met by having the writing prepared, but a television story must have the correct timing for the audio clips and visuals.

What makes a news story different than a feature story?

There are a lot of differences between feature stories and news stories. The two follow very different writing styles. For example, in a feature story the writer doesn’t need to be so direct with the writing. A feature can have more detail and can be significantly more elaborate and descriptive, not worrying about getting all the key information out in the lede. A feature story is not written in the inverted pyramid format, but instead the “feature approach”.

A news story, on the other hand, has many constraints. It needs to be succinct and factual, as well as very direct and informative. News stories are written for the purpose of reporting on current events as quickly, briefly, and concise as possible. Unlike a feature story, people read hard news stories for the purpose of learning about current events and happenings, while feature stories, on the other hand, are read for pleasure. Feature stories are often written on specific subjects, intended for a specific demographic.

Both stories are written for very different purposes, but at the same time it would be extremely difficult to have one without the other. Its important for newspapers to have the balance between news and entertainment in order to satisfy all of the readers needs.

What Makes a Good Obituary?

When writing an obituary, the writer should apply the same standards as for other stories. The author should begin by answering these questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. A distinguishing characteristic of the persons life should be mentioned; such as volunteer service, and unusual or important job, service in public office, or having a name of historical significance. Writing approaches can be varied for obituaries and life story as for any other news story. When writing an obituary, all facts should be checked, such as the spelling of names, addresses, and the deceased’s age against the birth date. The funeral home should always be called to confirm the death as well. The writer should also avoid words that are meant for a eulogy, for those words are not appropriate in a news report. The writer should also be careful with religious terms in order not to offend. When including the cause of the death, the reporter should make sure to contact the mortuary, the family, the attending physician, and the appropriate medical officer; only leaving out the cause of death if none of these sources release the information. It’s also important to consider the cause itself, if it’s something a family may not want published then the reporter should not insist. The most important thing for a reporter to consider when dealing with obituaries is that they are very sensitive and complicated reports, and should be handled with a lot of care.

Physicalities Over Skill: What Makes a good radio/TV story?

The realm of radio and television news is a lot more complex than its hard print brethren. Not only are the deadlines oftentimes more precise, due to having to be done in time for a certain or multiple daily broadcasts as compared to one daily, weekly, or monthly print, but the voice of the speaker plays a major role. For both radio and television, the speaker telling the audience must speak with confidence, punctuality and minimal error so that the story comes across smooth. If the speaker’s voice isn’t up to par with the piece that they are trying to say, the broadcast can become uninteresting or even worse, inaccurate. But television is even one step higher. Not only do the speakers have to have great voices, but physical appearance also plays a role. If you think of many great newscasters, they are good-looking and will more times than not wear makeup. If a newscaster doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing to the audience, they may be less likely to listen to them communicate the news.

Getting in Your Fifteen Seconds of Fame in..... in Five??

No I’m not literally referring to the news making you more famous, but the ideal of this title does hold a lot of the same principles of fame. News as a genre, is fast paced and ever-changing so you must be able to quickly gather information for and write your story in a quick amount of time. But the key thing that makes a news story different from a feature story is the punctuality. Oftentimes news stories are brief, containing minimal sentences and taking up small amounts of time on radio or television shows. Seeing as how these stories must be fit into a smaller space, they must contain only contain the most important information. The who, what, when, where, why and how must be given to the audience as quick as possible, and then if there is more time or room for the story, more information can follow. This is different from a feature story because in most cases a feature story wants to have equally pertinent information throughout the story, making the audience want to make it the whole way through the story.

Short, not always sweet

What makes a good radio/TV news story?

To craft a ‘good’ story for a broadcast medium, one has to keep brevity in mind. Not only do TV and radio stations have a limited amount of time in which to tell their stories, they must also grab the audience’s attention in this amount of time. To do this, the stories presented must be succinct and brief. The story needs to be able to be delivered in as little as four sentences. Thus, the writer must work on condensing his or her lede to include the most essential information. A good TV or radio story doesn’t try to say everything at once—it says as much as it can in the limited amount of time it has.

Delivery

What makes a good radio/tv news story? How is it different than print?

A good radio/tv news story, like print, has to have all of the news elements such as how "new" it is, how relevant it is, how it effects it's audience, how much its audience cares about the subject, and so on.

However contrary to print the person who delivers the news is important. In radio the person must have a nice and clear voice, and in television the person must not only have a nice and clear voice, they must also look nice as well.

Although these things should not matter, they do because the ratings are higher when someone looks better, and this intern earns the station more money. Most news stations are not driven by profit however they do need to earn enough to sustain the business and in this economy that is very difficult.

Which Would You Rather?

What makes a news story different than a feature story?

A feature story can break a few rules that the news story must follow. For instance, a feature story does not have to be direct and to the point. There are less constraints on the length of a feature story than that of a news story. The style of writing is also different. While writing a feature story, one can be elaborative and descriptive. A news story needs to be concise and factual. A feature is not written in the inverted pyramid style like the news story and so it takes more time to get all the information out of it.

A feature story and a news story are read for different reasons as well. Typically, news stories are read just to give the reader his or her daily dose of the happenings of the world as quickly as possible. People read a feature however, for pleasure and because they are interested in a certain subject. Features are enjoyable reads and that is why journalists should be more careful while writing them.

Conforting Obituaries

What makes a good obituary? Why do readers/ viewers read and watch them? In order to write a good obituary, there is a long list of things that the writer should be careful not to forget. An obituary should include the name of the person, the time and place of birth and death, cause of the death, where he or she died, the names of the relatives, time and place of the funeral. Then, the writer usually includes personal achievements of the deceased, where he or she lived, the occupation, any hobbies or talents and more often than not a picture. A picture allows the reader to connect with person in question. The writer should be careful not to include any information that family or friends of the person would find offending. An example would be not to include details or explanations as to how the person died especially if it is related to illegal practices. People like reading obituaries because they are a sign of respect and they are moral support for the relatives. Good obituaries will portray the person in a sincere and favorable light and that will give a sense of comfort to the people who knew the deceased.

Inspiring Speeches

What makes a speech or meeting story interesting? How can a writer prepare? Speeches are interesting for numerous reasons. First of all speeches are meant to convey a message to a group of people. Whether, the speech is political, personal or about a social phenomenon, it has to follow certain criteria that are required to produce an excellent speech. All of them must begin with a strong opening statement that introduces the topic. Language must be clear and easy to comprehend. Most importantly, speeches must show passion in order to really touch the audience. There are many speeches over the course of history made by presidents or prominent social figures that have made a difference in the world or at least in a nation. These include Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech or Eleanor Roosevelt’s speech On United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. A writer needs to take all these aspects in consideration in order to prepare for a good speech. It is important that both the writer of the speech and the speaker take time to work on the speech together because the speaker must feel the emotion and believe in the ideas conveyed by the written piece. Otherwise the speech will not be successful.

What type of reader is it for?

What makes a news story different than a feature story?

A news story gives straight facts about something that has just happened whereas a feature story does not have to be about something that just happened. A feature story sometimes includes a profile, or a story within a story, and is typically much longer than a news story.

A news story gives you the facts of what happened and then it is done. A feature does not have to give all of the information up front and does not typically utilize inverted pyramid style like a hard news story does; it gives you important and interesting information throughout the piece.

News stories are made for the reader to quickly be able read and get a lot of information out of a little amount of words. In a news story you should be able to simply read the lede and get the story. A feature is written for the reader who is more interested in the topic and wants to read the whole article to learn more.

Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die

A good obituary does a couple of things. The first thing a good obituary does is inform the reader of all basic information about the person, including name, age, date and cause of death, etc. A good obituary also gives us the who cares factor, explaining why this person should be remembered. It tells you what the person did to make them a prominent person, proving why they should be remembered.

But an obituary is much more than stating facts and accolades. In the obituary you must communicate to the reader the emotions and actions of the person who you are writing about. Have the obituary turn the person into a character that you can forever see and remember in your mind.

People like to look at obituaries because they like to know what people did throughout their lives and how they will be remembered. They also watch to see if there are any people that they know of that have died.

Add Some Flair To It

Writing is a very powerful tool that can bring the most ordinary and boring subjects to life. With that being said, how can a journalist bring life to a story about a meeting or a speech? The simplest way to bring these stories to life is to add some flair to the piece. The best way to do this would be to have a specific angle on the story, whether it is using the speech to communicate a product they are introducing or showing people how a new budget for their state could affect them.

The best way for a journalist to prepare for one of these stories is simple. First the journalist should thoroughly research what the speech or meeting will be about. Nothing is more embarrassing than showing up to a speech with no idea on what the speaker’s speech is about.

The other big thing to prepare you for writing one of these pieces is to have an idea on how you want to angle your story. It will be much easier to take quotes and begin the writing process if you already know what you want to write about specifically.

What Makes a Speech or Meeting Story Interesting? How can a writer prepare?

To make a speech or meeting story interesting, the first thing the writer wants to do is write a good lede to get the reader hooked. A good writer also knows how to make boring topics interesting, they can do this by making the topic relatable and relevant to readers, making it a story the reader actually wants to read.

Writers also have to thoroughly prepare to write a speech or meeting story. A writer can prepare for a speech by getting a sufficient amount of background information on the speaker. It is important to make sure the speaker is identified correctly. Also, the writer should contact the sponsoring organization in advance to attempt to get a copy of the speech and identify the speaker’s topic. The writer may also want to contact the reader ahead of time to interview them if necessary.

For meeting stories, the writer should get the meeting agenda in advance. It’s also important to answer questions such as: who are the people holding the meeting? What kind of organization is it? Who are the key figures? What are the main issues being discussed? Etc.

Taking all these factors into consideration will help the writer to create the most interesting and accurate story; two factors that are extremely important to the success of both the story and the writer.

Obits

Ideas for a good obituary

For the obituary story, i was thinking of many people, but i am still unable to decide on one person at this time.

For the first person i thought of was Brian Daubach. He is alive, he used to play for the Red Sox, and he is one of my favorite athletes of all time.

Another icon that comes to mind is Bill Belichick. He is so intelligent, and so mysterious. Obviously, the man is alive, and will be around for some time. Belichick just interested me, so i thought of him as a potential choice.

The last person i was thinking of was Edgar Allan Poe. He died some time ago, but i always got into his works as a poet, and enjoy reading about his relation to the cities of Boston and Baltimore.

For my obitiaury, i have considered many people, and i have now mentioend three potential candidates that i would select to write about for the assignment. I am not at all close to deciding, but will do so by wednesday.

I hope you enjoy the people i mentioned, and i look forward to your comments.

Be careful what you include and do not

What makes a good obituary? Why do readers/viewers read and watch them?

A good obituary contains the name, address, occupation, age, cause, date, place of death, names of relatives, time/place of the funeral, the burial site, and the biographical information of the deceased. Typically a picture is also included so that the readers feel like they knew the person, even if they didn't and if they did then they enjoy seeing who exactly it was that died. Obituaries are difficult to write because if you get information wrong people will be very upset with you, and you have to be careful about the information that you include, even if it is right. For example people do not want you to include that it was a suicide, or that it had to do with illegal drugs, they are still too sensitive for that.

People read them because they are typically in local papers and locals want to know who died because they may know them or have a connection to them. Family and friends of the deceased also want to have to obituary as a sign of respect and something they can keep of their loved one.