Presentation Transcript

1. Writer’s Workshopfall 2011

   How to: Professional Emailing, Interviewing and Writing for The Pioneer Log
2. Emailing Emailing is one of the most commonly used modes of contact when you are trying to put together a story. This does not mean it should be casual. Always ask them directly what you want to know, express when you want to know it by, and give them ALL the possible ways to get in touch with you that you feel comfortable so that you can get the most information possible. There is a difference between arts, sports and features emails and news Arts, sports & features you should have some background knowledge, and address that in your statement Ex: I know you have worked on The Ex-Boyfriend Cookbook, and have been an influence on the literary arts in the Portland Public School district for several years now, but can you tell me specifically… News, you should address the event or people involved, but play as dumb as possible to get as much information as possible Ex. Regarding the incident on Friday, can you elaborate on the situation and who was involved… Emails should follow a similar format to a formal letter:
3. Email Template Good (time of day) (name), I'm a writer for the Pioneer Log (at Lewis & Clark College) and was wondering if I could get all the possible details/thoughts/insights on (topic of article, date of event, etc), so we can publish an article on it. I know/or don’t know (about this event/person/topic). What? Why? Who? How? What else?* If we could meet for an interview before (date you’d like to meet before) that would be greatly appreciated, otherwise, please email me with information, or we may conduct a phone interview. Thank you for your time, I look forward to speaking with you.  Best, (Your full name) *There should always be something else that was not specified in your previous research…always ask further!
4. Quotations from the Internet The Internet is wonderful-fabulous-ridiculously useful; use it, but in order to do so, you must give your source credit Ex. According to The Source, Barry Glassner eats five apples a day. On the group’s website, beehivecollective.com, they explain the artist’s drawing method… You do not have to cite them as you would in a paper- just credit them.
5. Interviews Always contact your potential interviews the DAY you are assigned the story Always opt for a face-to-face interview, if that’s not available offer a phone interview, and email interview should be your last choice. Interview as many people as relevant for your story
6. Examples per Section News: Should have EVERY side of the story Ex. Story: Car wreck in Pamplin Parking Lot Who you talk to: Campus Safety- to find out the report as given by the people who answered to the scene, the cars involved-to find out BOTH sides of why the wreck happened, student witnesses-to get the detailed event, Facilities- to see what measures are being taken to improve safety Opinions: Similar to news, especially if the facts someone has are relevant to your argument Ex. Story: PioPoints Who you talk to: The kid that won the iPad Quote: This is an incentive to get better in school, “I will use this iPad all the time to help with my notes in class,” said Bubba Gump.
7. Examples continued… Features: Same as news- get all the information you can about what you are reviewing or explaining Sports: Should talk to players as soon as you can- if you can follow a player off the court to get their true emotions- It’s tough, but it makes for some juicy quotes Talk to the coach to get his perspective- schedule an interview as soon as you can
8. Purpose… As you’re talking to someone watch their face, see what they’re not telling you and then ask about it. Body language says a lot. Always ask the 5 W’s and H, and then elaborate. Ask all the questions you possibly could- have a conversation more than an interview- you’ll get more out of it. If they mention other people involved, try to get contact information, especially full spellings of names, where they work or what class they are in. Always come prepared with at least 10 questions, and you should always leave with at least 5 more than that answered We have a recorder in the office- record on your phones, computers, or type your interviews if you can write faster than you type.
9. Basic Rules of Writing Tell a NEW story Tell the truth Keep Interest Use effective quotes Stay Unbiased Be concise
10. News
11. Use the “inverted pyramid” format Include the most important information at the beginning of the story and less important information at the end. This is the most efficient way to convey information to the reader and allows the story to be shortened easily, if needed. Use concise leads. Include the who, what, when, where and why in one or two sentences. Example: “Campus security arrested two students outside of Templeton Student Center for vandalism Monday, Nov. 15.”

    Structure of a News Story

    Avoid passive voice Make the subject clear and replace are/is/were/be/etc. with more active verbs Example: Change “He was elected” to “the student body elected him.”
12. Sources & Interviews News should have TWO OR MORE SOURCES (aka interviews IN ADDITION to research) Schedule interviews well in advance; try to avoid email interviews Be professional in your correspondences Take detailed notes, esp. when writing down quotes from people Opinion should be expressed through quotes of interviewees, and not your own thoughts on the matter. Never use “I” or “you.” Use [brackets] to clarify quotes, not to add what you wish the person said.
13. Features
14. Writing for Features Features is a creative section so feel free to have fun with what you are writing Please don’t go so overboard that it becomes overloaded with unnecessary description (no one cares about the sunset when you went to the dilapidated lil’ Indian food cart- they care about the food cart) Examples of Leads: Boring: The restaurant was on the corner of the street. Exciting: We walked into a scene from Grease completed with the host, who had his hair slicked back, and a group of leather-jacketed “regulars” sipping black coffee at the bar, eating their waffles. Don’t forget to: Keep track of word count Have more than one source (if applicable) Spell-check If necessary, have the address and/or other important info like prices, hours etc
15. Reviews Please include: What you liked What you didn’t These can be about décor, food and/or waitstaff Put the necessary info at beginning (5 W’s & H) Creativity- you are trying to get people to try (or not) a restaurant. Don’t be boring. Pictures, pictures, pictures if at all possible. They add to the review immensely Important information for the readers (hours, prices, address etc) Don’t include: Assumptions- this is poor journalism Incorrect facts- so is this. Do your research, please. Obscure references- you want the reader to understand what you’re saying You can make critiques but please remember that well-established restaurants can recover from harsh criticism while mom ‘n’ pop joints have a harder time
16. Examples of Features stories articles about award winners or outstanding cases events that don’t fit into News, Arts or Sports (fine line) Interesting facts “How to” articles. Example, how to find an internship, how to write a resume etc. Spreads (a day with campus safety, 24 hours in Portland) Regular columns pertaining to people/events at LC or PDX. Example: perspectives, LC history, the Trimet Diaries, restaurant review.
17. Researching a Features story E-mail or call the people involved as soon as you receive your story to set up an interview. Arrange to meet for an interview in their office, at Maggies, in a quiet corner of Templeton, etc. Prepare interview questions before hand. Be extremely courteous. Say thank you at the beginning and the end. Smile and make eye contact… put the interviewee at ease. Record the interview if you can. AND/OR go to the event associated with the article, do the thing the article is about (eat at a restaurant, ride the Trimet), find information in the library or online Take careful notes
18. Writing a Features story Features stories have some flexibility. They can be creative… use scene, include some funny quotes, use humor. Format: some stories can be written in Q&A format, or incorporated in charts, or have few words and many pictures. Feel free to use first person when appropriate. But many Features stories are still in article form, and every article still needs a lead and a kicker.
19. Contact info Mari Yamato (mariy@lclark.edu) Laura Nash (lnash@lclark.edu) Let us know if you have any questions or article ideas!
20. Opinions
21. Opinion > Personal voice > NOT a description of your opinion > First person > Be direct > Be coherent > NOT a train of thought > Transitions > EXPLAIN what you’re thinking > Be responsible > Avoid libel > Write to convince > Speak for yourself > Use any style you can make work > Rant (if coherent) > Treatise (if actually compelling) > 5-paragraph Persuasive Essay from High School (if interesting)
22. How to write opinions! With opinions pieces you first and foremost have to have and state your opinion; start your article with what you are talking about and how you feel about it. Second you need to address all the information about your opinion so that people have the real facts as well, and not just your thoughts I hate _____ because…. I love_____ because….
23. For example: PioPoints SUCK by Lindsey Bosse You know how we’re all going to be paying off student loans until we finally get checked into assisted living homes by our children…well the good news is the school just bought five iPads to give out to already privileged freshman who just got brand new computers simply because they showed up at an E&D colloquium. Sometimes the logic in this school makes me want to vomit. Opinions…continued
24. From there I would talk about what the PioPoint program is, and then defend my point after stating the facts. Administrator Boohonky says that “this program will facilitate a more communal environment on campus and will help get first years out of their dorm rooms and onto campus.” This is a somewhat good idea, but whatever happened to free will and self-determination. If a student wants to go to a football game, then he or she should. Otherwise, in ten years, they’ll feel bad about sitting in their dorm rooms and staring at the brick, while the Pio’s were kicking ass and taking names. You can’t just have an article that says, “I hate PioPoints because when I was a freshman they didn’t have them and they are really dumb and stupid sauce.” And continued again…
25. Conclude in a way that will either completely wrap up your opinion and make the people want to believe you, or conclude in a way that invites people to be pissed off and write you back. Example: Basically PioPoints are sucking the individuality and drive out of students, which is just sad because this campus used to have an innumerable amount of activity-attending students. Now, students are only coming to events because they think they’ll leave in a shiny, red Corvet. Personally this is just an insult to me, as a student, because I always thought I was doing my part to be an activity monger on campus. Now I find that all my efforts mean nothing. Oila…now go get stoked or pissed off at something on campus, write 250-500 words about it and prepare for the epic tidal wave of “Letters to the Editor” that will follow your brilliant, witty, and informative opinion. PS remember to have fun with it, and to put YOU into the article. It’s your opinion…it’s no one else's, fight for it! And so….
26. Arts
27. Length Does Not = Quality Saying a lot in a small amount of space is a gift, embrace it. Don’t include shit just because you have it. Don’t quote something and then paraphrase it in the next sentence. Having lots of short articles allows us to have a more diverse arts section. Help us help you.
28. LEADS Your first sentence THIS IS SUPPOSED TO HOOK THE READER. In other words, this better be the best fucking sentence you write in the whole article. Give people a sense of what you’re writing about, but for chrissakes don’t spoon feed them. Ask yourself: what would make ME want to read this story? An encyclopedia definition or a witty commentary/ creative scene description?
29. Example of a terrible lead(pretend the article is about a local 6-piece metal band) “The local Portland band Filthy Table has five boys and one pretty girl in it, and everybody with ears loves their music.” ….. kill me.
30. Example of a way less shitty lead(this is still about the metal band) Filthy Table has been toeing the line between hardcore and hard-to-listen-to since the six-piece grunge outfit hauled their beaten instruments and bad attitudes to Portland over a decade ago… (the trick is to pretend that you are super familiar with the band, when in reality all you’ve done is listened to two songs off their myspace and read their way-too-short band bio. ka-chingggg)
31. Interviews Interviews are always great, but not required for reviews. For previews – YES! Once you have the reader with the hook, BOOM – you throw in a quote from an interview. When interviewing: 1) Record it 2) Get information people wouldn’t otherwise know. Think: Intention, motivations behind the work, inspiration, the process of creation, future goals.
32. SCENES You literally describe a scene involving your topic. DO THIS unless you’re just writing a 75-word event preview. Why do this? BECAUSE IT PUTS YOUR READERS INTO THE SITUATION YOU’RE WRITING ABOUT. IT MAKES THEM “FEEL” AND “UNDERSTAND” AND SHIT.
33. SCENE EXAMPLE “The Crystal was filled with 2000 heads that all had the exact same rat tail bobbing up and down enthusiastically in tune to Emily Hayne’s sultry and begging voice. Sweat dripped from every lesbian and wanna-be lesbian’s forehead, including Haynes, who looked dead straight into the eyes of the audience, mid ‘Succexy’ and screamed with the passion of a woman preorgasm, ‘Damn, it’s fucking hot y’all.’ ” See? You’re like… there… as a reader. It’s great.
34. Vary the Pronouns Let’s NOT do this: Charlie Fruitface ate so many fruit pies he received a gold medal in fruit digestion. Fruitface is now on the cover of Vogue magazine. This spring, Fruitface will be the special guest at a White House gala celebrating the many colors and shapes of fruit. Fruitface is so fruit-like he may one day become a fruit.
35. The Closer Last sentence Makes your article feel complete. There should be NO sense of longing or something missing once that sentence is read. Just like the lead, actually just like your entire article, this should not read like a dictionary. Either write something witty that sums up your point (“Next time you see Emilia Emmetti pointing at Andi Glaeser’s stomach saying “Mufasa,” just know it has a purpose.”) or include a little bonus informative tidbit (ex: “Oh, and don’t be late: the ticket price shoots up to eight dollars after 11 pm.”)
36. And lastly… Don’t ever copy another website’s description… this is called plagiarism. This is not an essay! You can relax! Every arts/features article should be interesting, creative, and most of all PERSUASIVE … but don’t use “I”. Pretend like your opinion is universal. “Cupcakes are god’s gift to underweight cavity seekers.” = yes “I like cupcakes and so should you lol” = no.
37. Sports

38. Got Game?

    Mike D’s sport’s writing compendium
39. The Basics Have a strong lead – “who, what, where, when and how.” Must emphasize an important or interesting aspect of the story. Write clearly and concisely – To the point. Stick to basic vocabulary. Know the context – know players, coaches and understand the game! Be sure to have a solid grasp on the sport your covering. *Pro Tip – DON’T INCORPORATE YOURSELF INTO THE ARTICLE
40. The Basics cont. Give the major play by play – Report basic chronology “beginning, middle and end” with details about major moments during them. Use quotes – Asked good questions of the players and coaches and you shall receive good answers to quote. Incorporate into the body of the article. Check your facts – ‘Nuff said.
41. Do NOT simply write down the stats and results of the game DO use them in the article, but focus on creating an interesting angle Angle Examples The Ugly: Volleyball lost, L&C sports thus sucks. The Bad: Volleyball lost, oops. The Good: Despite losing their last college game, Volleyball seniors were glad to have been apart of such a sisterhood. Angle *College sports articles are not subjugated to all confinements of a professional sports article. *Pro Tip: my examples are still rather bad.
42. Last Words Things to keep in mind when working on a sports article. Engage yourself, KNOW YOUR SUBJECT. Don’t simply write a story that recaps. Readers want to be able to read the article and FEEL like they are actually at the game! “IF YOU CARE, THEY’LL CARE,” Kristian Martin. Pro Tip: Read Scott Pisapia’s articles if you want a prime example of a damn good sports article.
43. Any problems? Don’t hesitate to ask us We hold office hours to help you write The most important thing is constant communication between your sources for your story and your editors to let them know how the story is going We love you.
44. Common Mistakes “Period outside quotations”. Should be “period inside quotations.” Apostrophe Direction (‘12) —Should be Apostrophe Direction (’12) Oxford comma, oxford comma, and oxford comma —Should be no oxford commas, no oxford comma and no oxford comma —Also applies with “or”
45. AP Style Months: (except March, April, May, June and July) abbreviated to 1st three letters before a date If not before a date, spell out whole month Dates: Only the numbers (ex: Jan. 15) Time: Should look like this8 p.m.
46. Italics vs. “Quotations” Book/Poem Titles “Article Titles” CD Titles “Song Titles” Tour Names “Panel Titles” Newspaper/Magazine Names “Chapter Titles” Symposia Names Things that are not italicized or put in quotations: Band Names Company Names Product Names
47. Numbers One-nine: spelled out 10-∞: numerals Percents: four-percent, 25-percent Fractions: one-third, fifteen-twelfths (always spelled out)