Readings—Week-by-Week

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Suggested Readings

There are no tests on the readings (or anything else) in this class, but everyone benefits from review and refresher from time to time. In some class sessions, if you want, I can talk about interviewing skills or we can critique a Pulitzer-winning piece of writing to see how they wrote the story. But generally, these readings are intended as resources for you to remember stuff that may have become rusty. Frankly, I reread some of this stuff from time to time, too, just because it’s useful and interesting.

Wk1
Warm-up: • Colbert on Global Warming: Stephen Colbert examines student expectations.
Refreshers: • AP Style Starters: A listing of some of the most commonly used (and misused) entries in your AP Stylebook
• Inverted pyramid: A refresher on story structure
• Morbid Language: Why is so much of journalism terminology so grim?

Wk2 Refreshers:
• Leads, quotes & nut grafs: Some pointers on constructing leads, setting up quotes, and the essential but under-utilized nut graf.
• More on leads
• Story building blocks—Bill Blundell: A top reporter explains the questions he asks himself for every story.
• Journalistic Principles: Journalism is not just about breaking news—the press serves an essential function in a free society, and we have responsibilities to remember.
Fun:
• Accidental Language: Just for fun, examples of how imprecise use of language can get you in trouble.

Wk3
Refreshers:
• News Primer: Remembering what is news, and why.
• Chancellor & Mears on leads: Two newsmen at the top of their games discuss how the start a story—even veteran journalists are constantly refining their craft.
• More on nut grafs: Very useful information, discussion and details on creating effective nut grafs.
• SPJ Ethics Code: The rules of the road for responsible journalism.
Fun:
• News Quiz: The Pew Center asks you to compete with a nation to gauge your news IQ

Wk4
Refreshers:
• The Fred Rule: How to decide on a lead? Ask Fred.
• The Parable of Michelangelo’s David: How do you decide what to put in your story and what to leave out?
• Speeches—Michael Gartner: An excellent speech on journalism (and annotated example of a speech story) by one of the great newsmen of recent years.
• Interviewing (Pease’s lecture notes): An outline of the components of the interview.

Wk5
Refreshers:
• More on Interviewing: More info on getting good stuff out of your sources.
• Interviewing Skills from NPR: Great tips and insights into the interviewing process.
Resources:
• Pulitzers—Issues & Features: Discussion of the 2 Big Stories you’ll do.
• Story Ideas: Here”s an example of how to develop a story.
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