Here's a summary of our latest round of approved story pitches For Listen Up Lansing and Spartan Dispatches! They include ...
- Bar closing time in Fenton; too early or just right?
- Foreclosures in Detroit vs. suburbs
- Public schooling in Detroit vs. suburbs
- Pokemon Go; WTF?
- Hot summer is drying up lawns; what to do?
- How do summer activities help children stay out of trouble?
- Local reaction to national political conventions
- Is there enough affordable housing in Lansing?
Honestly, I think this is a really solid group of pitches. They are exactly the sort of pitches I was looking for. Here's some things to keep in mind as you start working on your next weekly stories:
1. Remember to get a wide range of sources! We need to talk to people leading the issues; people affected by the issues; and neutral experts like a university professor from any school who studies the topic area in which you're delving into.
Please review the earlier blog posts about range of sources and neutral expert of you need a bit of direction. And as always, you can contact me and we can brain-storm through this.
2. Do the interviews yourself! Don't cite other media or things you found online; all your sources should be people who you actually spoke to yourself. If you come across an interesting study or article don't cite the study or article; see who authored the study or who is quoted in the article and then contact those people yourself!
People need to be quoted by name; no anonymous sourcing, period. So be sure to get names, and double-check their spellings with your source.
3. Remember what you learned in JRN 200 doing out-of-class stories. The whole point of 200 was to give you a structure to use in 300. So recall what you learned about ledes and the body of the story and quotations and attribution and use that to put together your stories here.
4. Don't wait to work on this! Something you probably learned in 200 is that some sources can take a long time to get back to you. So don't wait on reaching out to them; start calling then ASAP. Likewise, don't wait to reach out to backup sources, as some of them may need time to get back to you, too.
The worst thing that happens if you put calls out to too many sources is that you have too much good info to use in your story, which is a good problem. A much better problem than being on deadline day and still having no sources.
5. Don't forget photos and graphics! Like fact boxes, Google maps, charts, etc. You need to make these photos, graphics and illustrations yourself; no taking stuff off the internet.
6. Follow style rules! Like AP style and story style guidelines that have been blogged about recently.
7. Double-check your facts carefully! Journalism isn't about writing; it's about getting it right.
8. Do not miss your story deadline! From here on out, whatever story you are working on is due the following Wednesday by 9 a.m. via email to omars@msu.edu. This latest story deadline is July 27, one week from this Wednesday. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW AND KEEP UP WITH DEADLINES! A full list of our summer deadline schedule is available by clicking here.
9. Don't forget your next story pitch deadline! From here on out, a pitch for your next story will be due every Tuesday. That means your next pitch is due July 26, via email to omars@msu.edu. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW AND KEEP UP WITH DEADLINES! A full list of our summer deadline schedule is available by clicking here.
For some of you, you still owe me a pitch for this week. Please get it to me ASAP. You will NOT get extra time to work on your story, so you are already behind.
10. Learn from this! Don't stress on your latest story, no matter how you do. Just learn from it: see what worked well and why, and then repeat those habits in future assignments; and see what didn't work well and make a mental note to do differently the next time around.
Any questions? Email, text or call me ASAP.
This week, I will be reviewing your latest out-of-class stories, sending you grades and comments, and posting your latest stories online on Wednesday and Thursday.
Good luck to all!
2. Do the interviews yourself! Don't cite other media or things you found online; all your sources should be people who you actually spoke to yourself. If you come across an interesting study or article don't cite the study or article; see who authored the study or who is quoted in the article and then contact those people yourself!
People need to be quoted by name; no anonymous sourcing, period. So be sure to get names, and double-check their spellings with your source.
3. Remember what you learned in JRN 200 doing out-of-class stories. The whole point of 200 was to give you a structure to use in 300. So recall what you learned about ledes and the body of the story and quotations and attribution and use that to put together your stories here.
4. Don't wait to work on this! Something you probably learned in 200 is that some sources can take a long time to get back to you. So don't wait on reaching out to them; start calling then ASAP. Likewise, don't wait to reach out to backup sources, as some of them may need time to get back to you, too.
The worst thing that happens if you put calls out to too many sources is that you have too much good info to use in your story, which is a good problem. A much better problem than being on deadline day and still having no sources.
5. Don't forget photos and graphics! Like fact boxes, Google maps, charts, etc. You need to make these photos, graphics and illustrations yourself; no taking stuff off the internet.
6. Follow style rules! Like AP style and story style guidelines that have been blogged about recently.
7. Double-check your facts carefully! Journalism isn't about writing; it's about getting it right.
8. Do not miss your story deadline! From here on out, whatever story you are working on is due the following Wednesday by 9 a.m. via email to omars@msu.edu. This latest story deadline is July 27, one week from this Wednesday. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW AND KEEP UP WITH DEADLINES! A full list of our summer deadline schedule is available by clicking here.
9. Don't forget your next story pitch deadline! From here on out, a pitch for your next story will be due every Tuesday. That means your next pitch is due July 26, via email to omars@msu.edu. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KNOW AND KEEP UP WITH DEADLINES! A full list of our summer deadline schedule is available by clicking here.
For some of you, you still owe me a pitch for this week. Please get it to me ASAP. You will NOT get extra time to work on your story, so you are already behind.
10. Learn from this! Don't stress on your latest story, no matter how you do. Just learn from it: see what worked well and why, and then repeat those habits in future assignments; and see what didn't work well and make a mental note to do differently the next time around.
Any questions? Email, text or call me ASAP.
This week, I will be reviewing your latest out-of-class stories, sending you grades and comments, and posting your latest stories online on Wednesday and Thursday.
Good luck to all!
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