Writing Across the Media: Ch4: Instructor Resources

Instructor Resources

ASSIGNMENT 1

Scene 1: You're a local television sports reporter. It's 1 p.m. on an otherwise slow Monday. You've just received a fax from the Athletic Director's office at a prominent local university, where the women's basketball team is undefeated three-quarters of the way through the season. The fax states the athletic director will hold a news conference at 3 p.m. today to discuss his decision to suspend the team's coach. Obviously, you've got a top story for your station's 6 o'clock newscast.

1. What information gathering or interviewing via phone will you do in the hour or two you have before the news conference?
2. List five questions you want to ask the athletic director at the news conference.

Scene 2: You've just returned from the news conference, where you learned that the athletic director suspended the female coach because she has been arrested and charged with stalking and sexually harassing a man who is assistant coach of the university's men's soccer team. The suspended coach and her alleged victim are unavailable for comment, but you've got sound bites from the athletic director. You've got precious little time to organize and write your story, but one of your colleagues offers to make a couple of quick calls for you to provide additional information or comments on the situation.

1. Who do you want your colleague to call? Why? What do you want her to ask?

Scene 3: You've just wrapped up the sports segment on your station's 6 o'clock newscast, where you presented a basic story reporting the coach's suspension, using the athletic director's explanation. You also included a comment from the district attorney explaining the potential penalty if the coach is convicted. Now you've got to look ahead to the 10 o'clock newscast, where you hope to report additional information.

1. The coach and her alleged victim are unavailable for comment, and you've used the athletic director's comments on your early report. Who do you want to interview now? Why? What questions would you ask?

Scene 4: It's the next day. Your 10 o'clock story the night before included reactions from the team's players and from other athletic department staff members. You reported who's taking over coaching duties and when the team plays next. Now you're thinking of a second-day follow-up story for tonight's newscasts. One of your newsroom colleagues says she thinks the coach's arrest is one of the first half-dozen or so under your state's relatively new stalking law. You decide to pursue that angle.

1. Where do you turn for information about the stalking law? Why? What do you want to know about it?
2. Another colleague mentions that he thinks it's unusual for a woman to be charged with harassing a man. You don't know if he's right, but you decide to pursue the idea. What information sources do you consult before you do any interviews? What do you want to learn? Later, who do you interview? What do you ask?

Note to instructors: The suggestions below further connect this assignment to concepts from other "Writing Across the Media" chapters.
1. Chapter 2: "Writing with Responsibility" discusses the ethical duty of doing no harm (see pages 41-43). What ethical harms potentially exist at each stage of this scenario? Why? How can the responsible reporter avoid them?
2. Chapter 2 also discusses the problems of libelous depictions (see the "Writing Tips" box at p. 40) and the pitfalls of stereotypical language (see the "Writing Tips" box at p. 44). How might a careless reporter libel or stereotype in reporting this scenario? How might the responsible reporter avoid the traps of libel and stereotyping?
3. Chapter 5: "Writing the Opening" discusses six traditional news values (see the "Writing Tips" box at page 104). Discuss which of these values is most prominent at each stage of this scenario and why.
4. Chapter 6: "Writing Basic Stories" examines how writers find a focus for their stories using words and pictures (p. 129-134). Identify the focus of the story at each stage of this scenario and outline the basic story that would result.
5. Chapter 7: "Writing with Visual and Audio Images" discusses the broadcast writer's need for "striking pictures" (p. 164-165) and natural sound (p. 165-168). Aside from the sound bites gathered at the news conference or in interviews, what pictures and natural sound might the reporter use to illustrate this story at each stage of the scenario? Why?

ASSIGNMENT 2

You're a public relations writer for Giant Diversified Corporation, a publicly traded Fortune 100 company that manufactures athletic apparel and equipment, publishes magazines and books, owns two professional sports franchises, operates a 400-store chain of department stores, distributes computer software programs and runs a nationwide chain of fast-food restaurants. You've been assigned to write a news release announcing that __________ has accepted a position on the company's board of directors effective immediately.

Instructors may assign students the name of a prominent newsmakers. Examples include:
1. Alfonse D'Amato, former U.S. senator from
    New York
2. Michael Jordan, six-time NBA champion and MVP
3. Mary Matalin, Republican political strategist
4. Mike McCurry, former White House press
    secretary
5. Carole Mosley-Braun, former U.S. senator
    from Illinois
6. Bill Paxon, former U.S. representative from
    New York
7. Ann Richards, former governor of Texas
8. John Thompson, former Georgetown University
    men's basketball coach
9. Greta Van Susteren, CNN legal affairs analyst
10. Tom Wolfe, award-winning author

Part 1: Use any combination of commercial databases, online sources, government documents and biographical sources available in the library to answer the following questions about the new director:

1. What is his or her complete name?
2. What is his or her date and place of birth?
3. What is his or her educational background,
including degrees attained?
4. What is his or her career history?
5. What is his or her most recent employment?

After each answer, list the complete source where you obtained the answer.

Part 2: Write a 250-word news release announcing the new director's appointment.

Additional note to instructors: The suggestions below further connect this assignment to concepts from other "Writing Across the Media" chapters.
1. Chapter 2: "Writing with Responsibility" covers the media writer's ethical obligation to tell the truth (p. 38-41). What if you turn up something in the new director's background that reflects poorly on him or her? How do you handle it, particularly in light of your job as a public relations writer?
2. Chapter 3: "Writing for Audiences" focuses on understanding various media formats and their audiences. In this assignment, your audience is comprised of journalists you hope will cover the announcement. How would you tailor your news release to target the specific concerns of journalists? How would your writing and information selection differ if you were writing a story about the announcement for a company newsletter issued daily to employees via electronic mail? How would your writing and information selection differ if you were writing a feature-length article for the monthly magazine the company mails to its investors?