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Instructor Resources
ASSIGNMENT 1
From the set of facts provided below, write two 180-word stories - each with a different focus. The Facts: It discusses sexually transmitted diseases (STDs): chlamydia, genital herpes, body lice and venereal diseases. It describes chlamydia as a bacterial parasite that usually produces no symptoms in affected people but can lead to sterilization in women if left untreated.
The health service director Ellen Jones said: "It seems much easier to have sex with people than to talk about having sex. There are some students on this campus who didn't even know the name of their sexual partners."
The report is on the number of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) diagnosed on campus so far this school year. There are 50 cases so far this school year (near the end of the first semester), and the report estimates the number could reach 100 by the end of the school year.
Jones said the college is launching an aggressive information program about STDs and how to prevent their spread. The program includes lectures in the dorms by health service personnel, an hour-long movie available to professors to show in class and the distribution of pamphlets about STDs and their symptoms.
According to the health service report, the number of STDs reported for the four years prior to the latest results was 20, or about five a year.
Jones said the college is expanding its hours for STD testing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. She said the tests are free and the results are confidential.
According to the report, City University (across town from State College) has recorded 100 STD cases on campus since the beginning of its school year.
Note to instructors: Two distinct approaches to the story, each with a different focus, are noted below.
1. The news story
There are 50 students suffering from genital herpes, body lice, chlamydia or venereal diseases this semester, the report states. That compares to 20 STD cases reported in the prior four years, or about five a year.
(And the story continues.)
2. The college news service release
The program includes a dormitory lecture, an hour-long movie to be shown in some classes and expanded hours for free and confidential testing at the college health service.
(And the story continues.)
Additional note to instructors: The suggestions below further connect this assignment to concepts from other "Writing Across the Media" chapters.
1. Recall Chapter 2: "Writing with Responsibility," which discusses tasks for ethical media writers. If truth telling is one of the ethical prescriptions, is the ethical writer obligated to note the dramatic increase in the number of STDs in the college news service report (see pages 38 - 39)? If so, how high in the story should it be?
2. Recall Chapter 3: "Writing for Audiences," which focuses on understanding the various media and identifying audiences for each (see pages 61 - 64). Are there different audiences for the college newspaper and a public relations release from the college's new service? What are the different goals for the media writer in each instance?
3. Recall Chapter 4: "Writing and Gathering Information," which presents the basics of information gathering (see pages 79 - 85). How would the media writer gather information about a rumored increase in sexually transmitted diseases on campus? What documents would the writer seek? What agencies would the writer call? Which people would the writer interview? What questions would the writer ask?
4. Recall Chapter 5: "Writing the Opening," which explains how to write openings for articles, ads and broadcast stories. From the facts presented about the increase in STDs on campus, most media writers would choose a summary lead for a basic news story in the college paper (see pages 103 - 105). What other leads could the writer fashion if she or he had more information and were writing a more elaborate story? ASSIGNMENT 2
From the facts provided below, write two basic stories:
Troy Smith's thumb is bitten off by a mountain lion or cougar. He was treated and released from Frank Howard Memorial Hospital, as was Kathleen Jones. The cat bit her on the left forearm.
The animal is dead. The Smiths and Jones' husband managed to subdue the cat and Mrs. Smith stabbed it.
The four people are awakened when the Smith's collie started barking about 4:30 a.m. today. All four go outside with weapons — a shovel, hatchet, kitchen knife and a length of lead pipe — and the cougar runs under the cabin. The collie has several bites on his muzzle — none serious. The four then build a fire to keep warm. While they are standing next to it, the cougar emerges from under the cabin and lunges at Kathleen Jones. Then the Smiths and Jones' husband jump the cat and Mrs. Smith stabs it to death with a kitchen knife. The California Department of Natural Resources (DNR) takes the carcass of the female mountain lion to Sacramento for an autopsy, to check for rabies.
Robin Smith has this to say in an interview: "We were having a wilderness weekend. We just love the country. There are such rugged foothills and mysterious creek beds. It's like the Old West out here. I thought the cougar killed my dog. I was stabbing him like it did. I'm just glad we're alive because it was a close call. That cat was big, it was strong and it was aggressive."
The DNR reports another encounter with a mountain lion four months earlier. This one happened near Placerville, Calif., on a frequently used hiking trail. A jogger, Barbara Schoener, was attacked and killed by the cougar. It ate part of her body. Authorities later tracked down and killed the 80-pound cat.
Note to instructors: The stories below could have been written for this assignment.
1. The newspaper story
Troy and Robin Smith were staying at a cabin near Dos Rios, with their friends Chuck and Kathleen Jones. All four live in San Francisco. They were awakened about 4:30 a.m. when the Smith's collie got into a fight with the cougar and started barking.
The four went outside with weapons — a shovel, hatchet, kitchen knife and a length of lead pipe — and the cougar ran under the cabin. The collie sustained several bites on his muzzle.
The couples built a fire to keep warm. While they stood next to it, the cougar emerged and lunged at Kathleen Jones, biting her left forearm.
The Smiths and Jones' husband, Chuck, grabbed the cougar and Robin Smith stabbed it to death with the kitchen knife. In the struggle, the cat bit off Troy Smith's thumb. Both he and Mrs. Jones were treated and released from a nearby hospital.
"I thought the cougar killed my dog," Robin Smith said. "I was stabbing him like it did. I'm just glad we're alive because it was a close call. That cat was big, it was strong and it was aggressive."
California Department of Natural Resources officials took the dead cat to Sacramento for an autopsy, to determine whether it had rabies. They said this was the second mountain lion attack on a human in four months. The last one happened near Placerville, where a cougar attacked and killed a jogger, Barbara Schoener. Authorities later tracked down and killed the cat, which had eaten part of the victim's body
1. The anchor voice/over Additional note to instructors: The suggestions below further connect this assignment to concepts from other "Writing Across the Media" chapters.
1. Chapter 1: "Writing with Clarity and Coherence" discusses the need to use appropriate details in telling the story (see pages 19-22). In the mountain lion attack story, the newspaper writer uses more details than the television producer/writer. What are the essential details even the television writer should include? How about the kitchen knife? What details should the television writer ignore in the interest of brevity and clarity?
2. Chapter 4: "Writing and Gathering Information" suggests that media writers use a variety of sources before writing their stories (see pages 79-84). If the writer wanted to do a longer background story on mountain lion attacks, what sources should she tap? What data banks could he search? Which officials should she interview? How could he locate other attack victims?
3. Chapter 2: "Writing with Responsibility" stresses media writers obligations to tell the truth, and Chapter 4, "Writing and Gathering Information" stresses media writers obligations to gather accurate information about their topics. Have your students check government documents and/or online sources to determine if the mountain lion is on any endangered or protected species list. Have students determine what penalties exist for injuring or killing a protected species. Discuss how these new facts might change the emphasis of the story about the mountain lion attack.
4. Chapter 5: "Writing the Opening" outlines some traditional news values to guide the media writer in determining the importance of the story (see page 104). What elements make the mountain lion story newsworthy? How important is the story, really? Does the story have more important implications, beyond the single incident? What are they?
5. Chapter 7: "Writing with Visual and Audio Images" identifies the attributes of good storytelling in video scripts (see pages 157-161). In the mountain lion attack story, how does the broadcast script differ from the print version: in sentence length, choice of verbs and story tone?
You have come across a report from the State College health service.
The number of State College students diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease increased dramatically this year, according to a recent report from the college health service.
State College is launching an aggressive information program about sexually transmitted diseases and how to avoid them.
The Facts:
The people involved are Troy and Robin Smith and Chuck and Kathleen Jones, all of San Francisco, Calif. The location is a remote cabin near Dos Rios in Mendocino County in northern California. The incident is a mountain lion attack.
A man lost a thumb and a woman's arm was bitten when a mountain lion jumped them outside a remote cabin in northern California early this morning.
A MOUNTAIN LION ATTACKED A MAN LIVE ON ___________
AND WOMAN EARLY THIS MORNING
OUTSIDE OF A REMOTE CABIN IN _____________ READS
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
(VTR) TAKE VTR NAT SOUND
THE FEMALE CAT TORE OFF TROY Shots of two victims
SMITH'S THUMB AND CHEWED ON
KATHLEEN JONES' FOREARM BEFORE
THEIR SPOUSES SUBDUED THE COUGAR
AND STABBED IT TO DEATH - WITH A Cover of the dead cat
KITCHEN KNIFE.
THE TWO SAN FRANCISCO COUPLES Wide shots of country
WERE STAYING AT A CABIN NEAR & cabin
DOS RIOS WHEN THE COUGAR ATTACKED Shots of the dog
THE FAMILY COLLIE.
THEY RAN OUTSIDE AND AS THEY WAITED, The two couples
THE COUGAR LUNGED AT KATHLEEN JONES. waiting
THE OTHERS JUMPED ON THE CAT AND
ROBIN SMITH STABBED IT.
BOTH VICTIMS WERE TREATED AND
RELEASED FROM A NEARBY HOSPITAL.
DNR OFFICIALS TOOK THE DEAD CAT FOR Officials loading
AN AUTOPSY, TO CHECK FOR RABIES. cat in truck
THEY SAY THIS IS THE SECOND MOUNTAIN
LION ATTACK ON A HUMAN IN THE PAST
FOUR MONTHS. THE LAST ONE HAPPENED
NEAR PLACERVILLE, WHERE A COUGAR
KILLED A JOGGER.
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