Deck 13: What About Other Kinds of News Stories

Question 1

The information you gather for a story is likely to be grouped in your notes according to each source-and that's the best organization for the news story itself.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

A transition in a news story provides connections among sentences, thoughts and/or paragraphs.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A news story's structure and placement of sources have nothing to do with fairness.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Balance is the single most important element of good journalism.

Question 5

In our discussion of organizing news stories, a pod refers to which of the following?

A) A small cluster of related information
B) The core meaning behind each key quote
C) All the information that a journalist selects to go into a news story-as opposed to the larger set of quotes, facts and paraphrases in the journalist's notes
D) All of the above

Question 6

Which of the following is true about using transitions in a news story?

A) A transition may be just a conjunction to join two sentences, or it may be following up one paragraph with a quote about the same subject.
B) Words like "this," "that," "these," "those," and "such" may act as transitions, clarifying for readers that the reporter is referring to a subject that's already been introduced.
C) Phrases like "one of the…" or "some of the…" may also act as transitions, clarifying for readers that what follows refers to a subject the journalist has already addressed.
D) All of the above

Question 7

Which of the following could provide more legitimacy to some sources than others?

A) Appearing first in a news story
B) Having one's name repeated more often in a story
C) Receiving more face time in a television news story
D) All of the above

Question 8

Which of the following is a potential problem with a story that simply presents two contradictory sides of an issue equally?

A) It may lead readers to think that no middle views exist and that therefore no resolution is possible-when in fact most people's views actually do fall in the middle between the extreme views presented.
B) It may leave the audience to decide who is right, without providing that audience with enough information to make a sound decision.
C) It may omit other important views on the issue-stories rarely fall naturally and neatly into two parts or two equally important sides.
D) All of the above

Question 9

You notice that a fellow staffer who writes for the education beat always places the administration's quotes first and high in the story. A faculty member usually comes in the middle of the story. The student voice is after that. What could you share with the staffer about the relationship between a story's structure and its fairness?

Question 10

A friend of yours, who knows that you are studying journalism, offers you this opinion:
As long as you give both sides equal time or space in a story, it'll be fair.
What would you respond? What example would you give to illustrate your point?

Question 11

Please a.) group the information in the following fact set into pods, b.) number the pods in the order you'd place them in your story and c.) write a brief description of what each pod's purpose is.

Question 12

Write an 8- to 9-paragraph story using the fact set below. Use a descriptive lead and include a nut graph. Provide transitions to guide your reader.