Posted on February 7th, 2009 by tmchale
One of the first things we discuss in my Journalism 1 class is what makes something news. We review some of the qualities of newsworthiness (qualitiesnews2009.doc)and how editors might use these in determining what to put in their newspaper, or on their website or broadcast.
Next, I ask each student to find a story they think is newsworthy or interesting and to explain why. I also ask them to list which qualities of news the story contains.
After reviewing some of these stories we play the Be an Editor game from NewsU. This is a video simulation that asks the player to make decisions on what stories to cover and put on the front page of a small town newspaper.
The game takes about 20 minutes to play and can lead to discussions on what to cover in the school newspaper. Registering for NewsU is free as are many of the courses including this one.
Filed under: Lesson Plan | No Comments »
Posted on January 23rd, 2009 by tmchale
According to Journalism.Org, there are 9 elements of journalism that news mediums and journalists should try to follow. These 9 elements embody what journalism in its truest and purest form should be and what journalists should follow to provide a fair and accurate story and the elements are:
- Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth
- Its first loyalty is to citizens
- Its essence is a discipline of verification
- Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
- It must serve as an independent monitor of power
- It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise
- It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant
- It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional
- Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.
The author’s even developed a student journalism version (Elements of scholasticJ.doc)
Which of these are the most important? and least important?
Are there any others not here that you would add?
Do you feel most journalists (and student Journalists) follow these guidelines?
Filed under: Join the Discussion | No Comments »
Posted on January 21st, 2009 by tmchale
For many years, Journalism has been consumed with the attempt to follow its ethics. Although, sometimes journalists make decisions disregarding the consequences of their actions. When it comes to the topic of recording interview conversations, several laws protect the rights of citizens as far as their privacy. In some states, there is the “two-party consent” law which says that a conversation containing more than two people requires a consent from all parties in order to record. Other states only require a “one-party consent”, which means that if you are one of the two people in the conversation you are permitted to record the interview without receiving the other partie’s consent. Many journalists don’t like the “formality” that taping may “impose during an interview” where as others view it as a routine. This increasing issue is one that I would like to get your opinions on!
Read more »
Filed under: From the resources database | No Comments »
Posted on January 21st, 2009 by tmchale
For one of my articles I wrote about offering contraceptives in high schools. While interviewing a vice principal, I felt that she was not supportive of me writing about this conterversial subject.
I was wondering how your high school deals with subjects such as this in the school’s newspaper? Does your administration try to discourage you from writing about theses types of topics?
Filed under: Join the Discussion | No Comments »
Posted on January 8th, 2009 by tmchale
Writing feature stories requires more than just information. It involves storytelling. And one of the essential building blocks of stories are scenes. Writing scenes can be difficult for some students, so I use the following lesson to practice this skill.
My journalism class at Hunderton Central practiced creating a brief scene based on a short youtube video. First we watch the video that I found of one of our calculus teachers jumping on a desk, but any short video will do. We review some of the elements of a scene and then discuss which details in the video are important to include in writing.
Elements of Scene.doc
Next, I ask each student to write a scene that illustrate this theme: Like Mr. Eric Wasserman, some of the best teachers at Hunterdon Central use humor to engage their students.
Read more »
Filed under: Lesson Plan | 21 Comments »
Posted on December 2nd, 2008 by tmchale
Wendy Wallace from Poynter High suggested the following activity. The site runs a column on story ideas about once a week along with other columns of interest to high school student journalists.
Small groups of students were assigned to a section of the campus. They were instructed to write down questions and observations that might lead to story ideas. Chip Scanlan wrote about a similar activity in a column on story ideas in which he advsied reporters to “walk five minutes in any direction and write down every question that comes to mind.” This is essentially what the 19 students in my journalism 1 class did. When the groups came back, we discussed newsworthiness and angle, and listened to Chip Scanlan’s piece on thinking about stories from the News U course Writers at Work (Read a trascript here:What’s it really about2008.doc)
In the comment section you can see what my students came up with. If you are member, please leave a comment about what you think are the most interesting or newsworthy stories, or discuss a different angle you might take on one of these stories ideas. You are also encouraged to discuss your own original story ideas. If you would like to become a member, send an e-mail to tmchale@hcrhs.ki12.nj.us
Filed under: Lesson Plan | 8 Comments »
Posted on November 29th, 2008 by tmchale
ASNE’s Initiative provides many features of use to teachers, advisers and student journalists including free online student media hosting, a free national ad network, lesson plans and content for use by student newspapers.
Here’s a press release from them on these offerings and their latest updates:
In just six months, ASNE, the world’s largest host of teen news, has
DOUBLED the number of student journalism sites hosted on
http://my.hsj.org. The weekly National Edition online on Mondays
showcases their great efforts. Best of all, the service is free.
Starting late next week, look for site upgrades that will make
multimedia and interaction even easier. New features will be rolled
out in the coming months.
Read more »
Filed under: From the resources database | No Comments »
Posted on October 12th, 2008 by tmchale
A group project from my Journalism 1 class at Hunterdon Central focuses on today’s changing media and what it might look like in the future. One of the factors we study is the rise in citizen journalism or the idea that with today’s digital tools anyone can be a journalist. In fact most of the large online news sites actively solicit material from ordinary people (see iReport or FirstPerson).
This idea was illustrated in the last week when Michael Rovito, a Temple Univeristy student, was caught on camera asking a question of Republican Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin outside a popular Philly cheesesteak shop. Her answer proved to be a little embarassing for the McCain campaign.
Read more »
Filed under: Join the Discussion | 56 Comments »
Posted on May 1st, 2008 by tmchale
What really goes on the front page of a high school newspaper? Who decides it? The truth is, deciding what goes on the front page of a paper is a tedious, and daunting task. At Hunterdon Central Regional High School, The Lamp litters the halls, providing students and faculty a look at the events going on around Hunterdon Central. There’s no doubt that when students get the paper they deicde whether to hang on to it and read it or throw it away in only about 15 seconds. It’s the front page that catches their eye. This is very important to the newspaper staff, because obviously they want people to read the paper, plus they want it to look good.
Read more »
Filed under: How to | 3 Comments »
Posted on May 1st, 2008 by Vinny Panico
Original post by: Samantha J, Hunterdon Central Reg. H.S. on May 1, 2008 8:44 AM
On April 30, 2008 Dave, Eric, and I interviewed Jay Langley, executive editor of the Hunterdon County Democrat. Our Q&A session consisted of thoughtful questions pertaining to Langley’s writing styles, how to choose what is acceptable as a feature story, and where he draws inspiration from.
Read more »
Filed under: Interview with a professional | No Comments »
