Reporting for the Media

Note: Each chapter includes:
- Suggested Readings and Useful Websites
- Exercises
Preface
1. Journalism Today
- Digital Revolution
- The Business
- The Audience
- The Journalism
- Journalism Training
2. Selecting and Reporting the News
- The Characteristics of News
- First Assignments
- Types of News
- The Importance of Accuracy
- Public/Civic Journalism
3. The Language of News
- Mapping Your Story
- The Effectiveness of Words
- Word Choice
- Use Powerful Verbs
- Follow S-V-O Sentence Structure
- Simplify Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs
- Remain Objective
4. Media Ethics and Law
- Ethics
- Media Law
- Notes
5. Interviews
- Preparing for the Interview
- Conducting the Interview
- Writing the Interview Story
6. Basic News Leads
- The Summary News Lead
- Sentence Structure in Leads
- Guidelines for Writing Effective Leads
- Avoiding Some Common Errors
7. Alternative Leads
- Criticisms
- "Delayed" Leads
- Multi-paragraph Leads
- Using Quotations
- Using Questions
- Suspenseful Leads
- Descriptive Leads
- Shockers: Leads with a Twist
- Ironic Leads
- Direct-Address Leads
- Words Used in Unusual Ways
- Other Unusual Leads
8. The Body of a News Story
- The Inverted-Pyramid Style
- The Hourglass Style
- The Focus Style
- The Narrative Style
- Using Transitions
- Explain the Unfamiliar
- The Importance of Examples
- The Use of Description
- The Use of Humour
- The Need to Be Fair
- The Final Step: Edit Your Story
9. Quotations and Attribution
- Quotations
- Blending Quotations and Narrative
- Attribution
- Guidelines for Capitalizing and Punctuating Quotations
10. Feature Stories
- Selecting a Topic and Gathering Information
- Types of Feature Stories
- Parts of Feature Stories
- Notes
11. Specialized Types of Stories
- Brights
- Enhancers
- Content Curation
- Multimedia
- Notes
12. Grammar and Spelling
- Sentence Diagram
- The Parts of Speech
- Basic Sentence Structure
- Active and Passive Voice
- Agreement
- Ambiguous Pronouns
- Plurals and Possessives
- "That" and "Which"
- "Who" and "Whom"
- Misplaced Modifiers
- Dangling Modifiers
- Personification
- Parallel Form
- "Because" and "Due To"
- Spelling
13. Format, Copy Editing, and CP Style
- Producing Copy
- News Story Format
- Copy-Editing Symbols
- Accuracy of Names and Facts
- How to Revise and Rewrite Content
Appendix A: Copy Editing Practice
Appendix B: Answer Key
Index

Instructor's Manual: NEW
For each chapter:
- Chapter summary
- 3-5 learning objectives
- 2-3 class exercises
- 1-2 case studies
- Links to relevant media from the text
PowerPoint Slides: NEW
- Summaries and key points for each chapter
Student Study Guide: NEW
- Copy-Edit Practice and Answer Key Rules for Forming Possessives Appendix
- Common Writing Errors
- All exercises from the text
Additional Resources: NEW
- All tables and figures from the text
- All suggested readings from the text
- Links to online reading
- Selection of online videos relevant to journalism (e.g., YouTube videos and TED Talks)
-Book ISBN 9780199031221
ooseleaf ISBN 9780199034581

JOHN R. BENDER is a professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

LUCINDA D. DAVENPORT is a professor and the director of the School of Journalism at Michigan State University.

MICHAEL W. DRAGER is an associate professor of journalism at Shippensburg University.

FRED FEDLER is a former professor of journalism at the University of Central Florida.

CHARLES HAYS is an assistant professor and internship coordinator at the School of Journalism at Thompson Rivers University.

SIOBHAN MOORE is a professor of journalism at Humber College.

CHARLES HAYS is an assistant professor of journalism, communication, and new media at Thompson Rivers University.

MAXINE RUVINSKY is a former journalist and professor of journalism.

There are no related titles available at this time.

Special Features

• Canadian practices, data, and stories reflect the media landscape students will encounter when they pursue journalism careers in Canada.
• Coverage of core topics in writing and reporting, including selecting the news, writing news leads and stories, interviewing, features and alternative stories, common ethical dilemmas, and grammar basics.
• Actual news stories from major media outlets from both Canada and around the world - such as CBC News, The Canadian Press, and The Washington Post - provide students with real-life models to consider and emulate.
• A realistic, practical approach features clear, direct language and presents students with real problems and assignments they are likely to encounter while working in the media.
• Exercises reflecting real-world situations - including evaluation of leads, correct quotation attribution, and ethical problems such as profanities, racist comments, and violent details - encourage students to apply their new skills to realistic issues.
• Newswriting and grammar checklists offer students easy-to-follow guidelines for achieving effective and accurate copy.
• Engaging boxes integrated throughout pique student interest and provide additional information:
• - The Writing Coach boxes help student reporters develop skills by demonstrating best practices.
• - Additional boxes include steps to avoid libel suits, examples of clichés to avoid, guidelines for using anonymous sources, and more.

New to this Edition

• New digital coverage gives students critical insight into modern reporting practices and the fast-moving world of digital media, including writing and reporting for digital and mobile media.
• New compact size - the text has been reduced to 13 chapters from 22 to focus on teaching students the critical skills they need to pursue careers in journalism and media.
• Fully updated throughout with current data, trends, and new articles.