Bloomberg Journalism for News: Session 1

1. What is news journalism? There is no accepted definition, but it is like plumbing and the news is the water. You are taking information from the 'information haves' to the 'information have nots'. Absolutely everything must be verified and it should be without vested interest. The news is the news is the news.

2. Best Practice tips 1. Attribution - where is the info from? Otherwise presenting personal opinion, but of who? (in this case use 'so and so said') 2. Avoid adjectives/personal statements/Adverbs - These describing words/statements are landmines as they are descriptive rather than factual in their very essence and this is always an opinion. It also implies that you are taking sides. 3. Do not spread rumours - 'It is rumoured' has no place in news. It is taking ownership of a general view which isn't itself verified. Instead, use something like 'some are calling' with evidence. 4. Avoid judgements and opinion terms 5. Show don't tell - Use facts to say what happened. Put aside emotion. Needs to be sober. 6. Don't ignore the sceptics - This is why evidence is so important. Photo/source/confirmation/eye witness 7. Back up - Build facts on top of facts. Parm ownership of the information off onto credible/competent sources. 8. Make it clear what you are telling the reader - What are you telling me? What if they don't believe any of what you say? Write only what is verified. 9. Connect headline to the rest of the story - Does your story have a disconnect with the headline? If you start in jovial manner then one should maintain that tone/tenor throughout the piece.

3. Headline -Raising curiosity -Snippet or nugget of large story -Don't want to dump information on passive news readers -Reduce words

4. The Story Structure - Take unique angle, otherwise news piece becomes a commodity 0.1 Headline 1. Lede - 1 sentence. Narrow the field. Most important information, but don't information dump, insight curiosity at every stage. Every sentence must be complete in itself and then the story unfolds. Use the inverted pyramid to structure - Start with most compelling but hold back info, add a little more, hold back info, add a little more. Go in dissenting order. 2. Detail - 2/3 sentences. Only give so much to understand Lede. Don't info dump. Insight curiosity. Remember a story should be 1 dimensional and pick bits out which feed into that story only. Readers cannot take in everything. 3. Attribution. This is the quote paragraph. Everything must be evidenced, so that it is not yourself that is owning the views/opinions. Look for reliable sources. 4. Nut Graph - The nuts and bolts of the story. This asks the WHY question. What is at STAKE with this piece of news? What does this mean for the FUTURE, and for PEOPLE in general? SO WHAT?