This web site contains a great deal of information for both journalism instructors and students. 
Writing for the Mass Media is not meant to be a reporting text. Instead, it seeks to give students information about writing for the mass media and an opportunity to practice writing in the various forms that the mass media require. In doing this, however, students should have some understanding about what kind of information is appropriate for publication in a news story and where that information can be obtained. They should also understand some of the conditions under which media writers work and the demands that are made on them.
Key terms and concepts
The following are some key terms and concepts that the student should understand.
News values — News values are the concepts used in making judgments about what events are news and what events are not news. The values listed in the chapters are generally accepted by professional journalists and are those that determine what will be included in a newspaper or news broadcast.
Timeliness is the most common news value. It is inherent in most news stories. An event simply is not news unless it has occurred fairly recently.
News events will probably have the element of timeliness, but they are unlikely to contain all of the news values listed in the chapter. Very few news stories do that. (You might ask your class members to try to think of some events that would contain all of the news values listed in the book.) Consequently, editors and news directors must decide whether or not enough news values are present in an event — and if they are present with enough impact — to make that event a news event.
News sources — Information in news stories comes from three sources: personal (people whom a reporter talks with), observational (events that a reporter witnesses), and stored (any documents or records that a reporter can look up). The best news stories are written by reporters who have used all three types of information.
Accuracy — The importance of presenting accurate information is also discussed in this chapter. You will notice that it isn’t the first time that this subject has been introduced. We have discussed accuracy at length in previous chapters and will do so again in the next chapter. This emphasis on accuracy should be pointed out to the students. The need for accuracy is a pervasive one, and that’s why the topic reappears so much in this book. Those who would work in the mass media must develop good habits for obtaining accurate information. They should pay attention to the details of the information they obtain; they must also make sure they understand the significance and meaning of the information they have. Even in the writing assignments that are included in this book, the students must be careful in presenting their information. They must make special efforts to see that the details and the larger ideas are correct.
You might suggest (or require) that your students review the sections of the previous chapters that discuss the importance of accuracy. They might also look at the next chapter’s discussion of accuracy. A short essay or outline putting all of these ideas about accuracy together might be helpful to them in understanding the importance of accuracy and the methods for achieving it.
Deadlines — Every person who writes for the mass media writes under deadlines. Often these deadlines are too short for the writer to feel that he or she has done the best job. Still, the writer must learn to adjust to the deadlines of the organization.
Tips for writing on deadline. Reporters David O’Brien, Kathy Brister and Mike Williams all offer their best advice for working efficiently on deadline.
Committee of Concerned Journalists. In general, this site provides advice on many issues encountered in journalism. This particular link provides a mental checklist for reporters to consider when writing under time constraint.
Public affairs at the University of Illinois. Interviewing is central to the reporting process, yet journalists probably do not give much thought to the perspective of the source. Reporters should consider how public relations personnel prepare clients to be interviewed in order to understand the entire process more thoroughly.
The good interview. Advice on interviewing is offered by several veteran journalists. Some advice is contradictory, but students should consider what they are attempting to accomplish in an interview and then employ techniques that they feel comfortable using.
Typingtest.com. One way to improve writing on deadline is to improve typing. This site provides a free opportunity to test typing skills.
Chapter notes
The verb "said." In journalistic writing, there is no good substitute for the verb "said." Still, beginning students are sometimes self-conscious about using "said" so much in their writing, and they try to find substitutes. The problem with a substitute is that they are laden with added meanings that the writer may not want to include. For instance, a writer might try to use "claimed" instead of "said." Claimed implies doubt -- as if to say, he "claimed" he did it, but we're not sure. Be care about using verbs of attribution; they may say more than you want to say. Stick with the verb "said." It's simple and straightforward, and you won't have to carry any extra baggage by adding to its meaning. (There's more on JPROF.com about verbs of attribution.)
Writing with verbs. 
Most good writing teachers stress the power and importance of verbs – often to skeptical students. Verbs are the engines of the language and have far more descriptive power than adjectives or adverbs. That’s where the skepticism comes in. Students interested in writing develop a belief that using good adjectives and adverbs will enhance their writing. Verbs are simply aids in the process. JPROF.com has an exercise that you can do with your students that might turn their thinking around. This exercise only a takes a few minutes and can be a lot of fun.
- Note: Roy Peter Clark has a good article on the Poynter web site about writing with verbs.
Clichés. One of the most dangerous traps a writer can fall into -- especially a beginning writer -- is the use of clichés. Clichés are overused expressions that have lost their freshness and vitality. Chances are, if you hear a new expression more than once among your friends, it has already reached the status of a cliché -- and it should be avoided like the plague (!! CLICHE ALERT!!). JPROF.com a list of clichés that should be avoided, but the list is not complete. You can probably add to it yourself.
Interviewing. One of the skills a reporter must develop is the art of interviewing. The text pays a good deal of attention to helping students develop this skill. For more information about interviewing, start with this article, The Art of Asking Questions from the Poynter Institute.
Math. Many journalists say (sometimes jokingly, sometimes not) that they got into the profession because they would not have to deal with a lot of math. For most working reporters, however, that turns out not to be the case. They have to deal with math every day. A good reporter should know how to figure a ratio, an average, a median and a percentage. Here are some web sites that will help you out:
• NilesOnline.com
• Investigative Reporters and Editors (with a terrific math test)
• University of North Carolina math competency test for journalists
• Poynter.org: Why Math Matters by Chip Scanlan (with additional links)
Scoop crazy. Every good journalist wants a scoop. Working in a world with relatively few rewards, the journalist seeks the occasional and often Pyrrhic victory of getting a story before anyone else gets its. Then, if the story is important enough so that other media outlets pick it up, professional practice demands that the other guys attribute the story to you. It’s their acknowledgement that, for a brief moment, you’re a better journalist than they are.
To those outside the culture of journalism, or not sympathetic to it, the desire for a scoop may sound a little crazy. But the desire to be first is a real and effective spur to journalistic practice. Sometimes, however, it can throw other journalistic practices out of kilter.
Such an instance occurred when New York Times reporters and editors struck a deal with Columbia University over a report that Columbia produced concerning anti-Semitism among its faculty. The deal was that Columbia would give the Times the report a day early if the Times would agree not to interview any of those who made the complaints about anti-Semitism in its story. Daniel Okrent, former public editor of the Times, outlines what happened in his column. More on this at JPROF.com
The question of deception. When the Spokane Spokesman-Review recently exposed nefarious behavior on the part of Spokane's mayor, the newspaper used some deception in its reporting. The reaction of many editors would lead you to believe that "Thou shalt never deceive" is one of the most sacred of Journalist Commandments. But it's not. Deception isn't always a good idea, but it has a good history and support from one of the profession's major codes of ethics. More at JPROF.
Raising ethical standards. This spring has seen a spate of ethical lapses by journalists, so it might not be evident that our ethical standards have actually gone up during the past 20 years. Yet, this is probably the case.
More at JPROF
What wasn’t covered. An interesting article on the Poynter.org web site gathers opinion from a number of journalism experts about the news media’s performance in 2005. One of the fascinating things about such assessments are the stories that these experts feel journalists ignored or provided less than adequate coverage for. Among those mentioned are the Bush administration’s defense of torture, the rise in gasoline and energy costs, the declining position of General Motors in the economy, and the cost of housing. Religion columnist Terry Mattingly had two interesting observations. No top journalist or media organization had paid much attention to the “Sunni vs. Shiite divide in Iraq,” which will have a great effect on efforts to bring democracy to that country. Mattingly said he was also surprised by the overly positive coverage of Pope John Paul II when he died. “When the Pope died, there was little coverage of the strong, strong hatred of John Paul II in the U.S. Catholic establishment and, especially, in higher education. All we got was the positive. We needed more balance, to understand the reality facing Catholicism here in the West.” Commentators were also asked to express their hopes for journalism in 2006. That brought this response from Jill Geisler, Poynter Leadership & Management Group Leader: “Wouldn't it be wonderful if, in 2006, journalism's leaders found the business model or models that underwrite high-quality newsgathering?” (Posted Dec. 29, 2005)
The public is paying attention. A new Harris survey, conducted in conjunction with the Public Relations Society of America, shows that the public pays close attention to the news and that many of the traditional news organizations are held in high regard. The study took a sample of three groups: the general public (N=1,015), Fortune 1,000 executives (150), and Congressional staffers (150); it compared the attitudes of the three groups toward the news and the news media. The study's major findings show that large majorities of each group have a defined set of news organizations they consult on a regular basis; majorities of each group say they like to keep up with the news, and about 15 percent of the general public say they are "news junkies"; majorities of each group look for news that challenges their own political beliefs; and minorities of each group (21 percent of the general public) rely on non-traditional news sources such as web logs and chat room on the Internet. News organizations that score high on the trust scale are public television and National Public Radio, and national newspapers. More results from the survey can be found on the PRNewswire site and a summary of the survey results is at Broadcast and Cable magazine.
What everybody talks about. A sidebar in Journalism: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How is titled, "Everybody talks about the weather." In addition to the weather, what are some of the other things everybody talks about? One answer would be sports. If you are located close to a major college or university, you can't help talking about sports -- or hearing a lot about sports. But there are many other subjects that everybody talks about. Take a look at the web site for the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (http://people-press.org/). Pew commissions surveys regularly about what news Americans are paying close attention to.
The writer's life, Gay Talese style. For decades now, 
readers and critics have focused on Gay Talese's writing style. In the 1960s he was a pioneer of the New Journalsim, which used fictional and literary techniques to tell his nonfiction stories. But what readers should have been focusing on was his reporting, which is meticulous, exacting and precise. Talese, according to the New York Times, has written a memoir, A Writer's Life, which should give us some insight into his reporting methods. It is a welcome addition to the literature of Talese and for his legion of fans.
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High school journalist, undercover. David McSwane wanted to do "something cool." What he did wound up shutting the entire U.S. Army's recruiting effort down for a day. McSwane is a senior at Arvada West High School in Colorado; he's an honors student there and editor of high school newspaper, The Westwind. When he heard that the Army was failing to meet its recruiting goals because of the unpopularity of the war in Iraq, he decided to find out just how far the service would go to sign someone up. That's when things started to get interesting.
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