The Nature of News and Where to Place the Question Mark...

One of my professors recently asked my class, "What is news?"

Silence...cricket....cricket...

It's funny right? A class of 25 or more bright young minds can't even answer a basic question about the core of their chosen profession. And yet sadly, I was in the same boat as the rest of them.

Chapter one of the textbook does the best it can to explain what is news, and what makes good news for that matter.

The basic criteria makes sense: relevance, usefulness and interest. But it's the judging the of the community you write for that's the tricky part I believe. My steadfast rule when thinking in the mindset of writing for a small town newspaper is, "would my Grandmother want to read this."

My Grandmother for as long as I can remember reads her local paper everyday and even goes as far as to cut out articles that she feels pertains to her grand children's lives. It's really funny actually, how she gave my 13-year-old self an article she found on how to treat acne or most recently one about what makes a good journalist. And yes, I have rolled my eyes and smiled politely but when you think about it -- she is the reader we are all writing for.

My Grandmother understands what events in her community have impact and relevance to her life. She also enjoys the occasional novelty story that makes her chuckle. And above all else -- the proximity of any event is what catches her eye first. So I try to remember all of these things when writing a story-especially the lead. What is going to catch my Grandmother's eye first?

In chapter two the idea of being a multimedia journalist is pounded into us. And rightly so. Yesterday a Professor told me never to say what kind of writer/journalist I am. Instead of being a print journalist or a script writer, just be a journalist or a writer. Never limit yourself he told me. And in a world where journalists are required to know three different types of media he was so right. Another interesting point made in chapter two was the advice about working in a basic newsroom. It reminded me that it is okay to ask to be shown around -- knowing more than just your section of the newspaper is important.

In chapter three the very important skills of interviewing were reviewed. It's always good to refresh my memory with interviewing tips. It seems that I have a past of slipping away from the basics. For me, preparation is key to a good interview. If I have the tools I feel confident and in control of the interview. If I don't, I flounder around for information and almost come off as embarrassed, which is not a good thing at all. Another thing I learned from the chapter was not to ask leading questions. After looking at some of the examples I went back and looked at some of my notes from recent interviews, I was using leading questions without even realizing it! I'm now going to have to pay attention to that when preparing.

Finally, I read the punctuation section of our AP Stylebook. I have to say, every time I go back to the Stylebook I am reminded how much it makes me feel warm and fuzzy -- like a security blanket for journalists.

After our papers were handed back last week I noticed that I had made a few punctuation errors that I didn't understand. For instance, I wrote "sibling's births" and didn't know why the apostrophe had to go after the s. But under the ever helpful apostrophe section it was noted that was the case when plural nouns ended in s. For example: churches' needs, the girls' toys and states' rights. Now I know! Also, I found out that when writing about someones political affiliation you don't set it off with parenthesis, but with comas. Always a good type in the midst of an election season.

Overall it was good to take a look at the chapter and remind myself it is there. Now I know what is covered in the back, so if I have a question regarding something I'm writing I can look back to it and check.