Extra Credit Assignment 8

Due: Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010 (Worth 3 to 5 points)

Exam Prep - Using your book or class notes, answer these questions.

1. What are the parts that go into producing a broadcast story? List as many as you can think of. Define 3 of the parts.

2. What principles should you follow when writing stories for the Web?

3. Name three ways public relations, journalism and advertising differ.

BONUS - Worth 2 points.

Name a couple things you have learned about writing and about journalism this semester. (What basic principles are necessary to write a good story?) Hopefully you see some benefits to what you have learned. How might you implement journalistic principles in your future writing?

Extra Credit Assignment 7

Due: Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010 (Worth 9 points)

Part 1: News Feature

1. What’s your focus?

2. How can you begin your story creatively?

3. Who’s your “face?” In broadcast, we are told to always find a face for our stories. That means, find a relatable, human face who embodies the issue(s) in your story. In journalism, you’ve got to have regular, real people, not just the experts. Who is your face? What’s so interesting about this person?

Part 2: Journalist Interview Prep

**For the journalist interview you don't have to write it like a regular news story. You can just do a Q&A. (It's probably easier.) If you don't know how to format it, let me know.

1. Look up an interesting journalist or two. (Could be an editor, blogger, columnist, etc.) Try to pick people you think you could interview. (Preferably in-person, if not, then by phone.)

2. What is the journalist's name? Indicate where this person works and what type of journalist he or she is. (E.g. Television reporter for WGN in Chicago, Illinois) (Try not to pick journalists in the Champaign area!)

3. Give me three interesting pieces of background information on this person.

4. If you were to do a story (Q&A or regular) what would the focus be? Try to think of an original idea. For example, don't make your focus: how this person became a journalist, etc. Make it relevant and interesting to your reader.

Part 3: Style

1. How are you supposed to attribute a student? For example, "Do you attribute like this?" Brittney Henton, said. (What two things do you include in a student's title?)

2. If someone doesn't use grammar (tense, subject-verb agreement, etc.) correctly or leaves out a word, how do you fix it in the quote? (Fix this quote. Hint: you have to use parentheses.)

"When people talk, sometimes they jibber on about things, you know, don't think about whether she's saying the sentence correctly," Henton said.

3. How would you use an ellipsis in the previous sentence to leave out the "you know"?