May 6, 2013
COM 203
Professor Taylor
Final Exam You’re absolutely right. Students who attend Canisius College turn out well, if not exceptional people. However, I do have to respectfully disagree with your statement regarding the students’ writing skills and media knowledge. Since different outlets of media have expanded since your years in college, students have been more up to date on current events than ever before. Media is all around you; it’s impossible to escape it. These students have television, radio, magazines, blogs, the internet, cell phones, newspapers, and even their peers as outlets of the media. The basic writing course that you mentioned not only discusses the varying orifices of the media but also tears apart and exposes all of the layers that make up distinctive news stories. The purpose of the media is to communicate and relay information to the general public. There are also three general purposes of communication that were identified by Harold Lasswell: surveillance of the environment, correlation of the parts of society in responding to that environment, and transmission of the cultural heritage from generation to generation. When you read a news article it seems like an easy task; gather information, write a rough draft, send it to the editor, make changes, then send it to print. What people don’t realize are the challenges of communication that writers, news reporters, and journalist need to avoid. All of these things we learned in that media class and more, which extremely beneficial especially being a college student. One of the main concerns that we discussed in this writing class, and used throughout the semester, were the nine criteria of newsworthiness. These characteristics of newsworthiness are used to prioritize and organize the information provided in news stories. Timeliness, Proximity, Prominence, Consequence, Conflict, Suspense, Human interest, Novelty, and Progress are all used when creating any kind of news story. Another important component in writing news stories is the use of the inverted pyramid format. This format places the most important newsworthy information at the beginning, important details in the middle, and finally the general and background information at the end. What we learned in this writing class doesn’t stop there. We also learned that the lead of any news story is the focal point and the most important aspect that draws the audience in. The lead usually consists of 35 words and the five W’s and an H, which is the who, what, where, when, why and how of a story. The most common broadcast leads are single-act, umbrella, and chronological leads. A single act lead is straight to the point and potentially tells the story itself by providing the most newsworthy information. An umbrella or comprehensive lead is another common broadcast lead that ties together related events or incidents. Lastly, chronological leads are used to describe events that are stretched out over time. They take incidents of a broadcast news story and report them as they happen or place them in order as the occurred. Inclusive language is another theme that we spent time learning about. Inclusive language I the use of words that avoid the use of certain expressions or words that are used that exclude particular groups of people. For example, if I were to write a story about police officers or fire fighters I wouldn’t refer to them as policemen or firemen because they are gendered words. Using police officers or fire fighters includes both men and women and creates a more effective story. There are nine principles that are considered when referring to inclusive language: use gender inclusive words, proper pronouns with mixed groups, use neutral terms, avoid gender stereotypes, use parallel treatment, exercise caution with race, religion, and ethnicity, be sensitive in describing age, describe physical characteristics with care, and avoid using offensive quotes. There are three types of stories that are considered the basic “what happened” hard news stories of journalism and they are: crime, fire, and accident stories. Although each type of story is distinctive and have their own unique principles, they all share a common characteristic. Whenever there is a death to be reported regarding a fire, accident, or crime, the loss is always mentioned in the lead. It dominates the importance of reporting human injury, loss of property, or any other unfortunate event. Journalists reporting news about an accident should consider the weather conditions, appropriate signage, and unsafe conditions. Fire stories need to consider the response time of fire personnel, whether the building that burned down violated any fire codes or not, and if the fire personnel was prepared with suitable equipment. Significant details in crime stories include the police officers conduct, their response time, if any arrests were made, did they prevent any violence from taking place, and whether or not the criminals were repeat offenders. It is extremely important for journalists to cautious about what they write and send to print in avoidance of libel. The cardinal rule in journalism is the avoidance of libel and the communication of accurate occurrences. Another cardinal rule is to always assume they’re innocent until proven guilty. Although the evidence may be clear enough to report that the suspect is guilty, no accusations should be made. If accusations are made prior to being ruled innocent or guilty due to altered charges or even dropped charges, the paper could potentially be sued for libel. You may frequently read the words allegedly and reportedly in journalism. The use of these words refers to legal papers that concern a crime committed, a fire, or an accident and communicate to the readers that they exist. But using these words will not dismiss the possibility of being sued for libel. In conclusion, this introductory writing course isn’t just a writing course; it’s an advanced writing course for bright students that want to learn how the media works and how media is communicated to the public. I am proud to say that I registered for this class and that it has contributed tremendously to my Jesuit education. This course provides concrete evidence that college students can write, they can think, and they do know what news is and what is going on in the world. That is a big damn deal.