News writing vs. news reporting: As the portfolio deadline nears, this question is coming up a lot during my office hours. As a service, let me try to explain the difference. Lets say you are interning on the web desk of a local news organization. The Orlando Police Department sends you a press release about a diaper-wearing monkey that terrorized an apartment complex that morning. You quickly rewrite the press release and maybe, as an added bonus, call the OPD PIO on the phone for a fresh quote. You post the 250-word story quickly and it goes viral. Your boss loves it (as she/he should.) While the story has value and your boss loves it, it wont count for your portfolio. Why not? It was 250 words and two sources, right? Wrong. It wont count for your portfolio because you really didnt do any original reporting. And that press release? It doesnt count as a source. You have to actually interview either in person or by phone two sources (experts/eyewitnesses/active participants.) What the portfolio measures is your ability to do original reporting. That means getting up from your desk, going to the apartment complex, walking the neighborhood, interviewing the animal-control technician who caught the monkey and the resident who screamed when she saw the dirty little capuchin peering into her window as she was getting out of the shower (and then called the cops.) Its using the press release and the police incident report (thats where the good stuff is). Its describing what the neighborhood looks like and how residents reacted. Thats reporting: interviews, documents and direct observation. And everyone who graduates from UCF with a journalism degree should be able to display a minimal level of proficiency at doing it. Please hear me: BOTH forms of these stories, as described, have value and you need to know how to do both. I have worked on a web desk and you have to be able to churn copy quickly, accurately and concisely. But anyone can swim in the shallow end of the pool. We want you to be able to be a champion in the deep end, too. Rick
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 22:37:12 +0000
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