It's almost the end of February, and we're about ready to make the jump from newscast writing to the more fun world of reporting stories in the field. First things first:
Our newscast, begun last week, is "stacked" this way:
1. Obama Simulus
2. Burris & Blago
3. Oil Price Drop
4. Buffalo Crash Update
5. Power Plant Design
6. Clinton in Asia
7. Guatemalan President and Cuba
We'll read through these - and revise. Then we'll go through our "scripter" - based on the Q Poll press conference with Doug Schwartz. We'll read those - and revise...and we're ready to move on.
Next week, guest speaker Lucy Nalpathanchil will be here. She's WNPR's Assignment editor, and a reporter who works on a few "beats" for us, including immigration. She'll be going through what makes a good newscast, and will be sharing some of her stories with us. Here's one - a spot about legislation that's been kicked around the capitol for a few years.
She's also going to help us with the scripts for next week's assignment:
We're going to write a 1:30 spot about Connecticut's troubled newspaper industry. As early as tomorrow, you'll see news of another big chunk of layoffs at the The Hartford Courant, the state's largest - and most read - newspaper. This comes just days after the Journal Register Company sought bankruptcy protection - they run the New Haven Register.
The main point of this story? What does this mean for the future of newspapers in Connecticut? What does it mean for readers, who won't get as much news?
Tonight in class, we'll formulate some questions to ask our interview subjects for this story. Who do I want to hear from? At least one "expert" voice - someone with insight or specific knowledge of the newspaper industry. At least one "real person" voice - someone whose life will be affected.
The first of these is pretty easy. I'll serve up to you Rich Hanley - the guy who runs our program. Here's a link to one of the thousands of interviews he did when the Tribune news broke. Getting the other voices is harder - it's called "Man on the Street" or "Vox" and it's pretty simple. Approach people on the street, or in a public place, announce that you're a reporter working on a story, and ask your questions. You'll get turned down a lot...that's a good skill to learn.
Here's a story that employs both of these elements - although it's much longer. The reporter is a guy you'll recognize.
This will be your first real reporting assignment for class. We'll do a short, light piece following spring break (Please read this post about "profile" pieces for radio...), and then we'll start work on a final project.
