|
|
| |
|
| |
|
Our non-fiction offering this issue is an essay about journalism, courtesy of ibizWriters Resources. For more info about the ibizWriters newsletters and other resources go to http://www.ibizwriters.com Yo! You guys walking the journalism beat, it's time to stop and rest those tired feet. Take some time off to exercise the muscle between the ears. Here's a piece of advice: "If your mother calls you sonny, check it out." That's a real old newsroom adage, and one which you'll do well to heed. Start by applying it to the first three paras of this article. Is the brain really a muscle? You don't know? Find out. And what's wrong with the third par? It's a short, crisp sentence. Good short words. And there's a nice counterpoint between the slightly slangy "real old newsroom" at the beginning of the sentence and the more formal, vaguely old-fashioned/now seldom- used, "heed," at the end. But "old adage?" Really. Look it up. "Adage: traditional maxim." So "old" is redundant, a tautology. An adage is an old saying. So drop the "old." In which case you have to take out the "real", too. "That's a real newsroom adage" isn't quite the same, is it? We're now left with "That's a newsroom adage, and one which you'll do well to heed." It doesn't have quite the same resonance, does it? How about "That's an old newsroom maxim, and one which you'll do well to heed." I could live with that, so we'll move on. My point? Well, there are several, really. Journalism, whether you're writing hard news or softer features, has an obsession with the facts. It also has an obsession with accuracy (well, that's the theory, anyway, despite the best efforts of many newspapers to prove otherwise.) So, when in doubt, check it out. Journalism also generally is short on space for words. Editorial copy competes for space with advertising, and there's some truth in the cynical journalist's claim that journalists are there only to fill the space between adverts. But this simply makes the space more precious. The best story available at the time will fill that space. "Best" doesn't necessarily mean the earth-shattering front page lead with screamer kicklines. It can also be the story that tells the whole story, the story that leaves nothing out, the story that uses the fewest words to the greatest possible effect, the story that paints a complete picture in readers' minds . So drop the "old" from the "adage." You don't need both. Journalism also has an obsession with detail. Well, it should have, even if copy editors slice some of it out, because they're shoe-horning 700 words into a 500-word space. As a writer, you have to provide the detail, otherwise the story won't sell. If the editor later cuts it out, at least s/he knows what really happened and can handle queries if they come in. "Which hand held the gun" (an editor's question of a young reporter covering a homicide). Does it matter? Probably. So find out. The mental picture will make more sense if the reader can visualise exactly where the gun was. And finally (for this walk around the beat, anyway), journalism is real writing, not some poor cousin to creative writing. It has a language of its own. It's taut, simple, direct, objective. But that doesn't mean it can't be poetic or evocative. It just means that the poetry has to cut to the core of the topic, so that words - and space - aren't wasted. Go back and polish the words. Take out the "old" because "adage" infers it. Think on this: It's easier to put 1000 words down on paper than it is to take 100 out again. And take heart if you're not a great writer. Reporting is a skill in itself, and if you get all the facts, and present them in the right order, then copyeditors can always add the polish that's needed.
If you want more wonderful old maxims, and a few new ones, look
for Be prepared to spend the rest of your life there, learning how to be a better journalist.
The Poynter Institute website is at
http://poynter.org |
 |