About the Newspaper ACTIVITY: 1. The purpose of the newspaper

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1 The daily newspaper brings a world of possibilities into the classroom. To use the newspaper to its full potential, it is important that you and your students are familiar with its content and writing styles. This section is intended to provide you with a few newspaper basics and discussion topics to share with your class. Introductory activities are also included throughout the section. 1. The purpose of the newspaper The newspaper serves a variety of purposes for its readers, most notably: to inform to entertain to provide a forum for views and opinions provide a marketplace for goods and services Divide a large sheet of paper into four sections, labelled Inform, Entertain, Express Opinion and Provide Marketplace. In each section, list items from today s newspaper that fulfill the purpose indicated. Be ready to explain your choices. In addition, the newspaper serves the following functions: The newspaper is a business. It is owned by stockholders who expect to make a profit. It is also a major employer in the community. The newspaper is a member of the community in which it is published. What the community thinks is important, right or wrong, good or bad is reflected in the pages of the newspaper. The newspaper also promotes and participates in many community projects and events. The newspaper is a watch-dog for its readers and its community. When something is wrong, newspapers investigate. Because reporters are always asking questions and digging up facts, it helps keep people honest. Newspapers also print the little guy s story, giving him a chance to be heard. Some people call newspapers the unofficial opposition to governments. Newspapers report what government officials do and say, and investigate policies and programs, and any wrong-doings or cover-ups. Newspapers are living textbooks. They are a source of information and learning. Newspapers write about history as it happens! 6

2 2. Newspaper content In simple terms, newspaper content includes: 3. Newspaper writing styles It is important for students to be aware of the different writing styles used in different parts of the newspaper. There s more to the newspaper than hard facts opinion plays a vital role as well. A worthwhile introductory activity for students at all levels is to look through the newspaper for good examples of each of the following writing styles. Other suggested activities are presented at the bottom of each category. Hard news stories: facts Hard news stories provide the reader with the facts (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How) about an issue, event, person or topic. They may be local, regional, national or international in scope. The vast majority of hard news stories are written in the inverted pyramid style (see diagram), with the most important facts presented first. The main idea of the story appears in the headline, and most of the 5 Ws can be found at the beginning of the story (the lead). The remaining details appear in descending order of importance through to the end of the story. There are two reasons for this. Sometimes stories have to be cut, often just before deadline, to fit the available space, and this style of hard news writing ensures that if any facts are deleted they will be the least important ones. Also, not everyone has the time or the interest to read every word in every story. So, if the main facts are in the headline and the first part of the story, people can be quite well informed without reading right to the end of the news item. HEADLINE LEAD REST OF STORY 7

3 Writing tips: Here are some of the things you have to know in order to successfully write a hard news story: A news story is designed to inform the reader of something in a crisp, concise, easily-read manner. Each paragraph should develop a single thought and one-sentence paragraphs should often be used. Generally, keep sentences short, but vary their lengths. Check and re-check your facts. Always use both a person s first and second names in the first reference and be absolutely sure of the spelling. Where possible, try to use quotes and be sure they are near the top of the story. Never use I or we in a hard news story. Those words belong in columns. Be fair and accurate and don t let your own views creep into the story. Only columnists and editorial writers are supposed to give opinions. Avoid the trap of starting almost every sentence with The. Avoid clichés like the plague. (Think about that for a moment!) Don t start writing until you re sure you understand the situation and if you re in doubt, go back to the source and check. Don t use big words when shorter words will do just as well. NOTE: Facts are also presented in the newspaper through photographs, illustrations, lists, charts and maps. Choose an interesting photograph. Without looking at the description below it (the cutline), try to answer the 5 Ws (Who is in the picture? What is happening? etc.) Now read the cutline and compare it to your answers. 8

4 Choose a front-page news story and identify the answers to the 5 Ws. Where did you find most of this information? Why do you think the story was written in this way? What is the purpose of a hard news story? Write your own news story. Choose a topic, such as something that happened at your school in the last week. List the 5 Ws of your story. Then, using the inverted pyramid style of writing (most important details first), write your own news report. Features: general interest Feature articles, often referred to as soft news stories, are different from hard news stories in several ways: They generally are not late-breaking news, but cover subjects that are timely. They often present another way of looking at a current event. Feature stories do not follow the inverted pyramid style of writing. They may be written in different styles and at times use a first- or second-person approach. Feature stories are people-oriented. They cover topics such as social trends, health and wellness, fashion, food, slice of life views of situations, travel, consciousness-raising, personality profiles and behind the headline stories. They are more descriptive than news stories, but they are not opinion pieces (such as columns and editorials). They provide observations generally from many sources about a topic, rather than the writer s own opinion. 9

5 Comparing News Writing and Feature Writing CONTENT BEGINNING MIDDLE ENDING NEWS STORY 5 Ws Newsworthy Who, What, When, Where Why & How Why & How FEATURE STORY Narrative or expository Catchy, exciting Sequences information Reaches conclusion Choose a hard news story. Make a list of possible soft news stories or background stories that could be written based on elements of the hard news story. (For example, a hard news story about a large donation to a children s hospital could be followed by a soft news profile of the person who made the donation.) Which soft news story from your list do you think would make the most interesting feature story? Write your own feature story. Choose your own topic, or select from the ones listed below. Remember, this is not an opinion piece. Base your feature story on facts, and quote or paraphrase the opinions of others. Teenagers lives today Leading a fit lifestyle The reality of owning a car Quebec, the best place to live Schools: A view from within Teenagers heroes The sport of shopping Censorship Dating today How the internet has changed our world What it means to be Canadian Teens and today s music Travels to 10

6 Editorials, letters to the editor, editorial cartoons, columns: opinion While news stories should only report the facts, the writer s opinion is encouraged in other parts of the newspaper. To become a critical reader, it is important to be able to distinguish between fact and opinion, and to use the information and views provided to reach your own conclusions. In opinion pieces, the writer tells what he/she thinks about something important to him/her, and hopefully important to the readers. And while an opinion piece is based on facts, it is still how the writer feels about the issue once the facts have been considered. The most likely place to find opinions is on the editorial pages. Here you ll find, first, the editorials. These are written by the editorial board, a group of senior writers chosen by the management of the newspaper. They give their collective opinion about an important issue or event in today s news. Editorial cartoons express the opinion of the cartoonist. The cartoonist relies on drawings, sometimes with a few select words, to express his or her opinion on major issues or events in the news. An editorial cartoon is different from a comic strip because it looks at a serious and very current issue. Its first goal is to make you think; its second goal is to make you smile. Being able to understand the humour, irony or pathos in an editorial cartoon is one of the pleasures of being informed about current issues. Opposite the editorial, you will find the op-ed page, with opinion pieces written by Gazette columnists, guest writers or other editorial writers from across the country. In addition, letters to the editor appear in this section. Here, readers have an opportunity to express their views and voice their concerns about recent news stories and newsmakers, or about the newspaper itself. It is one of the most important parts of the news-paper, because it reflects the opinions of readers. It is one way newspapers are able to keep in touch with their readers and their responses to the job it is doing. Both letters to the editor and editorials are short essays in which an opinion is stated, then supported by facts and background information. They end with a concluding sentence or paragraph. 11

7 The rest of the newspaper is filled with opinion pieces, too. Columns are found in every part of the newspaper and vary greatly in content and subject matter, but all are based on the personal opinions of their authors. Columns can be humorous; offer political views; provide advice; review films, music, books or food; or simply talk about city happenings. Columnists have the freedom to develop their own style of presentation. Columns written by local editors and syndicated writers allow readers to consider informed opinions on important issues. Readers may not agree with those opinions, but can gain understanding by reading them. Find an example of each of the following: an editorial, a letter to the editor, and a column. In each, identify the writer s opinion. What words are used to express the opinion? What facts support the opinion? Look at an editorial cartoon and identify the issue upon which the cartoon is based. What was the cartoonist s opinion? Do you agree? Now draw your own editorial cartoon that expresses your opinion about something that has happened at school or in your community recently. Read today s editorial pages in The Gazette. Choose an item that you either strongly agree or disagree with. Write your own opinion piece in the form of a letter to the editor. You may have to do some research. It s important to give your opinion, but always base it on facts. 12

8 Advertising Advertisements are an essential part of any daily newspaper. They provide another source of information in the newspaper information on the products and services available to the customer. If read critically, this information is very helpful to the consumer. Advertisements make the daily newspaper a marketplace bringing buyers and sellers together. It allows buyers to research from the comfort of their homes before they buy, and allows sellers to market their products or services to potential customers. Also, if it wasn t for advertisements, most newspapers would be too expensive for the average reader to purchase. The majority of the costs of putting out a new edition each day is paid for by the revenue gained from selling ad space. There are two kinds of advertising: display ads and classified ads. Display advertising Display ads are found throughout the newspaper. They can be almost any size, often use different styles of lettering (fonts), and usually contain photos or illustrations. There is an art to creating good advertising. A good ad gives the buyer enough information to persuade him/her to act upon it to search out and buy the product. A good ad must use copy, art and design and follow the AIDA principal, as outlined below. ATTRACT the reader s attention Develop INTEREST in the product or service Create a DESIRE for the product or service Urge ACTION from the consumer 13

9 Advertising design Many display ads are created by advertising agencies and submitted prior to publication. Others are written and designed by the newspaper s own creative department, according to the needs and objectives of the advertiser. Whoever creates the ad, it takes skilled personnel to put the words and illustrations together in a way that is clear, informative and persuasive. Here are some of the things to consider when designing an ad: Copy: Good ads start with good copy the words used to describe the product or service and to persuade the potential customer to act. Good copy is clear and uncluttered. It says what it has to say in simple terms, but the words are used to paint a picture in the customer s mind. Layout: A good advertisement should be eye-catching, but unclutered. The ad s elements should be arranged in a logical order, so that the reader naturally flows through the ad. It should go from headline to illustration (artwork) to explanatory copy to a call for action, to price, to the store s name and logo. White space: A good ad should not be overfilled with elements. In fact, less is more. A lot of white space the part of the ad with no copy or art should be used. It makes the ad more appealing at first glance, and it makes it easier for the reader to move through the ad. Branding: A good advertiser who advertises regularly should create a consistent look to his ads. Before you look at the ad closely, the reader should be able to identify the store or business. This is done through the use of consistent style, layout, font and art. And, of course, the most important element of branding is the company s logo. This should be clearly seen and near the end of the ad (bottom right), because then it will be the last thing people see and therefore remember. Headline: A prominent headline should jump off the page and capture the reader s interest. It should also give some hint about what the advertisement is selling. Dominant element: The ad should have a dominant element, usually a piece of art, that again grabs the reader s attention and provides some clue about what the advertisement is for. Call to action: Every ad should have a call to action. What is the reader supposed to do once he has read this ad? Should he call the store? Should he go down to the store as soon as possible because it is a limited sale? 14

10 Advertising techniques Advertisements use a variety of techniques to encourage the consumer to act. All of them are very effective, depending on the target audience, the product/service and the ad campaign. Some of the most common ones are below. Most ads use one of the techniques; some use more than one. Card-stacking: This technique provides a selection of good facts about the product. Of course, negatives are left out so while the copy is factional, it may be incomplete. Bandwagoning: You are persuaded to purchase by the ad focusing on the popularity of a product. (e.g. 500,000 Quebecers can t be wrong. ) Testimonial: This is perhaps the most effective with younger people. The ad provides an endorsement by a well-known celebrity. Often the celebrity doesn t even verbally endorse the product in the advertisement, but by his/her presence in the ad, it creates a need in some people to have that product. Common folks: This type of ad focuses on the product as being the choice of the common people. Just as with the testimonial ad, it is effective with people who want to belong. This is often used to sell economical or sensible products. Snobbery: This technique is aimed at people for whom status and wealth are important (even though they may not be famous or rich). The ads appeal to their sense of good taste, class and elegance or their desire to have these attributes. Transference: These ads play on our emotions. They often use lovely illustrations of cuddly animals, parents with their newborn, patriotic symbols, fields of flowers, etc. They are trying to creat a positive association between these special things or moments and their product. This appeals more to women than men. Glittering Generalities: Statements are given that leave a good impression, but don t give very many pertinent details. For instance, an ad may say that a soft drink tastes great. It backs up this impression only with an illustration of a group of friends enjoying life and drinking that brand of soft drink. 15

11 Go through today s edition of The Gazette and find an example of each of the techniques described on the previous page. Then compare all the ads. Which ads attract attention, develop interest, create a desire and urge action? Which ad was the most compelling to you? Why? Which ad s layout was most appealing? Why? Which ad was the easiest to follow? Which ad provided the most useful information in order for you as a consumer to make a decision about whether or not to purchase that product or service? Pretend you have developed a new product or service. Using the design tips and one or more of the advertising techniques listed above, create a display ad to introduce your product or service to consumers. Classified advertising Classified ads are grouped according to various classifications (cars for sale, help wanted, etc.) in one or more sections of the newspaper. An index on the front page of the classified section lists the various classifications. The ads are written by newspaper readers who pay for each word printed, and therefore the ads tend to be very brief. You have just moved into town. Use the classified ads to find an apartment, furniture, a car and a job you would like. Find the Sporting Goods classification. Look at how the ads are written. Pretend you want to sell a bike. What would your ad say? 16

12 4. Discussion topics The following discussion topics will help you introduce the newspaper to your students, and will provide a basis for examining related issues, such as freedom of speech and the role of the free press in society. a. What is newsworthy? Have your students scan today s newspaper and look at the kinds of stories included. Then ask them what they think makes an event or issue newsworthy. List the criteria they come up with, and compare them to those listed below. Readers often question why some stories make the daily newspaper and others do not. And they want to know what determines where stories are placed. There is, in fact, a logical process for determining what stories are run and where they re positioned. In simple terms, each story is judged on the following five factors, or a combination of two or more. Timeliness Most news stories are about what just happened, is happening or is just about to happen. A story that broke out last night will have more chance of making the newspaper than a story that happened last week, even if the circumstances are almost the same. Prominence The fame of a person, place, thing or situation makes it more interesting to more people. That s why there are more stories in the paper about a federal politician or a popular movie star, than your next-door neighbour. Closeness Proximity can refer to physical or psychological nearness. Things that happen locally or to people close to us are generally more interesting or important to all of us. That s why a story about our Premier would rate higher than a story about the leader of a South American nation. Significance Usually, the more people are affected by an event, the more newsworthy the story. Because thousands of people attend an Alouettes football game and only a couple dozen watch a children s soccer game, the football game is usually deemed more newsworthy. Human Interest Stories that are unusual, have emotional appeal, or show conflict capture our interest. That s why a photo of a snake found in someone s toilet would likely make the newspaper over a photo of a man patting a dog. As John Bogart, City Editor of the New York Sun once said, When a dog bites a man that is not news, but when a man bites a dog, that is news. Most news stories that make the daily paper have a combination of these five elements. And it is these five factors which also determine where in the newspaper a story or photograph will run. For instance, a photo of a crop circle and its accompanying story might have human interest, but it may or may not make the paper, depending on the volume of news that day. But if that crop circle was found close to Montreal, then it meets two of these factors, and will likely run. Where it runs would be dependent on how it ranked on these five factors compared to other news stories of the day. 17

13 b. Where does news come from? Give students a few minutes to scan the newspaper and locate the dateline or placeline of each story, which indicates where the story originated. Ask the students how they think the newspaper gets the story from each of these places. Local and some provincial news comes from staff reporters who work for the newspaper. Provincial, national and international news usually comes from wire services such as CanWest News Service or Reuters. These services can supply news from any point on the globe to their subscribers in as little as seconds, via satellite. c. Why are there so many advertisements in the newspaper? Have students estimate how much of the newspaper s content consists of advertising. Why do they think there is so much advertising in the newspaper? The newspaper has two sources of income: the people who buy printed copies or subscribe to the online newspaper, and people who buy space for advertising. Ads typically take up about 60% of the space of the newspaper, but ads also account for 75-80% of the newspaper s revenue. Without ads, the newspaper would be unaffordable to the average reader. Note also that retail ads help stores attract customers and help consumers decide where to shop. In addition, classified ads provide a marketplace for readers, with information about jobs, houses, services, etc. d. Why is there so much bad news in the newspaper? Is it true, as some people say, that newspapers contain mostly bad news? To help answer this question, ask students to examine today s newspaper and list good news stories and bad news stories. Is it possible that a single article could belong in both categories? Why? Why do they think the bad news stories were included in the newspaper? What good news stories would they like to have seen included? In the news-gathering process, news is not judged as being good or bad, but by the criteria listed on page 17. A bad news story tends to be more unusual than a good news story. This is a good thing, but it may also mean that the bad news story is more newsworthy. 18

14 e. Why is it important to include opinion in the newspaper? Many students think all non-advertising newspaper content is factual; they don t realize that opinion also plays an important role. Ask your students to look for opinion pieces in the newspaper. Help them identify editorials, letters to the editor, editorial cartoons and columns. Ask them why they think it is important to include opinion in the newspaper. Why is it important to know the difference between fact and opinion? Opinion pieces help readers benefit from the thoughtful views of informed writers and concerned readers. While the reader may not agree with the opinions expressed, they may be exposed to points of view that broaden their thinking and along with the factual information in the newspaper - help them to make their own informed decisions. f. Why is freedom of the press important? Ask students to imagine what our society would be like if freedom of the press did not exist.what would be different? How might the front page of today s newspaper look? The ability to report on events as they happen truthfully and without pressure or censorship from people in positions of power is one of the cornerstones of freedom and democracy. Having a free press is essential to having a free country. Consider that one of the first steps taken by a dictator or an invading army is censoring the newspaper of the conquered people. As U.S. Senator William E. Borah stated, If the press is not free, if speech is not independent and untrammelled, if the mind is shackled or made impotent through fear, it makes no difference under what form of government you live, you are a subject and not a citizen. 19

15 5. Other introductory activities Scavenger Hunt Ask your students to look through the newspaper to find the items listed below. For each, they should write down what they found and the page on which they found it. The students can work individually, in pairs, or in small groups. You may want to set a time limit. Find the following: the name, date and price of the newspaper the name of a TV program on at 7:00 p.m., and the channel on which it is shown a news story about another country a picture of someone wearing glasses a headline from the sports section the weather in Hong Kong the name of the cartoonist who draws Hagar the Horrible the most expensive item advertised in the first section the topic of today s first editorial what s for sale under classified index number 685 Scavenger hunts can be adapted in many ways to meet your students needs. For example: For young children, give instructions orally. Ask them to find simple items such as the word car, the number 5, something round, etc. Limit the hunt to one part of the newspaper, such as the sports section, the TV listings or the weather report. Design scavenger hunts by themes, such as the environment (find examples of pollution, something that could be recycled, an environmentally friendly product, etc.) Give a page number and a clue. For example: On page 3, it says that someone was arrested yesterday. Who was it? Encourage students to make up scavenger hunts for each other. 20

16 16 30-Minute Reader The 30-minute reading plan is an effective means of introducing students to the format and content of the newspaper. Have your students do the following for the time period indicated: 3 minutes: Scan the entire newspaper, looking at headlines and pictures. Note stories of interest. 12 minutes: Go back and read the articles that attracted your attention when you scanned the newspaper. Identify their most important points. Since most news stories are written in the inverted pyramid style, the most important facts will be found in the first few paragraphs of each story. 5 minutes: Read the editorial page and look at the editorial cartoon. Try to understand the opinions being expressed. 10 minutes: Read whatever else you care to. This is recreational reading time. 21