This book is intended as an open educational resource for beginning journalism students. It contains information on such topics as the First Amendment, 5 Ws (and H), the inverted pyramid, headlines and subheads, AP and in-house style, writing and editing exercises, and guidance on strategies for covering various stories and/or events.
This book essentially replicates the structure of the author’s journalism classes, which are writing-intensive classes. As such, it focuses upon helping student writers begin working on reasonably serious, campus-level journalism assignments as quickly and effectively as possible. The goal is to submit stories, photos, and occasionally video to a university newspaper for publication, all the while following professional standards related to accuracy, clarity, grammar, and AP style.
Conditions of Use
This book is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA). You can download the ebook Intro to Journalism Handbook for free.
- Title
- Intro to Journalism Handbook
- Subtitle
- An Open Educational Resource for Journalism Students
- Publisher
- PA-ADOPT
- Author(s)
- Michael Downing
- Published
- 2024-04-25
- Edition
- 1
- Format
- eBook (pdf, epub, mobi)
- Pages
- 86
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-SA
- Book Homepage
- Free eBook, Errata, Code, Solutions, etc.
About PA-ADOPT About OER About the Author Table of Contents Part One: Introduction Purpose Strategy Open Source/OER Brief Note to Students Part Two: Key Concepts in Journalism The First Amendment Five Ws and the H Inverted Pyramid Headlines, Subheads, and Leads: A Writing Formula Leads Storytelling Libel Part Three: Format and Style Format Headline, Subhead, Section. Date, Word Count, Byline AP Style Numbers Abbreviations Punctuation In-House Style Datelines Center the “Thirty” Mark (-30-) Hit the Space Bar Once Track Changes and Peer Review Word Processing Software Naming Files Style, Consistency, Branding Part Four: Obits, Hard News, Press Releases, Sports, Opinions Obituaries Covering Hard News Handling Press Releases Covering Sports Writing an Opinion/Editorial Piece Part Five: Checklists for Covering Various Stories Speeches Checklist Spot News Checklist Meetings Checklist Investigative Checklist Features Checklist Part Six: The Impact of Social Media on Journalism Speed Research Engagement Challenges Algorithms The Future Understand the Social Media Expectations & Policies of your Organization Part Seven: Artificial Intelligence and Journalism Blog Excerpt One: My Writing Background as it Relates to AI Blog Excerpt Two: Playing in the Chat GPT Sandbox Blog Excerpt Three: Assistance to Writers is not a New Thing Blog Excerpt Four: Silicon Becoming Sentient Blog Excerpt Five: Emptiness (updated here January 18, 2024) Part Eight: Journalistic Code of Ethics Common Conflicts of Interest Not-So-Obvious Conflicts Part Nine: Careers News Reporting and Writing Broadcast Journalism Investigative Journalism Digital Journalism Photojournalism Editorial and Content Writing Public Relations and Communications Corporate and Brand Journalism Media Production and Broadcasting Teaching and Education Part Ten: BLS: New Analysts, Reporters, Journalists Part Eleven: Exercises, Self Tests, and Useful Tools Headline, Subhead, and Lead Writing Exercises: News Articles Lead Writing Exercises: Features The Use of Quotes Punctuation Notes Words Commonly Confused Vocabulary Words High School Seniors Should Know General Spelling Words Spelling Quiz Editing Exercises Comma Worksheet Part Twelve: Resources Resources Related to Strategies for Moving into a Career in Journalism General Information on Journalism Online Resources Part Thirteen: Appendix “The Inverted Pyramid in Comprehensive Form” by Christopher Schwartz
