Update, April 22nd.
Read this New York Times story on the author Laura Hillenbrand. She is the author of the book "Unbreakable" which was made into a movie last year. It's about a World War II bomber pilot who survives the war. Read the first SIX paragraphs:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/magazine/the-unbreakable-laura-hillenbrand.html
Answer the following questions:
1. How does the first paragraph work? Does the writer tell a story or does he use a hard news opening?
2. How is Hillenbrand first written about in some detail i this opening?
3. Where are the who, what, when, where and why questions answered? Some might be in one paragraph, others might be later.
4. What disease does she suffer?
5. Does the man she works with, the man who brings the Norden bomb sight to her house, think she'll be able to write a good book?
Monday, April 20th:
A few weeks ago we worked on profile stories, the bread and butter of TV journalism.
Today, I want you to break down another story.
Remember, the profile is like a hard news story, but it different.
1. It opens with a story about the subject, that can be short or long.
2. It has a buried lead, which means the who, what, when, where and why questions that start a hard news story in the first paragraph -- often the first sentence -- are held back, and sometime unrolled in pieces.
Here's a New York Times story from 2013 about Kanye West:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/arts/music/kanye-west-talks-about-his-career-and-album-yeezus.html
Open it in a new browser and answer these questions:
1. How does the first paragraph work? Does the writer tell a story or does he use a hard news opening?
2. How is Kanye first referred to?
3. Where are the who, what, when, where and why questions answered? Some might be in one paragraph, others might be later.
Work only on the text before the interview. You can read the interview, but it's not part of the profile. We'll break this piece down together when I return.
Read this New York Times story on the author Laura Hillenbrand. She is the author of the book "Unbreakable" which was made into a movie last year. It's about a World War II bomber pilot who survives the war. Read the first SIX paragraphs:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/magazine/the-unbreakable-laura-hillenbrand.html
Answer the following questions:
1. How does the first paragraph work? Does the writer tell a story or does he use a hard news opening?
2. How is Hillenbrand first written about in some detail i this opening?
3. Where are the who, what, when, where and why questions answered? Some might be in one paragraph, others might be later.
4. What disease does she suffer?
5. Does the man she works with, the man who brings the Norden bomb sight to her house, think she'll be able to write a good book?
Monday, April 20th:
A few weeks ago we worked on profile stories, the bread and butter of TV journalism.
Today, I want you to break down another story.
Remember, the profile is like a hard news story, but it different.
1. It opens with a story about the subject, that can be short or long.
2. It has a buried lead, which means the who, what, when, where and why questions that start a hard news story in the first paragraph -- often the first sentence -- are held back, and sometime unrolled in pieces.
Here's a New York Times story from 2013 about Kanye West:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/arts/music/kanye-west-talks-about-his-career-and-album-yeezus.html
Open it in a new browser and answer these questions:
1. How does the first paragraph work? Does the writer tell a story or does he use a hard news opening?
2. How is Kanye first referred to?
3. Where are the who, what, when, where and why questions answered? Some might be in one paragraph, others might be later.
Work only on the text before the interview. You can read the interview, but it's not part of the profile. We'll break this piece down together when I return.