Writing For Journalists

Contains chapters on writing news; writing features; writing reviews; style and a glossary of terms used by journalists.

"An indispensable guide." Richard Lederer, author of The Write Way, Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay, and Comma Sense --

Feature Writing for Journalists considers both newspapers and magazines and helps the new or aspiring journalist to become a successful feature writer. Using examples from a wide range of papers, specialist and trade magazines and 'alternative' publications, Sharon Wheeler considers the different types of material that come under the term 'feature' including human interest pieces, restaurant reviews and advice columns. With relevant case studies as well as interviews with practitioners, Feature Writing for Journalists is exactly what you need to understand and create exciting and informative features.

Writing for Broadcast Journalists is the essential guide to writing news for television and radio, guiding readers through the significant differences between writing text to be read, and writing spoken English that will be heard. This book helps broadcast journalists at every stage of their careers to avoid newspaper-style ‘journalese’, clichés, jargon, and inaccurate grammar or pronunciation, while capturing the immediacy of the spoken word in creative broadcast news scripts. It also gives advice on providing concise online material for broadcasters’ websites. Sections include: • Practical advice on how to write accurately but conversationally • How to cope with a dynamic English language, with new expressions and words changing their meanings • Writing scripts that match the TV pictures, and use real sound on radio • Detailed guidance on correct terminology and the need for sensitive language • An appendix of ‘dangerous’ words and phrases to be avoided in scripts. Written in a lively and accessible style by a former BBC news editor, Writing for Broadcast Journalists is an invaluable guide to the techniques of writing news for television, radio and online audiences.

A first-of-its-kind guide for new media times, this book provides practical, step-by-step instructions for writing first-person features, essays, and digital content. Combining journalism techniques with self-exploration and personal storytelling, First-Person Journalism is designed to help writers to develop their personal voice and establish a narrative stance. The book introduces nine elements of first-person journalism—passion, self-reporting, stance, observation, attribution, counterpoints, time travel, the mix, and impact. Two introductory chapters define first-person journalism and its value in building trust with a public now skeptical of traditional news media. The nine practice chapters that follow each focus on one first-person element, presenting a sequence of "voice lessons" with a culminating writing assignment, such as a personal trend story or an open letter. Examples are drawn from diverse nonfiction writers and journalists, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Joan Didion, Helen Garner, Alex Tizon, and James Baldwin. Together, the book provides a fresh look at the craft of nonfiction, offering much-needed advice on writing with style, authority, and a unique point of view. Written with a knowledge of the rapidly changing digital media environment, First-Person Journalism is a key text for journalism and media students interested in personal nonfiction, as well as for early-career nonfiction writers looking to develop this narrative form.

Reflective practice is at the heart of effective teaching, and this title helps you develop into a reflective teacher of science.

This inspiring collection of 19 essays from veteran news writers explains how to weave storytelling skills into nonfiction narratives. Journalists of all backgrounds and levels of experience will discover dozens of exercises that have been tested successfully in newsrooms, workshops, and classrooms, and will cover everything from the fundamentals of reporting, writing and revising to more specialized elements like creating rhythm, cadence, and voice; employing dialogue and scene-building; and such devices as foreshadowing, symbols, and metaphors. Contributors are all veteran journalists, including Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down, and several Pulitzer Prize-winners.