Investigative Journalism

Journalists report news- stories with relevance to their audience

Sometimes the story finds the journalist, and sometimes the journalist has to find the story.

Journalists are the most-read writers in the world-

A Notebook to a writer is like a skate board to Shaun White or a paintbrush to Picasso

It's where you:

• Jot notes of what you see.
• List ideas you have for stories and newscasts.
• Record interviews.
• Sketch scenes
• Flash draft your "copy"

Today, I want to teach you-

• that journalists notice the small life dramas.
• they capture the who, what, where, when, and why of those dramas.
• then, they take those events turn them into newscasts and articles.

The Five W's

• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?

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Remember this?

• Shephard Smith, a FOX News Anchor, was underwhelmed by the American Eclipse of 2017, so his reporting was sarcastic and quite hilarious.

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Writing = Bacon
Starts big...then trims down

Get to the Point- no blah, blah.

As a journalist, your job is not to write lots, but to write accurately and to explain clearly.

Ok, my newcasters..

• Give it a go- live like a journalist- OBSERVE
• Find three small dramas to document- Write the 5 W's for each.
• Next week, you will expand one of your stories, and create a one page newscast.
• Re-watch the Officer Mitch video for details to include in your newscast about this event.

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Work on your rough draft for 10 more minutes...Did you cover the 5 W's in the first two sentences? Share.

Did you include two quotes?

Learning from the Experts...Back to Rick Reilly

Read Like a Reader and a Writer-

• First......Comprehension.
• Then, notice imagery, figurative language, rhetorical questions, transitions, and quotes. Circle all the quotes- look at how they are integrated into the text. Put a box around the dashes- observe how they are used.
• Look at leads and conclusions- what techniques are used to draw readers in and to finish strong?

Edit and Revise- Officer Mitch Newscast

• Include the 5W's in the first two sentences.
• Include two examples of imagery- vivid physical details.
• Include two dashes.
• Include two quotes.
• One page length-Write legibly or type; spelling and punctuation matter in a final copy.