2. Every beginning reporter knows the basic
questions any story must answer: the five
W’ and an H. The reporter needs to know
who did what, where and when, and if
possible, why and how. But skilled
reporters collect more than the essential
facts, check them for accuracy and pass
them along. They look for the universal
building blocks of great storytelling, even
when they’re sent out on what appears to
be the most boring assignment ever.
STORY BUILDING BLOCKS
3. The assignment is just a location or a
starting point and it’s up to you to find the
story that may be lurking below the
surface. To do that, experienced reporters
advise, you may need to “stand there until
you care.” Unless you’re covering breaking
news, don’t jump out of the car and start
shooting video or photos right away; take
a moment first to search for these
building blocks.
STORY BUILDING BLOCKS
4. CHARACTER:
Memorable stories feature people who are
directly involved in the issue or situation, are
directly affected by it, or have a stake in the
outcome. Good reporters build stories
around strong characters whose experience
illustrates a wider truth or the impact of an
event or policy. They explore people’s
motivations in order to develop the
characters in their stories. For example, the
volunteer serving meals at the soup kitchen
might have been homeless once herself.
STORY BUILDING BLOCKS
5. PLACE:
Great stories transport the audience to
give them a sense of what it was like at
the scene. Experienced reporters know
how to bring a scene to life by using all of
their senses—not just looking and
listening, but smelling and almost tasting
a story so they can use their observations
to bring the audience closer to the story.
They can tell us what burning rubber
smells like after an accident, and how far
away you can feel the heat of a fire.
STORY BUILDING BLOCKS
6. EMOTION:
A story that speaks to a human emotion—
whether it’s anger, joy or empathy—is more
engaging to the audience. It’s often true that
people remember what they feel longer than
what they hear. Good reporters look for the
emotion in stories, even when it’s not readily
apparent. A dry sentencing hearing has deep
significance to someone in the courtroom. You
just have to find that person and let him or her
talk.
STORY BUILDING BLOCKS
7. DETAIL:
Well-chosen details help the audience understand a
story or character better. Reporters have to be keen
observers so they can collect details that will
enhance the story, not bog it down. It might be
useful to know how long the city council members
debated an ordinance, but only if they spent a
particularly long or short amount of time doing it.
On the other hand, in a story about the use of
treatments that blend traditional and modern
medicines, it would be worth knowing that an
American Indian doctor is the grandchild of a tribal
healer.
STORY BUILDING BLOCKS
8. TENSION OR SURPRISE:
Stories should make the audience want to
know what happens next and how it will all
come out in the end. Tension may come from
a conflict between characters or between a
character and an opposing force, like an
insurance company denying payment or a
disease threatening the person’s life.
Reporters should look for turning points and
moments that illustrate the central theme of
a story, and for surprises that come up along
the way.
STORY BUILDING BLOCKS
9. NEWS VALUE FACTORS:
Timeliness-WHEN DID IT
HAPPEN? (breaking news)
Impact-HOW MANY PEOPLE
EFFECTED?
Proximity-WHERE DID IT
HAPPEN?
STORY BUILDING BLOCKS
11. Each of you will be creating,
editing, posting, and presenting
a multimedia journalism project
with original:
TEXT
AUDIO (interview + narration)
BASIC INTERACTIVITY
SEMESTER MULTIMEDIA PROJECT
12. FINDING STORIES
•Cultivate Curiosity
• If you’re curious, someone else is, too
•Read, Look and Listen
Pay attention to your world
•Follow Up and Plan Ahead
Ask both what’s happened and what’s
next
•Develop Story Topics from Ideas
A story idea is NOT the same as a topic
13. The Rising Cost of
College Textbooks
Overview with
History
Effect on Students
& Teachers
Alternatives &
Future
STORY MAPPING
GENERAL IDEA:
SPECIFIC TOPICS:
14. ESSENTIAL: THE 5 W’s (plus the SW)
•Who?
•What?
•When?
•Where?
•Why? (NOT your opinion)
•Always ask “SO WHAT?” to
determine newsworthiness
15. Choose something from your real
world
Something/Someone Interesting
and/or Newsworthy – BE REALISTIC!
Focus on the hook/subject – DOES IT
HAVE MULTIMEDIA/AUDIO
POTENTIAL?
SEMESTER MULTIMEDIA PROJECT
16. Past Student Project Work
•PERSONAL PROFILE (the man who knew
nothing about race)
•SCHOOL RELATED (exchange student)
•PERSONAL PROFILE (Jamaica)
•CULTURAL TREND (health fads)
•COVERED IN CONCRETE DUST (personal
experience)
17. Which of these STORY BUILDING
BLOCKS are you mainly focused on?
CHARACTER
PLACE
EMOTION
DETAIL
TENSION OR SURPRISE
SEMESTER MULTIMEDIA PROJECT
18. Be Sure You Have Access for
Original Reporting &
Interviewing
Be Realistic & Adaptable
SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS:
CAN you do this story with the
time and resources available?
SEMESTER MULTIMEDIA PROJECT
19. Material should be gathered as the
semester progresses – you will have in-
class lab time to work on projects
MUST HAVE ORIGINAL REPORTING &
INTERVIEWS WITH CONNECTED SUBJECTS
(not just “regular” people)
This is NOT an Opinion Piece – it’s not
about what you think as reporters/people!
SEMESTER MULTIMEDIA PROJECT
20. Do NOT overthink your topic! In fact, think
SMALL!
The audio you submit only has to be
between 2 – 3 minutes in length so this is
not a longform project by any means.
It’s way better to have a good “small” story
than a sloppy/bad “big” story
Remember – the key is INVESTIGATING and
INFORMING ACCURATELY and FAIRLY, no
matter what the scale of the story is
SEMESTER MULTIMEDIA PROJECT
21. YOU MAY TEAM UP TO GATHER MATERIAL
BUT EACH OF YOU MUST DO YOUR OWN
INDIVIDUAL PROJECT
PROJECT PITCH TO CLASS IN EDITORIAL
MEETING SETTING NEXT WEEK
YOUR PITCH IS OPEN TO QUESTIONS
I WILL VETO STORIES BASED ON PRACTICAL
GROUNDS ONLY
SEMESTER MULTIMEDIA PROJECT
22. SEMESTER MULTIMEDIA PROJECT
THREE MAIN AREAS TO CHOOSE FROM:
REPORT ON AN EVENT (concert, lecture, club meeting, art
opening, etc.)
-OR-
PROFILE A PERSON AND/OR PLACE AND/OR
ORGANIZATION (musician, coffee house, student club,
interesting storyteller, etc.)
-OR-
REPORT ON A CULTURAL TREND (tattoo removal, vaping,
trap music, immigration reform, #metoo, etc.)
Hinweis der Redaktion
Cultivate Curiosity
If you’re curious, someone else is, too
Read, Look and Listen
Pay attention to your world
Follow Up and Plan Ahead
Ask both what’s happened and what’s next
Develop Stories from Topics
A story idea is NOT the same as a topic
You often start with a topic - then develop ideas. You often come up with more than 1 viable idea to have stories that compliment each other, as well as stand on their own.
