A teamwork Approach: photographer, reporter, editor, designer

Generate ideas

This is the reporter’s responsibility as well as the editor’s. Listen to what other students are saying to get good ideas. Work with the section editor to refine idea. Work with the designer and the photographer to figure out how best to display the story so it’ll be read. Content dictates design.

Research/Interview

Talk to multiple sources (at least three per story) to get background information, details, facts and, most importantly, their opinions on WHY things are the way they are.

Write/Rewrite

No story is ever perfect on the first draft. Polish it. Read it out loud. Make sure it answers the important questions, objectively. Does it answer the questions to which the students at N.C. State want to know the answers? Writing is a TEAM process.

Edit/Evaluate

Editing is a team process: the reporter with the section editor, copy editor and editor. It best works in person. Talk it over. Figure out how the story best reflects our high journalistic and community standards.

Story tips

• Keep it short. Newspaper stories are written with the underlying idea that no person has the time or desire to read long sentences and paragraphs. No paragraph should be more than two or three sentences. All sentences should be kept short and concise.
• Avoid opinions. It is a journalist’s job to report the facts, not add commentary to them. Journalists should avoid inserting their own opinions or observations about why something is important. Let the quotes and interviews tell those facts. For instance, a reporter should not say, “The speaker was compelling and entertaining.” Instead, describe the audience’s reaction. “Throughout the speech, many audience members nodded in agreement, some wiped away tears. Afterward, Terra Grant said it was “compelling” and “heartwarming.”
• Give attribution. Any fact that is not common knowledge must be attributed to a source, either a reference or a person.
• Be balanced. It is important to show both sides of every story and give each side its fair share of space. Make sure the story is not slanted towards any particular viewpoint or “side,” write stories with the responsibility of giving the readers all the necessary facts to make their own conclusions.
• Accuracy is key. Make sure names and titles are correct. Double check figures. Reporters should clarify anything they are unsure about with their sources. Making a second call is much better than misrepresenting a story. Copy editors should also take the responsibility to fact check quotes and other material.