Tips On Getting Your Work Published

Relax, it doesn't have to be a nightmare!

As a journalism student, I highly anticipate the day of my first publication. In the world of a writer it gives sense of legitimacy of acceptance into the field. However, I fear the publication process. I’ve heard countless horror stories of multiple revisions, time consuming and miniscule corrections, accidental plagiarism, etc. These stories make the publication process seem intimidating and ultimately frustrating.

After doing some research I came across some helpful suggestions that may reduce a journalist’s stress during this exasperating period of time:

Seek out the experts (Why waste your time otherwise?)
Recognize that a publication’s tastes can change (Research prior publications!)
Know that editors will vary (Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, excuse the pun.)

It is said that it is easier for a journalist to get published as opposed to a new author, because there are less publishing options and job can become easier to manage, with the help of these tips. For more information, visit this article by Marie Granmar below…

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:zEIrh7dQ_RgJ:www.innovationjournalism.org/archive/INJO-2-4_split/INJO-2-4%2520pp.135-146.pdf+publication+process+journalist&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us#11

Photojournalism's role in modern media.

Photojournalism is a type of journalism that tells a story through the use of images.  Photojournalism can also be used to described video journalism.

Unlike other branches of photography like documentary photography and street photography, photojournalism is generally known for timeliness, objectivity and the creating of narrative.

Timeliness refers to publishing images that have meaning in the context of recently occurred events.

Being objective means shooting images that are a fair and accurate representation of the events they depict in both content and tone.

Creating narrative is combining the images with other news elements to help tell the story at hand.

A photojournalist must follow the same ethical and deadline guidelines as a regular journalist.

One of the main ethical concerns for a photojournalist is to not alter a photo so it changes the original meaning of the photo.  Cropping a photo and "playing" with the light levels and tone of an image are generally acceptable, but it is unethical to change the content of the photo or distort the way the image is to be seen by a viewer.

The main tool for a photojournalist is a camera, but in today's world of digital cameras and video, a photojournalist must be able to use a computer and all types of digital imaging software.  Most, if not all newspapers have closed their dark rooms, so effective digital photography has become the norm.

While shooting photos is the main objective, photojournalists need to make sure they write proper cut lines to help describe what is going on in the photo.

When possible, a photographer should always tell the reader what is going on in the photo, where and when it is happening and who is involved in the photo.  The photographer must give the reader as much information as possible to help tell the story.  

In many cases, a photojournalist will also be responsible for writing a story to go along with the photos.  In this case, the photojournalist must be able to report accurately and professionally, just like a full-time writer.

Capturing a quality image is just as important for a photojournalist as it is for any photographer, so a photojournalist needs to capture the proper light, lines, emotions and moments any photographer would want to catch to produce a great picture.

In my daily job, I do a lot of writing, but I am also called on to act as a photojournalist from time to time. Below are a few of the images I've had published in The News-Press during the past few years.  All of these photos accompanied stories in the paper.

The Urban Jazz Coalition performs at Jazz in the Park at Veterans Park in Lehigh Acres on Saturday.

Victoria Collins, 6, clearly enjoys this ride more than Dikota Shocky, 6. The two attended the 2007 Lehigh Spring Festival with their parents Friday.

Riverdale's Mikah Fellows competes in a wrestling match against Lemon Bay Thursday.

Amanda Ferguson, 3, performs with members of the Susan Katz Show Team during the Lehigh Spring Festival on Wednesday. The festival continues through Saturday.

East Lee County High School's Jessie Davis hauls in a touchdown reception during Friday night's game against Palmetto Ridge.

Susan and Tom Cianfrani wait at Southwest Florida International Airport on Monday to learn whether or not their Southwest Airlines flight to Philadelphia is going to be cancelled. The flight has already been delayed a hour. Winter storms in the northeastern United States have caused hundreds of delayed and cancelled flights throughout the country.

Rober Volk surveys the fire damage to his Cape Coral business Volk Electric. The building caught fire Friday morning. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

A four car crash at the intersection of Gunnery Road and Lee Boulevard in Lehigh Acres sent two people to an area hospital Friday.

Should Journalism Be Funny?

Clearly, journalism is constantly taking new forms in attempt to keep up with emergent technology. But is delivering real concrete events humorously taking it too far? It’s a definite possibility that it could be interpreted as disrespectful, or it could be the new booming industry in mainstream media.

Shows like The Daily Show, Colbert Report, Late Night Shows, and Saturday Night Live, are all extremely amusing and in some way or another deliver news. Though the punch lines may not hold much reliable content, a majority of the information on these shows is.

Apparently most of today’s society prefers this form of broadcasting. When it comes to young adults ages 35- 18, comedic journalists like Jon Stewart from The Daily Show, are the main source of news other than the internet. Topics like politics, entertainment, and economics are all covered and mocked during these comedic segments. Research actually shows that these types of programs are the leading source for learning about our recent elections.

I think taking this approach to journalism makes news more appealing to young adults than the average depressing six o’clock news. Additionally, tactics like celebrity appearances can give the program credibility as well engaging the audience.


Feldman, Lauren. "The News About Comedy: Young Audiances, The Daily Show, and Evolving Notions
of Journalism." Sage Publications 82007 412-420. Web.17 Apr 2009. .

Citizen Journalism

Though people may not know what citizen journalism is, almost everyone in our society has been exposed to it. The concept of citizen journalism is people with no professional journalism or writing training can use modern technology to report and broadcast news worldwide. Just think of all of the websites and blogs that exemplify it:

• You Tube
• Face Book
• My Space
•Wikipedia
• Blogs
• Online Forums
• Independent Websites

This blog that you’re reading now is a form of citizen journalism. The key to being a successful citizen journalist is providing first hand account, reliable, and relevant information. Especially in a time when this field is continuously growing and evolving; content is everything. Though this developing field demonstrates a modern and loose form of democracy amongst our citizens, it’s turning into a frustrating notion for mainstream media.

Professional Journalists are now starting to fear an evolving extinction of their occupation. With the current technologies and the development of citizen journalism, some forms of journalism like news paper companies are definitely declining in popularity. Could this new concept be the eventual “death of professional journalism?”


Bowman, Shayne and Chris Willis. "The Future Is Here, But Do News Media Companies See It?." Neiman
Reports 2005 6-10. Web.01 Apr 2009. .

A World Without Journalists

What would our life be like without journalists?

Journalists provide society with a number of extremely important benefits that our society takes for granted. Journalists report to the public all kinds of information including entertainment, news, information on virtually any topic, and also alert us of emergency warnings that could save our lives.

Journalists do all these things for our society yet they are often overlooked and unappreciated. Without journalists we would have no history records of the past. We would not be as technologically advanced without journalists. We would know very little about whats going on around the world without journalists. If we wanted information on a topic we would have to find the information ourselves without journalists.

Journalists do all these things and are the glue that holds our society together. I urge you to be grateful of what journalists do for us and to respect the job a little more.

Journalist Without a Job?

There is not worst feeling than having a degree and not be able to work in what you actually study for. Well don't worry, there are many places were to work, news paper are not the only place for a journalist.
We are in the 21st century and computer and Internet are taking our lives, that is not a bad thing, even though many people thing the opposite, technology have made us more aware of what is going on outside our city, state or even country; Internet help us keep up with what is happening every day, so all we need to do is take advantage of what these Technologies is bring is bring in us. But if Internet is not your type of journalism its OK there is so much more options out there.
The reason you are probably with out a job may be because we have not find the right place to look for one. At some point the place to search for a job use to be the news paper's classify or just knocking on the doors of different places, but those times have change too.
Internet not only have allow us to keep up today with the word but also help us do so many things including finding a job.
These are some great web sites that we may need to check out:
http://www.journalistjobs.com/
http://www.journalistjobs.net/
http://www.journalismnow.com/
http://www.moster.com/
http://www.jobs.com/

These are some of the listings we may find when you check these sites:

Seeking Full-time Lecturer
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts
April 13, 2009
Seeking Healthcare Analyst/Writer
HealthLeaders-Interstudy
Nashville, Tennessee
April 13, 2009
Reporter
The Goldsboro News-Argus
Goldsboro, North Carolina
April 13, 2009
Seeking sports editor
Register-News
Mt. Vernon, Illinois
April 13, 2009
Sharp energetic reporter sought
National Defense Magazine
DC Metro Area (Arlington), Virginia
April 13, 2009
Reporter
SNL Financial, LC
Arlington, Virginia
April 13, 2009
Engineering & Science Writer and Press Officer
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
April 13, 2009
Gossip writer
The Hill newspaper
Washington, District of Columbia
April 12, 2009
Page Designer/Copy Editor
The News and Advance
Lynchburg, Virginia
April 11, 2009
Executive Editor, MoneyWatch
CBS Interactive
New York, New York
April 10, 2009
Editor, MoneyWatch
CBS Interactive
New York, New York
April 10, 2009

The Importance of Watchdog Journalism

The following Power Point slides and images discuss the importance of watchdog journalism in modern media.  The presentation also discusses ways in which young journalists can take on a watchdog role.  Finally, the presentation takes a look at three of the most influential watchdog journalists in the last century.

Multimedia Journalism Tips

Today's modern technology allows for journalism to be broadcast over new multimedia's such as television, computers, cell phones, and many other new forms of technology that can deliver the journalist's message in a more entertaining way with images, audio, and video. When journalists use multimedia to deliver their message they must be aware of the proper way to combine the new technologies with their report to establish a solid report with multimedia.

This video mentions a couple of great tips on how a journalist can effectively use multimedia to deliver his/her audience a more powerful message. The narrator suggests only using the best shots you capture so you don't bore your audience with an unnecessary amount of unimportant video. The journalist should reference the shot and explain what is going on unless it is obvious. He gives the tip "Think of what you would want to know" because chances are that is what your audience wants to know also. Talk like a real person so your audience can relate to you and be to the point giving your audience the most important and shocking information you have. If you go on and on about the less important details your audience will loose interest quickly and in multimedia journalism the audience can quickly and easily find another source by changing the channel or going to a different website. Following this video's tips will help journalist's deliver a more successful message when using multimedia. Find out for yourself:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2M_qr7gn1M

-Troy Mashburn

Cartoons a Funny Face for the News

Journalism doesn't mean just writing articles in a newspaper or conducting interviews, it also includes using a little bit more of imaginations and using the creative and humorous side that is hiding somewhere inside us.
The cartoons have become a new way of seeing the news, is like seeing things like of we were kids again; do you remember when you were a kid and used to watch Tom & Jerry, they didn't talk and hardly had music but we could understand everything that was going on and we used to find it interesting? Well that's what a news cartoons is, is a nice and different way of reading the news.
Most cartoons are used to make fun of people or maybe just of the circumstances like this cartoon about Obama. After Obama was elected as President of the United States, many people were expecting him to change the situations from one day to another, this cartoons is a parody of this situation.


Cartoons are a funny way of presenting the news, but when presenting a cartoon no matter what the theme is, you should take in account that to some people the cartoon may be insulting instead of funny.

Tips for a Succesfull Interview

Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant's experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around a topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses. Usually open-ended questions are asked during interviews.
Before you start to design your interview questions and process, clearly articulate to yourself what problem or need is to be addressed using the information to be gathered by the interviews. This helps you keep clear focus on the intent of each questions.

Preparations

• Choose a setting with no distractions; this could will include comfortable sitting, good lighting, good air quality, things that will make you and interviewee comfortable.
• Explain the purpose of the interview; when the interviewee knows the purpose he/she are more likely to answer with the true and not rounds a rounds.
• Indicate how long the interview is going to take; this will get them prepare and will take the anxiety away.
• Ask the interviewee if they have any questions; they may want to ask questions too so reserve time for their questions at the end.
• Don't count in your memory; even though you may have a good memory don't relay in it, have a recorder, paper, or video tape that you can check back later.

During the interview

• Get the responder as involve as possible
• Before asking something controversial or personal, ask about some facts
• Ask questions about the present first, then you can ask about the past and the future
• Last questions may be to allow the responder to add on any other information they may want to share, or to ask questions they may have.

Wording

• Be neutral
• Ask open ended questions
• Be clear on the questions
• Ask one question at the time
• Be careful with the "why" questions, may be interpreted ask accusing.

This are just main tips to have in mind at the time of an interview as journalist you may perform several interviews and on them it depend the future of your successful career.

For more tips check this link http://www.managementhelp.org/evaluatn/intrview.htm

Being an Objective Journalist

Being interested and involved in an assignment is important for any journalist and vital to good journalism, but the writer always has to be careful to remain fair and unbiased when reporting a story.

Being unbiased will help a writer gain respect and trust with the public.

A key to being objective is reporting only verifiable facts and eliminating personal opinions from stories. Eliminating the writer's opinion will allow the reader of the story to form an opinion of their own.  One of the main goals in journalism to to inform.

Being objective also means being able and willing to tell all sides of a story.  Interviewing a cop or reading a police report will provide a lot of valuable information for a crime story, but interviewing the suspect, victim and witnesses will give the story a full range of voices needed to tell the complete story.

Being objective can be difficult, especially when writing about crimes and people accused of crimes.  A journalist has to be careful not to "convict" a person suspected of crime.  Doing this is unfair, and it can also lead to lawsuits if the suspects ends up being found not guilty of the crime.

At the same time, the reporter needs to be careful not to exonerate a suspect before a court of law determines the case.

While criminal cases might seem the obvious examples of the importance of unbiased reporting, being objective is important in all aspects of journalism.

Just think of sports reporting.  A reporter needs to remember to be able to put his or her loyalties aside when covering an event, so he or she can better explain the event and report on it in a unbiased manner.

In a perfect world sports reporters aren't fans of teams, but are fans of objectively reporting the story at hand.

The same holds true in reporting on business, travel, entertainment, civil issues, government and an other beat covered in journalism.

I work for The News-Press in Fort Myers covering a cops beat.  It just so happens I worked on a story a few weeks ago that called for me to put my personal feelings aside and objectively tell the public about a man jailed for six months for a sexual assault on a young girl.  It turns out the girl changed significant parts of her story during a deposition, and the charges against the man were dropped.  The story was published in The News-Press on March 30.

Here is a link to the story on news-press.com:  

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009903300356

While working on this story, there were many times when I could have let my personal feelings affect my view story.  To start things off, the suspect was accused of sexually assaulting a young girl, which is one of the most troubling crimes.  I had to put my obvious disgust for that type of crime out my head so I could understand his side of the story.

Once I heard his side, I had to put aside my feelings of guilt for his situation and attempt to talk to the accuser's mother, his ex wife, to get her side of the story. Unfortunately, in this case efforts to contact her didn't lead anywhere, so I was unable to present that side of the story.  

The accuser was very outspoken in criticizing several state and local agencies for their handling of the case. While this makes for a great read and a strong reader responses, I had had to make sure I got these agencies' perspective on what happened.

Because they were government agencies, they weren't willing to say too much I couldn't find in public records, but the important thing as a journalist is to make sure you give them the chance to say something if they decide they want to.  They key is to not take any one side.  Present all sides of the story as equally as possible.

Above was just a brief example of how important it is to be objective in journalism.  

Accomplishing this helps you gain credibility as a journalist.

I found some information for this blog at the following Web sites:

www.images.everything2.com

www.yourish.com

www.usatoday.com

www.news-press.com

How Journalism is Linked with Resort Management

Journalism is applied in a variety of different fields ranging from news to sports and even covers fields such as entertainment and resort management. Journalism can be applied to anything that the public is interested in obtaining more information about. I am going to cover some of the ways journalism is linked with Resort Management.

To begin when most people go to book a vacation they know very little first hand knowledge about the place they are going to be traveling to. Most people go online, see a travel agent, or purchase a book to obtain more detailed and accurate information on the place they will be traveling to. These books often give hotel ratings ranking the resorts between one and five stars with five stars being the best. These books often offer the public first hand reviews on the resort and tell readers what the resort has to offer. A resort manager would benefit greatly by getting good reviews about his/her resort which would attract many more customers to choose his resort over his competitors.

Resorts also need journalists to create brochures that advertise their resort and what their resort has to offer with lucrative pictures and short descriptions. These brochures are often placed in airports and travel agent offices to help attract customers looking for a place to stay on their vacation. Many resorts also make brochures that inform their customers of activities to do in the city during their stay which often times include coupons and discounted prices.

All of these are just some of the many things that journalists use to help a resort to be successful. If a resort manager fails to use a journalist to help attract customers to their business there is a good chance they will fall to their competitors.

How Effective Journalism Can Improve a Resort's Success

An important part of journalism, is knowing your audience and understanding how to appeal to the mass media. This relates to the success of a business because without the support of the public, a business will always fail. For example, a way to appeal to the audience could be to show prospective customers, instead of simply telling, all the wonderful things that your resort has to offer. An audience will react to something that sparks their interest because they can relate to it.

Always remember to recognize who your audience is. If you aren't aware of who you are talking to, the odds of capturing their attention is against you. The writing styles of teenagers, parents, families all fluctuate and so should a writer as the audience changes.

Another aspect that is crucial to any resort, is press releases. In brochures and information about the resort, it is important to use credible sources. It will have a bigger impact to have a great review about the resort written by a world-renowned travel agent than a past customer who once stayed at the resort.

For more tips, visit this website:

http://jmc.ou.edu/classes/jmc2033/goodwr.html

Writing For a Reader

One of the most important aspects of journalism is to make sure you are writing for a reader.  A journalist’s main goal in writing is to inform, but it is also vital to entertain the reader.  A writer can present the best facts and most important information, but if the writer can’t put those ideas together in an entertaining way, few readers will be willing to take the time to go through what the writer has to say.

There are several keys to effective writing:

The first key is to understand the assignment you are writing about.  It’s hard to convince the reader you know what you are talking about if you really don’t understand the topic you are writing on.  This includes doing research and educating yourself on the topic you will be writing on.  You need to become an expert on the topic you are covering, so you can present the information in a factual, interesting and informative manner.

Knowing the audience you are writing for is also a key in effective writing.  Being knowledgeable about a topic is great, but will do little if the writer is writing towards the wrong demographic.  If you are writing for readers who know about the topic, you might not need to go into as much background information as you would if you are writing for someone new to the subject.  Always remember to respect the reader, and writer to the reader's knowledge of a subject.  An example would be writing about golf.  If the writer is writing for a golf magazine, there is a strong chance the readers know who Tiger Woods is, so going into his background and accomplishments might not be necessary.  If the writer is writing about Woods for readers not familiar with golf, it might be a good idea to explain why Woods is so great and highly respected in his sport.

While being knowledgeable about a topic is important, it is also important not to use too much jargon in writing.  Just because a term might be commonplace in some circles, everyday people reading an article may not be aware of that language.

Eliminating extra words is critical in effective writing.  In today’s world, people don’t have a lot of time to spend on reading an article.  Editing out extra words or phrases not only saves space, but also it helps keep the reader interested in what you are saying.

Making sure you ideas transition together is another way to help keep the reader involved in your writing.  A writer needs to make sure his or her writing has focus and progresses in a linear fashion.  Writing that jumps from topic to topic and back again can be hard for a reader to follow.  Transitioning ideas in an effective manner can do wonders in keeping a reader interested in what you have to say.

Always remember that what you have to say is important, but it is also important for people to care about what you have to say and want to read it.

Here are two Web sites that can give you more information about writing for a reader.

http://www.grad.ubc.ca/gradpd/guides/executivewriting.html http://freelancewriting.suite101.com/article.cfm/writing_for_the_web_vs_writing_for_print

- Dennis Culver

Journalism Ethics

Journalists must keep ethics into consideration when writing for the public eye to see. There are a number of things journalists must watch our for. Plagiarism is a huge offense in the journalism community and it is very important to give credit to any source used to gather information and to use quotes and not steal others work as your own. If a journalist plagiarize someones work and makes money off of it they can get in legal trouble.

Journalists should try their best to take an unbiased side in whatever they are reporting. This can be very difficult because every person has their own opinions on different topics and when reporting on a controversial topic a journalist can persuade readers to take their own personal opinion by leaving out the other side of the story or by twisting words to favor their view. Journalist's are supposed to report both sides and be unbiased but all too often you will find reporters reporting the news from their own side. A great example of this is fox news generally reporting the news from a right wing point of view and NBC generally reporting the news from a left wing point of view. Only when journalist report the news in an unbiased fashion can the public take their own personal view on the report.

Journalists must also be careful who they mention in their articles, you can not mention names or post pictures of children under the age of 18. Journalists should also double check their sources before reporting news on somebody because if the information is incorrect you could tarnish someones name and reputation that does not deserve it.

Journalists need to be politically correct, you can not use racist terms or inappropriate language in your articles. Journalists should do their best to research their topics report thoroughly and double check sources along with getting all sides of the story before beginning to write their report. Then when writing the report they should be sure to be honest and unbiased and give credit to any sources that contributed to the report. The report should be written in a professional matter that allows readers to take the presented information and form their own views on the subject. When all of these ethics are applied in journalism, your final report will be fair and unbiased journalism at its best!

An interesting article on Journalism Ethics I found written by Ellen Hume lists the following:

Because journalists are not licensed in the United States, and anyone can pretend he is a journalist, how can you tell if the journalism you are reading is worth your trust? Look for:

Accuracy.

The first rule of journalism ethics is to strive for accuracy: names are spelled correctly, and events are described as they actually happened, not as the journalist, advertiser or publisher hoped they would be.

Both sides of the story.

There is a balanced and comprehensive view of what is happening or has happened. The journalist should be open-minded and let the news emerge from fact-finding.

News dictates what is news.

The journalist is not working to make someone happy, to win advertisers, flatter her friends or to get revenge. The journalist writes about things that are important, informative or interesting. She is independent of the factions she is covering, and loyal first to the public, not to her commercial or political sponsors. Advertisers and publishers should recognize that independence and honesty are necessary for the credibility of the news organization.

News is labeled honestly.

There's nothing wrong with opinions -- except when they are sneakily placed inside stories presented as “news.” An opinion column or editorial should not be called a news report. Let the facts speak for themselves.

(http://www.ellenhume.com/articles/ethics.htm)

-Troy Mashburn

The Future of Newspapers

Over the past few months, we've seen several major newspapers fail throughout the United States.  This decline for the newspapers has been a few years coming, but has escalated with the struggling economic recession.  An interesting and shocking article appeared in Time Magazine documenting "The 10 most Endangered Newspapers in America."  While it has been obvious newspapers have been declining over the last few years, a new decline of some of the most historic papers in the country has displayed how troubling this new trend is.  Staples like the Rocky Mountain News in Colorado and the Baltimore Examiner have gone under, and some of the country's great regional dailies like the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Time, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Philadelphia Inquirer are in bankruptcy.

There is not an easy solution to prevent the decline of the American newspaper.  One major issue is the fact that classified sections, which generate a good portion of the income for newspapers, is not bringing in as much money as it used to.  Since readership in newspapers is dropping, advertisers are getting less 'bang for their buck' and are less willing to spend money.  While online news has exploded in popularity, newspapers have yet to find a way to generate the same income they could in print media.

One solution that is starting to rise across the country is converting resources to online.  Since most younger people get their news from Websites or television and the fasting growing demographic of people using the Internet is in the 45-and-up age group, it makes sense for newspapers to begin focussing resources online.

Some papers have stopped publication of the print product all together.  Others have slowly but surely transferred resources to online.  Since having a presence online means a paper has global reach, actual readership has the potential to significantly rise.  The question remains... How can newspapers earn money from suppling information on the Internet?

The key is to begin minimizing costs.  This can be done by obtaining and keeping employees that have several skill sets.  Instead of paying a reporter to write a story, a photographer to take pictures, a videographer to shoot video and an online publisher to post content online, newspaper should train employees to be able to complete all of these tasks.  In essence, newspapers will have one person paid to do the work it previously took five people to do.  This will impose a greater burden of more work on employees, but it is a needed sacrifice to help ensure the survival of the journalist.  The negative to this is newspapers will have a 'Jack of all trades' on staff, but that person could never master any single job.  This means the overall product delivered by the newspaper has the potential to decline.  

At this point however, I feel having journalists perform several duties might be the only way to save journalism.  When newspapers are able to find a way to make enough money off the Internet to support the news operation, having specialized employees is the way to go. Until then, newspapers have to do what they can with what they have.  That includes saving jobs, producing the best product possible with limited resources and keeping the industry alive to perform the watchdog and informative jobs that are essential to our way of life.

Here are two links that discuss the troubles facing American newspapers.  The first is a Time article discussing 10 major newspapers that might fail in the near future, and the other talks about the death of today's newspapers and some ways companies might be able to save the product.

Time article on papers likely to fail:  www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1883785,00.html

Article on the death of newspapers and how to save journalism: www.reclaimthemedia.org/journalistic_practice/death_and_life_great_american_2012

- Dennis Culver

The Importance of Language in Journalism

The way a reporter uses language has a significant impact on the way that the information is percieved. For example, a reporter for a newspaper. A formal-style of writing would be unneccessary because the goal is to cut out any flowery words and to simply cut to the hard facts. It's best to put yourself in the reader's shoes and think, "What would I want to read?" Many people don't have time in their busy schedules to search through an article for a particular fact, so all important information needs to be clear and accessable.

The best advice I was ever given in journalism was to write as if I were talking to a friend. This "casual" language gets the information across, and builds a sense of trust between the reader and the author. In some cases, there may be a limited amount of room in a newspaper for a story. That space would need to be utilized by cutting to the chase and reporting on only the most important information.

Another important tool in relevance to language, is the inverted pyramid. The inverted pyramid was designed to prioritize vital information of a news story, to keep the interest of the readers. A standard inverted pyramid newspaper should be designed as follows:

Writing a Draft

when writing a paper, no matter what the subject is, the draft is one of the most important steps in order to get a good result.
Always have in mind that the draft is not the finish product, it is just a guide or idea to finish the product with good results; that is why it is important to mange the time you put into the writing of the draft, most of the times what comes to your mine at first is better than if you think it many times, remember you just need the main idea no the entire full well develop paper.
A second think to have in mind at all times is your audience, when writing do it in the perspective of the reader, this will allow the reader understand easier the concept or the point that you are trying to get across. Don't forget that there is more than one reader, many times the paper are going to be read by a diversity of persons all of them with different knowledge on the subject, one more reason to think about the possible readers of your paper and the difference between them, this way will be easier to develop a more clear paper.
One more thing to consider during the drafting process is the purpose of the paper you are writing. When you when you identify the purpose it can be easier to get your point across to the reader.
Establishing the voice is key in order to get the attention necessary from the readers, most of the time the purpose will identify the right voice.
At last but not least are the openings and closings of you paper; crafting the right opening is key to get the audience to read the rest of the paper, is the opening is not strong enough or if has not attraction the reader will not get trough the rest of the paper. The closure is as important as the opening, most people will remember most of the closure of what they read and are more likely to be receptive to the message if it is reinforce in a persuasive way at the closure of the paper.