REPORTING, HEADLINES, and CAPTIONSREPORTING, HEADLINES, and CAPTIONS

REPORTING:REPORTING: HOW TO CONDUCT

AN EFFECTIVE INTERVIEW

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Good reporters

have to be

on the scene

to OBSERVE firsthand.

GOOD REPORTERS LOOK AND LISTEN FOR THEIR READERS.

EVERYONE AT AN ACTIVITY OR EVENT IS A POTENTIAL SOURCE.

SOME SOURCES OFFER BETTER INSIGHTS THAN OTHERS.

INFORMATION GATHERING STARTS WITH THE FIVE W’S AND H.

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RESEARCH adds depth

and details

to the story.

RESEARCH HELPS REPORTERS UNDERSTAND THEIR STORIES.

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED MATERIAL IS A PLACE TO START RESEARCHING A STORY.

PRIMARY SOURCES PROVIDE BACKGROUND AND MATERIAL THAT MAY BECOME PART OF A STORY.

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Thoughtful

INTERVIEWS works result in

stories with

substance.

THE BETTER THE QUESTION, THE BETTER THE ANSWERS.

ACTIVE LISTENING PRODUCES THE BEST RESULTS.

GOOD NOTES CONTAIN DIRECT QUOTES AND FACTS.

HEADLINESHEADLINES

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With impact

words and

specific facts,

headlines

contribute to

REPORTING a story.

HEADLINES PROVIDE A MAJOR ENTRY POINT FOR READERS.

COMPONENTS COMBINE FOR STORYTELLING POWER.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY HEADLINE PATTERNS ADD INTEREST.

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The PRIMARY HEADLINE relies on a SECONDARY HEADLINE to provide specific information.

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KICKER: A short, single line secondary headline is placed above the primary headline.

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WICKET: A detailed secondary headline is placed above the primary headline.

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HAMMER: A detailed secondary headline is placed below the primary headline.

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TRIPOD: The secondary headline is placed beside the primary headline.

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WRITING effective

headlines

requires

creativity, effort

and attention

to details.

A SOLID UNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT RESULTS IN BETTER HEADLINES.

WORD PLAY AND BRAINSTORMING ARE USEFUL STRATEGIES.

GUIDELINES LEAD TO QUALITY AND CONSISTENCY.

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BRAINSTORMING in teams of two or three makes generating a list of key words much easier.

STEP ONE: List 10-15 key words that describe and relate to the story.

• car• drive• keys• money

• gas• cool• style• wheels

• color• wrecks• dates• expensive

• friends• insurance• happy• auto

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STORYTELLING words have significance and relate to the topic of the spread.

STEP TWO: Brainstorm rhymes for words with storytelling potential.

• car: star, far• drive: alive, strive, five• keys: please• money: honey, bunny, funny• gas: pass, mass• cool: school, pool

• wheels: peals, steals, deals• wrecks: decks, pecks• dates: mates, plates• friends: bends, spends• happy: pappy, sappy• auto: lotto, motto

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More than a cute phrase, headlines employ creative LITERARY TECHNIQUES that relate to the content.

STEP THREE: Craft words and phrases that creatively capture the story.

• car: star, farstar wars = car warsonce upon a star = once upon a carcarpe diem = CARpe diem

• auto: lotto, mottoAUTOmotives

• wheels: peals, steals, dealsthe wheel deal

• keys: pleasepretty please = pretty keys

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Headlines with

strong

VISUAL appeal

communicate

more effectively.

GRAPHIC DETAILS MAKE PRIMARY HEADS POP AND CREATE HEADLINE PACKAGES.

CAPITALIZATION STYLES CREATE A VARIETY OF LOOKS.

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RHYME: The secondary headline provides specifics to support the catchy primary headline.

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PUN: A creative primary headline establishes the angle for the story. The secondary adds specifics.

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An ACRONYM is given a new meaning. Acronyms add specifics to the secondary headline.

CAPTIONSCAPTIONS

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A caption’s

CONTENT combines

with a

photograph

to tell a story.

CAPTIONS SHOULD DO MORE THAN STATE THE OBVIOUS.

CAPTIONS ANSWER READERS’ QUESTIONS ABOUT A PHOTO.

CAPTION WRITING REQUIRES REPORTING.

QUOTES FROM INDIVIDUALS IN THE PHOTO ADD DEPTH.

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Gather INFORMATION about the photograph, answering the 5 W’s and H.

STEP ONE• who: Junior Travis Wilson, competitive wakeboarder

• what: spent a week practicing for competitions while on a family vacation

• when: vacation, last week of June, competition in July

• why: for fun and to improve on last year’s second place

• how: practice paid off with a first place medal at the Junior X Series Wakeboarding Championship.

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To write a SUMMARY CAPTION, write a sentence in present tense explaining the photo.

STEP TWODuring an annual family vacation in June at Lake Powell, junior Travis Wilson practices for the upcoming Junior X Series Wakeboarding Championship.

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For an EXPANDED CAPTION write additional sentences providing relevant information and a quote.

STEP TWODuring an annual family vacation in June at Lake Powell, junior Travis Wilson practices for the upcoming Junior X Series Wakeboarding Championship. His efforts were rewarded with a first place medal. “I live for wakeboarding. It’s an awesome way to push yourself to the limit. My favorite trick is called a tantrum, which is a true back flip.”

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Brainstorm a list of attention-getting impact words; select the best option for the caption LEAD-IN.

STEP THREE• determination• airborne• in the air• “boardum”• water and air• concentration• up and away• concentration• surf the wake

• flying on water• on the fly• board walk • flip• big air• wakeboarder • air male• splash

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The

FORMAT of a caption

varies with

its function.

CAPTION FORMATS RANGE FROM IDENTIFICATIONS TO MINI-STORIES.

SPORTS CAPTIONS REQUIRE SPECIFIC DETAILS AND UNDERSTANDING.

ONE TYPE OF CAPTION SHOULD BE AVOIDED.

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A caption’s

DESIGN works with

its content

to draw

readers.

A LEAD-IN SERVES AS A MINI-HEADLINE FOR A CAPTION.

THE FIRST SENTENCE INDENTIFIES INDIVIDUALS AND EXPLAINS WHAT IS HAPPENING.

A SECOND SENTENCE ADDS INFORMATION AND INSIGHTS.

WRITING A CAPTION IS LIKE WRITING A POEM; EACH WORD COUNTS.

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Use TYPOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES to emphasize the caption lead-in.