Page 62 - Convergent Journalism an Introduction Writing and Producing Across Media

WORDS: THE FOUNDATION STONE OF JOURNALISM

Find a newspaper story in your local or school paper and dissect it. In a
short paper, identify the “five Ws and one H” in your chosen story and
then explain the importance of each. For example, was the “who” more
important than the “how”? Explain if the beginning, middle, and end
each did its job. Was the middle flabby? Was there enough background
information to help you understand the story? Did the story close well
or did it just end? Make a case as to whether this story was well written.
Include a
1 copy of the article you dissected with your paper.

2

Find a public place such as a park or a shopping mall and spend at
least 20 minutes observing your surroundings. Then write a short story
about what you saw. Make sure it has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
When you are explaining what happened, look for ways to show your
audience what you observed. Don’t worry about interviews or getting

52 sources for this exercise. Focus on your senses. What did it sound like?
What smells were present? Was it warm and sunny or snowy and cold?
The story likely won’t be very newsworthy, but that’s OK. The purpose
of this exercise is to help you work on structure and description.