Saturday Feb. 3, 2007 (Blog #2)
Time to blog on last Wednesday’s Journalism class discussion, which I found to be very intriguing, thoughtful and fun. REALLY I DID! GOOD STUFF! We discussed news story leads and I also found that writing leads can be fun and challenging at the same time. It is one’s opportunity to captivate the reader’s attention and interest in the article or subject right away, and for some, it may not be the easiest thing to do. I found it frustrating at times, but once I get the flow of it, things just start coming to me and I can’t wait to get started on the body or nut graph of the story. Summary leads, from what we learned, was the most affective one sentence leads because it gets straight to the point through “summarizing” the who, what where, when, etc. The how can also be touched on later on in the story, but nonetheless, it encompasses the main point of the breaking news story. I actually enjoy writing the lead of the article, although it may be quite difficult at times, I enjoy it. When it comes to writing leads for a news story, my personal aesthetic derives from my creative way of thinking/writing. I LOVE writing creative leads to entice the reader to read further or leave them wondering, “hhmmmmmm, what could this article be or about?” or “wow that sounds cool” or even “gosh that’s interesting/intense!” Creative and fun flows are enjoyable for me, but then again, those types of leads lean more towards soft stories, but that’s still awesome, I think. So yes, I enjoyed the effectiveness of our class tips and discussion last week Wednesday. I only hope to improve more and more as we will continue to write leads throughout the course of the semester.
Moving on to another subject, I’ve been watching a lot of TV lately, particularly the news (hard and soft/entertainment news) and TV shows/talk shows. I really pay close attention to the way these TV broadcasters or hosts speak, enunciate, and basically carry themselves on television. It’s quite exciting to watch…of course because I hope to attain their career one day as my set and dream career. I always wonder, “MAN, how did they get there?” Well last semester, I had the opportunity, more like privilege to interview one of the main anchors for CBS 5 right here in Frisco on Battery Street. I asked her that exact same question and more, so I definitely did a great job on my final project for Professor Silver’s media workshop class. This interview was more than informative and was for my project. I was more than thrilled to present it to my professor. Now it seems like déjà vu to me because this semester, I have to complete another project similar to the project I did last semester for my media institutions class with Professor Kidd. This time, it’s a group project instead of an individual one, in which my group of 4, including myself, will venture out to find and visit a media institution of our choice and of our particular interest to further investigate and research on. Of course, I’M SO EXCITED FOR THIS…AGAIN! We’re shooting for stations KRON Channel 4 or ABC Bay Area to visit and interview. They are also conveniently within the city, so the commute and traveling will not be difficult at all. I’m anxious to get another point of view from media professionals, not to mention how great this would be for my foundation and future career…..TWO MEDIA INSTITUTIONS and MORE THAN ONE MEDIA PROFESSIONAL I AM INTERVIEWING AND SEEKING ADVICE FROM! This will be great for my group and I, and YAY…Katherine is in my group too. I TRULY HOPE THEY WILL RESPOND PROMPTLY AND I WONDER WHO WILL RESPOND FIRST?
The best of luck goes out to all of the groups in this class!
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2 comments:
Rochelle, this was a great blog! I also think it's fun to write leads so I related to your excitement! They definitely can be challenging, but the challenge is what makes it fun. Yet, I have to wonder, one day when we are in the media world if we will still enjoy writing leads? Not sure about that one!
I was also very excited to read that you were excited to do the interview with the news stations. I'm glad we ended up in the same group because, it seems we share a lot of the same interests. Hopefully those stations do write us back soon!
I think one of the very best things to do to discover both how to do the job but if you *want* to do the job is to interview the pros. I'm glad you enjoy it. Keep doing it, even when it's not an assignment. As for lead writing, I will always let you put two leads on top of a story -- a straightforward summary lead and a delayed lead that saves the nut graf/focus sentences /whatever you want to call it till several paragraphs in. It really is a matter of focus, and it can be creative. Short but clever -- that's what TV newswriters often strive for.
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