Basic Newswriting & Reporting

Journalism 30

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Do's and Don'ts in Newswriting Style PART 2

ASI Stories

LEADS

Go for impact

Example 1: The CSUS Summer 2004 program is back to the College of Continuing Education as a self-supporting program, causing a change in the fee schedule and possibly fewer courses.

Example 2: Sacramento State is set to cut summer school enrollment by 5 percent by making the program self-supporting.

Summer courses could get cheaper

Price Check: Summer fees quickly go up

Don't generalize in your lead

The budget cuts that were recently approved for the 2004-2005 school year will have several impacts on summer school courses and the students taking them.

SAID!

President Gonzalez spoke about
Glasmire continued
Glasmire suggested
Glasmire believes
according to Glasmire
Glasmire assured

Glasmire SAID!

Direct quotes have opinion, emotion, add voice

Correct: "We anticipate that the changes will be minimal," Glasmire said.

Incorrect: "For us at this campus, these (budget) reductions translate into a loss of 1348 FTES, or 1730 headcount students and nearly $13 million," President Gonzalez said.

Do not cite other publications in your story. Cite your own sources.

According to a story in the State Hornet...

According to the University Bulletin...

An exception:

Hockey Club dissolves amid allegations

Sac State's ex-hockey team probed
By Sam Stanton -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Friday, March 12, 2004

One player, Chris Obradovich, was quoted in the student newspaper, the State Hornet, as saying he was recruited from British Columbia.

"I was just tricked like everyone else," Obradovich was quoted as saying in a front-page State Hornet story that appeared Wednesday. "I didn't know I had to go to school."

Spellcheck, but PROOFREAD!

advices/advises

sever/severe