Nursing the Pen: A Guide to the Basics of Journalism

Nursing the Pen

Nursing the PenA Guide to the Basics of Journalism

By Mark Raygan E. GarciaDirector, Office of Information and PublicationsSilliman University

Who is a nurse? SmartMeticulous Caring Alert Intuitive Explorative Risk-Taker

Who is a journalist? SmartMeticulous Caring Alert Intuitive Explorative Risk-Taker

The Similarities

What is journalism?Journalism is the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information. (American Press Institute)

Again What is journalism?It is not just writing; it is writing with a purpose and a goal.

Subject Writing Purpose

Goal

Nursing JournalismConverting passive knowledge to active (information = action)

It connects, inspires, facilitates reflection, inclusion, and decision-making.

ABC of JournalismAccuracy Am I sure with my facts? Did I spell her name correctly? Are these figures consistent? Brevity She could have, if only she had, but she did not, so I said no. vs She refused, so I said no. I think I have that feeling that renders my heart skipping a beat on seeing you. vs I think I am in love with you. CompletenessBeing able to cover the different sides of the story, not leaving the readers to guess whats happening next.

Twisting the 5Ws & 1HPurpose: Why do I have to write about it?Content/Subject: What do I write about? Timeliness: When do I write about it? Focus: Who am I writing for? Reach/Medium: Where do I take/place my story?Relevance: How will my readers benefit from it?

The So What?It infuses meaning into your writing. It manifests a going concern, a passion and an advocacy. It encourages your readers to own the article, to have a stake in it.

Ebola is a global crisis. So what? Collective effort is needed to prevent its spread in the Philippines. So what? Public cooperation is needed.

News ElementsConflictCriminalityEminence / ProminenceNewness / NuanceSpecial OccasionsAchievementsOddity

Not newsworthy, unless person is prominent. Newsworthy, regardless of persons prominence.

Parts of a News Story

(source) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Inverted_pyramid_2.svg/1201px-Inverted_pyramid_2.svg.png LeadBodySummary

Types of LeadSummary Lead Close to 30 health workers who attended a conference were admitted in the hospital on June 5 after they complained of stomachache.

Question LeadWas it food poisoning?

Quotation Lead It was not food poisoning.

Staccato Lead It started with one. Then two. Later, there were already 30.

The NURSE in Journalism

N otifyU nderstand R ecognizeS ubstantiateE levate

The (N)URSE in JournalismNotify

Introduce yourself when interviewing. Dont shock your source with a story when all the while she thought you were only trying to have a conversation with her.

The N(U)RSE in JournalismUnderstand

Do not force your interviewee to reveal details that might be sensitive. Do not reveal the name of your source/interviewee if she seeks anonymity in revealing confidential information.

The NU(R)SE in JournalismRecognize

It is important to recognize your sources. Ensure attribution. Statements that are in opinion form can only be in a news story when they are presented as a quote from an interviewee.

The NUR(S)E in JournalismSubstantiate

A good news story is well-substantiated. Explain as briefly as possible every critical detail of the news story. Substantiation may come in the form of a quote or breakdown of facts/data in bullets. Your readers are not mind readers.

The NURS(E) in JournalismElevate

Elevate the story as an objective piece. Get your emotions and personal opinions out of the story -- they belong elsewhere. Write in a way that your readers feel that you are talking to them. Let your news engage your readers.

Editing Clarify facts Watch out for mistakes in: Grammar (She did not knowing that she was summoned to the office.) Tenses (I was at the office tomorrow.) Sentence structure (We are glad to receive you, so are you.) Spelling (Bakak Obama) Punctuation (The panda eats, shoots and leaves.)

Proofreading Marks