Welcome to Journalism!
Why should you complete this course?
Journalism is used throughout NS. It is key to conveying the what is happening to others. It is how you will muster enough people to vote, roleplay, or invade/defend a region. Journalism is simple, and easy to do.
What is Journalism?
Journalism answers the basic questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
If you follow a basic formula called “composition,” then the answers to the above questions will fit into neat sentences and paragraphs. Your article can vary in composition depending on the type of story or information available, but upon examining real newspaper articles, you will discover the following organization:
Beginning: Summary
Middle: Story in detail
End: Opinions
Summary:
A news article’s beginning is a short paragraph (or simply a sentence) that tells the reader what the article will tell them. If the reader only reads the beginning, they don’t need to read anymore of the article to know what happened. The reader can then skip that article and read a different that interests them.
Story in detail:
The middle of a news article will explain the story. The five Ws and H (who, what, when, where, why and how). It may take several paragraphs or a few sentences. Begin at the start of the story, then proceed to the end. If there is no definite end to the story, perhaps if the story is about a missing dog which hasn’t been found yet, then proceed to the “End” of the article.
(Gnome Note: Quotes are good, but only include first person quotes and perspectives. No “he said/she said” conjecture, or else the integrity and validity of the story can be questioned. More importantly, your readers want facts, not entertaining commentary. Commentary can go at the end of the article or in an editorial.)
Opinions:
The end is always opinions because the reader has enough information to agree or disagree with your opinion, or an interviewed person’s opinions. Additionally, the end can contain conjecture about possible conclusions to the story, such as the location of the missing dog.
How do you complete this course?
Simple: publish a news article in the University’s school newspaper, “UTEP’s Daily Issue.” Create a new thread in this subforum and post an article about something that happened in TEP or another region. Constructive criticism will be provided so you can learn what you did good and what you did bad. When the article demonstrates good composition and fact-finding ability, it will be published in the “Daily Issue” in the Gameplay forum on NationStates.net.
Link to UTEP’s Daily Issue: NationStates • View topic - UTEP's Daily Issue: 1 Infinite Loop Returns!