Photo Credit: By Sam Photos8.com
One of my college journalism professors always told my peers and me to "get the name of the dog" as we wrote our stories for his class. He wanted us to be as specific as possible with our writing, right down to the name of the person's dog. I have never forgotten this advice.
I try to use this phrase with my students as I encourage specificity in their writing. I want them to see the news story in every part of life and seek to find a good angle to tell the best story possible. I review good interviewing and questioning techniques with them and have them practice in class. I also review how to find good sources and how those sources should be used in their stories.
Despite my efforts, many of my students still end up writing bland stories that often wax stereotypical. I want to know how to encourage better, more vivid writing from my students. I know what kind of work I would like to see, but I haven't figured out how to make my expectations an actual part of their final product. Any ideas?
This link follows the same dog idea: http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/2343/the-name-of-the-dog/
Emily Sell
Bingham High School
South Jordan, Utah
Great tip. I'm going to use this line with my students. It's a challenge to get new reporters to think of themselves as absorbing information and concepts rather than scribbling diligently with their noses in notebooks. One thing I do is encourage mine to take pictures of scenes, people, etc., so they -- and I -- can seek visual detail later for their text.
ReplyDeleteSteve Elliott
Arizona State University
Phoenix
Edna Buchanan was a crime reporter for two different Miami papers. Her philosophy was to get all the info. "Get the name of the dog." was always on her list. She would also count butts and kinds of cigarette in the ashtray,find out what channel the TV was on at the time of the death, what book was being read and more. She is now a brilliant novelist and you can see that same attention to detail.
ReplyDeleteJudy Babb
West Mesquite High School
Mesquite, Texas