Thoughts on the readings

Chapter 11 is on News Releases. I found it interesting in this chapter that the book says release dates are often broken by newspapers. It says that, as a courtesy, most newspapers honor release dates, but then adds that if one newspaper breaks a release date, the others will follow. I am really surprised to learn that this happens. I would expect honoring release dates to be a strict rule in newsrooms.

I also thought that it was interesting that the book recommends checking all of the information in a news release. I would expect that a news release would be assumed correct. I also was surprised that the book recommends the writer to check all of the information, rather than the copy desk.

I am glad that the book pointed out the importance of not taking quotes from news releases. A lot of my writers at The Ithacan get into the bad habit of quoting documents. A call to the person in the document will yield better quotes and bring credibility and depth to your writing.

Chapter 12 covered speeches, news conferences and meetings. The sections on preparing for covering the different events was very helpful to me. I find that I have a hard time preparing for not only events, but interviews as well. I have a tendency to slack on preparation, which leads to awkward interviews with little raport and bad quotes.

I also was glad the book included a comment on watching the speakers gestures and facial expressions. I haven't covered very many speeches, but I imagine that a story with those descriptive details would be much more interesting for the reader. I am actually covering the Dalai Lama's visit to Ithaca in a few weeks and am hoping to write a story with these important details.

The book stated that sometimes what happens at news conferences or meetings is more interesting than what is being presented, and I agree. Comments from and about those in attendance will make the reader feel as though they were at the event, which is one of the purposes of the story.