I chose to participate in the summer journalism program for several reasons. One of the most important reasons is that I wanted to learn what journalism is. I have learned that it is a profession that tells us the truth and information about the events occurring around the world. Every individual has the right to judge the truth behind news and have his or her own opinion about it. This is called being free-willed and self-governing.
I can bitterly understand what is going to happen and what will be the lose gums in the future. This is the Age of Information and only those people are successful in society who have knowledge about things happening around them. It is very important to stay updated because if you are not, you may be called ignorant.
Saleem Shahzad has become an instant celebrity. As a journalist for Asian Times, he was kidnapped on May 27th when he was going for an interview in Islamabad. On May 30th, that is, after three days of his kidnapping, his dead body was found from canal bank in Mandi Bahauddin. His murder became suspicious after his postmortem report in which the doctor said that he died due to excessive torture. The report noted that some of his ribs were broken.
Before his death, Shahzad received threatening calls from unknown people after writing an article about links between the Karachi police and Al-Qaida. When Shahzad was found missing, Geo News reported that he had said, “If I will be murdered, the source behind my murder will be ISI.”
Indeed, in recent news, the ISI is accused for his murder. New York Times reported that ISI directed an attack on him in order to “silence the criticism.”
The news about Shahzad’s death is disturbing. It made me angry because Pakistan is said to be a democratic state, where free press is allowed to flourish. However, in reality, this is not happening. Journalism is dying instead of flourishing. I believe the government should take protective measures and find Shahzad’s murderers because we don’t want the world to have a wrong idea about Pakistan (as if they don’t already after 9/11). Cases like Shahzad’s could mean that no one will ever try to strive for truth again in this country. In Islam, murder of a single person is considered as the murder of humanity. Men like Saleem Shahzad who are truthful, honest, sincere and brave are quickly disappearing from the world.
After this incidence, a question raised in my mind that our authorities are becoming selfish. They don’t care about anybody; they just care about their seats. In this cruel world, nobody wants to hear the truth. It is true that “truth is bitter” but if society doesn’t bother it, then that society will be soon finished. Like Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel said, without news, “darkness” will fall. Thus, we should strive to keep the truth alive forever—and for that, we have to protect our journalists first.
On July 7th, we learned how to write a feature article and a review. These articles are significantly difference from news articles in that they are more descriptive and entertaining to read. There is far more creative flexibility allowed in features pieces than hard news.
A feature article is one that we write in descriptive language and in detail to grab the reader’s attention. It also reveals to the reader that the writer is putting spotlight on a report. Up to four paragraphs may be used for a feature lead. Good feature leads often use a lot of description, imagery, and figurative language to set up a scene for the reader. The purpose of a lead is to keep the reader wanting more. Thus, feature leads should be interesting.
After the lead comes the nut graf which provides background information and more context to the reader about the topic of the article (or the person if it is a profile). In the background we need to explain the five W’s and one H. We should make clear to the reader what we think or what is our point of view. We should always indicate our angle as soon as possible. The more quotes in a features article, the better it is. An article becomes much more lively if subjects are telling their own story.
A review is a features article in which the writer reflects on his own experience and provides feedback or gives suggestions to readers. Reviews can be about restaurants, movies, books, music, museums, places, tourist sites, and much more. Reviews are very influential because they have the power to make readers do something. They can make someone decide to spend or waste money, time or energy. Long-term columnists who have gained the trust of their readers are the most influential through their writing. At the end of a review article, we should give a ranking based on our experience.
On July 6th, we learned how to write a news article. If you follow this step-by-step guide, you should produce a good news article:
1) Decide what your article will be about.
2) Research the topic of your article. Get as much background information as you can before you begin writing. This will help you better prepare yourself for your interviews.
3) Follow the inverted pyramid model to set up your story. The most important information should be at the top and the least important at the bottom.
4) The first paragraph, known as the lede, should answer these questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
5) Grab the reader’s attention by using an interesting opening sentence. You may ask a question, share an interesting fact, or write something the reader would not expect but be sure that you are reporting and not telling a story (allowed in feature articles).
6) After the lede, explain the background of the topic. These details form the nut graf of the news article. It is always a good idea to include one or two quotes from people you interview. Use action verbs so the reader feels things are really happening.
7) Be objective! A good new article is balanced in its coverage. Try to present as many sides of the story as possible.
8) Fill the rest of the article with other important details the reader needs to know.
9) The last paragraph should not summarize the article. The least important details or information should be stated in the last paragraph. You may sometimes end with a good quote.
10) Read your article and edit where needed. Make sure the article has a flow and structure that is easy to follow and understand.
11) Verify all facts. Confirm details you are unsure of. Double-check the spelling of everything—especially people’s names and places.
12) Check grammar, spelling, and other mechanics of your article before submitting to the editor.
13) Get some rest before you get your next assignment. :-)
During the first week of class, we learned about free press and its link to democracy.
Media free of government involvement is called a free press. A more formal definition of free press is “the right to publish newspapers, magazines and other printed matter without restriction of the government and subject only to law.”Free press plays an important role in our society. It informs the public about issues they are unaware of. It also allows the truth to be published without consequences or fear from a higher authority. Freedom of the press is the freedom of communication and expression, and those freedoms cannot be taken away.
Censor means to review prior to publication or block news from being printed. Media should not be censored because it threatens the opportunity to tell the truth about the world. A free press is an uncensored press.
Free press ensures democracy exists in proper manner.Democracy is the form of government in which all citizens have an equal say and right in the decisions that affect their lives. The word ‘democracy’ comes from the Greek language, meaning “rule of the people.” In a democratic government, people have greater power than rulers because people have the right to vote. If people do not like their representatives, they can vote them out. Similarly, if they are pleased with their rulers, they will vote to keep them in power.
The basic principles of democracy are as follow:
1) It is ruled by the people.
2) Elected and voted in by the people.
3) Majority vote wins.
The link between free press and democracy is clear: people. People depend on the freedom of press to obtain the truth about what is happening within their own government and around the world. People hold power in a democracy. Thus, journalism is crucial for the existence of a peaceful, democratic nation. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about journalism and indirectly participate in democracy—no matter how “corrupt” or “dysfunctional” it may be in Pakistan.
On July 4th, Ms. Mariya taught us how to interview and take down good quotes. To interview means to obtain information from sources. It is one of the many important skills necessary in journalism.
Before, during, and after
Before the interview, the person who is going to take interview—the journalist in this case—from an interviewee should be well prepared. The interviewer should do his full research about the person he is going to interview. Then, he should prepare a list of relevant questions ahead of time. Those questions should not be complex but rather, easy to understand by the interviewee. A good interviewer asks interesting and important questions. Some interviewee may stray away from the relevant or required topic; in that case, the interviewer should bring him back to the topic.
During the interview, the interviewer should write the interviewee’s responses as fast as possible. However, not everything the interviewee is worth quoting. Only the most interesting things that an interviewee says should be quoted.
After an interview, the interviewer must review his notes and make any additional notes with a different color ink so that he does not forget later what happened.
Good v. Bad
A quote is any interesting or important fact that an interviewee says in an interview. All quotes should be clear so that a reader can understand them. Direct quotes are always written in quotation marks; indirect quotes are credited to the person who said them.
There are good and bad quotes. A good quote is when someone says something
interesting or in an interesting manner. A good quote should grab the reader’s attention and deliver a sense of speaker’s personality. In contrast, a bad quote is when someone says something in a very boring, dull and uninteresting manner. A bad quote has unclear speech and does not grab the reader’s attention.
For example, here’s a made-up quote by the president of Pakistan about the freedom of Kashmir.
“I think that the people of Kashmir should be let free. They have full right to live their lives in a manner in which they would like. And I will do my best to helm them in their freedom.”
This is a good quote because it is written in a very interesting manner and it grabs the readers attention. The quote also tells us a little bit about the personality of our president: he cares about Kashmiri people and is willing to help them in their freedom.
Here, the same quote is said in a very boring way. It makes the president sound very unsympathetic and uncaring.
“I will think about he people of Kashmir and their freedom.”
Before, during, and after an interview, a journalist must be very attentive. It is important to capture the right words to tell a story accurately.
I chose to participate in the summer journalism program for several reasons. One of the most important reasons is that I wanted to learn what journalism is. I have learned that it is a profession that tells us the truth and information about the events occurring around the world. Every individual has the right to judge the truth behind news and have his or her own opinion about it. This is called being free-willed and self-governing.
