Intro to J Workbook

JOUR11-100

NEWSROOM: INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM TUTORIAL WORKBOOK

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News Report Criteria Sheet

SUBJECT OUTLINE

Subject Guide CODE OF CONDUCT As part of your journalism studies at Bond you are encourage to read, understand and respect the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance Code of Ethics: Respect for truth and the public’s right to information are fundamental principles of journalism. Journalists describe society to itself. They convey information, ideas and opinions, a privileged role. They search, disclose, record, question, entertain, suggest and remember. They inform citizens and animate democracy.

They give a practical form to freedom of expression. Many journalists work in private enterprise, but all have these public responsibilities. They scrutinise power, but also exercise it, and should be accountable.

Accountability engenders trust. Without trust, journalists do not fulfill their public responsibilities. Alliance members engaged in journalism commit themselves to Honesty Fairness Independence Respect for the rights of others 1. Report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts. Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis. Do your utmost to give a fair opportunity for reply.

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SUBJECT OUTLINE 2. Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.

3. Aim to attribute information to its source. Where a source seeks anonymity, do not agree without first considering the source’s motives and any alternative attributable source. Where confidences are accepted, respect them in all circumstances.

4. Do not allow personal interest, or any belief, commitment, payment, gift or benefit, to undermine your accuracy, fairness or independence.

5. Disclose conflicts of interest that affect, or could be seen to affect, the accuracy, fairness or independence of your journalism. Do not improperly use a journalistic position for personal gain.

6. Do not allow advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence.

7. Do your utmost to ensure disclosure of any direct or indirect payment made for interviews, pictures, information or stories.

8. Use fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material. Identify yourself and your employer before obtaining any interview for publication or broadcast. Never exploit a person’s vulnerability or ignorance of media practice.

9. Present pictures and sound which are true and accurate. Any manipulation likely to mislead should be disclosed.

10. Do not plagiarise.

11. Respect private grief and personal privacy. Journalists have the right to resist compulsion to intrude.

12. Do your utmost to achieve fair correction of errors.

GUIDANCE CLAUSE Basic values often need interpretation and sometimes come into conflict. Ethical journalism requires conscientious decision-making in context. Only substantial advancement of the public interest or risk of substantial harm to people allows any standard to be overridden.

In addition to this, there are several other expectations of the Bond journalism student.

DEADLINES The news industry lives and dies by deadlines. Unless you can provide a Bond note or medical certificate, you will be expected to submit your work in full by the assigned date. If you are unable to meet a deadline because of sickness or exceptional circumstances, you should advise your tutor or lecturer prior to the deadline. We do not accept submission by email except in extreme circumstances and work/extracurricular commitments are not acceptable excuses for missed deadlines.

A late no-news assignment will attract a 10 per cent penalty per day or partial day; a weekend counts as two days.

If the assignment is a news story, you will receive no marks for a late submission. That is the industry standard.

Where specified, assignments must be submitted to iLearn. No hard copies are necessary.

PUNCTUALITY AND ATTENDANCE Working in a high-pressure and competitive industry, you will be expected to maintain a sense of professionalism.

Punctuality is a major aspect of that. We expect your commitment to your classes to be just as professional. Full attendance is compulsory. Journalists are expected to communicate absences and lateness to their chiefs-of-staff or editors, and the same is required in this subject. An email note or a telephone message is usually possible, unless in the most extreme emergencies. Deductions will be made for absences and lateness without acceptable explanation.

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SUBJECT OUTLINE Attendance records will be taken and classes will begin promptly at five past the hour. If you are late, you will be marked as absent. If you are unable to attend a class, it is your responsibility to catch up any work you have missed – if you need assistance, feel free to contact your tutor or lecturer during their consultation times.

PROFESSIONALISM A journalist should be prepared for any occasion and we expect the same from you. This means turning up to class with all the required equipment: textbooks, notes, drafts, class handouts and the journalist’s most important pieces of equipment – pens, paper and mobile phones.

While in class, we also expect you to be prepared academically. That means doing your homework or reading, participating in class activities and listening.

We encourage you to make the best use of your teaching staff and are more than happy to make time to help you with areas you are struggling with, discuss course material in further detail, give you extra feedback on assignments or help you prepare to enter the industry.

Each of your lecturers and tutors has assigned consultation hours, which will be announced at the start of each semester. To make an appointment within this time or to request another time, see or email your teacher. Please remember that our time is valuable too, so it’s common courtesy to turn up on time and to notify us if you need to cancel an appointment.

We check our emails regularly and if you send us queries we will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible.

TEXT BOOK Ingram, D. and Henshall, P. (2008). The News Manual Online – Volume one, Basic techniques, which is available free online at the following link: http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%201/volume1_00intro. htm OTHER READINGS You will be required to keep up with current affairs. It will be up to you how and where you consume the news – via social media, newspapers, apps, radio and TV, or websites - but you must be aware of major events globally, nationally, and locally. They must be credible news sites, and they must be prominent events. Your tutor will advise you on how and where to find credible news sources. You are encouraged to make use of the subscription link to News Corp sites in iLearn.

RECOMMENDED READING Evans, H. (2000). Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers. Pimlico, London.

Hicks, W. (1999). English for Journalists. Routledge, London.

Sedorkin, G. (2011). Interviewing: a guide for journalists and writers. Allen and Unwin: Crows Nest Sellers, L. (1985). The Simple Subs Book. Pergamon Press, Oxford.

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS: Each week during the tutorial you will workshop your stories to develop your journalistic skills. If you miss a class, and have a medical certificate to cover you, it is your responsibility to contact the tutor and arrange a time to meet if you wish to workshop your story. The tutor will not accept your story via email. Missing classes in this subject will put you at risk of falling behind and hinder your development. Frequent unexcused absences could result in you failing the course.

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SUBJECT OUTLINE

SUBJECT OUTLINE You will write four (4) stories in total throughout the semester. The first will be derived from information provided to you by your tutor. The next three will be about the Bond community and the final is your choice (Gold Coast, or your hometown) . You will submit a draft of your news report to iLearn to be workshopped in class. You also will be required to provide your own photos, headlines and captions for your news reports. More instruction on this will be given in tutorial.

Draft & Pix Due

Final Due

Story 1

Week 3

Week 4: Friday, 4pm

Story 2

Week 5

Week 6: Friday, 4pm

Story 3

Week 7

Week 8: Friday, 4pm

Story 4

Week 9

Week 10: Friday, 4pm

Story 5

Week 11

Week 11: Friday, 4pm

DEADLINES AND DUE DATES Working in the news media requires strict adherence to deadlines. With this in mind, extensions for assignments will be granted only in extreme circumstances and only if prior arrangements have been made. Students are expected to keep copies of all work completed and submitted for assessment. Any story that is submitted late will receive feedback but no marks, as stated in the code of conduct.

HOW TO SUBMIT ASSESSMENT ITEMS Students will bring a draft of their story to class each week. Final stories must be uploaded to the designated iLearn submission area by the stated times on the due dates.

Failure to do so will result in your receiving zero for the piece of assessment.

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EXPLANATION OF ASSESSMENT ITEMS Item

Weight %

1. Five stories (including tutor’s suggestions) and photos by set deadline.

70%

Length: Minimum 10 pars

Information will be proved in class

First drafts First drafts must be brought to class tutorial before submission.

Final versions All final stories must be submitted to the Journal in iLearn by Friday 4pm.

*May work in pairs on application.

Reflective essay

Due Date

30% Friday Week 11, 4pm Digital submission through iLearn

REPORTING DUTIES Further details on the assessment are posted on iLearn, under the Assessment tab. We will also discuss this in class prior to due dates.

REFERENCES A list of the names and contact details (phone, email) of the people you interview must be included at the end of each story. This is so your tutor can check facts with the source if there is any ambiguity, just as an editor would in a newsroom.

Pictures must also carry your byline to indicate to your tutor that you took the photo, and it was not supplied (unless otherwise arranged with your tutor).

YOU MUST TAKE YOUR OWN PICTURES. Google images will receive a zero for that portion of the assessment.

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NOTES

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STYLE GUIDE

BOND BRIEFS / BOND GOLD COAST NEWS

Style Guide STYLE GUIDE BYLINES The work you produce will be attributed to you, so with this in mind you need to include your own byline at the top of each story you submit. If you do not write in your byline, your name will not appear. The format for bylines is as follows: For Bond Briefs stories you must write your full name at the top of your story: For example:

By Lisa Simpson For Bond Gold Coast News you must write your full name and Bond affiliation at the top of your story: For example:

By Lisa Simpson, Bond University Journalism Student NAMES Always identify people by their position then first and last name. A person’s title is needed to give context as to their credibility to speak about a topic and is also a way to identify them.

Examples of different titles can be: their position i.e., Vice-chancellor; what degree they are enrolled in at university, (i.e., law student); or where they live (e.g., Varsity Lakes resident).

You do not need to identify students as Bond University students, as we can generally assume the students you speak to attend Bond. However, if they attend a different university, then you need to include that in their title.

Always check the spelling of the person’s name and their exact position title with the person. Note there is no comma before or after a person’s name.

For example: Communication student Maria Jenkins …

Pro-vice-chancellor Alan Finch …

Virgin chief executive officer Richard Branson …

Griffith University engineering student Peter Pan …

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STYLE GUIDE If the person is a student, any further reference to them will be by FIRST name.

If the person is not a student (staff, security personnel etc.) in any further reference to them you must use their LAST name and salutation. Please note that you do not put a full stop (period) after the salutation. You must ALWAYS check with the person what their title is, do not assume anything even if you see a wedding ring on a lady’s finger.

For example: Dr Smith, Mrs Johnson, Ms Thompson.

QUOTES AND ANONYMOUS SOURCES You are required to provide a minimum of two quotes from two different people per story. You need to select your interviewees carefully to ensure they are able to comment with relevance and authority. Your interviewees should not be selected for convenience but rather expertise. For example, you would not interview your friend on a story about increased crime unless they have been a recent victim, a more relevant interviewee would be a local police officer. Quotes play a number of roles in a story. They can substantiate the information provided, add interest and life, provide opinions on issues and events relevant to the story, and provide new information. A good quote is one that is “vivid and clear and that reveals strong feelings or reactions of the speaker” (Rich, 2000, p.43). Avoid using quotes for the sake of proving you spoke to someone. Bad quotes can destroy your story. When choosing a quote, first ask yourself if it adds any new information or is just an emotional reaction.

Quotes and or information from anonymous or off the record sources are not permitted in your stories. However, you can use this information to find someone who is willing to speak on the record.

USING MATERIAL FROM WEBSITES, PRESS RELEASES ETC You may find information from a wide variety of sources, but these should only be used as background information. Under extenuating circumstances you may attribute information to a website or press release i.e., you are unable to obtain an interview with the Prime Minister but have found a press release on his/her official website.

For example: A press release on Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s official website said …

In circumstances like this, you can paraphrase and attribute the essential information. But under no circumstances can you ever directly quote anything other than a person you have interviewed.

ATTRIBUTING WHERE INFORMATION CAME FROM All information, including direct quotes, must be attributed to the source. So, if you found a specific piece of research and want to use any of the information in a story, this must always be attributed to the source.

For example: The Alcohol Consumption in Australia document on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website said …

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STYLE GUIDE NAMING PEOPLE, COMPANIES AND/OR ORGANISATIONS ETC IN THE LEAD Unless someone or something is exceptionally well known, for example, Brad Pitt or McDonald’s, they generally should not be named in a hard news lead. I t i s a c c e p t a b l e i n s o f t l e a d s . In the instances where someone or something is not well know, you would write, for example, a Gold Coast actor or a local fast food store in the lead, then name the person, company, organisation and/or association in the second or lower paragraph.

WAYS TO QUOTE The standard way to quote someone is to introduce the person before their quote.

That is, you state the person’s title first, then name and paraphrase some information from the interview, which gives context and leads into the direct quote. (This is why conducting interviews via email is problematic as you often only get specific responses to questions, which often leads you needing more information).

For example: Varsity Lakes resident Jacquie Peterson said she was thankful for the recent rain and looked forward to having her lifestyle back.

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

“I’m so glad I can water my garden and wash my car again,” she said.

“I feel sorry for those people in Brisbane who are still on level six restrictions.”

Paragraph 3

Note: Please look at the placing of punctuation in this example. There is no comma after a person’s title or name. Also, if you are using a direct quote, which is a full sentence, the punctuation goes inside the quotation marks. If she said / he said etc is used then a comma is used at the end of the quote. If the sentence ends at the end of the quote i.e., paragraph three then a full stop is used.

A less common way to quote, which is unacceptable for Bond Briefs or Bond Gold Coast News is to use the person’s title, then name, and then the quote all in one sentence. There are two different ways to punctuate this style of quote. If a quote can stand alone as a full sentence then a colon is needed.

Generally, this style of quote is to be avoided in most publications. However, occasionally it is used for one-off quotes where you need to save space. Please note if you quote this way for either publication you will be marked down.

For example: Journalism Professor Mark Pearson said: “Figures indicate that there is an increasing number of females choosing to pursue a career in journalism”.

ATTRIBUTION You must attribute the quote to the person who said it in all instances. The first time you quote someone you must introduce them before you quote them. However, if you quote someone in the beginning of your story and then again further into the story after you have also quoted someone else, then you need to reintroduce the person before quoting them again.

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STYLE GUIDE ATTRIBUTION FIRST Unless a person is universally known or famous (ie, Elvis), then his or her title must be placed before the name.

For example: Farming and tools director Mr Smith ….

ATTRIBUTION FOLLOWING THE QUOTE If you have already introduced the person and are adding an additional quote then you can attribute this after the quote. However, you cannot do this if you have quoted someone else between where you introduced the person and their quote.

For example: “You can’t be serious about that tractor,” said Mr Smith.

QUOTES THAT RUN FOR MORE THAN ONE SENTENCE Some quotes will run for more than one sentence. Your first paragraph does not change. You still introduce the person and then paraphrase an introductory statement that gives context to the rest of the quotes. The second paragraph is attributed at the end of the quote. The third paragraph you do not need to attribute.

At the end of the quote you use a full stop and then close the quotation marks.

For example: Paragraph 1

Bond University Students’ Association secretary Caylie Saunders said the purpose of the festival was to expose students to films about topics they may not usually see.

Paragraph 2

“The movies generate awareness and stimulate discussion within the student body,” Caylie said.

Paragraph 3

“There are so many critical issues that our generation is facing and it is so important that we are informed and aware of what is going on.”

Note: the reason why this person is referred to by her first name is that she is a student. Anyone who is a student is referred to by his or her first name. All other people are referred to by their honorific and last name i.e., Mr Smith.

QUOTES THAT RUN FOR MORE THAN TWO SENTENCES Some quotes will run for more than two sentences. Your first paragraph does not change. You still introduce the person and then paraphrase an introductory statement that gives context to the rest of the quotes. The second paragraph is attributed at the end of the quote. In the third paragraph, you do not close the quotation marks – this shows that the quote is continuing. At the end of the quote in the fourth paragraph, you use a full stop and close the quotation marks. In most instances, a four sentence quote if the maximum that should be used at any one time.

For example:

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STYLE GUIDE Paragraph 1

Varsity Lakes resident Julie Smith said she was annoyed that people criticised teenagers for loitering in the area.

Paragraph 2

“Local teenagers have nothing to do around here,” Ms Smith said.

Paragraph 3

“It is no wonder they get up to silly antics, they are bored.

Paragraph 4

“As a community we need to provide more activities for them.”

NOTE: In the above example Ms Smith comments are paraphrased in the past tense in the first sentence, however, for her direct quotes they are in the present tense (or what ever tense the person exactly used).

TENSES The use of tenses can be confusing. However, in general all stories are written in past tense with the exception of direct quotes if they are said in either present or future tense.

There are two exceptions to this rule.

1. At times present tense can be used in the introduction to create a sense of immediacy.

2. If you are writing a story about something that is upcoming, then you would not write about it in the past tense. However, if someone said they did something in preparation then you would write this in past tense.

There are numerous tenses and they include: TENSES

Past

Present

Future

Simple

He went

He goes

He will go

Continuous

He was going

He is going

He will be going

Perfect

He had gone

He has gone

He will have gone

QUOTE MARKS (DOUBLE AND SINGLE), NICKNAMES, EVENT AND PUBLICATION NAMES / TITLES Only when you are quoting someone do you use double quotation marks.

For example: “The 9pm policy is to encourage responsible drinking so participants can have a good time for the whole night,” Mr Spegel said.

For anything other than a direct quote, you use single quotation marks such as nicknames, ie, there is a football player who likes to play rough and incidentally his nickname is ‘Bruiser’. You can refer to the player by his nickname after his first introduction ie, Dragon’s forward Brett Hitem, otherwise known as ‘Bruiser’, said …

Usually names of events are capitalised, however, there will be times when you might need to use the single quotation marks for clarity.

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STYLE GUIDE When you note the names or titles of books, journals, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, movies, plays, and painting, you do not use single quotation marks but rather italicise the name. You italicise the word "The" only if it is part of the proper name, i.e., The Weekend Australian published an article which said …

PARAPHRASING When someone does not say things clearly or eloquently, paraphrasing what the person said is a good option. This way you can rewrite what the person said so it makes sense and is straight to the point. When paraphrasing you do not use quotation marks for example: Dr Roberts said the fungus was not dangerous to humans or “The fungus is not dangerous to humans,” he said. Note the use of past tense, was, when paraphrasing.

SAID In news writing we only use the word ‘said’ - not ‘claimed’, not ‘stated’, not ‘asserted’, not ‘announced’, just said.

CAPITALS You need to capitalise: •

Proper names and specific titles, but not parts of the titles.

For example: … the Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking, but thereafter the commission.

•

References to specific institutions and incumbents.

For example: … the Queensland Parliament, but a parliament; the Premier; but a premier.

However, you would not capitalise references to smaller institutions. For example you would not capitalise university when speaking about a specific university unless you use the university’s full name i.e., Bond University. Additionally, you would not capitalise air force but you would capitalise the Royal Australian Air Force.

DATES When you are writing dates this is the only accepted format. Please note the position of the comma after the day.

For example: July 18, 2014 Note: Please note you may not use any of the following; July the 18th 2014 OR The 18th of July 2014.

TIME When you are writing time this is the only accepted format. Please note there is no space between the number and either am or pm. Additionally, if you are writing the full time you are to use a full stop and not a colon.

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STYLE GUIDE

For example: 7am; 7pm; or 7.30am/pm.

Note: Please note you may not use any of the following; 7 AM OR 7AM, 7 PM OR 7PM or 7:00, 6 o’clock in the morning or evening etc.

NUMBERS Write out one to nine, use numbers from 10 to 9999, and use a comma from 10,000.

Exceptions: Express ages numerically like this – Billy Smith, 4, - and in words like this – the four-year-old boy - ; times of day; days of the month; decimals (5.5 litres); percentages (3%).

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE Writing in active voice is one of the great challenges for many aspiring journalists.

The rule for doing so is simple. In active voice the subject of a sentence is the doer of the verb. In passive voice the subject has the action done to it.

For example: Active Voice

Passive Voice

I love you.

The car hit the man.

You are loved by me.

The man was hit by the car.

NOTE: The word ‘by’ is usually an indicator of passive voice.

FACT VS OPINION It is a journalist’s role to report only the facts and let the people to whom they speak illustrate the story with their opinions. Not only is keeping to the facts an ethical obligation for journalists but it also helps build a rapport with readers who trust you to provide a fair and balanced portrayal of events and issues. It is not the role of a journalist to impose their opinions into the story. With this in mind, any opinion within a story needs to be attributed to the person who expressed it.

For example: Opinion / speculation

Attributed fact to source of information

A 36-year-old man died on Monday night apparently after he started a fire while smoking in bed.

The body of a 36-year-old man who had been fatally stabbed was discovered by joggers on a path on the Burleigh headland, said local police.

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STYLE GUIDE JARGON AND BUREAUCRATIC LANGUAGE Often people you speak to will talk in technical terms, jargon and bureaucratic or legal language. In these cases you need to translate what they have said into simple language so that those outside the profession can understand.

SYMBOLS Symbols are not widely used in news writing, but are increasingly more common, largely through emerging technologies: hash tags (#), email addresses (@) and the like. However, they should be used judiciously and only in consultation with your tutor. Never do we substitute an ampersand (&) in place of ‘and’.

Other symbols have certain rules, for example brackets. The first time you use a name and/or title in your story that has an acronym you need to spell it out in full first and then place the acronym in brackets, for example, Bond University Students’ Association (BUSA). After this has been done, you can use the acronym throughout the rest of your story - if it is well know, such as BUSA. Never use obscure or unwieldy acronyms or abbreviations - BUHESFLP (Bond University High End Society for Little People) – instead select the dominant noun from the title; in this case, ‘the society’.

Square brackets can be used to add clarity to a passage, but this practice should be avoided. If a passage needs such additional information rewrite it, or paraphrase the quote.

For example: “They [the parents’ and teachers’ association] thought the NAPLAN [National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy] tests were essentially a good idea, but had major problems that needed to be carefully considered” she said.

Another symbol used when amending quotes is the ellipsis (…), used when you want to take something out of a quote for clarity other than ums and ahs. However, the literary use of an ellipsis is to signify a pause in the narrative.

INVERTED PYRAMID A fundamental writing style in news journalism is the inverted pyramid, which is unlike many other styles of writing. Most hard news journalism is short and straight to the point so readers can get an overview of what is being reported as quickly as possible. This differs from other forms of in-depth story telling like investigative journalism or creative non-fiction pieces as the main elements of the story are given away at the beginning. The further down the pyramid the facts are presented, the less significant they become. The benefit of the inverted pyramid writing style is that it enables people to read in a hurry to get the essential information. Additionally, newspaper editors cut stories to fit the allocated space from the bottom, so if the important information was at the end it would be lost.

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STYLE GUIDE

SUMMARY LEAD OR INTRO The lead or intro (introductory paragraph) is the first sentence of the story and sums up the major facts of the story. It determines the angle, which is the particular point of view the story takes or a way of looking at the subject, and tone of the story.

PARS Each sentence in news writing is a separate paragraph, referred to in the industry as ‘pars’. When an editor asks you to write a story that is five-pars, that means five sentences separated by paragraph returns. So, when you place a full stop at the end of a sentence, hit the ‘enter’ key for a new par.

5WS AND 1H All news stories aim to answer the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW questions. These are usually are contained in the intro.

COMMONLY USED WORDS Don’s Tavern NOT Dons Tavern A Block / B Block NOT ‘A’ block OR ‘B’ Block Bondies NOT Bondy’s

REFERENCE: Rich, C. (2000). Writing and reporting news: A coaching method. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning Lockwood, K (2005). Style: The essential guide for journalists and professional writers. News Custom Publishing

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shared knowledge on the types of grape, and we analysed a vine to determine the best time for harvesting,” she said.

“Viticulture is far more complicated than some realise. We are also taught to rec-

wines, it’s fascinating.”

Senior teaching fellow Steven Knight said wine studies taught students the history and art of wine making and was excellent knowledge to have in the business world.

“Students will find them-

situation upon graduation, and knowledge of wine is the perfect ice-breaker at these events,” he said.

Wine Studies is part of the Business faculty and teaches the history, processes and theory related to viticulture.

15 to 21, will include the Secret Location Party, the triathlon-style Bondie Bolt treasure hunt, a VIP guest presentation, and the BondStock Music Festival.

Tickets for the week-long event are $200. - Emma Moore

Bond Briefs

Examples of HD Stories

‘MAKE STUDY TIME 24/7’ Students p Living lifereview packaged overwhelming support for MLC trial prompts callsthe for library School of Communication and Media

Thursday, March 7, 2013

www.bond.ed

By SHaya LauGHLin

A Parisian BUELI student has swapped the traditional university dorm for a 50-foot sailboat cabin at the luxurious Southport marina.

By DaViD SimmonS “The library is vital as it pro- 24/7 mid-semester opening manager Adrian Dunster.

By JuStine LandiS-hanLey Already trying to adapt to the Café Bond’s “From our perspective, hav- new lu vides access to books, as well as time should be permanent. and Katrina haLL Australian culture, Valentin Got has received “I feel more secure studying ing the Batlabs and the MLC a resou Overwhelming support for individual and group study arfaced the unique challenges of the up from stu to closely late at night for mid-semester open means having thumbs keeping the Multimedia Learn- eas,” he said. yachting lifestyle.

A Bond monitor two distinct areas at Briefs su Film and television student exams in the MLC,” she said. ing Centre open 24/7 during The 20-year-old said an Austhat four out of five “It has a swipe card en- night,” he said. peak study times has prompt- Pablo Mejia-Lopez said stutralian friend let him stay for free prefer “Based on what we can the see new preed calls for extended hours at dents needed access to library trance and the open-plan dewhile he organised his Gold Coast lunch items ap- over th the Main Library throughout facilities in early morning as sign means you can easily see from the CCTV, it doesn’t life. made menu. pear that many students are who else is in the building. well as late at night. the year.

“I had very little money left, to Bond super 11pm “The Batlabs have so many using the MLC betweenCafé “It would be beneficial to More than 93 percent of the point where I may have needed Frewin said that th students want the MLC open open the library from 5am, as corridors and rooms that it and 7am as most of them stay to go back to Paris. I needed a soluaround the clock with 85 per- some students need access to feels like anyone can just ap- down in the Batlabs. came about in respo tion and this came along,” he said. some “Of course, we aredents happywanting to cent in favour of longer Main books to prepare for a morning pear around the corner.”

Reality quickly overtook the ro“We wanted som Opening the MLC around provide the service if students Library hours, according to a class at 8am,” he said. mance of living on a boat as Valendifferentatwith more Law and psychology student the clock put pressure on hu- do want to use the facilities Bond Briefs survey of 100 stutin came to grips with storm swells Ms Frewin said.

Tahlia Drury said the MLC’s man resources, said security night.” dents. and showering at the marina.

A-Block Resident Head of library services The university is trialing Classmate Arthur Howa, a sailHerreen said she w Wendy Abbott said budgetary 24/7 opening hours at the MLC or himself, admitted he was jealabout the new men constraints limited expansion in weeks six and seven and ous.

“It’s very conveni Resident Ardeshir Mehta said that

By Anjan Sachar of the library’s opening hours. has just extended the Main Li“I came on Students the boatliving onceonand it want said. students would be more productive campus “We are considering “You the don’t nee brary’s hours to 1am on weekwas amazing. The life at theatmariThe survey also s with greater food availability. “The extended hours The Brasserie feedback and are continuing to days and 11pm on weekends na is a lot more exciting than living Bond students still Brasserie hours being extended for monitor the usage of our spacduring peak study times. Weeks during mid-semester. in a dorm,” he said. more, notably a gre es,” she said.

Law and international relaeven an hour more would increase six and seven bring midterms and Valentin said he was very gratesalads and the in “We would look to of adjusting tions student Cameron Howlstudent productivity.” The Brassecausing students ful for how wellassignments everything worked of a cereal the hours in future when our bar. ett said the Main Library was rieon is open until 8.15pmhome during...the to study forto longer hours out but will move back shore in to meet Ms Frewin encou Valentin Got board his unique a 50-foot sailing boat. budgetary situation is not as an important resource and exweekLaughlin and 8pm on weekends. their deadlines. Bond University two weeks. students to use the Picture: Shaya tight.” tended hours should continue. box as a means of s new ideas for the C

aquatic

...and they want longer hours at Brasserie, too

PUSH FOR VOTE SYSTEM CHANGE

By JuStine LanDiS-HanLey

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The current Bond University Student Association ticket voting system could be overturned in the face of overwhelming student support for electing independent candidates.

The BUSA Election Reform Sub-committee will announce a new election system today after reviewing submissions and holding discussions with Faculty Student Associations.

A Bond Briefs survey of 100 students found that less than a quarter of students support the existing full-ticket system where students run for office as a group, while 43 percent want individuals to nominate.

Law and criminology student Lucy Ferguson said allowing independent candidates to run was more democratic.

“A ticket system seems to be based on who you know, and unless you are accepted by a group you have no chance of

running for office,” she said.

“Independent candidates don’t have to follow a party line, and can bring new ideas and represent a wider cross-section of students.”

Law Student Association president Madeline Wardleworth said the ticket system provided for a unified leadership team.

“Ticket building is a time consuming and resource consuming process, but it does mean that by the time you get into office your team is already established and in a position to work cohesively,” she said.

The election reform committee released a paper earlier this semester outlining several options for change, including individual nominations and a partial-ticket system, where people run in small groups based on sub-committees.

BUSA President Matthew Mclean said the review was

prompted by falling participation in Bond politics that reached an all-time low during the 2012 BUSA elections.

“Last year of the 17 positions up for election, there were only 20 nominations in total…and voting dropped from 1000 votes to about 400, “ he said.

“We want to move forward in a way that will increase student participation.”

Electoral Reform Sub-committee member Emilie Soust said she hoped that broad student opinion would determine the review panel’s decision.

The Humanities Student Association introduced the independent candidate system this semester, and former president Alan White said it increased student involvement.

“We had five positions with three people each running for the election, and saw a great diversity in the candidates, which was really exciting,” he said.

Cultural ch in food har

By JaDe Dwyer

Australian bacon is enough, soft serve i isn’t creamy enough all our food is prett At least that’s wh number of America students here at Bo For many North students travelling tralia, the same dis familiar with from country can taste v ent Down Under.

Film and Televis Silje Flack-Pederso arrived in Australia York two months ag humidity wasn’t th she has had to adju Gold Coast.

“The food in Aus been really tasteles to the food I eat bac the States,” Silje sa “On my third day tralia I had to take Robina to find Fros because the cornfla the IGA tasted like board.”

Bond Briefs

Other changes include an fourth runner up in Miss Uni- food to protect the birds in her outdoor area for Papyrus, ro- verse Australia in 2012, is the backyard.

“I love giving back and I at the RSPCA tating menus, a “cheap and human educator Thursday, March 14, 2013 School of Communication and Media cheerful” buffet at the Bras- while completing her doctorate have recently started donating sporting equipment to undersiere, and a new licensed venue in international law.

“I was able to combine my privileged children all over Afopening alongside the campus passion for philanthropy in rica,” she said. football fields.

Hair’s to balancing work, study

By Sarah howe

food outlet closed for two days in the aftermath of Cyclone Oswald.

Students www.bond.edu.au had the choice of the Brasserie or leaving campus and braving the wild weather.

- Keziah Sullivan

Fleeing bombs for safer Bond

Books for buckets Bondies dig deep to help with Lockyer flood clean-up

A law student enjoyed a night of glamour at the Annual Hair Expo Awards in Sydney this week as a final stress release before exams begin.

Paul Kelly said he needed the night off after a challenging semester.

“I always give myself at least oneLaughLin night off prior to exBy Shaya ams, it really helps me to BondI find University students de-stress refocus,” he said. swapped and their textbooks for of Avondale, near Bundaberg. the Paul ison a part-time shovels Sunday hair to modhelp fellow officers had just finished a

By AMity BrAnD el who was involved in clean up directly the flood-stricken 12-hour shift helping other cyclone An ambulance officer said he the Hair Valley.

Expo.

Lockyer victims in Bundaberg and Bargara feared for his life when a tornado “I love the contrast of Steve modLockyer Valley Mayor when they realised they needed gripped his vehicle during Cyclone eling studies, mysecond work Jonesand saidlaw this was the a 4WD to reach the girl, 15. “i’m gives metwo a creative outlet,” he time in years the area had Oswald. Ben O’neill had been about looking after the other guys,” said. been victim of severe flooding. called to help two fellow officers said Mr O’neill. “yes, i was tired, “Modeling fits involunwell Thirty-five also students who became stranded themaround my studies, andskills I’m not but at the end of the day i wanted teered their time and to selves when they went to rescue a (centre), creative director of obliged to work if houses, I feel I have clean mud-filled sort Paul Kelly (right) is joined by Gregson Gastar to be able to sleep at night.”

When teenager in the flood-isolated town too much study to get through.” through donated clothes and Gastar hair, and a fellow model. Picture: Supplied make sure affected residents the main street of Laidley so helped had 40 years’ worth of were doing well. belongings in the shed and lost that business can resume.”

“The response from the comLaidley resident and dona- it all. It’s very sad,” Mrs Dougmunity and from theBypeople las had said.to miss one week of uni tion co-ordinator Bec Doug-Emily Samantha wheeLdon outside the Lockyer valley haspublic University las relations said she student couldn’t has put into but saidBond the conference was student the opA Bond been overwhelmingly supportCaitlin words in the portunity of aMurdock lifetime. said the Bond immersed herself theoverwhelming highest ech- reive,” said Mr Jones. elons of thesponse Flood wasallowed an initiative from Bond University.

“The IFB Appeal conference fashfashion blogosphere by “Through the help attending of vol- a prestigious run by from Bondaround University Stu“We’re so conference grateful,” she ion bloggers the globe in said. unteers we have beenNew ableYork to City. dent Association in conjunction “The hardest part of the to come together to discuss blogging, clean up houses so residents the Student Philanthropy floods has been throwing onlinewith strategies, digital media and Emily Burman (pictured) recently peocan move back in and joined open up Council. lives away.bloggers A coupleofIcourse fashion,” Emily said. the ple’s likes of leading “It’s great to be a part of such a dyLeandra Medine, Susie Bubble and Zanita Morgan at the Independent namic and evolving industry. Fashion blogging is a passion of mine.”

Fashion Bloggers conference.

SPECIALREPORT Tornado shakes ambo

Heart of Big Apple for fashion fest

By Shaya LauGhLin

A Pakistani student who fled the violence of his homeland to study in Australia hopes to one day bring about change in his country.

International Relations student Noman Aziz said he came to Bond this semester to gain the skills necessary to help him make a difference in Pakistan.

“I came to Bond for knowlMr O’neill reached the Kolan river edge, but when I finish my the bridge Iwas water but Master feelunder obligated to he evendrove through. then tually go back tothe thetornado millions of struck. it picked up his Pakistanis who areambulance waiting for and spun it 360 degrees. Mr O’neill change,” he said. said increasing has Noman experienced other cyclones, suicide bombings in his hometown rescued sailors in the 1998 Sydney had forced him to continue to Hobart yacht race, yet said that his education night was the elsewhere. most frightening “I lived at the campus but experience of his life. we could go nowhere without the“It’s fearreally of becoming the to next rewarding be bombing’s victims,” he said. able to come out and make a “My brother and uncle were difference in the lives of those both killed.” who’ve lost so much,” she said.

Noman said he was amazed Student volunteer Aneale by the freedom students Banerjee said it Bond was great to be enjoyed. able to give back to the commuhas set up the Isha nityNoman through volunteering.

Trust to improve education, “Floods are definitely a devmedical and women’s astating facilities issue in Queensland,” rights in Pakistan. he said.

“The website will be launched soon and hopefully

by September we will officially launch the Isha Trust,” he said.

BONDIE MAKES OZ FIRST Female gaming pioneer wins scholarship to exclusive film school

By JuStine LandiS-hanLey and emma moore

A Bond University student is pioneering female involvement in the gaming industry, being the first Australian to win one of four Women in Games scholarships to the renowned Vancouver Film School.

Jaymee Mak, 19, a final semester Arts undergraduate, beat hundreds of applicants world-wide to receive a scholarship, worth about $50,000, to attend the school’s one-year Game Design program.

The multi-talented Jaymee said she applied for the scholarship after receiving encouragement from a Bond professor.

“I showed my design teacher

Jeff Brand a game I developed and he told me I could change the games industry,” Jaymee mak. she said.

Picture: Justine Joining a Landis-handley, school that emma moore has produced graduates who made big game titles like Halo and Mass Effect, Jaymee hopes to bring to life a game she designed and aptly titled The Only Girl in the World.

“I want to do most of the coding and design for The Only Girl in the World myself, so

this scholarship is an opportunity to get my head in the game and develop my skills,” she said.

Vancouver Film School Head of Game Design Professor Dave Warfield said the quality and originality of Jaymee’s concept made her a stand-out choice to the scholarship panel.

“It was an interesting idea, and the structure of the document, attention to detail, and creativity showed that she would be ideally suited as a game designer,” he said.

Professor Warfield said the Women in Gaming scholarship, which started in 2009, gave women the opportunity to hone their skills and encour-

aged the evolving role of women in gaming.

Bond University Associate Professor of Game Design Dr James Birt said winning the scholarship was testament to Jaymee’s determination.

“Vancouver Film School is recognised as one of the best in the world, and to have awarded the scholarship to an Australian student studying at a relatively small design school at Bond is remarkable, and tribute to Jaymee’s skill, ability and marketing her design,” he said.

Jaymee said she would not have pursued a degree in gaming if she did not receive the scholarship.

19

News Structure Tips ● Qualities: o fully factual accounts o loaded with detail o devoid of personal opinion o usually very time-sensitive and should be fresh ● in theory, straight news is simple to write ● in practice it can be quite difficult o too many facts (delete some?) don’t overload leads o ordering the facts (most important first)

● Objectivity and balance are essential: o no personal opinion o items reported must be facts

o facts must be credited to sources o If you quote a source putting forward one opinion, strive for an opposing view put forward by another source. ● Details: o time critical: mention WHEN in the first or second par o write in past tense o short sentences and paragraphs § one sentence per paragraph § 25 words per sentence § one idea per paragraph § avoiding the “wall of text” (esp. online) § Break facts with direct quotations § Strive to have a direct quote by third/fourth par o precise dates (not “last week” but “on July 15”) o inverted pyramid style: most important facts at the top, least important at the bottom

NOTES

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Minimum Story requirements Each story you file must contain the following minimum requirements: ● Minimum of 10 pars (paragraphs). Each paragraph in news writing is one sentence. Therefore your story needs to be at least 10 sentences. You can write more than 10 pars. ● Two sources: That is, you must interview at least two people and include what they say in your story.

You can interview more than two people. ● Two direct quotes from each: You must have at least two sentences or direct speech from each of your sources. That equates to four pars (sentences). ● Two pictures: you must submit one vertical and one horizontal orientation with your story ● Must have people: Your pictures must have people in them. They don’t have to be the people you interviewed. Pictures without people with not be graded, unless there is good reason and it has been raised with your tutor before submission.

Story Structure The following is the basic structure of a news story. It is intended as a guide and not as a template. This represents the minimum requirement – two sources, two direct quotes from each – and, competently done, is worth a pass.

P ar 1 The Intro: summarise. What happened? Include the 5Ws and 1H. Tell the reader the result or consequence of the event. Look at the big picture and leave out specific details unless essential to the telling.

P ar 2 Transition par: Expand the intro, start to put in details here. Or introduce your source/authority/attribution.

P ar 3 Introduce your source/authority here through paraphrasing. Remember to describe your source and include attribution (the word ‘said’) ... Varsity Lakes resident Jackie Petersen said …

P ar 4 First direct quote. “It really has impacted on me quite badly,” said Ms Petersen.

P ar 5 Continuing direct quote. “Since the tragedy, I haven’t been able to sleep and fear for my safety.”

P ar 6 More details about the event.

P ar 7 Introduce your second source/authority here through paraphrasing. Again, describe your source and include attribution ... Journalism student Jane Doe said …

P ar 8 Second source first direct quote. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” said Jane.

P ar 9 Continuing direct quote. “It was the most horrific experience.”

P ar 10 Final par. Give contact details, event details etc … For more information contact …. The event will be held on July 5 ….

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Tutorial Week One Journalism is a profession of two halves: news gatherers and news presenters. This subject is intended as an introduction to news gathering. You may, further in your degree (or career), wish to explore the news presentation side, which can be a hugely rewarding experience. However, a good understanding first of how news is gathered is essential.

News is everywhere, but where to begin? How do you see the forest for the trees? The answer is simple: It begins with you. What are your interests? What do you know? What do want to know? One of the greatest assets a journalist can have is an insatiable curiosity. This, coupled with critical thinking, and a desire to learn, is most important. All the rest — grammar, structure, interviewing — can be learned.

So go out, look around, and find what interests you. That’s where good storytelling begins. To get you started, here are a few tips on where to look. This is by no means a comprehensive list, merely a starting point.

Hopefully you will add to it as the semester progresses.

What’s important to you What do you know about Are you a member of any clubs/groups? Report on what they’re doing What annoys you Changes around the area – how will they affect people Is it new What is unusual? What looks strange?

Significant events/policies etc Rumours. These are starting points for investigations into the truth Exploring myths. Is it true the university lake has sharks in it? (the answer is ‘yes’) Stories behind things/objects/people etc History What is not fair?

Following an interesting person – profiles Habits, statistics Day in the life of…

Friends/family members and things they have heard Clubs/societies/community organisations Directories Websites. Check the Bond home page for news and events. Read the Daily Digest email Localise a national/international story. If tragedy unfolds in the US, interview American Bondies for their reactions ● Significant dates, eg. Anzac Day, is there a local angle ● SOCIAL MEDIA. This is a treasure trove of news leads. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Next week Homework: Join our Padlet group by scanning this QR code. Find something new/unusual/newsworthy on campus and publish one picture and headline to Padlet by the next session. It may be something you saw during the campus News Walk, or during the week after the walk. It may be something as routine as workers setting up for Sign On day, or students manning a stall. But it must be related to campus life.

Readings: The Style Guide contained in this work book.

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Tutorial Week Two Lecture News values: Any questions? Start the conversation at any time.

Tutorial discussion Which of the following is a legitimate news story: ● A woman rides her unicycle from Cairns to the Gold Coast to raise money and awareness to help save a rare frog from extinction. ● A cosmetics company launches a Facebook campaign to raise awareness of its anti-ageing cream that it says shows proven results in 14 days, which uses stem cell technology from aborted foetuses. ● An archbishop who is head of the Catholic church in Australia uses his Sunday sermon to denounce same-sex marriages. ● BMW engages Margot Robbie as its new corporate face and brings her to the Gold Coast to help launch its latest sports car.

Form into small groups of two or three (in Collaborate if remote users). Read the press clippings supplied by your tutor and determine whether they are news or opinion. Use the following as a guide: News ● Highlight facts stated as facts with no references to sources ● Highlight statements about facts attributed to sources ● Consider why some facts were simply stated and others were attributed ● Look at wording or punctuation that indicates attribution Opinion piece ● Look for words and phrases that tell the reader this is the writer’s opinion ● Look for facts stated with no clear attribution or reference to sources ● Highlight persuasive language that tells the read what they should do or think

In-class exercises 1. Writing a news story The following passage is from Inspector John Plod of the Southport Police, addressing a media conference.

Write a five-paragraph (par) story. The first par (the intro) should have the who, what, when, where, why and how. The second par should introduce the speaker and expand the story, and the next three pars are direct quotes. Remember, each par is one sentence.

Police arrived at a house in Ashmore about 10.30 last night to find two men dead on the driveway. The dog squad is still searching for offenders, and forensic officers are on scene. Both men were shot in the head in an execution-style murder. It is gang related, as both men are known to police as members of the Finks outlaw motorcycle club. Witnesses heard gun shots and then saw motorcycles drive away at speed. Police will not tolerate gang violence in this city. We will use whatever means necessary to stamp out these gangs and ensure the Gold Coast remains a safe city. If that means a war on bikies, then so be it.

NOTES

23

2. Writing about your partner Interview your partner and find out something interesting about them. Ask them why they are here, where they are from, and what they hope to achieve. Homework: Write a six-par story about them for next week.

NOTES

Next week Homework: Start thinking of how to plan your story: what is the angle, who to interview, how to find these people, what sort of picture to take.

Write a six-par story about your interview partner. Read this to the group next week.

Readings: Vol 1, Ch 1: What is News? Vol 1, Ch 2: What is a Journalist? Vol 1, Ch 3: The Shape of the News Story.

Weekly tip Writing is very easy. All you do is sit in front of a keyboard until little drops of blood appear on your forehead. - Red Smith Ernest Hemingway, a journalist in the United States long before he found fame as an author, once gave this advice on writing the standard newspaper story: Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English, not forgetting to strive for smoothness. Be positive, not negative.

It is a good general definition of the classic news story. If Hemingway had wished to be more specific, he could have added two additional thoughts. The art of writing the news story is SUMMARISE THE MOST IMPORTANT – OR INTERESTING – POINT FIRST: THEN RECORD THE FACTS IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE. 1.

Summarise 2.

Pick up the basic questions: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY AND HOW 3.

Expand Extract from News Sense (Jervis, 1993)

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Tutorial Week Three Lecture Story Structure: Any questions? Start the conversation at any time.

Tutorial discussion Pitch your story ideas .We’ll talk about potential interview sources, and how to add more information, or improve, your stories.

In-class exercises 1. Refer to hand-out supplided by your tutor, listing 12 news stories. Work in teams to conduct an editorial news conference.

2. Writing hard news stories.

Write the first three pars from the following for tomorrow’s newspaper. The facts were provided by Constable Ian Leak of Southport Police. ● A load of rubble fell off a truck at Smith Street, Southport. It happened at 5pm today. The driver of truck was arrested by police. He is 42 and police were required to use capsicum spray before taking him into custody. The motorway was closed for four hours after the accident. Police were asked to work overtime to clean up the mess. They will not be paid. The truck driver was uninjured. Fire and Rescue officers took two hours to retrieve the body of a 72-year-old woman whose car was crushed by the falling rubble. She died instantly. She had been attempting to pass the truck. Police suspect road rage.

NOTES

25

Write the first three pars from the following for tomorrow’s newspaper. The facts were provided by Gold Coast City councillor Tom Planner. ● Five Gold Coast City Council staff have today been charged with assault. The officers were arrested in Surfers Paradise. A homeless man is in a critical condition in the Gold Coast Hospital after sustaining serious head injuries after a disagreement with the council officers. The five officers were evicting homeless people from Cavill Mall on Saturday night. The officers had been ordered to act following a call from the mayor to clean up Gold Coast tourist areas. Homeless people say they are being discriminated against. More than 60 homeless people were ‘rounded-up’ in the latest raid by council staff.

NOTES

Next week Homework: ● Ensure you have smartphone handy. We will go through the basics of news photography and do some basic exercises. .

Readings: Vol 1, Ch 4: Writing the Intro in Simple Steps; Vol 1, Ch 5: Writing the Intro, the Golden Rules

Weekly tips One simple sentence to an intro, one idea to a sentence. – Sir Harold Evans Be active: Avoid the passive voice. Often a weak sentence can be made more emphatic by rewriting the passive reliance on the “there is” construction.

There were riots in several cities last night in which several shops were burned.

(Passive) 26

Rioters burned shops in several cities last night.

(Active: shorter, more direct) Be positive: Tell the reader what is, not what is not. (The preferred version is on the right.)

The project was not successful........................................................................ The project failed.

The company will not proceed with the plan.................. The company has abandoned the plan.

They did not pay attention to the complaint.................................... They ignored the complaint.

Strive for the basic construction of subject-verb-object at the start of sentences. Let this be the locomotive that hauls the rest of the sentence along.

Rebels seized a building... Activists burned the Australian flag... Students demonstrated on campus...

Parts of speech Subject: This is the thing being talked about. “The dog bit the man.”

Verb: Words that represent what people and things do, or are done to them. “The dog bit the man.”

Object: The thing affected by the verb. “The dog bit the man.”

Phrase: A group of words without a finite verb. “The dog with the big teeth bit the man.”

Clause: Group of words that contain a subject, verb and predicate that forms part of a larger sentence to which it is normally linked with a conjunction. “The two trains collided after the Westbound was switched to the Eastbound’s track.”

Conjunction: A word that joins phrases or clauses together: but, and, yet, although, when, however, after.

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Tutorial Week Four Lecture Interviewing: Any questions? Start the conversation at any time.

Tutorial discussion Pitch your story ideas. We’ll talk about potential interview sources, and how to add more information, or improve, your stories.

In-class exercises 1. Select a partner. Go out and about on campus with your camera/phone and take photos of people doing something. It can be a fictitious situation, eg: a. Exam stress. Take a picture of students in front on a computer or studying. b. Daily life: take a picture of someone doing something routine. c. Food fair. Take a picture to accompany a story about food on campus – it can be set at the Lakeside, Papyrus Cafe etc. d. Vox pop. Take pictures of five random people.

Ensure you take VERTICAL and HORIZONTAL versions for each story.

2. Word usage exercises.

Circle the better word in the following sentences: a. He said the car cost around/about/approximately $30,000. b. Ms Jones said/claimed the school would use/utilise the new hall. c. He met with/met the vice-chancellor on Wednesday. d. The soldiers walked amongst/among the villagers while/whilst helicopters flew overhead.

Which of the following sentences is correct? ● A four-year-old girl was hurt in the crash, said police. ● A 4-year-old girl was hurt in the crash, said police. ● A four year old girl was hurt in the crash, said police. ● 4 year old girl was hurt in the crash, said police. ● More than 22 people tried to sit at 3 tables, she said. ● More than twenty-two people tried to sit at three tables, she said. ● More than 22 people tried to sit at three tables, she said. ● The cyclone damaged 1,500 houses. ● The cyclone damaged 1500 houses.

Identify the redundancies in each of the following sentences. Rewrite the sentences to make them more concise. a) There were various delegates from five different countries. b) Jack loved his brand new car and he polished it to absolute perfection. c) He agreed to supplement the existing workforce with two possible alternatives. d) It was a complete success, which organisers said was the best ever. e) Jack currently has four jobs and he says one of them has got to go.

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Which of the following words is misspelled: pastime; judgment; accommodate; abatoir; cemetary; humorous?

Which is the correct word in each of the following sentences? a) The landslide forced them to take an (alternate/alternative) route. b) He (practices/practises) his guitar every afternoon. c) The verbal abuse had little (affect/effect) on the seasoned politician. d) However, he was (affected/effected) by the death of his mother. e) He (might/may) be the best candidate we have. f) He (might/may) have won if he had been better prepared. g) The ladybeetle is (miniscule/minuscule) 3. News hierarchy exercise.

Refer to handout for instruction.

NOTES

Next week Homework: Bring in your draft story.

Readings: Vol 1, Ch 6: Writing the News Story in Simple Steps; Vol 1, Ch 7: Writing the News Story – Clear Writing

Weekly tips Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it, and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by it. – Joseph Pulitzer A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. – Proverbs Use keywords at the beginning, or as near the beginning, of the intro as possible.

Eliminate wasted and redundant words from the intro at every opportunity.

Two policemen forced their way into a locked ceiling where a small boy was trapped and died of electrocution.

The two policemen were killed while forcing a hole in the ceiling. So the key words must take pride of place.

Two policemen were electrocuted while trying to rescue a small boy locked in a ceiling.

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Tutorial Week Five Lecture Structure: Any questions? Start the conversation at any time.

Tutorial work

This week we will practice interviewing each other. The idea of the exercises is to dispel fears about interviewing strangers. Refer to the hand-out for instructions.

In-class exercise: Overloaded Intros 1. Rewrite the following intros. a. The teenage daughter, 13, of an allegedly murdered woman, whose decomposing remains were found inside a house at suburban Kensington gardens, is missing and police and her family are seriously concerned about her welfare as the woman could have been dead for up to three weeks and the daughter had not been seen in that time, said Detective Inspector Harold plod of Meadsmore police. b. At what may be the final concert of their career, sensational boy band One Direction took their bows and threw flowers to their adoring Brisbane fans. c. Opposition by some veterinarians to his practising on animals is costing him more than $4000 a week, a Burleigh chiropractor said yesterday. d. Gangs of youths have terrorised them and made them prisoners in their own homes, residents of an Upper Coomera street said yesterday.

2. Refer to your tutor’s instructions for the next exercise

Next week Homework: Readings: Vol 1, Ch 8: Quotes; Vol 1, Ch 9: Attribution; Vol 1, Ch 16: Interviewing Basics

Weekly tips Learning from books and teachers is like travelling by carriage. But the carriage will serve only while one is on the high road. He who reaches the end of the high road will leave the carriage and walk afoot. – Johannes Itten I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. – Confucius

Verb agreement The verb must agree with its subject in person and number. I give. but: He gives (person). Spelling is important. but: Spelling and grammar are important (number). The team is small (it has few players). but: The team are small (its players are not big).

Tense agreement If you start in one tense, stick to it, particularly when attribution is involved. This is present tense: “Chocolate is his favourite flavour, says Joe.” This is past tense: “Chocolate was his favourite flavour, said Joe.” Or this: “Mary would be at the party, said Joe.” News reports predominantly will be in past tense. The reporter is describing something that has happened. The exception is intros, which should be written in dramatic present to give a story immediacy.

30

Tutorial Week Six In-class exercise: News Numbers 1. Read the following, then highlight and number the facts (News Numbers) in descending order of importance (the inverted pyramid). Each bullet below may contain more than one News Number if there is more than one fact, including in the direct quotes. Make your own bulleted list comprised of your News Numbers in which each bullet represents a single sentence. Each bullet should have no more than three (maybe four) News Numbers. Write a complete stand-alone sentence for each bullet, starting anywhere, not necessarily with the intro. Compile them into a coherent news story for that morning’s Gold Coast web edition. Your story must include quotes.

The Facts

● Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands ● An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter Scale, with an epicentre 349 kilometres northwest of the island’s capital, Honiara. ● A tsunami with a wave eight of six metres wept away entire villages, possibly as many 100 ● Happened this morning ● Caused at least 60 known deaths ● 1000 people are reported missing ● Popular area with surfers because of long breaks ● Isolated mountain settlements cut off from outside world ● The island is home to 550,000 people ● The roads out of the capital, Honiara, are cut off and the Honiara International Airport, 10km east of the city, is closed due to flooding ● The Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres. The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal ● The nation of the Solomon Islands is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. ● On 2 April 2007, the Solomon Islands were struck by a major earthquake followed by a large tsunami. Initial reports indicated that the tsunami, which mainly affected the small island of Gizo, was as high as 10 metres. The death toll from the resulting tsunami was at least 52 people, and the tsunami destroyed more than 900 homes and has left thousands of people homeless. ● Sources ● Spokesman for Ministry of Homeland Security: “A huge tsunami has devastated part of the island of Guadalcanal with the death toll officially standing at 60. We expect this figure to rise dramatically as we launch rescue operations. However, we have been hampered in our efforts to reach survivors due to dangerous conditions. Debris is scattered everywhere. The army has mobilised and we are sending teams of soldiers in dinghies to look for survivors. This operation is too big for our resources. We desperately need foreign aid and plead with the Australian Government to assist us.” ● Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr. “We are deeply concerned for the welfare of Australians missing on Guadalcanal and can assure the Solomons Government Australia will do all it can to help with the rescue operation. However, we cannot send aid until the local authorities reopen Honiara’s main airport.” ● Travel agency, Surfari International. “Surfari had a tour operating on the northern peninsula of Guadalcanal, which comprised a group of 12 Australian surfers. We have been in contact with the tour guide, who says 10 of the group have been accounted for. The guide is still searching for the remaining two. One of them is champion Gold Coast surfer Joel Parkinson.”

Next week Homework: ● Move on to your next story, if you haven’t already.

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NOTES

Readings: Vol 1, Ch 10: Language and Style Basics; Vol 1, Ch 12: Language and Style: Grammar

Weekly tips Basic grammar A sentence must have at least a subject and a verb. The student (subject) studied (verb). However, more often a sentence has a subject verb and object. The student (subject) studied (verb) for the exam (object).

Parts of Speech Nouns: Naming words, people or things. Desk, chair, mother, father.

Pronouns: Take the place of nouns. Him, her, he, she.

Verbs: Doing words. Run, break, smash, drive.

Adjectives: Describe a noun or a pronoun. The blue ball; the old man; the fast car.

Adverbs: Describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. The brightly coloured shirt; happily married; gaily singing.

Preposition: Indicates the relation between words in a sentence. The caption stood on the deck. The boy played with the ball.

Conjunction: Links phrases or clauses within a sentence. And, which, but, yet.

Articles: Give meaning and context to the noun. A, an, the.

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Tutorial Week Seven Writing the news The five Ws and one H are essential to the news story. So to is background information. Jervis (News Sense, 1993) says it is the duty of all journalists to supply ALL ESSENTIAL BACKGROUND FOR THE READER. The Backgrounding Rule bears repeating: ASSUME THAT YOUR READER KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT THE SUBJECT AT HAND. The news story should be understandable to the person fresh out of prison, or the migrant fresh off the boat.

Plenty of good advice is at hand in Writing for Journalists (Hicks, 2002). Here are some condensed tips.

Make a plan before you write: have an idea of what you will write. Keep it in your head, or on paper. Be prepared to change it as circumstance changes.

Write straight on the keyboard: don’t bother with handwritten drafts. Write on keyboard and aim to type as fast as you can think.

Write notes to get started: you don’t have to start at the beginning of the story to get going. Don’t sweat over the first paragraph, although mastering the intro should enable the rest of the story to flow. Begin somewhere in the middle; begin with something you know you’re going to include – an anecdote, a quote – knowing you can reposition later.

Revise, revise: always allow time for revision. Look for the obvious – errors of fact, names wrong, spelling and grammar mistakes, confusion caused by bad punctuation - try to read your story from the reader’s point of view. Does it make sense? Is it clear? Does it really hit the target?

Master the basics: you can’t start to write well without having a grasp of the basics of English usage such as grammar, spelling and punctuation. Find a good instructional book and read it.

Structure: building the pyramid A common development of a news intro in the classic news pyramid is to take the story it contains and retell it in greater detail: Intro A six-year-old boy was rescued by firemen after he became wedged under a portable building being us as a polling station.

Retelling of intro Jack Moore was playing with friends near his home in Nevilles Cross Road, Hebburn, when he crawled into the eight-inch space under the building, where he became firmly wedged.

Firemen used airbags to raise the cabin before Jack was freed …

Further information and quote … and taken to hospital, where he was treated for cuts and bruises and allowed home.

His mother, Lisa, said: “He is a little shaken and bruised but apart from that he seems all right”.

In a longer story the intro can be retold twice, each time with more detail: Intro A woman artist was on the run last night after threatening to shoot three judges in the Royal Courts of Justice.

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First retelling of intro Annarita Muraglis stood up in the public gallery brandishing what appeared to be a Luger and ran towards the judges screaming: “If anybody moves I am going to shoot.”

Two judges tried to reason with her as the third calmly left court to raise the alarm.

Within minutes armed police and the dog squad surrounded the huge Victorian gothic building.

But Muraglis, who has been twice jailed for contempt – for striping in court and throwing paint at a judge – disappeared into the warren of corridors.

The drama brought chaos to central London for five hours as roads around The Strand were closed.

Second retelling of intro Witnesses said Lord Justice Beldam, 71, Mrs Justice Bracewell, 62, and Mr Justice Mance, 54, were hearing a routine criminal appeal when Muraglia – who had no connection with the case – stood up in he gallery.

“She was holding a gun American-style with both hands and seemed deranged,” said barrister Tom Mackinin.

Further information: background Italy- born Muraglia, from Islington, North London, was jailed for contempt in December 1994 after breaking furniture and attacking staff at a child custody hearing.

Later, during a review of her sentence, she …

Write the first three pars from the following for that morning’s website.

It’s early Tuesday morning at the Centerville Gazette. Making your usual phone checks, you get word from the fire department about a house fire early this morning. Deputy Fire chief Larry Johnson tells you the following: The blaze was in a row house in the Cedar Glen section of the city. Address is 245 Elm St. A family with two kids was asleep on the second floor. Apparently someone in one of the bedrooms fell asleep smoking a cigarette and that ignited the bedsheets. A neighbour who was up late watching TV smelled the smoke and dialed 000 after looking out his window and seeing flames. The 000 call was received at 2.45am. and firefighters were on the scene by 2.50am.

It took firefighters about 30 minutes to extinguish the flames. The fire was centered in the second floor.

Johnson tells you firefighters using a long ladder managed to pull the two kids out of their upstairs bedroom, which had a window facing the street. But the two adults were in a rear bedroom and took much longer to find. Johnson says all four family members were rushed to St. Mary’s Hospital. He adds that there was minor damage to the adjoining houses but that no one else was injured. The house where the fire started had extensive damage, he says.

You call St. Mary’s. Janice Robinson, the spokeswoman there, says the two children are being treated for smoke inhalation but are expected to survive. She says the two are both girls, ages 6 and 8. She says the mother, age 36, is in critical condition with first-degree burns over 70 percent of her body. The father, who also suffered severe burns, was pronounced DOA. She says she can’t give you any names until next of kin have been notified.

It’s 9.30am. Your editor wants an article within 30 minutes for the Gazette’s website. Bang out the story.

Homework Readings: Vol 1, Ch 11: Language and Style - Words

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NOTES

Weekly tips “Remember that a newspaper is mostly read by very busy people, or by very tired people, or by very uneducated people, none of whom are going to hunt up a dictionary to find out what you mean. And never forget that, if you don’t hit a reader between the eyes with your first sentence, there is no need of writing a second one.” ~ Randolph Hearst “Brevity is the soul of wit.” ~ Shakespeare

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Tutorial Week Eight Tutorial discussion What is the hardest part of conducting an interview? What problems have you encountered?

In-class exercises 1. Write a news story from the following speech and press updates: PROFESSOR CLIVE PALMER Clive Palmer is a businessman and politician from Queensland, Australia, most widely known as owner of Mineralogy and as the leader of his own party, the Australia United Party. His net worth was estimated by Forbes magazine to be US$795 million.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming. As you may be aware, last year I bought the fantastic Hyatt Coolum Resort and immediately started making what was already a world-class facility even better.

The Palmer Coolum Resort is one of the best in the country. Set at the base of Mount Coolum, close to the coastal suburb of Coolum Beach, the resort covers 150 hectares of exquisitely natural bush-land. Guests are immersed in the sub-tropical climate of the Sunshine Coast paradise, with a diverse array of outdoor activities to enjoy around the resort. Equipped with an Australian PGA Championship golf course, beach club and privately patrolled beach, the largest day spa in the southern hemisphere, our team ensure the best of everything.

I can now tell you what is good, is about to become great. I plan to redevelop this jewel in the Sunshine Coast and spend $2.5 billion in the process. My new resort will have a high rollers’ casino, a new airport, beachfront hotel and retail development, theme park, water park, aviary and aquarium.

The casino will be exclusive, and it will have a $100 entry fee, just to get in the doors. This will deter problem gamblers, and has proved to be successful in Singapore.

I plan to link the resort by monorail to a new airport that will be capable of taking A380s and 747 Jumbo jets from Singapore, Beijing and Tokyo directly to the Sunshine Coast. I also will operate an ocean-going hovercraft service with capacity for up to 400 people from the Brisbane CBD to Coolum.

A convention centre will accommodate 5000 people with underground parking for 3000 cars, and the beachfront hotels would add 1000 new rooms. This project will create 9000 construction jobs and help make the Sunshine Coast one of the most popular tourism regions in the world. I anticipate employment at the Coolum Palmer Resort would grow to 2500 people.

Some of the land will need to be purchased, including state government land on the Coolum beachfront. I’m confident we will get that backing. The complex could bring in up to $100 billion in revenue for the state government annually.

We’ve got to ask ourselves: with what we’ve got in Queensland, why it is that year in and year out the number one holiday destination for Asian tourists is Hawaii? Hawaii and other Pacific nations have taken all the real tourism growth out of the Australian and Queensland economies. We have not been able to compete with the beachfront development at Waikiki in Hawaii or with Fiji and other destinations because of restrictions.

This is our chance to reassert ourselves as a premier destination.

Our theme park has been designated for an 80 acre area and our options include family-orientated attractions.

We will also have some of the best dining and retail in Queensland. We want people at Noosa to come here to shop and eat. The new resort will boast international retail brands and a wide spectrum of food and entertainment experiences.

At this stage the development proposals are not development applications, but will be put to the Sunshine Coast community for consideration. We will spend the next six months seeing if the community wants the Sunshine Coast to lead the world. The construction phase would take approximately three years.

Thank you for your time.

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Update MEDIA RELEASE Palmer Coolum Resort launches world-first theme park Professor Clive Palmer today announced that as part of his $2.5 billion redevelopment of Palmer Coolum Resort would be a dinosaur-themed family amusement park.

Prof Palmer will develop 80 acres of land in a themed park modelled on the Hollywood movie Jurassic Park.

Prof Palmer said visitors to the park would go on “safaris” in monorailed vehicles that move through different environments populated with life-sized animatronics dinosaurs that move and roar. There would be about 160 dinosaurs throughout the park.

He has also been in deep discussion with the people who successfully cloned Dolly the sheep to bring a dinosaur to life.

“We have made great advances in recent months,” said Prof Palmer.

“We have the complete genome of a T-rex that was obtained from blood in a mosquito fossilised in amber. Our biggest challenge will be to gestate an egg and set the right conditions for it to hatch.”

Once the eggs hatch, the juvenile dinosaurs would be placed in a special enclosure surrounded by 10m- high electric fences designed to keep the animals inside once they matured.

“This will be the envy of every amusement park and museum in the world,”said Prof Palmer.

“And it will be the delight of every child in the world. Imagine seeing one of these creatures up close, the first time one has walked the earth in more than 65 million years.”

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Tutorial Week Nine Tutorial discussion What role does public relations and/or corporate communications play within the news media?

In-class exercises The following are real press releases that were submitted to local news organisations in the hope of gaining publicity. Read each and do the following: 1. Identify whether the release has news value, is commercially driven, or has no news value at all.

2. If it has news value, identify what that is, and write a three-par brief.

3. Consider what your next step would be to expand the story.

Press release 1 Good afternoon,

The Tweed Heads, Kingscliff and Murwillumbah Libraries for the July school holidays are providing the following free children’s events. Any assistance with publicity for these sessions would be most appreciated. (Tweed Link job no A2283.1886) FRAN could you please include prior to first week of July for us?????

Chris Harvie singing and dancing! 0-5yrs Kingscliff Wed 4th July 10.30am bookings 0266741607 Tweed Heads Thurs 5th July 11am bookings 0755693150 Murwillumbah Thurs 12th July 11am bookings 0266702427 Fairytale Puppet Theatre - suitable for all ages!

Murwillumbah 9th July 10am bookings essential 0266702427 Kingscliff 10th July 10am bookings essential 0266741607 Tweed Heads 13th July 10am bookings essential 0755693150 Murwillumbah Mobile Making Thursday 5th July @ 2.30pm Age group: 7-13 years. Visit the library and have fun making your own mobile. Bookings essential 0266702427, places limited.

Regards, Colette Stapleton |Acting Tweed Area Librarian| Richmond-Tweed Regional Library Cnr Wharf & Brett Streets,Tweed Heads NSW, 2485 | T: 0755693150 F: 0755991378 www.rtrl.nsw.gov.au<http://www. rtrl.nsw.gov.au/> The Richmond Tweed Regional Library acknowledges the people of the Bundjalung Nation, traditional custodians of the land on which we work.

NOTES

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Press release 2

MEDIA RELEASE Street Numbering Can Save Your Life!

“Lives may be at risk!” is the stern warning issued by the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) over the lack of adequate street numbering, especially in the town of Allora.

The lack of proper numbering has the potential to cost someone their life.

QAS has advised the Southern Downs Regional Council that many properties in Allora have no uniform numbering system and while some houses have numbering they were not in a standard format and very few were reflective.

This can make it extremely difficult to locate the correct property not only for the ambulance service, but also other emergency services vehicles. While most ambulance vehicles are equipped with GPS systems it is still vital to verify the correct address, certainly when there is a need to knock on someone’s door in the middle of the night.

The Southern Downs Regional Council encourages all residents to ensure that their properties have adequate, reflective numbering.

“Reflective numbering on your property will ensure that, should it be necessary, your property can be located at any time, even in poor weather conditions,” said Adam Colrain, Acting Director Engineering Services.

For more information, please contact Council’s Engineering Services department on 4661 0300.

ENDS

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Press release 3 Media Alert 19 June

Catchment Action Plan Roadshow visits 18 Northern Rivers towns Which matters most to you? Weeds or cane toads? Erosion or sea turtles? Fishing or farming?

The new Catchment Action Plan for the Northern Rivers will set priorities for investment in natural resource management projects over the next decade, from Port Macquarie to Tweed Heads and west to the New England Tablelands.

Residents and landowners are invited to find out more at a series of eighteen community information sessions being held across the region during June.

The NRCMA has just released a Discussion Paper setting out proposed ‘New Directions’ for the next Catchment Action Plan (CAP2) and invites the public to have their say.

Whether you enjoy fishing or bird watching, run a farm or an eco-tourism business - if you’ve got an opinion about managing the local environment, this event is for you.

Dates: Events are being held between the 18th and 25th June Locations include: Grafton, Yamba, Lismore, Murwillumbah, Casino, Kyogle, Woodenbong, Bangalow, Nambucca Heads, Kempsey, Wauchope, Dorrigo, Coffs Harbour, Tenterfield, Glenn Innes, Guyra, Walcha, and Armidale.

Event details: For a full list of workshop dates & venues, and further information visit: HYPERLINK “http://www.yoursay. northern.cma.nsw.gov.au/” yoursay.northern.cma.nsw.gov.au To arrange an interview contact: Jane Baldwin, NRCMA ph. 02 6642 0636 or mobile 0428 405 942 <Ends>

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Press release 4 From: Nancy Ruscitti [mailto:nruscitti@cws.org.au] Sent: Monday, 25 June 2015 2:47 PM To: Nancy Ruscitti Subject: Media Alert- Galah

Media Alert Currumbin Wildlife Hospital staff and volunteers were sad to see a Galah come to the wildlife hospital last week that had been shot and left fighting for her life!!

Georgie an adult female Galah was found in Mudgerabah by a local resident, Critically injured Georgie was rush to the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital where Senior Vet Michael Pyne did emergency surgery and found a single bullet that had gone through both Georgie’s lungs and lodged in her neck, leaving Georgie with a ¼ of her lung capacity.

All media are invited to attend a photo opportunity and Interview with Senior Vet Michael Pyne , Georgie the Galah and the single bullet that has now been removed.

Date: Tuesday 26th June Time: 11:00am Location: Currumbin Wildlife Hospital main entrance -28 Millers Drive Currumbin 4223 All media that wish to attend please respond to this email or call Nancy Ruscitti on (07) 5534 0829.

Many Thanks

Nancy Ruscitti Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary E: nruscitti@cws.org.au P: 55 340 829 W: www.cws.org.au

NOTES

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Tutorial Week Ten In-class exercises 1.Write a story for the early morning digital edition from the following information from police. They also gave you a CCTV screengrab.

The Facts A man and a woman robbed a petrol station at Arundel overnight. It was about 12.30am.

Police have appealed for anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers via 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au.

Police say the couple arrived in a 4WD, stopping at a petrol pump. The man filled the vehicle with fuel and the woman entered the store.

The woman went behind the counter and threatened the employee with a knife. She took $350 in cash and left. The woman and the man left in the 4WD. The store employee was not physically harmed. Police released CCTV footage that showed a woman dressed in a revealing low-cut top that exposed her breasts, and a beanie.

NOTES

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2.Write a story for the digital edition from the following information from police.

An extensive search yesterday involving the Westpac Rescue helicopter, water police and lifeguards was carried out for 11 hours for a man presumed missing in surf at Broadbeach.

The search for the man resumed at first light today (Tuesday).

A man and a woman saw a swimmer in trouble in the surf at Broadbeach at 10pm on Sunday. They heard cries for help.

The man entered the water but had to turn back due to strong currents and dangerous surf.

Police have not found any personal items and no one has been reported missing.

Police had also been looking for an Irishman who went swimming in Lake Orr at Varsity Lakes last Thursday night. They called off the search yesterday (Monday).

Superintendent Glen Allen said police could find no trace of the Irishman and gave a warning.

"There's no assistance that can be given to anybody at that time of night.

"They need to think about not just themselves but the ramifications of that sort of thing."

NOTES

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Additional Writing Exercises In-class exercises 1. Write the first three pars from the following information. You are writing for that morning’s online edition. You obtained the information from the duty sergeant at Palm Beach Police while doing your morning phone calls.

There was an accident at Palm Beach at 7.10 this morning at the intersection of 19th Avenue and the Gold Coast Highway. A mother taking her children to school was driving south when it turned right onto 19th Avenue. Her Ford stationwagon struck a fire engine responding to an emergency call, with its lights and siren in operation. Two firemen aboard the vehicle were hospitalized; however, their condition is not known at this point in time. The mother was killed instantly in the serious and tragic accident. One of two children, aged four and six, is in a critical condition. Authorities have not yet determined who was at fault, but police suspect the fire engine went through a red light. The truck was responding to a report of a store fire. However, it was a false alarm. The stationwagon was totally destroyed. Damage to the truck was estimated at $50,000.

2. Write the first three pars from the following information. You are writing for that weekend’s print edition.

It’s another statistical study, one that surprised researchers. For years, researchers thought that advanced education translated into greater marriage stability. Then they discovered that marital disruption is greater among more highly educated women than any other group (except those who haven’t graduated from high school). Now a sociologist at The University of Queensland has conducted a new study which explains some of the reasons why women with graduate degrees are more likely to be graduated from their marriages as well. The key fact seems to be timing.

Women who married early, before they began graduate school, are more likely to have established traditional family roles which they find difficult to change. When the wife goes back to school and no longer wants to handle most of the housework, it causes resentment on the part of the husband. If the husband refuses to pitch in and do his share, it creates tension. Such unhappiness on both sides often leads to divorce. Indeed, a third of the women who began graduate school after they were married ended up separated or divorced. By comparison, only 15.6 percent of those who married after they had finished an advanced degree ended up divorced or separated. They seem more likely to find husbands supportive of their educational goals.

3. Write the first three pars from the following information. You are writing for that evening’s website and the information was given to you by Detective Sergeant Bill Knotts of Broadbeach police.

A 19-year-old shoplifting suspect died last week. Police identified him as Timothy Milan. He lived at Marine Parade, Labrador and was employed as a cook at a restaurant in Broadbeach. A guard at David Jones Department Store saw Milan stuff two jumpers down his pants legs, then walk past a checkout line and out of the department store. The guard then began to chase Milan, who ran, and 3 bystanders joined in the pursuit. They caught up with Milan, and, when he resisted, one of the bystanders applied a headlock to him. A police officer who arrived at the scene reported that Milan collapsed as he put handcuffs on him. An autopsy conducted today to determine the cause of death revealed that Milan died due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. Police today said they do not plan to charge anyone involved in the case with a crime because it “was a case of excusable homicide.” The police said the bystanders did not mean to injure Milan or to kill him, but that he was fighting violently—punching and kicking.

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You are writing community news stories for a community website. Write the first four pars for each of the following stories.

1

The Animal Welfare League at Coombabah takes in unwanted cats and dogs and tries to rehome them. However, the recent warm weather has seen a spike in the number of kittens being brought into the shelter.

The shelter’s state rehoming manager Melinda Phipps tells you the shelter has double the number of kittens it normally has, with 125 cats and 250 kittens. She says it is peak breeding season for cats.

She encouraged people to adopt a kitten, a cat or even cats that are recovering from the flu.

She also encouraged pet owners to have their animals desexed. She said cats are sexually active at four months and can be sexed from that age, and it usually is better for the cat’s health if they are desexed at an early age.

Quotes: “Ideally, we would like half that number in care. Every day we have more cats coming into the shelter looking for homes from owners who were not expecting to have litters and don’t have the facilities to look after them. A lot of owners don’t know their cat can be breeding from four months of age and they can have multiple litters in a season as well. We have a temperate climate, ideal for breeding. Because we only have a couple of months that are really cooler, that’s the only time that we don’t tend to have lots of kittens.”

2

Some people in the Coomera area have been doing it tough. A Coomera café owner says she is trying to help them by giving out free coffee and meals.

Joanne Henderson of Junction Café in Days Road has a system in which money is collected from people who leave tips. That money then goes onto a ‘pay it forward’ board to be used as donations for others. She said the idea came from her son, Chad, who is the head chef at the café and read about a similar scheme operating in the US. She said the café was happy to use the money for people down on their luck, and said it had the support of her full-paying customers. The café also organized recently for some residents of an aged care facility to come in for morning tea, paid for by the pay it forward board.

Quotes: “So, when customers give us tips, we peg them to a pay-it-forward board at our cafe and use them as donations for others. We are happy to pay for anyone who is a bit short for a meal or a coffee. We get a fabulous response from customers. When they ask about the pay-it-forward board, they are very happy to donate. We give to people who are down on their luck and need a bit more love and generosity in their lives. We are really grateful to our ¬customers for their generosity. We recently promoted our pay-it-¬forward idea on our Facebook page and some ladies popped in and donated $5 each. They didn’t buy anything here.”

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NOTES

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JOUR11-100 Writing for the News Media - Assessment Guidelines: P to HD

Pass: According to Bond guidelines, meeting most or all of the minimum requirements of your assignment will earn you a Pass. Most of the students in each class can expect to receive a Pass (50-64% = typically a C in high school or a U.S. university) for their stories. The minimum requirements are outlined in the study guide and on iLearn. Please contact your instructor if you have any questions.

To earn a Credit (65-74%), you must meet and then exceed the minimum requirements – for example, have a particularly challenging story with a memorable intro, extensive research, and so on. We encourage students to aim for a Credit (equal to a B in high school or a U.S. uni) but the number of students who achieve Credits varies from semester to semester.

To earn a Distinction (75-84%), you must have a "wow" factor. This means you meet and exceed all the requirements for a Pass and a Credit. Your story is unusual yet relevant; your structure is logical, coherent and inter-connected. In addition, your story leaves readers (and instructor) saying, "Wow, that was amazing!" Based on past experience, up to about 15% of the total cohort might earn a Distinction (equal to an A in high school or a U.S. uni) as their final mark, although early in the semester there might be no Distinctions.

To earn a very rare High Distinction (85-100%), you must meet and exceed all the requirements for a Pass, Credit and Distinction. You reach the point where there is almost nothing you can do better. Again based on past classes, perhaps up to five or possibly 10 per cent of the total number of students in the subject might earn an HD (equal to an A+ in high school/a U.S. uni) as their final mark, although it’s likely that early in the semester nobody will. Again, this varies from semester to semester.

Hopefully no students will Fail (below 50%). If any do, it probably means they don’t prepare, or their stories don’t meet the assignment requirements, or they have no structure, or there are errors and inaccuracies, or they simply don’t attend classes.

Note that on a five-mark assessment there is only one mark between e.g. a 60% Pass and an 80% Distinction.

Many of you are high achievers, and were at or close to the top of your high school class. Now all of you are at uni, and especially in journalism are competing with each other for good marks.

I (Mike) was the top student in my high school from grades nine through 12. Yet in my first year at uni with its far higher standards, expectations, and more stringent marking/assessment criteria – and all the other high schools’ top students - I struggled to get much more than a Pass in most of my subjects: quite a shock at first but a reality check for me. I gradually improved and eventually graduated with my Master’s degree “magna cum laude” (with high honours). Remember, it’s all about the voyage.

To summarise: meeting an assignment's requirements will earn you a Pass, which is an acceptable mark. That said, we are willing to work with those of you who strive to get higher marks to help you achieve your objectives.

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MY CONTACTS

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