We began class by going over leads. Professor Piacente brought up the point that when writing leads we must "stress the unusual."
We then went over the satirical piece, "9 Easy Steps to Longer Sentences." Remember to cut out unnecessary words such as unhelpful adverbs, and write in the simplest and easiest terms to understand.
Next, we had an open-book quiz on the AP Style guide. We received the answers in class - you can reference them easily when going over AP Style.
The second half of class focused on our guest speaker, Taylor Shapiro. Taylor is a writer for the Washington Post who focuses on education stories. Taylor talked with us about many things including:
- His start as a journalist while as a student at Virginia Tech - wrote extensively about the mass shooting on campus.
- Becoming a "copy guy" at the Washington Post, and then writing obituaries including that of the man who invented Doritos (ashes to ashes, crunch to crunch)
- His experiences with the Hannah Graham case
- Disproving the Rolling Stone campus rape article
Taylor's key points included:
- Journalists are successful if they are "about relationships - being a good and nice person"
- Staying connected with your sources.
Please remember that your homework includes:
- Studying for the grammar quiz next week (Go over what we learned in the grammar lecture)
- Read Chapter 15 on public relations, starting on page 279
- Write a full story on #8 on the handout due by 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday (Ralph Palomino story)
*** Remember when writing your story, focus on the unusual.
Have a great week everyone!
-Emily Foster
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