1. What are the steps involved in writing a story?
First, the reporter must find a topic, issue or incident worthy of a story.
Then, the concerned reporter must investigate the issue and try to gather as much information as possible. It is especially beneficial to have as many sources of information as possible. For example, various people involved in or related to the incident must be interviewed.
Finally, the reporter should collect his/her information and condense it into a compelling news article.
2. What could be particularly challenging? What resources might you use to overcome these challenges?
The individual directly involved in the event or incident being covered might be prominent, busy people and may be inaccessible. In some cases, the concerned individuals may be unwilling to talk to a news reporter. In such a case, the reporter must interview other people that may be close to the individual concerned. For example, if the reporter is unable to interview the head of a particular department at the University, he/she could try to interview other professors that belong to the same department or Teaching Assistants or even students in the subject to gain information. However, if an interview with a particular personality is absolutely essential, the reporter should be persistent and try to the best of his/her ability to get that interview.
3. What values are inherent in the news?
Keeping in mind that news values are the essentials of every good news story, the most prominent values are as follows:
1. Conflict : The news story could have stemmed out of crime or dispute. Adopting the reductionist approach, 3 main conflicts exist namely, man vs man., man vs nature and man vs himself.
2. Timeliness : The story should be published at an appropriate time. For example, stories associated with the hurricane Katrina could be posted now as the hurricanes 5th anniversary just went by last week.
3. Prominence : A story might gain importance if its about an important individual or organization.
4. Proximity : Events or incidences that are close to the target readers interest the readers immensely. For example, a robbery in the same town as where the newspaper is published and circulated is more important than a robbery anywhere else in the world.
5. Oddity : If something is extraordinary or highly unusual, it may make a great subject for a goo news story. This might be because people like to read about rare occurrences or unnatural phenomena.
6. Impact : The news must be about an issue concerning the readers. The subject being covered must hold some importance in the readers' lives. For instance, the allocation of the university funds in the direction of building a new gym might be an important news story for students of the concerned university.
7. Human Interest: It is said that everyone loves a story where something nice happens. This means, that readers like news stories where dog shelters are saved or the intricate bonds between pets and their masters are discussed.
