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Writing and
working as a
journalist
Workshop, IWDK volunteers, 23 April 2014

2
? Spot the good story
? Be aware of your target audience
? Compose a news article
? Focus on read-friendly language
? Write for web
? Cope with the frustrations of writing
This workshop is meant to
give you some tips & tricks
on how to��

3
? Casper Svoldgaard
? Journalist from DMJX
? 2 years aa a reporter at Jyllands-Posten
? Communications consultant at
Publico Kommunikation since
2007, mainly responsible for PR and
all things digital
About me

5
A good news article meets a number of the following nine criteria:
? Sensation
? Significance
? Actuality/timing
? Identification
? Conflict
? Proximity
? Human interest
? Prominence
? Documentation
News critieria
5 classic and 4 new

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News criteria
Not to forget �C novelty
��When a dog bites a man, no one cares.
When the man bites back �C now that��s a news story.��

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Note: Who, what, where, when, why, how (communication of facts)
News article: As per the inverted pyramid (explanatory note with more substance)
Interview: E.g.. Q/A
Reportage: Active outreach, perceptive, descriptive, explanatory, several research forms
Feature: Visually evocative prose style, entertaining, personal, soft topics
for example. people / environment, engages the reader, new journalism (Tom Wolfe)
Background article: Behind the news, causes, consequences, context, circumstances,
perspectives, experts, analyzes
Portrait: Linguistically as the feature, 360 interviews, personal, perhaps critical
Investigating reporting: The watchdog, reconstruction, extensive research (Pullitzer)
Commentary / Review / Analysis: Personal stance, editorial, columns
Voxpop: Inquiry (interview-variety), same question to a number of people to spot a trend
Journalistic genres

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With a clear picture of your target audience, you can:
? minimize noise in your communication
? Choose the right level of communication
? Speak at eye level
Target audience
Why?

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Target audience
How?
Purpose
? What is the purpose of the text? (idea/message)
? Is that clear to the reader?
Tips & Tricks
? Stick to ONE purpose
? Define the pupose in one sentence
? The more narrowly, the better
? Present the text's purpose early and clear to the reader
?
Kilde: Lund & Steensbech, 1999

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Target audience
How?
Media
? What type of media?
? Is the type of media consumed
thoroughly or superficially ?
? Is it consumed systematically or by
skimming through?
Tips & tricks:
? Make sure that the purpose fits the type of
media and the consuming pattern of
the media.

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Target audience
How?
Audience:
? Who are they?
? Why should they read this text?
? What��s new?
? What do you know about the subject?
? What are their opinion about the subject?
? What are their interest in the subject?
Tips & tricks:
? Use personas
Kilde: Lund & Steensbech, 1999

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What are personas?
? Personas are fictional archetypes, created by information about the target audience
? They are "real" people and not a diffuse group
? We can approachto them, as we approach a anyfriend / colleague
? Everyone involved knows the relevant personas
? Personas makes your audience - and thus your text �C come alive
? Met
Target audience
Personas

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The good persona:
? Is based on interviews
? Focuses on details, avoid generalizations
? Takes up 1-2 pages
? Is made visual by photo
Target audience
Personas

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The building blocks
of the text

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The building blocks of the text
The inverted pyramid
Principle:
First Thing First!
The news
(Conclusion)
Background
(Premises)
Details
(Deeper into the subject)

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Template for text structure:
Introduction: tells the news
Elaboration: explains and elaborates
Background: (the premises�C if necessary)
Secondary information: (details�C if there are anyrelevant)

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Adam and Eve expelled from Paradise
GOODBYE: Turtledoves are forced to work and lose the right to eternal life because they
tasted forbidden fruit.
Last night The Lord threw Adam and Eve out of Paradise. This means that mankind now
have lost the right to live forever, and that in future they must toil and slave for a living.
Lord: Behavior is sufficient proof
The decision on deportation was taken after the Lord had learned that Adam and Eve
despite the ban had eaten fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. They were immediately
expelled, and it has not been possible to get in touch with them since.
- They have both admitted that they have tasted the fruit. But their behavior and
the gnawed fruit itself was proof enough, says the Lord to The Paradise Journal.
in use

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A news article can be structured with wh-words:
? Who?
? What?
? Where?
? When?
? Why?
Example:
Casper Svoldgaard (who) teaches at a thrilling workshop (what) by Seismonaut in Aarhus
(where). The course will take place Thursday, April23, 2014 (when). The purpose is to inspire
IWDK volunteers to write and work as a journalist (why).
Principle of news
Wh-words

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The building blocks of the text
An overview
Headline
Must be inciting, covering and provoking
Preamble
Should summarize the article
Introduction
Must capture the reader
Subheading
Must cover the content of the paragraph
Sidebar/Fact box
Reserved for factual information

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The building blocks of the
text
headline
Headline
The headline must:
? express the essence of the text
? be inciting, covering and provoking
? sell the story to the reader by arouse
curiosity

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Tips for good headings:
? Puns/wordplay; "Anonymous Melancholics"
? Alliteration; ��The banks are bleeding"
? Figurative language; "The money is pouring out"
? Ambiguity; �� A good life depends on a liver"
? Metaphors: sports (the goal is), war (frontlines are drawn) Transport (taking the fast
lane)
text
headline

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text
Preamble
Preamble
The preamble is a summary of the content
of the text and must:
? Make the reader want to read the article
? Help the writer stick to the course
Tips for a good preamble:
Answer the question: What do I want to tell?

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text
Introduction
Introduction
The introduction must:
? capture the reader's attention
? tell what the core of the story is
? entice readers to continue reading
Tipsfor introductions:
? Use sensory expression to create images
insidethe reader's head
? Spend 25-30 per cent of the total write
time on the introduction
? Do not assume that the reader has read the
preamble

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Example
The Scandinavian charter industry is heading for new heights. Even though a number of
budget airlines has stuck their nose wheels outin the Nordic airports, travel agents are
experiencing no turbulence. On the contrary. An average Danish household spends
more than twice the amount on pre-packed vacations than 15 years ago - even after the
figures are adjusted for society's general price increases.
text
Introduction

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text
Subheader
Subheader
The subheader is a title to a
section in the body and must:
? Be covering for the content of the
section
? Make the reader want to read the
section

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Words on the gold weight
Daily language or industry
terminology?
informal
Formal
Education
Expert
knowledge
Spillovers
from the
source

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terminology?
Daily language:
?Simple
?Vivid
?Figurative
?Light and easy
?Active
?Concretely
? Good for everyone
Industry
terminology:
?Complicated
?Rigid
?Non-figurative
?Heavy
?Passive
?Abstract
? Only for insiders
Informal
Formal

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The golden rule: The reader must understand and accept the text!
Therefore:
? Think of the recipient's information needs
? Write factual and objectively but informal
? Make the text as specific/concrete as possible
terminology?

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The abstraction ladder
? Acquisition
? Buy
? Purchase of motor vehicles
? Purchase of motor vehicle
? Andersen's purchase of a motor
vehicle
? Andersen's purchase of a car
? Andersen bought a car
? Andersen bought a car last year.
Abstract
Concrete

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The web surfer is an impatient snail
Particular formats
Writing for web

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The reading pattern on the web is different from that of
printed media:
? We read the 25 percent slower on a screen
? We jump between parallel information
? We scan for the interesting points
? We are less patient
Remember: We are often looking for specific information!
Writing for web
Why?

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A good web writer takes into account the nature f the Internet:
? Answers the readers' questions - fast!
? Uses short paragraphs (preferably 2-3 lines)
? Writes many subheaders
? Uses bullet points
? Uses photo captions
Writing for web
What?

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3 simple writing rules:
1. Write in order of importance �C first thing first
2. Write so that each section can be read independently of the other
3. Stick to one single point per section
Writing for web
How?

40
Most people know the fear of the blank screen.
Classical barriers are:
? Difficult material and subject
? Time pressure
? Expectations (own and others)
? Perfectionism
The proces of writing
How?

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The writing process is often seen as a linear process with the phases:
1. generating ideas
2. Gathering material
3. organizing
4. writing
5. editing
How?

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In reality the process is rather a cycle consisting of:
How?
gathering of
knowledge
revision
composing

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Help to help yourself:
? Know yourself: Are you a voracious reader or a rewriter?
? Set rules for yourself (how long may the job take)
? Get any missing information (talk to someone / is the objective clear?)
? Write away - you can always delete!
? Leave the text be and return later with fresh eyes
How?

44
Revision and feedback are neglected elements of the writing process:
? "That's not writing"
? Time pressure
? Bad experiences with unconstructive feedback
How?

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You give good feedback when you:
? start with something positive
? tell about your intention ("The reason why I say this ...")
? articulates criticism as a desire ("I'd like some more of ...")
? ask open-ended questions ("Can you elaborate on that, can you give examples")
? choose your words carefully
How?

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Three tips for feedback:
? Print the text, read out loud
? Kill your darlings
? Get feedback several times and from several different people
How?

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