Newspapers offer aspiring writers a plethora of jobs. Many
cities have what is known as “dailies” which print every day, there are also
many weekly publications. Depending on the publication writers may be part of
the permanent staff, or stringers or freelancers that work by assignment.
Writers are needed to report the hard news, pen human interest stories, write
advertorials, ad copy, put together calendars, legal ads, and even write social
notices and obituaries. Some newspapers also hire puzzle-designers and cartoon
artists.
Familiarize yourself with the publication and the names of
the managing editor (for a smaller publication) or section editors. Contract
the appropriate editor for job openings or to propose a new column or such;
have a series of samples prepared in advance if you are proposing a new column,
puzzles/games or cartoon strip. Always submit a few samples of your writing, if
the samples are previously published and you are submitting them in the printed
form, this is called a tear sheet.
Ad copy is just like it sounds, the brief wording that
accompanies a product photo. Editorial is a non-biased article – this can be
about hard news, how to’s, or human interest. Advertorial looks like an
editorial article but is designed to promote the subject in a positive light
like an advertisement. Social writing or obituary writing is a brief but
concise story of a social event, gossip (NEVER defamatory), or a life;
concentrate on the highlights and include important names (ie: family, wedding
attendants, etc) – study the papers handing of these items to get a good
template.
Writing news items should always be done responsibly. Get your
facts right BEFORE your article goes to press. Although some newspaper editors
want to be the first with breaking news and sell papers with sensational
headlines, you as a writer need to always check your facts and keep your
wording clear and not misleading.
“If you don’t have the goods, don’t go with the story,” says Josh
Meyer, director of education and outreach for the Medill National Security
Journalism Initiative. “A primary lesson of journalism is that it’s better to
be correct than to be first.”
Don’t make assumptions, check the information your sources
feed you, leave your personal opinions out of a “straight news” story, and if you
are using a definite claim, include it only as a quote that you can attribute
(truthfully) to a reliable source. Even if you print a correction, the information
you put out there originally is always going to be out there. Rumors and gossip
never really go away. Journalists can inspire and inform, they have a responsibility
to report the information that the public needs. Constantly replaying the same information
is unnecessary and throwing in conjecture just to pad your article is dishonest.
Whether you will have a by-line or not (usually not for ad
copy, some advertorial, social notices and obituaries), you should be proud of
the final product as if your name was emblazoned under the headline.
Writing
Exercise: Get a pad of paper and one or
two pens. Set a timer for 20-minutes. Free write anything that comes to mind.
Do not stop writing even if it is just random and unconnected thoughts. Put the
pen down and walk away when the timer goes off. About an hour later come back
with a pen of a different color or a highlighter – circle key words, especially
if they recur in the writing, and any themes that appear. Using what you’ve
highlighted, write a short two to three paragraph story using those words or
themed phrases.
Writing
Prompt: Think of your local and current political
issues – if it’s pre-election time you might find a current news article, or if
it is after the election, remember what the key issues were for your local
candidates. Choose five of those issues and write one sentence expressing your
opinion of each topic.
