What is the purpose of the news?Copy reads: “Behind every story, there’s a deeper story that only the Dallas Morning News can tell. More of what. More of why. More of who. Because, while others are content to give you the big picture, we think you should have the whole picture.”
Discussion questions: What do you think this visual is supposed to signify? The copy makes a distinction between the “big picture” and the “whole picture.” What conclusion do you think they want the reader to draw? Draw a conclusion from the copy and the image. What is The Dallas Morning News telling you that it provides?
WWHHAATT MMAAKKEESS WWHHAATT MMAAKKEESS AA SSTTOORRYY NNEEWWSSWWOORRTTHHYY??
The amount of potential a story has is called newsworthiness. Some of the key factors to consider include: • Timeliness
News is what’s new. Stories should be recent; there should be a reason for reporting it now. Events that happened some time ago may be news if there are recent new developments.
• Proximity Viewers are more interested in stories that take place locally. Although a story may be national, it will typically have a local effect that is reported as well.
• Importance News stories cover significant events. The more people involved, the more newsworthy the event. Likewise, the more people affected by the event, the more newsworthy it is.
• Prominence of People and Places Involved A story involving a powerful or prominent person or a well-known place is more likely to be covered.
• Conflict or Controversy People are always drawn to conflict and controversy; it makes for interesting and often-discussed stories. News includes struggles on a physical, moral, and emotional level.
• Novelty News reports uncommon events. John B. Bogart said, “When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.”
• Human Interest Viewers are interested in the lives of others. Sometimes news reports include “soft news” stories of the obstacles people face, their triumphs and their tragedies.
The best news stories have a variety of these qualities!
• Hard News Also called straight news, hard news consists of stories that just happened – or are happening. Free from reporters’ feelings and personal opinions, they include many facts (5 W’s and H).
• Issue Stories These stories explore important issues, carefully including a variety of points of view.
• Features These are stories about people and the things they like: fashion, travel, food, entertainment. They can also include stories people want to know more about, like health risks. They often elicit some emotional response from the viewer or reader.
• Sidebars These are not main news stories. They often run with them because they take the story further, exploring related topics and ideas.
• Updates These stories provide curious viewers with breaking information, new insight, or a satisfying conclusion to previously-reported stories.
GGLLOOSSSSAARRYY OOFF NNEEWWSS TTEERRMMSS Some terms can be useful in providing a common vocabulary with which to discuss journalism.
Advocacy • a style of journalism in which a reporter takes sides in controversial issues and develops a point of view • a style of journalism which is opposite of mainstream journalism, in which reporters are expected to be objective
Affiliate a local station owned by the parent company, or an independent station, both subscribing to some network programming and producing local content as well
Anchor an on-set personality who reads the news; the solid base on which the news is built
Angle the aspect, twist, or detail of a feature story that pegs it to a news event or gives it news value for the reader
Assignment desk the editor in the broadcast news room who is responsible for selecting and assigning stories to specific reporters
Attribution credit given to who said what or the source of facts
B-roll video images shot specifically to be used over a reporter’s words to illustrate the news event or story, to cover up audio edits of quotes (to avoid the jerking head effect), or to cover up bad shots (out of focus, poorly lighted, etc.)
Bias a position that is partial or slanted
Broadcast feature • longer than usual broadcast news story that gives reporters 5-25 minutes (compared to usual 30-60 seconds) to develop
a deeper look at a news event, trend, or individual • the broadcast equivalent of a newspaper feature story; also known as “television magazine piece” or radio feature
Call sign the four letters assigned to identify a radio or television station (WFAA)
Conflict of interest the conflict that is created when a writer allows personal interests (friendship, family, business connections, etc.) to influence the outcome of the story
Copy • the words of an article, news story, or book • any broadcast writing, including commercials • any written material intended for publication, including advertising
Correspondent a news writer/reporter in another area who gives regular reports on a developing story
Credibility believability of a writer or publication
Editor the person who “edits” a story by revising and polishing
Facts sheet a page of significant information prepared by Public Relations people to help news media in covering a special event
Feature article the main article on the front page of a newspaper, or the cover story in a magazine
Field producer the person who assists the reporter in the field with gathering information and producing a story
Five Ws and H the primary questions a news story answers --Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Insert transmission tape inserted into a studio broadcast to add immediacy and scope to the news presentation
Inverted pyramid the structure of a news story which places the important facts at the beginning and less important facts and details at the end, enabling the editor to cut bottom portion of the story if space or time is required
Investigative journalism a story that requires a great amount of research and hard work to come up with facts that might be hidden, buried, or obscured by people who have a vested interest in keeping those facts from being published
Kicker an ending that finishes a story with a climax, surprise, or punch line
Lead the first sentence or first few sentences of a story
Lead in the script read by an anchor to set up and introduce a reporter’s package
Libel publishing in print (or other media) false information that identifies and defames an individual
Live shot report introduced by an anchor that has not been recorded but is read live by another journalist, often at a news scene
Lockout final words of a report spoken by a journalist in which the journalist’s name and station call letters or frequency are given, such as “Corrie Carpenter, 990 News”; often a location is given as well: “In Middleville, Corrie Carpenter, 990 News”
Media relations a function of public relations that involves dealing with the communications media in seeking publicity for, or responding to media interest in, an organization
MOS abbreviation for “Man On the Street” interviews; that is, interviews of passers-by chosen at random in a public place and asked their opinions of events or people in the news
Nat Sound short for “Natural Sound,” this is naturally-occurring sound recorded by the microphone while being taped
Newspeak language that distorts, confuses, or hides reality
Off the record something a source does not want repeated in a news story
Package a completed television news story on tape, which is edited before a news show goes on air and contains reporter’s stand-ups, narration over images, and an out-cue for the anchor to start speaking at the end of the tape
Public affairs various activities and communications that organizations undertake to monitor, evaluate, influence, and adjust to the attitudes, opinions, and behaviors of groups or individuals who constitute their publics
Ratings information solicited by survey companies indicating to advertisers the size of the audience for a particular program, including news broadcasts
Reporters the people who gather facts for and write the stories they are assigned
Script the written version of the news story
SLUG a short title for a story or package, usually shown in capital letters next to its number
Sound bite also called sound on tape (or SOT), this is a recorded segment of a newsmaker speaking
Source person who talks to a reporter on the record, for attribution in a news story
Spin hidden slant of a press source, which usually casts the client in a positive light
Stand-up • a reporter’s appearance in a TV news story, often only 10-15 seconds in length • usually a head and shoulders shot which features the reporter talking into a microphone at the scene of the news event • often used as a bridge or transition, at the beginning or ending of a story, or when important ideas need to be shared for
which there is no footage
Super also called a font, this is a video effect that allows the television station to print and superimpose the name of a news source over his or her image when the source is shown talking in a news story
Target audience a specific group of people that media producers or advertisers want to reach
Transition a rhetorical device used in writing to move the story smoothly from one set of ideas to the next by finding a way to connect the ideas logically
Video press release a press release for television, prepared on tape, complete with images and sound which can be used by the news media without additional permission or editing
Voice a writer’s development of distinctive characteristics and idiosyncrasies of language use that make his or her writing as easily recognizable as the inflections, tone, and pronunciation of speech that make a person’s vocalized speech patterns distinctive
Voice over the anchor or reporter’s voice heard underneath other footage or graphics
Wire services • services that provide news from around the world to publications that subscribe for a fee (e.g., Associated Press,
Canadian Press, Reuters, and United Press International) • co-operatives that share news stories among members (e.g., Canadian Press)
Bridge collapses, several killed Barge collision brings down 500-foot section sending vehicles into water By Clayton Bellamy/Associated Press Writer Monday, May 27, 2002
WEBBERS FALLS -- A barge hit an interstate bridge over the Arkansas River during a storm Sunday, collapsing a 500-foot section of roadway and sending more than a dozen vehicles plunging into the water with people trapped inside, authorities said.
Officials expected to find five to 12 bodies in the submerged vehicles once the area was safe for divers to begin searching. Cranes were working to stabilize the remaining bridge sections Sunday afternoon, said Rebecca Smith, a spokeswoman for Muskogee County Emergency Management Services.
‘‘We haven’t recovered any of the bodies, but there are going to be fatalities,’’ said Lt. Chris West of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
At least five people were hospitalized, including some who had been rescued by boatmen who alerted authorities to the bridge collapse shortly before 8 a.m.
Josef Blann, a diver with the Marine Corps Reserve said authorities believed 15 vehicles went into the river, including 12 cars, two tractor-trailer rigs and a horse trailer.
Rescue crews in boats moved along the river Sunday afternoon, picking up floating pieces of car seats, clothing and diapers. Huge slabs of concrete where the west side of the bridge gave way slumped in the water close to the river’s edge.
A pickup truck rested on top of one section of collapsed concrete at the west end of the bridge, which rested on the embankment. The driver had slammed on his brakes when he noticed the bridge was gone, authorities said.
Both eastbound and westbound sections of the Interstate 40 bridge, about 75 feet above the Arkansas River, collapsed, pinning the barge beneath it.
Shane Guthrie, personnel manager for Magnolia Marine Transport Co. in Vicksburg, Miss., said the company’s 104-foot-long tugboat, the Robert Y. Love, was pushing two barges when the accident occurred. None of the seven people on the barge was injured, officials said. ‘‘They just got hold of the bridge span there somehow,’’ Guthrie said. ‘‘We’re still investigating what caused the accident.’’
Lake patrol units were interviewing the captain of the barge Sunday morning, and the National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to investigate. It wasn’t clear whether the storm and fast-moving river water contributed to the crash.
A second nearby bridge also was hit Sunday morning but was still being used, although one of its pillars was damaged, Webbers Falls Mayor Jewell Horne said. It wasn’t clear if the same barge hit both bridges. Both bridges are about 100 miles east of Oklahoma City and about 35 miles west of the Arkansas state line.
Four people injured in the collapse were being treated Sunday at Muskogee Regional Hospital, all in stable condition, administrator Ched Wetz said. A fifth person was taken to Sequoyah Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
‘‘One gentleman said he was driving and all of a sudden there was nothing under him,’’ Wetz said. ‘‘He doesn’t remember how he got out of his vehicle. He probably swam out, but he simply doesn’t remember.’’
Survivors include James Bilyeu, 62, Conway, Ark.; Rodney Tidwell, 37, an independent truck driver from Ripley, Miss; and Max Alley, 67, and Goldie Alley, 68, both of Stroud.
Read the following article and article excerpts. You will be comparing the focus, purpose, and structure of each and then selecting a photograph that might accompany the article.
Terry Downs, who lives two blocks from the river, heard the collapse and thought it was thunder. Downs and her husband didn’t know the bridge had collapsed until they heard about it a short time later on a police scanner. ‘‘They were saying they needed help; that the I-40 bridge had just fallen down,’’ she said. Mrs. Downs said Webbers Falls has become ‘‘a mad house.’’ ‘‘This is a little bitty town and the traffic is just terrible,’’ she said.
The I-40 bridge normally has heavy traffic, said OHP Sgt. Jarrett Johnson. ‘‘There are probably thousands of cars that travel over this bridge every day,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s the main interstate that travels east and west through the state of Oklahoma.’’
Excerpts from additional articles on the Arkansas River Bridge’s collapse: Officials Recover 4 More Bodies from the Times Record, Fort Smith, Arkansas Tuesday, May 28, 2002 By Jeff Arnold WEBBERS FALLS, Okla. — Four more bodies were discovered Monday in the Arkansas River below the collapsed Interstate 40 bridge near Webbers Falls, bringing the number to seven — four females and three males. Five people survived the disaster. A 500-foot section of the almost 2,000-foot bridge, just beyond the east bank of the river, collapsed Sunday after it was struck by a barge just before 8 a.m. Of the seven, only one was positively identified Monday. Lt. Chris West of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol identified him as Andrew Clements, 35, who worked for the U.S. Army. Clements was driving from California to Virginia. The identification was made by dental records. His hometown was not immediately available. The first body discovered Monday was found shortly after the recovery operation resumed — it was halted at dark on Sunday and resumed after daybreak. An adult female was extricated from a Dodge pickup that was lifted by crane from the swift running water. The vehicle and victim recovery operation was then suspended for several hours. West cited several reasons for suspending the vehicle and victim recovery operations: visibility, debris, lightning and the need for more heavy equipment which all raised safety concerns……
At Least 7 Killed in Oklahoma Bridge Collapse from “In the News,” RedCross.org Written by Mason Anderson, Staff Writer May 28, 2002 — The American Red Cross is assisting relief crews and affected travelers after a barge collided with a bridge support on the Arkansas River Sunday (May 26) in Webber Falls, Okla., knocking out a 500-foot section of an Interstate-40 bridge and sending cars and trucks plunging into the water. Relief workers confirmed the deaths of seven people, but estimated fatalities will rise to about a dozen as they resumed the gruesome task of searching for bodies on Tuesday. I-40 was shut down in both directions following the accident, causing severe traffic problems as the road is a major east-west artery for traffic. Cell phone service went down as rescue calls clogged airwaves, leaving many people traveling over Memorial weekend stranded on the road, unable to phone loved ones. To assist families concerned about relatives traveling on the interstate, the American Red Cross opened a Family Assistance Center Sunday morning at the Webbers Falls City Hall building…….
Discussion Questions: What do you think is the purpose of each article? What events do the articles focus on? How are they structured? Which of the pictures provided would you place with each article? Why?
• Subjective camera work: camera placement that simulates the view of a character or of the viewer.
• Objective camera work: camera placement that simulates the view of an uninvolved observer.
Camera Placement
• One-shot: shot includes one person in the frame.
• Two-shot: shot includes two people in the frame.
• Long shot: the entire subject and much of the surroundings are shown. Used to establish the setting and set the mood.
• Medium shot: shot shows part of a person usually from the waist up. Used to get the viewer closer to the subject.
• Close-up: Also called a tight shot, focuses on the most important part of the subject, usually the head and shoulders. Used to focus the viewer’s attention.
• Extreme close-up: a very close shot of some detail, such as a small object or the part of the subject’s face. Used to focus the viewer’s attention.
• Establishing shot: a long shot or extreme long shot that opens the scene and establishes the setting. Used to give the viewer the proper context in which to place events.
• Over the shoulder shot: camera is placed so that it looks over the shoulder of a character and approximates his/her perspective. Sometimes used in place of a direct point of view shot.
• Point of view (POV) shot: camera is positioned so that the viewer sees what a character is seeing. Used to show the viewer things from the character’s perspective and encourage empathy.
• Reaction shot: A shot (usually a close-up) that shows a character reacting to what (s)he has just seen or heard. Used to give viewers visual clues to a subject’s thoughts and feelings (indirect characterization).
• Low Angle: camera is placed below the subject and looks up at it. Used to establish size and power.
• High Angle: camera is placed above the subject and looks down on it. Used to establish size and weakness. Camera Movement
• Pan: side to side movement of a stationary camera; it can be slow or quick. Sometimes used to set the pace or mood and establish size or distance.
• Tilt: an up or down movement of a stationary camera. Sometimes used to establish size.
• Dolly: camera moves toward or away from subject. May be used to move a viewer closer to the subject or establish the context of the scene.
• Zoom: movement of the camera’s lens that enlarges or shrinks the view of the subject. Used to focus the viewer’s attention.
• Track: the camera moves with the subject. Sometimes used to pull the viewer in more closely to the story and give them a first-hand perspective on the action.
Editing Techniques
• Shot/Reaction shot: a point of view shot followed by a reaction shot. Used to create viewer identification.
• Jump cut: shots are assembled in a way that makes the cut obvious as objects or people seem to “jump” around the screen. Once considered a mistake in editing, this technique is now sometimes used for stylistic effect or to create intensity.
• Parallel editing: technique where the director cuts between footage of two or more events that are happening simultaneously. Used to create suspense.
When writing a news script, you should make it as easy for your viewer to understand as possible. Consider these suggestions as you draft your piece.
You should write in an informal, conversational style using everyday speech. For example, don’t say “male” or “female,” say “man” and “woman” instead. Be simple and direct, clear and concise. Use familiar terms. Translate all jargon. If a technical or obscure term is important and must be used, explain it. Avoid “to be” verbs. Use active verbs that convey the excitement, drama, and movement of the story. For example, “Police are searching for the man who burst into the convenience store last night and shot the owner.” You should also use the present tense wherever possible. Remember that writing a good lead is essential to writing a good story. There are a variety of types that will intrigue your audience and prepare them for the information to follow: • The main point - this is effective when the story is dramatic. • The umbrella – this is used to cover stories with several main points. • The delay – this is used to build anticipation by delaying your main point. It is effective for adding
drama to a feature story. • The statement – a powerful or unusually compelling statement by a newsmaker that states your
main point more effectively or concisely than you can. This rarely occurs. • The question – this rhetorical device functions as a set-up for the “answer” you will reveal to your
audience. • Humor – a cleverly-worded tease you use to tempt viewers into watching your story. Make sure to support your lead. Follow through, explaining or expanding your point. Finally, use a “snapper” to end your story. Depending on your lead, this maybe be the main point, another fact, the other side, future ramifications, or a “punch line.” Finally, when you are finished drafting, you will need to revise and edit your story for maximum effectiveness: • Check your facts! Accuracy is the most important element of a news story! • Check for organization: group by related ideas, sequence, or some other pattern. Choose one that
best enhances your meaning. • Check you grammar. Failure to do so will cost you credibility. • Use transitions to keep your writing from being choppy or hard to follow. Remember, they will
see and hear it once and cannot go back to re-read it! • Enliven your writing by using a variety of sentence lengths, sentence structures, and repetition. • Use metaphors and other figures of speech to clarify your meaning. Be sure to keep them fresh,
and be careful not to go overboard, use clichés, or to mix your metaphors. • Read your story aloud. If anything sounds awkward or unnatural, change it!
The fact that news reports are called “stories” should alert us to the similarities between narrative storytelling and the chronicle of daily events we see on the nightly news. While the terminology of journalism may imply that events are “covered” or “exposed,” news segments are constructed to conform to predetermined conventions. The conventions of the “telling” may be unique to nonfiction storytelling (such as the interview), or they may borrow from fiction film and television (the point of view shot). Regardless, those events deemed newsworthy are shaped into stories and often infused with the same elements as fictional narratives. Character News stories often try to personalize events, making them more approachable and affecting. In addition to reporting facts about a natural disaster, for example, a report may focus on the disaster’s impact on a single family. These individuals then become characters, a representation of all the others who are enduring the same event. And because we know little about them (how much can we learn in a 90 second segment?), their presentation is often stereotypical. “Characters” that are victims of accident or malice are often presented in a manner to invoke sympathy and compassion, while those whose achievements or actions are being celebrated may be made into heroes. Interviews with these individuals probe their psychological state. “How do you feel about ? What were you thinking when happened?” Their responses are shot in close up to allow their facial expressions to be seen. Conventional film narrative uses the close up in a similar manner by giving the viewer access to the character’s feelings via the actor’s expressions. And although viewers gain understanding of character psychology through different conventions in fiction film, the identification with the character can be similar. Viewer connection with these sympathetic individuals may be further enhanced with footage of homes or the person’s candid snapshots. The similarities between the “character” and the prototypical viewer (i.e. white, middle-class and local) are highlighted and can invoke the same empathy we feel toward a character in a book. When highlighting victims, often the implication is, “they are just like you,” and therefore “this could happen to you.” Sometimes these stories are even followed up with suggestions on how to avoid such a disaster in our own lives with the news anchor taking on the role as authority figure and expert. Suspected criminals and other unsympathetic individuals are treated as the “villain.” Their characterization is reinforced with unflattering mug shots and footage of arrests and court appearances. Because these activities would certainly be beyond the personal experience of the prototypical viewer, we are not encouraged to identify with these characters, but instead to be wary of them or those like them. Interviews are rarely with the “character” but with others that either know him(her) or those who have suffered at their hand (allegedly, of course). Setting The setting provides the context for a news event. In the study of fiction, setting is often defined as “time and place,” but it may also include the culture, class and customs of the people involved. Stylistically the news often establishes setting through a long shot of the place where the event takes place, much like the “establishing shot” used in fiction filmmaking. In the news, the term commonly used to refer to the site of an event, “scene,” reinforces the theatrical aspect of the news. News stations pride themselves on being “live” and “at the scene” of events, thereby
It’s all storytelling, you know. That’s what journalism is all about.
positioning the viewer at the site as well. Even if an event is long over, a reporter may give his or her report from the “scene.” This technique implies the immediacy of the coverage and an “insider’s” knowledge of the setting. Like character, setting often relies on stereotype. If a story is local, the part of town an event takes place can be significant in adding to the “characterization” of those involved. For those that are not local, often the reporter will label the place for the viewer. Phrases like “inner-city neighborhood” or “affluent suburb” give viewers a cue as to how to interpret the individuals who reside there. Point of View In visual media, the camera is the viewer’s eye, and determines how much or how little of an event he or she will see. The point of view that the viewer assumes is established by the placement of the camera. In most conventional fiction filmmaking, the point of view is most often the equivalent of literary third person, in which the viewer takes the position of an uninvolved observer. These objective shots are interrupted periodically with a first person point of view, where the viewer takes on the perspective of a character by the positioning the camera in that character’s place. In some ways, the news is unusual in its use of point of view. It employs a second person point of view by addressing the audience. Both anchors and reporters make eye contact with and speak directly to the camera, thus inviting the viewer into a one-sided conversation. As the camera pans the scene of an event or shows a close up of a person involved, it is still the viewer’s point of view that is represented. The camera is seemingly providing us with a window through which to view the event. It is as if we are there, the convention encourages us to believe. Acknowledgement is not paid to the way in which this view has been constructed, with each shot carefully chosen. Although interview subjects are routinely instructed to talk to the reporter and not into the camera, the viewer is still there “on the scene.” In that respect, the viewer becomes a participant in the conversation between the reporter and her subject, with the reporter carefully “mediating” on our behalf. Certain news magazines (Dateline, 20/20, 48 Hours) utilize point of view in interesting ways. They have combined traditional news conventions with those of fiction movies and television. Through the use of reenactments, viewers are given the point of view of “characters” in the story. Thus instead of alternating between third and first person the way traditional visual narratives do, news magazine stories often alternate between second and first person perspectives. Plot Plot is the structure of the story; the order of the events being told. Conventional fiction film narratives tend to follow a three act structure. Audiences are introduced to the setting and characters in Act I, follow the protagonist through the conflict in Act II, watch the character either fail or succeed during the climax, and have a quick wrap up in Act III. Television news stories tend to take their structure more from print journalism which employs an inverted pyramid structure. The most interesting and important facts are given at the beginning of the story which then tapers down to the less important details at the end. And although the conventions of journalism would invite us to assume that certain facts are inherently more important, the reporter and editorial staff actually get to make that determination along with how the events, people and places will be characterized. News stories also tend to follow the “5W’s” approach to story telling. We are told quickly told what the event is, who was involved, and where. Interviews provide us with reaction from others (including “experts”) to the event, thus providing the answer to the why. Some news magazines tend to employ a narrative structure to tell the story. With the benefit of time, producers of these shows know the ultimate outcome of events and can reconstruct them in traditional story form. Sometimes borrowing from conventions of the mystery genre, when a news magazine covers a crime story, the producers will wait to unveil “whodunit” until the end of the segment. Viewers are strung along with clues to the culprit’s identity as the story “unfolds.” Sometimes this requires some clever camera techniques, such as shooting the criminal in close up to avoid revealing his or her orange prison jump suit!
Motivation is a character’s reason or reasons for saying or doing something. It may be a feeling or goal, and a character is likely to have many motives, both emotional and rational, for a particular action. What do you feel are this character’s motives for what he/she does and why?
Element in the clip How do you know? (specific clues)
Time
Place
3 C’s
What is setting? Setting establishes the world of the story.
Setting is time, place and the 3 C’s. Time can include year, season and time of day. Place may be as specific as an address, or as general as a country. The 3 C’s are
class culture customs.
Clues to setting in a visual text:
set design costuming props music character behavior
Exposition: The world of the story is established. The setting is revealed and characters (including who will be the protagonist) are introduced and assigned traits.
1st major plot point: The point at which the conflict is introduced. The audience learns what is at stake for the protagonist. The antagonist has been revealed by this point. The central question is clear.
The central question: What the audience is waiting to find out. It usually can be stated “Will (the protagonist) overcome/defeat/endure/etc. the (conflict and/or antagonist)?”
Complication: The conflict intensifies. The protagonist struggles to reach his/her goal. The audience questions the protagonist’s ability to succeed. 2nd major plot point: The conflict has intensified to a level that a confrontation with the antagonist or final test for the hero is inevitable.
The countdown to the climax has begun. Climax: The protagonist endures his/her final test or confrontation. The central question is answered as the outcome is sure at this point.
Resolution: A return to stasis. The protagonist may be left better off than he/she was in the beginning, or at least older and wiser. All the loose ends and subplots are tied up.
Re-enactment Often individuals who are involved in the
story are asked to re-create an action for the camera.
B-Roll Often footage of the scene or of the
people involved is shot to be used over a reporter’s words to illustrate the news
event or story.
Interview Often reporters ask individuals involved in
the story questions as to what they experienced, what they think and how they
feel.
“Character” Point of View
Sometimes the camera is placed in a position that allows it to take on the point
of view of someone in the story.
2nd Person Perspective
While on screen, the reporter or anchor will sometimes address the viewer directly
while looking into the camera.
Altered Shots Sometimes B-Roll footage will be altered in post production to enhance the drama of
the shot. Examples include tinting the film stock, blurring out someone’s face, or
superimposing images.
Still Photographs Photographs, either taken by news
photographers or provided by the people in the story are sometimes shown as a means of providing a visual of someone unavailable for interview and/or to provide context for
the story.
“Shaky Camera” Shots A shot that appears to have been taken
from a moving, unsteady camera can give the feeling of immediacy or action. These are sometimes used to enhance
B-roll and make it feel more interesting and immediate.
Jump Cut Sometimes shots are assembled in a way that makes the cut obvious as objects or people seem to “jump” around the screen. Once considered a mistake in editing, this
technique is now sometimes used for stylistic effect or to create intensity.
II SSPPYY AA NNEEWWSS MMAAGGAAZZIINNEE TTEECCHHNNIIQQUUEE!!
Poets choose and arrange words for their sounds as well as for their meanings. When a is breathed into a good poem, there is pleasure in the reading, the saying, and the hearing. Poets choose and repeat sounds carefully, using them to provide and to unify a work. These are some of the devices they employ:
is the use of a word that resembles the sound it denotes. For example: quack, buzz, rattle, bang, squeak, bowwow, burp, choo-choo, ding-a-ling, and sizzle. It can consist of more than just and mean lines or passages in which
sounds help to convey meaning. Poets usually echo meanings through more means.
* is the repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginnings of nearby words.
For example: “descending dewdrops” or “luscious lemons.” Sometimes the term is also used to describe any repetition of consonant sounds, including consonant
sounds words, such as “trespassers reproach” or “wedded lady.” It is based on sound instead of spelling. (“keen” and “car,” but not “car” and “cite”) If it is overdone, alliteration can be and will not strengthen meaning or
emphasize a relation between words. (“Horrendous horrors haunted Helen’s happiness” is comical, despite the serious topic.)
* is the repetition of the same vowel sounds in nearby words.
For example: “asleep under a tree,” “time and tide,” “haunt” and “awesome,” and “each evening.” Like alliteration, it helps to establish among words in a line or lines. The effect can be: euphony – smooth lines that are musically pleasant to the ear. – lines that are discordant and difficult to pronounce.
This can be as significant as the words’ connotative and denotative meanings.
* is an identical consonant sound preceded by a different sound. For example: home and same, worth and breath, and trophy and daffy. It has often been used to describe words in which both the initial and final consonant sounds correspond,
as in green and groan, or moon and mine.
*NOTE: Although there is some overlap and no clearly established terminology for these three types of sound repetition, you should be less concerned with the label and more concerned
with recognizing the devices and understanding their function.
These three can be used alone, but are often used in combination. Alliteration and assonance are combined in such phrases as “time and tide,” “thick and thin,” “and “fit as a fiddle.”
Alliteration and consonance are combined in phrases, such as “last, but not least” and “good as gold.” Rhyme, or rime, is the combination of assonance and consonance.
Rhyme (or rime) is one way of creating patterns. It consists of two or more words or phrases that repeat the same sounds, such as happy and snappy.
Rhyme words have similar , but that is not a requirement for rhyme. What matters is that words sound alike, such as rain and reign.
When words look alike, but do not sound alike, it is called eye rhyme. For example: bough and cough or brow and blow. A variety of types of rhyme is available to poets. The most common form,
rhyme, comes at the ends of lines. Rhyme scheme is the pattern or sequence in which end rhyme occurs. The first sound is designated as
an a, the second as b, and so on. When the first sound is repeated, it is designated as an a also. For example:
It runs through the reed A And away it proceeds, A Through meadow and glade, B
In sun and in shade. B
Internal rhyme places several rhymed words within a line of poetry. For example: “Dividing and gliding and sliding” or, more subtly, “In mist or cloud, on mast or
shroud.” There are several different kids of rhyme, based on the number of syllables presenting a similarity of
sound. These include: NNAAMMEE Definition Example
rhyme one syllable rhyme
now bough
OR
defend contend
rhyme
rhyme that is made up of one stressed syllable and at least one unstressed
syllable
sister blister
OR
gratitude attitude
Not all poems employ rhyme, but used skillfully, rhyme creates lines that are memorable and musical.
rhymes (like all of the examples above) share the same stressed vowel sounds as
well as any sounds that follow the vowel.
Near rhyme (also called off rhyme, rhyme, and approximate rhyme) is where sounds are almost – but not exactly – alike. (Some forms of consonance are an example of this.)
Don’t assume that a near rhyme represents a failed attempt at exact rhyme. is a language that has few exact rhymes, and these broaden the possibility
for musical effects. Near rhymes allow a musical subtlety and and can avoid the sometimes-overpowering jingling effects that exact rhymes can create.
Poets choose and arrange words for their sounds as well as for their meanings. When a voice is breathed into a good poem, there is pleasure in the reading, the saying, and the hearing. Poets choose and repeat sounds carefully, using them to provide meaning and to unify a work. These are some of the devices they employ:
Onomatopoeia is the use of a word that resembles the sound it denotes. For example: quack, buzz, rattle, bang, squeak, bowwow, burp, choo-choo, ding-a-ling, and sizzle. It can consist of more than just single words and mean lines or passages in which sounds help to convey
meaning. Poets usually echo meanings through more subtle means.
Alliteration* is the repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginnings of nearby words.
For example: “descending dewdrops” or “luscious lemons.” Sometimes the term is also used to describe any repetition of consonant sounds, including consonant
sounds within words, such as “trespassers reproach” or “wedded lady.” It is based on sound instead of spelling. (“keen” and “car,” but not “car” and “cite”) If it is overdone, alliteration can be distracting and will not strengthen meaning or emphasize a relation
between words. (“Horrendous horrors haunted Helen’s happiness” is comical, despite the serious topic.)
Assonance* is the repetition of the same vowel sounds in nearby words.
For example: “asleep under a tree,” “time and tide,” “haunt” and “awesome,” and “each evening.” Like alliteration, it helps to establish relations among words in a line or lines. The effect can be:
euphony – smooth lines that are musically pleasant to the ear. cacophony – lines that are discordant and difficult to pronounce.
This can be as significant as the words’ connotative and denotative meanings.
Consonance* is an identical consonant sound preceded by a different vowel sound. For example: home and same, worth and breath, and trophy and daffy. It has often been used to describe words in which both the initial and final consonant sounds correspond,
as in green and groan, or moon and mine.
*NOTE: Although there is some overlap and no clearly established terminology for these three types of sound repetition, you should be less concerned with the label and more concerned
with recognizing the devices and understanding their function.
These three can be used alone or in combination. Alliteration and assonance are combined in such phrases as “time and tide,” “thick and thin,” “and “fit as a fiddle.”
Alliteration and consonance are combined in phrases, such as “last, but not least” and “good as gold.” Rhyme, or rime, is the combination of assonance and consonance.
Rhyme (or rime) is one way of creating sound patterns. It consists of two or more words or phrases that repeat the same sounds, such as happy and snappy.
Rhyme words have similar spellings, but that is not a requirement for rhyme. What matters is that words sound alike, such as rain and reign.
When words look alike, but do not sound alike, it is called eye rhyme. For example: bough and cough or brow and blow.
A variety of types of rhyme is available to poets. The most common form, end rhyme, comes at the ends of lines.
Rhyme scheme is the pattern or sequence in which end rhyme occurs. The first sound is designated as an a, the second as b, and so on. When the first sound is repeated, it is designated as an a also. For example:
It runs through the reed A And away it proceeds, A Through meadow and glade, B
In sun and in shade. B
Internal rhyme places several rhymed words within a line of poetry. For example: “Dividing and gliding and sliding” or, more subtly, “In mist or cloud, on mast or
shroud.” There are several different kids of rhyme, based on the number of syllables presenting a similarity of
sound. These include: NNAAMMEE Definition Example
masculine rhyme one syllable rhyme
now bough
OR
defend contend
feminine rhyme
rhyme that is made up of one stressed syllable and at least one unstressed
syllable
sister blister
OR
gratitude attitude
Not all poems employ rhyme, but used skillfully, rhyme creates lines that are memorable and musical.
Exact rhymes (like all of the examples above) share the same stressed vowel sounds as well as any sounds
that follow the vowel.
Near rhyme (also called off rhyme, slant rhyme, and approximate rhyme) is where sounds are almost – but not exactly – alike. (Some forms of consonance are an example of this.)
Don’t assume that a near rhyme represents a failed attempt at exact rhyme. English is a language that has few exact rhymes, and these broaden the possibility for musical effects.
Near rhymes allow a musical subtlety and variety and can avoid the sometimes-overpowering jingling effects that exact rhymes can create.
Figures of speech are basically a way of saying one thing in terms of something . Although they are indirect, their purpose is not to , but to clarify, the reader’s understanding of what is being described. Figures of speech capture the reader’s interest and in poetry, prose, and everyday conversation. Sometimes, however, they fall flat. are basically figures of speech that have been overused and lack freshness or originality.
Simile and Metaphor
Simile and metaphor are the two most common figures of speech. Both compare things that are considered each other. • A simile makes an comparison between two things by using words such as
like, as, than, appears, or seems. The force of the simile is created by the differences between the two things compared.
• Like a simile, a metaphor makes a comparison between two unlike things, but does it , without words such as like or as. Metaphor asserts the identity of dissimilar things, transforming people, places, objects, and ideas into whatever the poet imagines them to be. If metaphors are effective, the reader’s experience, understanding, and appreciation of what is described are enhanced. They are both subtle and powerful. o Some metaphors are more subtle than others.
“He a mule standing his ground” is an explicit metaphor: “He brayed his refusal to leave” is an metaphor:
o Implied metaphors can slip by readers, but they offer the alert reader the energy and resonance of carefully chosen, highly concentrated language.
• Some poets write extended comparisons in which part or all of the poem consists of a series of related metaphors or similes. o Extended metaphors (or conceits) are more common that extended similes. o Because these comparisons are at work throughout the entire poem, they are called
metaphors. o Extended comparisons can serve as a poem’s principle. They are also a
reminder that in good poems metaphor and simile are from what is being expressed!
Other Figures One of the most familiar figures of speech is the pun. A pun is a play on words that relies on a word either having more than one or sounding like another word. Puns can be used to achieve serious or comic effects. Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a of something is used to signify the whole. For example, a gossipy neighbor is a “wagging tongue” and an incarcerated prisoner is “behind bars.” It can also mean (less frequently) the whole signifying a part, such as “Germany invaded Poland” or “Princeton won the fencing match.”
• Another related figure of speech is , in which something closely associated with a subject is substituted for it. For example, “She preferred the silver screen [movies] to reading.”
• Synecdoche and metonymy may overlap and are therefore sometimes difficult to distinguish. When this occurs in a poem, it is usually labeled a .
Personification is the attribution of characteristics to nonhuman things. For example, temptation pursues the innocent, trees in the raging wind, and mice in the cupboard. It is a form of . We are not told explicitly that these things are people; instead, we are invited to see that they behave like people. Personification makes the world understandable in . • Related to personification is a rhetorical device called apostrophe. Apostrophe is an address to either a
person who is (or dead) and therefore unable to hear the speaker or to something nonhuman that cannot . Apostrophe provides an opportunity for the speaker of a poem to express his thoughts aloud (often in a formal tone). Apostrophe is often accompanied by intense emotion signaled by phrasing, such as “O Life.” It can provide an intense and immediate voice in a poem, but it can also be overdone and extravagantly ludicrous.
Exaggeration, as a figure of speech, is known as overstatement or . Without intending to be literally true, it adds emphasis, surprise or humor. • The opposite figure of speech, understatement, says than is intended – or with
less force than expected. It makes the poet’s point more emphatic. [Note: litotes is an understatement achieved by saying the opposite of what one means or stating a fact in the negative, such as “That is not bad at all” or “She’s no beauty.”]
Paradox is a statement that initially seems to be , but that, on closer inspection, turns out to make sense. To resolve the paradox, it is necessary to discover the truth that underlies the statement. The value of a paradox is that startles the reader to attention and underscores the truth of what is being said. • Oxymoron is a condensed form of in which two contradictory words are used
together. Combinations such as “sweet ,” “silent scream,” “sad joy,” and “ fire” indicate the startling effects they can produce.
Figures of speech can vivify situations, clarify ideas, intensify emotions, and engage your imagination. Although the terms are important and useful for labeling the devices used in poetry, they should not get in the way of your response to a poem. Enjoy their effects before labeling and dissecting them!
Figures of speech are basically a way of saying one thing in terms of something else. Although they are indirect, their purpose is not to obscure, but to clarify, the reader’s understanding of what is being described. Figures of speech capture the reader’s interest and attention in poetry, prose, and everyday conversation. Sometimes, however, they fall flat. Clichés are basically figures of speech that have been overused and lack freshness or originality.
Simile and Metaphor
Simile and metaphor are the two most common figures of speech. Both compare things that are considered unlike each other. • A simile makes an explicit comparison between two things by using words such as like, as, than, appears, or
seems. The force of the simile is created by the differences between the two things compared. • Like a simile, a metaphor makes a comparison between two unlike things, but does it implicitly, without
words such as like or as. Metaphor asserts the identity of dissimilar things, transforming people, places, objects, and ideas into whatever the poet imagines them to be. If metaphors are effective, the reader’s experience, understanding, and appreciation of what is described are enhanced. They are both subtle and powerful. o Some metaphors are more subtle than others.
“He was a mule standing his ground” is an explicit metaphor: “He brayed his refusal to leave” is an implied metaphor:
o Implied metaphors can slip by readers, but they offer the alert reader the energy and resonance of carefully chosen, highly concentrated language.
• Some poets write extended comparisons in which part or all of the poem consists of a series of related metaphors or similes. o Extended metaphors (or conceits) are more common that extended similes. o Because these comparisons are at work throughout the entire poem, they are called controlling
metaphors. o Extended comparisons can serve as a poem’s organizing principle. They are also a reminder that in
good poems metaphor and simile are inseparable from what is being expressed!
Other Figures One of the most familiar figures of speech is the pun. A pun is a play on words that relies on a word either having more than one meaning or sounding like another word. Puns can be used to achieve serious or comic effects. Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to signify the whole. For example, a gossipy neighbor is a “wagging tongue” and an incarcerated prisoner is “behind bars.” It can also mean (less frequently) the whole signifying a part, such as “Germany invaded Poland” or “Princeton won the fencing match.” • Another related figure of speech is metonymy, in which something closely associated with a subject is
substituted for it. For example, “She preferred the silver screen [movies] to reading.”
• Synecdoche and metonymy may overlap and are therefore sometimes difficult to distinguish. When this occurs in a poem, it is usually labeled a metonymy.
Personification is the attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman things. For example, temptation pursues the innocent, trees scream in the raging wind, and mice conspire in the cupboard. It is a form of metaphor. We are not told explicitly that these things are people; instead, we are invited to see that they behave like people. Personification makes the world understandable in human terms. • Related to personification is a rhetorical device called apostrophe. Apostrophe is an address to either a
person who is absent (or dead) and therefore unable to hear the speaker or to something nonhuman that cannot comprehend. Apostrophe provides an opportunity for the speaker of a poem to express his thoughts aloud (often in a formal tone). Apostrophe is often accompanied by intense emotion signaled by phrasing, such as “O Life.” It can provide an intense and immediate voice in a poem, but it can also be overdone and extravagantly ludicrous.
Exaggeration, as a figure of speech, is known as overstatement or hyperbole. Without intending to be literally true, it adds emphasis, surprise or humor. • The opposite figure of speech, understatement, says less than is intended – or with less force than expected.
It makes the poet’s point more emphatic. [Note: litotes is an understatement achieved by saying the opposite of what one means or stating a fact in the negative, such as “That is not bad at all” or “She’s no beauty.”]
Paradox is a statement that initially seems to be contradictory, but that, on closer inspection, turns out to make sense. To resolve the paradox, it is necessary to discover the truth that underlies the statement. The value of a paradox is that startles the reader to attention and underscores the truth of what is being said. • Oxymoron is a condensed form of paradox in which two contradictory words are used together.
Combinations such as “sweet sorrow,” “silent scream,” “sad joy,” and “cold fire” indicate the startling effects they can produce.
Figures of speech can vivify situations, clarify ideas, intensify emotions, and engage your imagination. Although the terms are important and useful for labeling the devices used in poetry, they should not get in the way of your response to a poem. Enjoy their effects before labeling and dissecting them!
George raised the gun and his hands shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again. “Go on,” said Lennie. “How’s it gonna be. We gonna get a little place.” “We’ll have a cow,” said George. “An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens…. an’ down the flat
we’ll have a…. little piece alfalfa-” “For the rabbits,” Lennie shouted. “For the rabbits,” George repeated. “And I get to tend the rabbits.” Lennie giggled with happiness. “An’ live on the fatta the lan’.” “Yes.” Lennie turned his head. “No, Lennie. Look down there across the river, like you can almost see the place.” Lennie obeyed him. George looked down at the gun. There were crashing footsteps in the brush now. George turned and looked toward them. “Go on, George. When you gonna do it?” “Gonna do it soon.” “Me an’ you.” “You…. an’ me. Ever’body gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna
hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em.” Lennie said, “I thought you was mad at me, George.” “No,” said George. “No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t mad now. That’s a thing I
want ya to know.” The voices cam close now. George raised the gun and listened to the voices. Lennie begged, “Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now.” “Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta.” And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of
Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering.
George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes.
The brush seemed filled with cries and with the sound of running feet. Slim’s voice shouted, “George. Where you at, George?”
But George sat stiffly on the bank and looked at his right hand that had thrown the gun away. The group burst into the clearing, and Curley was ahead. He saw Lennie lying on the sand. “Got him, by God.” He went over and looked down at Lennie, and then he looked back at George. “Right in the back of the head,” he said softly.
Slim came directly to George and sat down beside him, sat very close to him. “Never you mind,” said Slim. “A guy got to sometimes.”
But Carlson was standing over George. “How’d you do it?” he asked. “I just done it,” George said tiredly. “Did he have my gun?” “Yeah. He had your gun.” “An’ you got it away from him an’ you took it an’ you killed him?” “Yeah. That’s how.” George’s voice was almost a whisper. He looked steadily at his right hand that
had held the gun. Slim twitched George’s elbow. “Come on, George. Me an’ you’ll go in an’ get a drink.” George let himself be helped to his feet. “Yeah, a drink.” Slim said, “You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me.” He led George into the
entrance of the trail and up toward the highway. Curley and Carlson looked after them. And Carlson said, “Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’
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