Impulses
RSPC first-aid kit
(First of two parts)
The Regional Schools Press Conference is about to unveil this Nov. 30 -- Dec. 2 at Punta Villa, Arevalo, Iloilo City. It is expected that the yearly journalism joust will be participated in by 300 or so schools covering about 3,000 students in high school and elementary divisions. Roughly 200 students will compete in every category (writing news, editorial, feature and sports, copy-reading and headline writing, photojournalism and editorial cartooning -- English and Filipino) and only the top three will be given the green light to slug it out versus the best in the country in the National Schools Press Conference tentatively set in Baguio City.
This may be a tough call for our young Ilonggo writers. But the greatest burden lies on the judges.
I wonder how will they pick the lucky three given the limited time and the great number of entries that they have to mull over.
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With the RSPC in mind, I believe it is just apt to have a crash discussion on the fundamentals of campus journalism. Because of its immensity as a topic to be covered by this column, let me only focus on the important reminders that I have learned, collected and revised (from different journalism books) intended purely to ready campus journalists, in so short a time, in competitions such as the RSPC.
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In writing a news story, the following should be considered by the news writer:
Write the story immediately.
Play up the dominant points.
Be accurate and truthful.
Avoid opinions called editorializing.
Use adjectives sparingly.
Avoid libelous, seditious and rebellious matters, prejudice and bad taste.
Give source (attribution) of the news. Use quotes!
Write names in full when these are mentioned for the first time.
Identify the names mentioned.
Avoid redundancy.
Watch out for errors in fact, grammar, structure, and style.
Observe the guidelines for clear effective writing (unity, coherence, emphasis, brevity, clarity, etc.)
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The writer may also consider the following:
Give the lead sentence a "punch" to catch the interest of the readers.
Start with the most important event or idea.
Use the rule or proximity and explain how the news affects the people in the locality or the students in school.
If the story has something unusual or novel to tell, bank on that for the lead. It's hot copy.
Make the sentences concise and clear so that they could be easily understood. Long tedious sentences will likely "kill" the readers' interest. Besides, they usually "lose" the readers along the way. News stories are not "luxury" or "pleasure" reading. They have the basic function to inform.
Use simple words. Using highfalutin words does not prove anything but pedantry and literary pretentions. Even literary writers try as much as possible to use simple words.
Never be afraid of breaking the rules if it will prove helpful in making a good copy.
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Feature writing, on the other hand, is intended mainly to entertain. Unlike straight news, a feature article may begin in any form and in any style. It depends on the topic or purpose of the writer. Hence, a feature writer must have:
Keen observation and intellectual curiosity
Ability to find features in everyday happenings
Cupboards of descriptive words (using all senses; images) and everyday idioms
The skill to weave words into interesting sentences and paragraphs
The ability to write effectively
The attitude to "think first before writing" and to "show (suggest), not tell, things"
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Editorial writers, meanwhile, must consider these points:
Make the editorial interesting enough to read.
Develop it from one specific, limited idea, phrased in one sentence and expanded into the body of the editorial.
Have a purpose well in mind that should be accomplished with sufficient data.
Organize all data into well-reasoned arguments, with each argument leading up to the conclusion.
Peg the lead sentence on recent, relevant news for its impact value.
Present both sides of an issue and clarify tricky aspects with a widely understood analogy or with an illustration that makes for easier understanding.
Direct the editorial towards the establishment of a consensus.
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Editorial articles must also
Be simple, direct, clear, and forceful.
Have no double meanings.
Reflect clear, logical thinking.
Have a subject matter that is significant to the readers.
Have comparatively short sentences and paragraphs.
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For editorial writing do's and don't's, consider these:
Win the reader's interest with an impelling lead paragraph.
Avoid generalities by using plenty of facts and by telling what these facts mean.
Keep the editorials short; around 300 words (2,500 computer characters) only.
Do not preach, scold or moralize.
Relate editorials directly to the lives of the reader.
Avoid the first person, "I." Use the editorial "We."
Write simply.
Develop editorial from only one specific, limited idea, phrased in one sentence and expanded into the body.
Sentences and paragraphs should be relatively short.
Accomplish the editorial's purpose.
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Sports writing may sound exciting yet it is equally challenging. Though it is essentially news writing, it is so special that it has a license to partly "featurize" and/or editorialize its content. It has the responsibility that, through words, the writer must transport the readers back to the game as it happens complete with images that trigger all the senses. It also has its own lingoes, slanguages, and crutches that treat every game as if it is a bloody war or an electrifying showdown of some sort. The trick in this category is that the writer must be well versed with the rules of the game and must have the heart for the game.
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We end here for awhile. Watch out for the next issue that will cover copy-reading, headline writing, editorial cartooning, photojournalism, and captioning.
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Kudos to the students of Ateneo de Iloilo and Kalibo-based Starglow School! Cheers to all RSPC organizers, judges, contestants and coaches! My salutations also to the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in their awarding rites set November 29 at Iloilo Grand Hotel.
(Engr. Herman Lagon may be reached through h_lagon@yahoo.com)