How Do You Teach Writing?

My last session today was the latest seminar scheduled for Friday (not counting the midnight critiquing session / poker tournament that is technically on Saturday). I should have expected a packed room; after all, the blurb in the program hooked me with this opener:

"How do you teach your students to write like journalists when their favorite adjective is 'cool,' they don't read newspapers ... and/or they don't really know what news is anyway?"

So, it's not just me who wonders these things. (I counted approximately 125-150 in the audience.)

Chris Evans from the University of Vermont was the perfect tonic to a long day of sessions. He was visibly enthused when someone offered an insightful, correct answer, and he was refreshingly snarky about the mistakes and misconceptions that he can't abide. I saw in him the very things I want to do, be and see more in my own teaching technique. He gave us great tips on coaxing good reporting out of our students -- teaching them how to show and tell and how to recognize the real story that exists somewhere within the story that they thought they were supposed to write. I plan to use his suggestions in the JOUR 2520 class this spring.

Evans, UVM's assistant director of student media, told us about how he would get tired of seeing the same mistakes again and again, so he ordered customized rubber stamps that said things like "Where's the problem?" and "Who said this? ATTRIBUTE!" Then he would stamp, stamp, stamp all over a student's article whenever he'd see those errors of omission. (If I were to get stamps this semester, they would say, "Good!" and "Not quite... but close enough for partial credit.")

I originally picked this session because it specifically mentioned the frustration of having students who don't watch or read the news. So, it's not just me who refuses to give up on turning real-life, real-world journalism students into students of real-life, real-world journalism. Hearing that Evans has seen his love for the news become infectious for some of his students gave me hope. You read it here, folks: The mandatory news Qs that you all love to hate will live on in my classes until I've converted everyone. If I manage to develop a CNN/MSNBC/NYT habit in even one of my students, then I'll feel like I've accomplished something.

The popularity of this session meant that I had to sit on the floor dangerously near the iced-water station in the back, and I couldn't see much or get one of the handouts. When I craned my neck to get a glimpse of the presentation, I wished that my PR students were there to see the crooked image on screen. Every class they watch me struggle to line up the PowerPoint projector. So, it's not just me.

Dr. Lee

Profiles: Hammering the Scenes

I opened the door to this session at approximately 1:30.32 and there were people packed in the aisle all the way up to the podium. Eric Adelson from ESPN The Magazine apparently draws a big crowd wherever he goes. This was probably the best session I have attended all week.

Adelson picked a girl from the audience to use as an interview subject. The girl (coincidentally named Lauren) was seated in front of the room where Adelson proceeded to walk the audience through an interview step-by-step. To come up with good questions to ask the subject, a reporter should first contact the subject's best friend, mother, roommate, teammate, etc. and collect stories, anecdotes and background. Then, the subject can be asked to comment on those stories, giving you more background and a deeper profile.

Adelson said a profile should be a roadmap of a person's life. Questions should be used as "monkey bars," one leading to another. Making a subject comfortable is key -- if someone is not comfortable, they won't talk to you. And finally, ending the interview with the question: "Is there anything else you want to add?" is also important because Adelson said that is where you will get your best quotes.

-- Lauren Sciba

Writing Sports Columns and Blogs

After my experiences yesterday at the sessions with Joe Gisondi, I made it a point to attend other sessions where he presided. Gisondi talked about the differences between blogs and regular columns, although there are few, the main one is the freedom that blogging gives a writer. Blogs have no gatekeepers and a writer publish whatever he/she wants. Gisondi said a blog is absolute freedom in the writer's world. He also discussed the importance of developing a voice and finding new and creative ways to tell stories. Blogs and columns share some rules, like avoiding clichés, hooking the reader, entertain but also inform. Overall, I enjoyed hearing Gisondi's tips on becoming a better writer. I plan to start reading his blog and emulate his skills.

-- Lauren Sciba

How to Write Visually

I was really impressed by this session, which was held at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning. After my long day of traveling with only 3 hours of sleep (thank you, Current Sauce), I was surprised by how lively I was for this first session.

The main idea of the session was to describe how good photography and writing are similar. The lecturers, Brian Poulter and Joe Gisondi from Eastern Illinois University, went through the hierarchy of photography and described them in terms of writing.

1. Informational- This is the foundation of any news story. It is the inverted pyramid and facts without flavor.

2. Graphic information- This is where details are observed and described. Certain items are used to focus the story and create a picture in a person's mind. Reporting was defined as the "fine art of hanging out."

3. Emotional writing- This captures the feel and emotion of a story. The main factor of this sense of writing is to get the reader to react(laugh, cry, become angry, etc.) The speakers emphasized speaking to other people about the focus person to find personal facts about them.

4. Intimate writing- This is the hardest form of writing. It takes the reader to a place that is rarely seen. In order to capture an intimate portrait of a person, one must ask questions like, "what were you thinking about at that time?" and create a relationship with the subject.

This was definitely my favorite session of the day.

Kera Simon