Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Published by:
Global Media
1819, Bhagirath Palace,
Chandni Chowk, Delhi-110 006
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Freelancer
2. Journalism
3. News
4. News Agencies
6. Scientific Literature
7. Freedom of Press
The author and poet Ernest William Hornung (1866 - 1921) also used the term in "The
Gift of the Emperor" to describe something of poor quality: "I warmed to my woes. It
was no easy matter to keep your end up as a raw freelance of letters; for my part, I was
afraid I wrote neither well enough nor ill enough for success."
Fields where freelancing is especially common include journalism and other forms of
writing, computer programming and graphic design, consulting, and many other
professional and creative services. The practice is widespread: for example, bounty
hunters and mercenaries are freelancers, with their full-time counterparts being,
respectively, the police and the military.
The Internet has opened up many freelance opportunities, expanding markets and helping
to build it into one of the largest economic segments for many economies. Development
for freelancing has been especially high for software development, information
technology, and business documentation.
Freelance practice varies greatly. Some require clients to sign written contracts, while
others may perform work based on verbal agreements, perhaps enforceable through the
very nature of the work. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and
request deposits from clients.
Payment for freelance work also varies greatly. Freelancers may charge by the day or
hour, or on a per-project basis. Instead of a flat rate or fee, some consultants have adopted
a value-based pricing method based on the perceived value of the results to the client. By
custom, payment arrangements may be upfront, percentage upfront, or upon completion.
For more complex projects, a contract may set a payment schedule based on milestones
or outcomes.
A major drawback is the uncertainty of work — and thus income — and lack of company
benefits such as health insurance or retirement pay.
Another drawback is that freelancers often must handle contracts, legal issues,
accounting, marketing, and other business functions by themselves. If they do choose to
pay for professional services, they can sometimes turn into a significant out-of-pocket
expense. Working hours can extend beyond the standard working day and working week.
However, many Asian countries appear to follow Hormung by holding low regard for
freelancers, often associating the practice with personal failure (an inability to find work
with a major employer) and even criminality
Journalism
Journalism is a discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying, and presenting news
regarding current events, trends, issues and people. Those who practice journalism are
known as journalists.
News-oriented journalism is sometimes described as the "first rough draft of " (attributed
to Phil Graham), because journalists often record important events, producing news
articles on short deadlines. While under pressure to be first with their stories, news media
organizations usually and proofread their reports prior to publication, adhering to each
organization's standards of accuracy, quality and style. Many news organizations claim
proud traditions of holding government officials and institutions accountable to the
public, while media critics have raised questions about holding the press itself
accountable.
Reporting
Journalism has as its main activity the reporting of events — stating who, what, when,
where, why and how, and explaining the significance and effect of events or trends.
Journalism exists in a number of media: newspapers, television, radio, magazines and,
most recently, the World Wide Web through the Internet.
The subject matter of journalism can be anything and everything, and journalists report
and write on a wide variety of subjects: politics on the international, national, provincial
and local levels, economics and business on the same four levels, health and medicine,
education, sports, hobbies and recreation, lifestyles, clothing, food, pets, sex and
relationships.... Journalists can report for general interest news outlets like newspapers,
news magazines and broadcast sources; general circulation specialty publications like
trade and hobby magazines, or for news publications and outlets with a select group of
subscribers.
Journalists are usually expected and required to go out to the scene of a story to gather
information for their reports, and often may compose their reports in the field. They also
use the telephone, the computer and the internet to gather information. However, more
often those reports are written, and are almost always ed, in the newsroom, the office
space where journalists and ors work together to prepare news content.
Journalists, especially if they cover a specific subject or area (a "beat") are expected to
cultivate sources, people in the subject or area, that they can communicate with, either to
explain the details of a story, or to provide leads to other subjects of stories yet to be
reported. They are also expected to develop their investigative skills to better research
and report stories.
Print journalism
Print journalism can be split into several categories: newspapers, news magazines,
general interest magazines, trade magazines, hobby magazines, newsletters, private
publications, online news pages and others. Each genre can have its own requirements for
researching and writing reports.
For example, newspaper journalists in the United States have traditionally written reports
using the inverted pyramid style, although this style is used more for straight or hard
news reports rather than features. Written hard news reports are expected to be spare in
the use of words, and to list the most important information first, so that, if the story must
be cut because there is not enough space for it, the least important facts will be
automatically cut from the bottom. ors usually ensure that reports are written with as few
words as possible. Feature stories are usually written in a looser style that usually
depends on the subject matter of the report, and in general granted more space (see
Feature-writing below).
News magazine and general interest magazine articles are usually written in a different
style, with less emphasis on the inverted pyramid. Trade publications can be more news-
oriented, while hobby publications can be more feature-oriented.
Broadcast journalism
Radio journalists must gather facts to present them fairly and accurately, but also must
find and record relevant and interesting sounds to add to their reports, both interviews
with people involved in the story and background sounds that help characterize the story.
Radio reporters may also write the introduction to the story read by a radio news anchor,
and may also answers questions live from the anchor.
On-line journalism
The fast and vast growth of the Internet and World Wide Web has spawned the newest
medium for journalism, on-line journalism. The speed at which news can be disseminated
on the web, and the profound penetration to anyone with a computer and web browser,
have greatly increased the quantity and variety of news reports available to the average
web user.
The bulk of on-line journalis has been the extension of existing print and broadcast media
into the web via web versions of their primary products. New reports that were set to be
released at expected times now can be published as soon as they are written and ed,
increasing the deadline pressure and fear of being scooped many journalists must deal
with.
Most news websites are free to their users — one notable exception being the Wall Street
Journal website, for which a subscripton is required to view its contents — but some
outlets, such as the New York Times website, offer current news for free but archived
reports and access to opinion columnists and other non-news sections for a periodic fee.
Attempts to start unique web publications, such as Slate and Salon, have met with limited
success, in part because they do or did charge subscription fees.
However, the growth of blogs as a source of news and especially opinion on the news has
forever changed journalism. Blogs now can create news as well as report it, and blur the
dividing line between news and opinion. The debate about whether blogging is really
journalism rages on (see blogging entry below).
Variations of journalism
Feature journalism
Newspapers and periodicals often contain features (see under heading feature style at
article news style) written by journalists, many of whom specialize in this form of in-
depth journalism.
Feature articles usually are longer than straight news articles, and are combined with
photographs, drawings or other "art." They may also be highlighted by typographic
effects or colors.
Writing features can be more demanding than writing straight news stories, because
while a journalist must apply the same amount of effort to accurately gather and report
the facts of the story, the reporter must also find a creative and interesting way to write
the article, especially the lead, or the first one or two paragraphs of the story. The lead
must grab the reader's attention yet accurately embody the ideas of the article. Often the
lead of a feature article is dictated by its subject matter. Journalists must work even
harder to avoid clichéd images and words when writing the lead and the rest of the
article.
In the last half of the 20th Century the line between straight news reporting and feature
writing blurred as more and more journalists and publications experimented with
different approaches to writing an article. Tom Wolf, Gay Talese, Hunter S. Thompson
and other journalists used many different approaches to writing news articles. Urban and
alternative weekly newspapers went even further blurring the distinction, and many
magazines fan more features than straight news.
Some television news shows experimented with alternative formats, and many TV shows
that claimed to be news shows were not considered as such by many critics, because their
content and methods did not adhere to accepted journalistic standards. National Public
Radio, on the other hand, is considered a good example of a good mixture of straight
news reporting, features, and combinations of the two, usually meeting standards of high
quality. Other U.S. public radio news organizations have achieved similar results.
However, a majority of newspapers still maintain a clear distinction between news and
features, as do most television and radio news organizations.
Sports journalism
Sports journalism covers many aspects of human athletic competition, and is an integral
part of most journalism products, including newspapers, magazines, and radio and
television news broadcasts. While some critics don't consider sports journalism to be true
journalism, the prominence of sports in Western culture has justified the attention of
journalists to not just the competitive events of sports, but also to athletes and the
business of sports.
Sports journalism in the United States has traditionally been written in a looser, more
creative and more opinionated tone than traditional journalistic writing; however, the
emphases on accuracy and underlying fairness is still a part of sports journalism. An
emphasis on the accurate description of statistical performances of athletes is also an
important part of sports journalism.
Science journalism.
Scientific journalists also must choose which developments in science merit news
coverage, as well as cover disputes within the scientific community with a balance of
fairness to both sides but also with a devotion to the facts.
Many, but not all, journalists covering science have training in the sciences they cover,
including several medical doctors who cover medicine.
Investigative journalism
Another, less reputable, area of journalism that grew in stature in the 20th Century is
'celebrity' or 'people' journalism, which focuses on the personal lives of people, primarily
celebrities, including movie and stage actors, musical artists, models and photographers,
other notable people in the entertainment industry, as well as people who seek attention,
such as politicians, and people thrust into the attention of the public, such as people who
do something newsworthy.
Once the province of newspaper gossip columnists and gossip magazines, celebrity
journalism has become the focus of national tabloid newspapers like the National
Enquirer, magazines like People and Us Weekly, syndicated television shows like
Entertainment Tonight, Inside ion, The Insider, Access Hollywood, and Extra, cable
networks like E!, A&E Network and The Biography Channel, and numerous other
television productions and thouasands of websites. Most other news media provide some
coverage of celebrities and people.
Celebrity journalism differs from feature writing in that it focuses on people who are
either already famous or are especially attractive, and in that it often covers celebrities
obssessively, to the point of these journalists behaving unethically in order to provide
coverage. Paparazzi, photographers who would follow celebrities incessantly to obtain
potentially embarrassing photographs, have come to characterize celebrity journalism.
Lippmann understood that journalism's role at the time was to act as a mediator or
translator between the public and policymaking elites. The journalist became the
middleman. When elites spoke, journalists listened and recorded the information, distilled
it, and passed it on to the public for their consumption. His reasoning behind this was that
the public was not in a position to deconstruct a growing and complex flurry of
information present in modern society, and so an intermediary was needed to filter news
for the masses. Lippman put it this way: The public is not smart enough to understand
complicated, political issues. Furthermore, the public was too consumed with their daily
lives to care about complex public policy. Therefore the public needed someone to
interpret the decisions or concerns of the elite to make the information plain and simple.
That was the role of journalists. Lippmann believed that the public would affect the
decision making of the elite with their vote. In the meantime, the elite (i.e. politicians,
policy makers, bureacrats, scientists, etc.) would keep the business of power running. In
Lippman's world, the journalist's role was to inform the public of what the elites were
doing. It was also to act as a dog over the elites as the public had the final say with their
votes. Effectively that kept the public at the bottom of the power chain, catching the flow
of information that is handed down from experts/elites.
Dewey, on the other hand, believed the public was not only capable of understanding the
issues created or responded to by the elite, it was in the public forum that decisions
should be made after discussion and debate. When issues were throughly vetted, then the
best ideas would bubble to the surface. Dewey believed journalists not only had to inform
the public, but should report on issues differently than simply passing on information. In
Dewey's world, a journalist's role changed. Dewey believed that journalists should take in
the information, then weigh the consequences of the policies being enacted by the elites
on the public. Over time, his idea has been implemented in various degrees, and is more
commonly known as "community journalism."
Such a code of conduct can, in the real world, be difficult to uphold consistently.
Journalists who believe they are being fair or objective may give biased accounts -- by
reporting selectively, trusting too much to anecdote, or giving a partial explanation of
actions. (See Media bias.) Even in routine reporting, bias can creep into a story through a
reporter's choice of facts to summarize, or through failure to check enough sources, hear
and report dissenting voices, or seek fresh perspectives.
As much as reporters try to set aside their prejudices, they may simply be unaware of
them. Young reporters may be blind to issues affecting the elderly. A 20-year veteran of
the "police beat" may be deaf to rumors of departmental corruption. Publications
marketed to affluent suburbanites may ignore urban problems. And, of course, naive or
unwary reporters and ors alike may fall prey to public relations, propaganda or
disinformation.
News organizations provide ors, producers or news directors whose job is to check
reporters' work at various stages. But ors can get tired, lazy, complacent or biased. An or
may be blind to a favorite reporter's omissions, prejudices or fabrications. (See Jayson
Blair.) Provincial ors also may be ill-equipped to weigh the perspective (or check the
facts of) a correspondent reporting from a distant city or foreign country. (See News
management.)
However, the distinction between reporting and opinion can break down. Complex stories
often require summarizing and interpretation of facts, especially if there is limited time or
space for a story. Stories involving great amounts of interpretation are often labelled
"news analysis," but still run in a paper's news columns. The limited time for each story
in a broadcast report rarely allows for such distinctions.
Ambush journalism
The practice has been sharply criticized by journalists and others as being highly
unethical and sensational, while others defend it as the only way to attempt to provide
those subject to it an opportunity to comment for a report. Ambush journalism has not
been ruled illegal in the United States, although doing it on private property could open a
journalist to being charged with trespassing.
Gotcha journalism
Legal status
Journalists around the world often write about the governments in their nations, and those
governments have widely varying policies and practices towards journalists, which
control what they can research and write, and what press organizations can publish. Many
Western governments guarantee the freedom of the press, and do relatively little to
restrict press rights and freedoms, while other nations severely restrict what journalists
can research and/or publish.
Journalists in many nations have enjoyed some privileges not enjoyed by members of the
general publlic, including better access to public events, crime scenes and press
conferences, and to extended interviews with public officials, celebrities and others in the
public eye. These privileges are available because of the perceived power of the press to
turn public opinion for or against governments, their officials and policies, as well as the
perception that the press often represents their consumers. These privileges extend from
the legal rights of journalists but are not guaranteed by those rights. Sometimes
government officials may attempt to punish individual journalists who irk them by
denying them some of these privileges extended to other journalists.
Nations or jurisdictions that formally license journalists may confer special privileges and
responsibilities along with those licenses, but in the United States the tradition of an
independent press has avoided any imposition of government-controlled examinations or
licensing. Some of the states have explicit shield laws that protect journalists from some
forms of government inquiry, but those statutes' definitions of "journalist" were often
based on access to printing presses and broadcast towers. A national shield law has been
proposed.
Journalists who elect to cover conflicts, whether wars between nations or insurgencies
within nations, often give up expectation to protection by government, if not giving up
their rights to protection by government. Journalists who are captured or detained during
a conflict are expected to be treated as civilians and to be released to their national
government.
Journalists enjoy similar powers and privileges as private citizens and organizations. The
power of journalists over private citizens is limited by the citizen's rights to privacy.
However, many who seek favorable representation in the press (celebrities, for example)
grant journalists greater access than others enjoy. The right to privacy of a private citizen
may be reduced or lost if the citizen is thrust into the public eye, either by their own
actions or because they are involved in a public event or incident.
Citizens and private organizations can refuse to deal with some or all journalists;
however, the powers the press enjoy in many nations often make this tactic ineffective or
counter-productive.
Citizens in most nations also enjoy the right against being libeled or defamed by
journalists, and citizens can bring suit against journalists who they claim have published
damaging untruths about them with malicious disregard for the truth. Libel or defamation
lawsuits can also become conflicts between the journalists' rights to publish versus the
private citizen's right to privacy. Some journalists have claimed lawsuits brought against
them and news organizations — or even the threat of such a lawsuit — were intended to
stifle their voices with the threat of expensive legal procedings, even if plaintiffs cannot
prove their cases. This is referred to as the Chilling effect.
In many nations, journalists and news organizations must function under similar threat of
retaliation from private individuals or organizations as from governments. Criminals and
criminal organizations, political parties, some zealous religious organizations, and even
mobs of people have been known to punish journalists who speak or write about them in
ways they do not like. Punishments can include threats, physical damage to property,
assault, torture and murder.
The scope of rights granted journalists varies from nation to nation; in the United
Kingdom, for example, the government has had more legal rights to protect what it
considers sensitive information, and to force journalists to reveal the sources of leaked
information, than the United States. Other nations, particularly Zimbabwe and the
People's Republic of China, have a reputation of persecuting journalists, both domestic
and foreign.
In the present decade in the U.S., despite a long tradition of a journalist's ability to protect
sources from government inquiry, the Supreme Court has upheld lower federal court
rulings that restrict to varying degrees the rights of journalists to withhold information,
and prosecutors on the state and federal levels have sought to jail journalists who refuse
demands for information and sources they seek to protect.
Like sources, journalists depend on the rights granted by government to the public and,
by extension, to the press, for access to information held by the government. These rights
also vary from nation to nation (see Freedom of information legislation) and, in the
United States, from state to state. Some states have more open policies for making
information available, and some states have acted in the last decade to broaden those
rights. New Jersey, for example, has updated and broadened its Sunshine Law to better
define what kinds of government documents can be withheld from public inquiry.
In the United States, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guarantees journalists the
right to obtain copies of government documents, although the government has the right to
redact, or black out, information from documents in those copies that FOIA allows them
to withhold. Other federal legislation also controls access to information (see Freedom of
information in the United States).
News
New is any new information or current events. The reporting of news falls into the field
of journalism. News is often reported by a variety of sources, such as newspapers,
television and radio programs, wire services, and web sites. News reporting is a type of
journalism, typically written or broadcast in news style. Most news is investigated and
presented by journalists and can be distributed to various sites via news agencies. The
weather is typically presented by a Weather reporter.
Newsworthiness
To be considered newsworthy, an event usually must have broad interest in one or more
news values
In recent years increasing weight has also been given to the following news values:-
News items and journalism can be divided in various ways, although there are grey areas.
Distinctions include between hard news (serious and timely topics) and soft news (lighter
topics); breaking news (immediate events); news analysis; and enterprise or investigative
reporting, in which a topic is examined in great detail.
News coverage traditionally begins with the "five W's and the H"—who, what, where,
when, why and how.
Objectivity
In democracies, news organizations are often expected to aim for objectivity: Reporters
try to cover all sides of an issue without bias, as compared to commentators or analysts,
who provide opinion or personal point-of-view.
In the United Kingdom, limits are set by the government agency Ofcom, the Office of
Communications. Both newspapers and broadcast news programs in the United States are
generally expected to remain neutral and avoid bias except for clearly indicated orial
articles or segments.
Many single-party countries have operated state-run news organizations, which may
present the government's views. Even in those situations where objectivity is expected, it
is difficult to achieve, and individual journalists may fall foul of their own personal bias,
or succumb to commercial or political pressure. Individuals and organizations who are
the subject of news reports may use news management techniques to try to make a
favourable impression.
Etymology
"News" developed as a special use of the plural form of "new" in the 14th century. In
Middle English, the equivalent word was 'newes', based on the French 'nouvelles'.
Current events
Current events/Southeast Asia
Regional Topic-Specific
World • Africa | Britain and Ireland | China | India | Science and Technology |
Middle East | Oceania | Southeast Asia | United Sports | Video games
States
• The coup in Thailand and the Myanmar issue could keep planned talks
between ASEAN nations and US President George W. Bush from
happening next month on the sidelines of the APEC summit. (AFP)
• Parliament passes a bill for compulsory military service for men between
18 and 30, despite pushing by international donors to reduce the size of the
Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. (Australian)
• East Timor crisis: A clash between rival armed groups near Dili leaves
two people dead and causes the closure of Presidente Nicolau Lobato
International Airport. (AFP)
• South Thailand insurgency: On the second anniversary of the Tak Bai
Incident, in which more than 80 Muslim protestors died after being arrested,
Human Rights and Amnesty International call on the government to bring
those responsible for the deaths and injuries to justice. (TNA)
• Interim government:
o Junta leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin who led the coup d'état that ousted
prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra says an investigation has thus far
turned up no links between the deposed premier and any corruption
scandals. "It will be difficult to implicate him," Sonthi tells The
Nation. (Nation)
o Interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont meets with leaders of
political parties and promises to ease restrictions on political
gatherings set by the junta. (AFP)
• Seventy-six North Koreans are arrested with illegally entering the
kingdom. They were among 91 suspected defectors, including 52 women
and 10 children under the age of 15, found on Tuesday in an apartment in
Pathum Thani. (AFP) (TNA)
• In a 8-7 vote, the Supreme Court of the Philippines votes against a
'People's Intiative' intended to change the constitution. (INQ7)
• East Timor crisis: Fighting breaks out between two rival gangs after the
mutilated remains of two bodies are found. Two men are stabbed in the
fighting, and four others are injured. United Nations peacekeepers are
brought in to restore order. (AFP) (AP)
• Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad meets with Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi amidst hopes by their party, the United Malays
National Organisation, that the two would put an end to their public
bickering. However, after two hours, Mahathir emerges as critical as ever. "I
can't say I am happy, I am satisfied I am able to say these things directly to
him," he says. "I will continue to criticise if I feel something is done which
is not beneficial to the country." (AFP)
• South Thailand insurgency: A bomb hidden in a wastebin in front of an
electronics shop in Narathiwat explodes, killing a soldier and injuring a
dozen people, including five Buddhist monks making their morning alms
rounds. (AFP) (TNA)
• Thailand flooding:
o Already under pressure from flooding to the north, the Bangkok area
is on the alert for floods during a period of hide tides. (TNA)
o The Department of Fisheries warns that crocodiles bred in illegal
farms have been escaping from their confinement due to the floods
encompassing much of the central provinces. (TNA)
o The total number of patients suffering from flood-related ailments
has soared to 472,897 as measured up to October 20, a public health
official says. (TNA)
• New People's Army rebels burn airport equipment in Silay on the central
island of Negros after contractors refuse to pay revolutionary taxes.(Yahoo!
News)
• The haze hits the unhealthy stage for the first time in years, reaching a
PSI of 150 by 2100 hours, the worse in a decade, and triggering the first
health advisory by the National Environment Agency. (CNA)
• The largest shopping mall in Singapore, VivoCity, opens with 1.1
million square feet of retail space. (CNA)
• In response to an orial in the recently banned Far Eastern Economic
Review, the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts advises
the magazine to seek legal redress (FEER) (AFP) (CNA)
• Flooding is problematic throughout Thailand, including Chanthaburi,
where residents waded through chest-deep waters because of a shortage of
• Around 1,200 pieces of luggage is lost in the baggage-handling system at
Suvarnabhumi Airport after a malfunction shuts down the computerized
system for an hour, leaving more than 6,700 pieces to be moved by hand.
(AP)
• Sok Sam Oeun and Born Samnang, convicted last year of killing labor
leader Chea Vichea are in court for an appeals hearing, which is then
postponed when one of the three judges does not show up. Sok Sam Oeun
denounces his conviction, saying "courts in Cambodia are totally stupid and
merciless." Earlier in the week, a witness to the killing released a statement
saying neither man was at the scene, but the witness has gone into hiding
fearing for her safety. (AP) (AFP)
• Human Rights decries the overturning of a 14-year sentence for
Pollycarpus Priyanto, a Garuda Indonesia pilot convicted in the 2004
arsenic-poisoning death of rights activist Munir Said Thalib. (AFP)
• Haze reaches the worst level of the year in Singapore, as Indonesian
officials say they are "working round the clock" to douse land-clearing fires
in Kalimantan. (CNA) (AFP)
• The Philippines military says it has captured Istiada H. Oemar Sovie, the
wife of Jemaah Islamiyah leader Dulmatin, who's said to have been behind
the 2002 Bali bombings. She was arrested on Tuesday in a raid on Jolo
Island. (AFP)
• The Far Eastern Economic Review says it has been banned in Singapore
because it refused to apologize for an article about Democratic Party leader
Chee Soon Juan over which Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Lee Kuan
Yew have both filed defamation suits. (FEER) (AFP)
• The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts bans the Far
Eastern Economic Review from local circulation for failing to comply with
amended conditions in Section 24 of the Newspaper and Printing Presses
Act. (CNA)
• Forty years in the making, but overshadowed by the coup d'état,
Mueang as Bangkok's international airport. The first flight is Lufthansa
cargo flight LH 8442 from Frankfurt via Mumbai at 3:02am. Glitches
include lengthy waits for baggage to come through the new system managed
by Thai Airways International. (AFP) (AP) (TNA)
• Singapore 2006:
o The 61st International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meeting
ends with an agreement on the need to revive stalled global trade
o The Singapore 2006 organising committee thanks Singaporeans and
corporations for helping to make what delegates called the "best and
most memorable IMF/World Bank meeting they've had" a success.
Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Minister in Charge of Singapore 2006, also
clarified some pointers over the about-turn in the handling of 27
Civil Society Organisation representatives whom the Singaporean
authorities originally objected from being allowed entry into the
country. (CNA)
• Thailand coup d'état:
o Six military and police generals are named to the junta's
Administrative Reform Council, with Army Commander-in-Chief
Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin named as head. (The Nation)
o Coup leaders declare Wednesday a holiday, with banks and
government offices closed, and move to censor the media and ban
public gatherings. Royal Thai Army troops are stationed at media
outlets. (The Nation)
o The junta promises civilian government in two weeks. Bank of
Thailand Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula is named as the possible
next prime minister. (The Nation) (The Nation) (The Nation) (BBC)
o Deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra cancels his speech before the
UN General Assembly and flies to London, where he is reunited with
family and friends who fled Thailand after the coup. (The Nation)
• The Parliament of Cambodia passes a law that will send adulterers to jail
for up to a year. The vote prompts a walkout by opposition Sam Rainsy
Party lawmakers.
• Despite being pardoned, three Christians, Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu
and Dominggus da Silva, are executed by firing squad in Palu, Central
Sulawesi, for their role in leading attacks on Muslims in 2000 in Poso.
• Laos is backed in its bid to host the 2009 Southeast Asian Games by the
Chinese government, which will build all the facilities needed for the
regional athletic competition.
• Malaysia chooses its first astronauts, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, and an
alternate, Faiz Khaleed, who are undergoing training in Russia for a
• The Security Council agrees to put Myanmar on its agenda.
• More than 90 people are killed as Typhoon Xangsane (Milenyo) strikes the
Philippines, including metro Manila, before moving on to Vietnam.
• The Singapore 2006 events commences with the Singapore Biennale, and
culminates at the 2006 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank Group at the Suntec Singapore International
Convention and Exhibition Centre.
• As Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is in New York to address the
UN General Assembly, the military (soldier pictured), led by Royal Thai
Army chief Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin, stages a coup d'état.
• Myanmar developments:
o US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton says he has taken steps to
have the issue of Myanmar formally put on the agenda of the
Security Council. (AFP)
o Lt. Gen. Thein Sein announces the military government will
reconvene its constitutional convention to next month. (AP)
• Flooding along the Nan and Yom River kills three people in Sukhothai,
with hundreds of people displaced across northern Thailand, including
Lampang, Phichit and Phitsanulok. (The Nation)
• Abdul Aziz Imam Samudra is sentenced to eight years in prison for his
role in the 2005 Bali bombings. The former high-school computer teacher
had created a website for the bombings' alleged masterminds, slain
bombmaker Azahari Husin and the fugitive Noordin Mohammad Top.
(AFP)
• At least 30 Abu Sayyaf militants are killed by government troops in
fighting on Jolo Island where security forces are still trying to capture two
Jemaah Islamiya terrorists blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings. (Sun.Star)
•
o Riau police say protests will not be allowed on Batam during the
meetings in neighboring Singapore. (Jakarta Post) (CNA)
• Singapore 2006 developments:
o The IMF and World Bank issue an unprecedented rebuke to
Singapore over a ban on activists who had been invited to attend the
annual meetings. (FT)
o Singapore, which has banned any outdoor protests, will designate an
area inside the meeting venue, Suntec Singapore International
Convention and Exhibition Centre, for demonstrators. (IHT)
• The Southeast Asian Games Federation announced the hosting of the
2013 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore (CNA).
• The World Health Organization confirms two more deaths from H5N1,
bringing the country's death toll from bird flu to 48. One is a 14-year-old
female from South Sulawesi who died in June and whose death from the
virus was already confirmed by the Indonesian health ministry; the other is
an 8-year-old girl from Banten province who died on July 14, 2005.
(Bloomberg)
• Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is defeated in an election in
Kedah in which he sought to be a delegate to the United Malays National
Organisation assembly in November. The former premier polled 227 of 476
votes. He denies he wants to unseat his hand-picked successor, Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi, but says he hoped to explain his criticisms of the current
government to the UMNO. (Reuters)
• The alert level is raised on Mount Talang after sensors pick up increased
volcanic activity. (AP)
• A woman is killed by a bomb outside her home in Poso. It is the second
blast in Poso in a week, the other on Wednesday killing one man. Police say
they don't know if the bombings are connected with plans to execute three
Christian militants convicted of beheading Muslims. (Australian)
ties, including developments in southern Johor. (CNA)
• Officials plan to siphon out remaining fuel from inside the sunken tanker
M/T Solar I, which has caused the Guimaras oil spill. (Inq7)
• Flooding continues in northern Thailand, with the government reporting
a total death toll of five: two deaths in Lampang and three in Sukhothai. A
road is closed between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, where incessant rain
and forest run-off have swollen the Maejam River. Additionally, a mudslide
is reported in southern Thailand, in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. (TNA)
• Singapore 2006:
o The 61st International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meeting
ends with an agreement on the need to revive stalled global trade
talks, and to curb risks to global economic growth. (Businessweek)
o The Singapore 2006 organising committee thanks Singaporeans and
corporations for helping to make what delegates called the "best and
most memorable IMF/World Bank meeting they've had" a success.
Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Minister in Charge of Singapore 2006, also
clarified some pointers over the about-turn in the handling of 27
Civil Society Organisation representatives whom the Singaporean
authorities originally objected from being allowed entry into the
country. (CNA)
• Thailand coup d'état:
o Six military and police generals are named to the junta's
Administrative Reform Council, with Army Commander-in-Chief
Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin named as head. (The Nation)
o Coup leaders declare Wednesday a holiday, with banks and
government offices closed, and move to censor the media and ban
public gatherings. Royal Thai Army troops are stationed at media
outlets. (The Nation)
o The junta promises civilian government in two weeks. Bank of
Thailand Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula is named as the possible
next prime minister. (The Nation) (The Nation) (The Nation) (BBC)
o Deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra cancels his speech before the
UN General Assembly and flies to London, where he is reunited with
family and friends who fled Thailand after the coup. (The Nation)
• The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts bans the Far
Eastern Economic Review from local circulation for failing to comply with
amended conditions in Section 24 of the Newspaper and Printing Presses
Act. (CNA)
• Forty years in the making, but overshadowed by the coup d'état,
Suvarnabhumi Airport officially opens without fanfare, replacing Don
Mueang as Bangkok's international airport. The first flight is Lufthansa
cargo flight LH 8442 from Frankfurt via Mumbai at 3:02am. Glitches
include lengthy waits for baggage to come through the new system managed
by Thai Airways International. (AFP) (AP) (TNA)
• The junta detains two dissident leaders, Min Zeya and Pyone Cho, in a
crackdown on the opposition National League for Democracy, which has
been celebrating its 18th anniversary this week. (AP)
• Thailand coup d'état: The Council for Democratic Reform submits an
interim constitution for formal approval to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
(TNA) (AFP)
• Typhoon Xangsane:
o Relief efforts begin following the worst typhoon to hit metro
Manila in more than a decade. (Inq7) (Reuters)
o Vietnam prepares to evacuate 180,000 people from nine central
provinces before the typhoon hits. (AP)
Regional Topic-Specific
World • Africa | Britain and Ireland | China | India | Middle East | Science and
Oceania | Southeast Asia | United States Technology |
Sports | Video
games
• The World Confederation of Labour and the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions merge to form the International Trade Union Confederation,
representing 166 million members.
• Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah, says negotiations are
underway with Israel for exchange of the prisoners taken in July's Zar'it-Shtula
incident.
• China announces the resumption of the six-party talks to find a peaceful
resolution to concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
• Georgi Parvanov becomes the first democratically re-elected Bulgarian president,
beating Volen Siderov in an election runoff.
• A report by Nicholas Stern (pictured), produced for the British government,
asserts that ongoing climate change could have an economic impact similar to that
of the Great Depression or World War II.
• The government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army rebels sign a second
truce as negotiations restart in Juba, Sudan. (IRIN)
• An Israel Defense Forces soldier and six Palestinians were killed in an IDF
operation in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. (Haaretz), (BBC News)
• The Prime Minister of Fiji Laisenia Qarase reportedly meets with his security
chiefs this morning after yesterday trying to sack Fiji's military commander Frank
Bainimarama. Alexander Downer, the Foreign Minister of Australia, has raised
concerns about a coup. (ABC News Australia)
• The World Confederation of Labour and the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions merge to form the International Trade Union Confederation.
(International Herald Tribune)
• Esperanza Fire
o California authorities arrest a man who is suspected of intentionally
starting two wildfires this summer and is considered a person of interest in
the Esperanza Fire. (San Francisco Examiner)
o A fifth firefighter dies as a result of injuries obtained fighting the
Esperanza Fire near Palm Springs, California started by arson. (Los
Angeles Times)
• A United States federal appeals court blocks a landmark judgment against the
tobacco industry clearing the way for selling "light" and "low tar" cigarettes until
industry appeals can be reviewed. (AP via Kiplinger forecasts)
• Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, says that it has started
negotiating with Israel on prisoner exchange. (Reuters)
• Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, a prominent Kazakhstani politician and one of the
founders of Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, says the Government of
Kazakhstan should "look at other circumstances that have harmed Kazakhstan's
image" instead of "fighting Borat." (stuff)
• The Prince of Wales’s controversial visit today to a madrassa in the Pakistani town
of Peshawar, bordering Afghanistan has been cancelled over fears for his safety,
after calls by Islamic leaders for revenge for a Pakistani airstrike that destroyed
another religious school about 60 miles away. (The Times)
• The Lebanese army issued a statement saying its gunners fired anti-aircraft
artillery at Israel Air Force warplanes as they flew over south Lebanon. (Haaretz)
• China announces the resumption of the stalled six-party talks to find a peaceful
resolution to concerns about North Korean nuclear weapons program. (BBC
News)
• Taliban insurgency: Suspected militants attack a convoy of NATO troops in
Afghanistan's eastern province of Nuristan killing three soldiers. (Reuters)
• Bajaur airstrike: Pakistani officials confirm that a strike on a madrassah was based
on United States intelligence that senior members of al-Queda were hiding there.
The attack has generated protests by religious and tribal leaders in Pakistan. (The
Washington Post)
• Fiji's military stage exercises around the capital Suva and close off the city's army
barracks as tensions rose due to fears of a coup d'état. Fiji's military chief, Frank
Bainimarama, has threatened to force the Prime Minister of Fiji Laisenia Qarase to
resign unless the Prime Minister drops two Bills, one which will offer amnesty to
some of those involved in a 2000 coup led by George Speight. (ABC News
Australia)
• Bob Barker, longtime host of the American game show The Price Is Right,
announces he will retire in June 2007 after hosting the program since 1972
• Mexican federal police seize the center of Oaxaca, which had served as the
headquarters for the five-month protest occupation of the city. (International
Herald Tribune)
• President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wins a second term in a landslide
victory with 61 per cent of voters supporting him. (AP via Phillyburbs)
• Serbian constitutional referendum, 2006: Serbian voters approve the new
constitution. (BBC)
• Iraqi insurgency: 17 police officers, 15 of them police trainers, are abducted and
murdered in Basra. (BBC)
• 2001-2006 war in Afghanistan: One NATO soldier and about 70 Taliban
insurgents were killed in southern Afghanistan when fighting broke out between
insurgents and Afghan troops and NATO's International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF), officials said. (CNN)
• The Attorney-General of Israel delivers a brief to the Supreme Court of Israel
arguing that the President of Israel Moshe Katsav should stand aside pending a
possible indictment for rape. (AFP via New Sunday Times)
• ADC Flight 53, a Nigerian Boeing 737 airliner carrying more than 100 passengers,
crashes near Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The Sultan of Sokoto
Mohammadu Maccido, the sultan's son, Muhammed Maccido, a senator, and
Abdulrahman Shehu Shagari, son of former Nigerian President Shehu Shagari, are
on the list of passengers on board. (CBS), (Reuters), (Xinhua) There are six
confirmed survivors. (SABC), (CNN)
• Fierce political rioting in Bangladesh kills at least 10 people and wounds about
500 as the main political parties fail to agree on a successor after the expiry of
Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia's five-year term. President Iajuddin Ahmed
Constitution of Bangladesh by appointing himself as head of the interim
government. (Reuters), (CNN), (Telegraph)
• General Henry Obering, the head of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency
welcomes what he cast as epochal progress toward putting a high-energy laser
aboard a modified Boeing 747 to attack ballistic missiles that could be fired by
North Korea and Iran. (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
• Cuban television shows images of convalescing leader Fidel Castro walking and
reading the day's newspapers showing that he is recovering from his emergency
surgery in July. (Reuters), (BBC)
• The Russian political parties Rodina, the Russian Party of Life and the Russian
Pensioners' Party merge to form a new leftist party, Russia of Justice, effectively
making Sergey Mironov the new leader of the opposition in the Russian
legislature. (ITAR-TASS), (IHT)
• Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki tells the U.S. ambassador that he is
Washington's friend but "not America's man in Iraq." (CBS News)
• At least 42 people are killed in a bus crash in Nepal. (BBC)
• Violence breaks out during street protests in Bangladesh, causing the deaths of at
least 9 people, as confusion continues over who will take over governing the
country from former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. (Reuters)
• The genome of the honeybee Apis mellifera has been fully sequenced and
analyzed. (Nature)
• German newspaper Bild publishes photos allegedly showing Bundeswehr troops
posing with human remains in Afghanistan while on peacekeeping duties there.
(Reuters)
• NATO apologises for the deaths of Afghan civilians in an air raid on Tuesday,
October 24, in Kandahar province, blaming Taliban insurgents for using the
villagers as cover. (BBC)
• Voting begins on a new Serbian constitution that would make Kosovo officially a
part of Serbia; voter turnout on day one was low. (BBC)
• Joseph Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba face-off in the presidential run-off election
in Democratic Republic of the Congo. (BBC)
• Australia's senior Muslim cleric Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly is barred from preaching
for three months after his controversial speech comparing women who did not
wear the hijab to "uncovered meat". (BBC)
• Baseball: The St. Louis Cardinals win the 2006 World Series, beating the Detroit
Tigers 4 games to 1. This is the Cardinals' first title since 1982. David Eckstein is
named the World Series MVP, winning his second ring. (ESPN)
torture, murder and kidnapping in the early years of his regime, from 1973 to
1990. (ABC News Australia)
• Thousands of young Muslim men demonstrate in the Somali capital of Mogadishu
in support of a call for a holy war against Ethiopia. (BBC)
• Washington D.C.-area sniper Lee Boyd Malvo admitted that he and partner John
Allen Muhammad were responsible for the 2002 murder of a 60-year-old man on a
Tucson golf course, police claim. (AP via KPHO)
• The Iranian Students' News Agency reports that Iran has injected gas into a second
network of centrifuges and has obtained the output, a possible step in developing
nuclear materials. (CNN)
• Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of the U.S. state of California, declares a state
of emergency, and a reward of USD $500,000 is offered for the capture of the
arsonist responsible for the wildfires started in the Twin Pines area of the
state.(CNN)
• Shares in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China go on sale at the Shanghai
Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the world's biggest Initial
Public Offering (IPO). (CNN)
• Johannesburg International Airport is renamed to OR Tambo International Airport.
(News24)
• A controlled explosion is carried out by an Army Bomb Disposal squad on
Dublin's O'Connell Street after a security alert on an Aircoach bus, although no
explosive material was found. Traffic in the city has been severely affected. (RTÉ)
• The Ford Taurus rolls off the assembly line for the last time. The Ford plant in
Atlanta, USA, closes and 2,000 employees are all laid off. MSNBC
• George W. Bush signs into law The Secure Fence Act of 2006 to build a fence
along the U.S.-Mexico border.
• In Australia, Sheikh Taj El-Din Hilaly apologizes after a public uproar over his
statement comparing women who did not wear the hijab to "uncovered meat".
(BBC News)
• The National Assembly of Nicaragua passes a law banning all abortions in the run-
up to general elections.(BBC News)
• A Russian Progress spacecraft hauling fresh food, oxygen and vital spare parts for
the International Space Station (ISS) arrived at its orbital destination after a
successful rendezvous marred by a last-minute antenna glitch. (USA Today)
• Four firefighters are killed and one is critically injured as they tried to control the
Esperanza Fire that drove hundreds from their homes near Palm Springs,
California, United States. An arsonist started the fire. (CNN) (CBS)
• Fifteen people die and 400 are admitted to hospital in Pskov, Russia, after
consuming alcohol suspected of being tainted with medicinal drugs or chemicals.
(Reuters)
need to be permanently relocated over the next ten years due to rising sea levels
caused by global warming. (TNZH)
• ExxonMobil Corp., the world's largest petroleum extracting company, says its
third-quarter net income rose to USD $10.5 billion from $9.92 billion as crude
prices rise to an all-time high. This is the second highest quarterly profit figure for
a United States company. (Bloomberg)
• Afghan government officials claim at least 60 civilians were killed in ISAF
Operation Medusa in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province on Tuesday.
(ABC News)
• A German minister claims that two Israeli fighter jets fired two shots over a
German naval peacekeeping ship near the Lebanese coast. Israel denies the jets
fired. (Times)
•
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to
organizations in the news trade: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television
broadcasters. They are also known as wire services or news services.
News agencies can be corporations that sell news (e.g. Reuters and All Headline News
(AHN)), cooperatives composed of newspapers that share their articles with each other
(e.g. AP), commercial newswire services which charge organizations to distribute their
news (e.g. Market Wire, Business Wire and PR Newswire). Governments may also
control "news agencies," particularly in authoritarian states, like China and the former
Soviet Union or non-profit organizations operated by both professionals and volunteers.
Australia, Britain, Canada, and many other countries also have government-funded news
agencies. A recent rise in internet-based alternative news agencies like Scoopt, as a
component of the larger alternative media have emphasized a "non-corporate view," as
being largely independent of the pressures of business media.
News agencies generally prepare hard news stories and feature articles that can be used
by other news organizations with little or no modification, and then sell them to other
news organizations. They provide these articles in bulk electronically through wire
services (originally they used telegraphy; today they frequently use the Internet).
Corporations, individuals, analysts and intelligence agencies may also subscribe. The
business proposition of news agencies might thus be responsible for the current trends in
separation of fact based reporting from Op-eds.
News agencies are distinct from news syndicates that distribute comic strips and other
orial material, such as columns and features, and also from PR services that distribute
press releases. Sometimes news agencies have separate arms for such work, but many
such organizations are completely separate.
These are Organisations which gather news and feature stories and send them out to
client newspapers. They may send them through telegraph wires like the Philippines
News Agency (thus the term wire service) or like Depthnews, they may mail them out to
the client newspapers.
Sports journalism has grown in importance as professional and amateur sports have
grown in wealth, power and influence as well. Within some newspapers at times, the
sports department has been sometimes mockingly called the "toy department," because
sports journalists concern themselves with games rather than 'serious' topics like politics,
crime, business, etc.
Sports journalism still may not be considered the most important product of a news media
organization, but it is an essential product, and the sports journalism industry includes
organizations devoted entirely to sports reporting — magazines such as Sports Illustrated
and the Sporting News, all-sports talk radio stations, and sports television networks like
ESPN — as well as many other news media that devote personnel and resources to
covering sports. Sports teams are almost always very accommodating to sports
journalists, allowing them into locker rooms for interviews and providing extensive
information support, even if reporting is unfavorable to them.
Major League Baseball still gives many print journalists a special role in its baseball
games: They are named official scorers and can make judgment calls about certain
aspects of the score that do not affect the final disposition of the game.
Sports stories often transcend the games themselves and take on socio-political
significance; Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball is an example of this.
Modern controversies regarding the compensation of top athletes, the use of steroids and
other performance-enhancing drugs, and the cost to local and national governments to
build sports venues and related infrastructure, especially for the Olympic Games, show
that sports still can intrude onto the news pages.
Sportswriters face much more deadline pressure than most other reporters, because
sporting events tend to occur late in the day and closer to the deadlines many
organizations must observe. Yet they are expected to use the same tools as news
journalists, and to uphold the same professional and ethical standards. They often must be
very careful about showing any bias for or against any home-town team. Sports
journalists usually must also gather and use voluminous performance statistics for teams
and individual athletes in most sports.
Science journalism
Science journalism is a relatively new branch of journalism, which utilizes the art of
reporting to convey the message on science topics to a public forum. The communication
of scientific knowledge through mass media requires a special relationship between the
world of science and news media, which is still just beginning to form.
The first task of a science journalist to render the very detailed, specific, and often
jargon-laden information produced by scientists into a form that the average media
purchaser can understand and appreciate, while still communicating the information
accurately. Science journalists often, but not always, have advanced training in the
particular scientific disciplines that they undergo — they may have been scientists or, for
example, medical doctors, before coming journalists — or they have least have exhibited
talent in writing about science subjects.
In recent years, the amount of scientific news has grown rapidly with science playing an
increasingly central role in society. Interaction between the scientific community and
news media has been therefore inevitable. The differences between the methodologies of
these two "pillars" of modern society, foremost their distinct ways of developing their
realities, have led to some difficulties.
Environmental journalism
Environmental journalism is the collection, verification, production, distribution and
exhibition of information regarding current events, trends, issues and people that are
associated with the non-human world with which humans necessarily interact. To be an
environmental journalist, one must have an understanding of scientific language and
practice, knowledge of historical environmental events, the ability to keep abreast of
environmental policy decisions and the work of environmental organizations, a general
understanding of current environmental concerns, and the ability to communicate all of
that information to the public in such a way that it can be easily understood, despite its
complexity.
Environmental journalism falls within the scope of environmental communication, and its
roots can be traced to nature writing. One key controversy in environmental journalism is
a continuing disagreement over how to distinguish it from its allied genres and
disciplines.
of environmental journalism
While the practice of nature writing has a rich that dates back at least as far as the
exploration narratives of Christopher Columbus, and follows tradition up through
prominent nature writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau in the late
19th century, John Burroughs and John Muir in the early 20th century, and Aldo Leopold
in the 1940s, the field of environmental journalism did not begin to take shape until the
1960s and 1970s.
The field of environmental journalism was further legitimized by the creation of the
Society of Environmental Journalists in 1990, whose mission “is to advance public
understanding of environmental issues by improving the quality, accuracy, and visibility
of environmental reporting.” Today, academic programs are offered at a number of
institutions to train budding journalists in the rigors, complexity and sheer breadth of
environmental journalism.
Also within the scope of environmental communication are the genres of nature writing,
science writing, environmental literature, environmental interpretation and environmental
advocacy. While there is a great deal of overlap among the various genres within
environmental communication, they are each deserving of their own definition.
Nature writing
Nature is the genre with the longest in environmental communication. In his book, This
Incomparable Land: A Guide to American Nature Writing, Thomas J. Lyon attempts to
use a “taxonomy of nature writing” in order to define the genre. He suggests that his
classifications, too, suffer a great deal of overlap and intergrading. “The literature of
nature has three main dimensions to it: natural information, personal responses to nature,
and philosophical interpretation of nature” (Lyon 20). In the natural essay, “the main
burden of the writing is to convey pointed instruction in the facts of nature,” such as with
the ramble-type nature writing of John Burroughs (Lyon 21). “In essays of experience,
the author’s firsthand contact with nature is the frame for the writing,” as with Edward
Abbey’s contemplation of a desert sunset (Lyon 23). In the philosophical interpretation of
nature, the content is similar to that of the natural and personal experience essays, “but
the mode of presentation tends to be more abstract and scholarly” (Lyon 25). The Norton
Book of Nature Writing adds a few new dimensions to the genre of nature writing,
including animal narratives, garden essays, farming essays, ecofeminist works, writing on
environmental justice, and works advocating environmental preservation, sustainability
and biological diversity. Environmental journalism pulls from the tradition and scope of
nature writing.
Science writing
Science writing is writing that focuses specifically on topics of scientific study, generally
translating jargon that is difficult for those outside a particular scientific field to
understand into language that is easily digestible. This genre can be narrative or
informative. Not all science writing falls within the bounds of environmental
communication, only science writing that takes on topics relevant to the environment.
Environmental journalism also pulls from the tradition and scope of science writing.
Environmental interpretation
Environmental literature
Environmental advocacy
Topics
The field of environmental journalism covers a wide variety of topics. According to The
Reporter’s Environmental Handbook, environmental journalists perceive water concerns
as the most important environmental issue, followed by atmospheric air pollution
concerns, endocrine disruptors, and waste management issues. The journalists surveyed
were more likely to prioritize specific, local environmental issues than global
environmental concerns.
Environmental journalism can include, but is not limited to, some of the following topics:
From EnviroLink:
• Agriculture
• Air Quality
• Climate Change
• Ecosystems
• Energy
• Environmental Disasters
• Environmental Economics
• Environmental Education
• Environmental Ethics
• Environmental Legislation and Environmental Policy
• Forests
• Ground Pollution
• Habitat conservation
• Natural
• Outdoor Recreation
• Population
• Sciences
• Social Sciences and Humanities
• Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Living
• Transportation
• Urban Issues
• Vegetarianism
• Waste Management
• Water Quality
• Wildlife
Gotcha journalism
Gotcha journalism is a term often used to refer to techniques primarily used in certain
versions of broadcast journalism to represent a specific person or group of people in a
specifically desired manner through manipulation of images and quotes, or through ing of
interviews.
The phrase gotcha journalism is reported to have been based on a headline in The Sun,
the British tabloid newspaper, in 1982, when it printed a massive headline reading
"GOTCHA!" in reference to an incident in the Falklands War. An early citation indicated
it was used by Stuart K. Spencer in the Los Angeles Times in 1987.
Former United States Vice President Dan Quayle reportedly referred to "gotcha
journalism" in 1999 during an interview with talk-show host David Letterman.
Techniques
Gotcha journalism generally refers to a method of interviewing or ing of interviews in
which the interviewee is made to look foolish or out of touch. The effect is often to make
the targeted person look uninformed or as if he or she is lying. This effect is also
achieved by replaying quotes from public speeches and following with hand-picked
footage or images that appear to contradict the statement. For example, a city's mayor
might give a speech in which he claims that during his tenure, employment is at a record
high in his city. A news outlet may replay that speech and follow up with footage of
desperate men and women at the unemployment office, and perhaps even an interview in
which the person is asked to comment on the mayor's speech. The interviewee in this
case may be baited with questions that have very obvious answers such as, "The mayor
says unemployment is a record low; how do you respond to that?"
Manipulation of quotes, images, and archive footage is typical in the rigorous ing
process, especially for news magazines, and does not cross over into gotcha journalism
until there is a deliberate attempt to mislead an interviewee, expert, or the audience. Most
commonly this manifests by finding footage of exceptions to a generalization given by a
speaker or interviewee. For example, in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, a number
of public officials gave public statements in which they stated that progress was being
made. A number of news outlets aired the statements followed by footage of flooded
homes, abandoned neighborhoods, and interviews with the many people still affected by
the disaster for whom there clearly was no progress yet.
Scientific literature
This article talks about the general structure of the production and use of scientific
literature. For information on particular types, see the article for the type. For information
about journal article adatabases, and abstract and indexing services in the science, see
Academic databases and search engines.
Scientific literature comprises scientific publications that report original empirical and
theoretical work in the natural and social sciences, and within a scientific field is often
abbreviated as the literature. Academic publishing is the process of placing the results of
one's research into the literature.
The significance of these different components of the literature varies between disciplines
and has changed over time. As of 2006, peer-reviewed journal articles remain the
predominant publication type, and have the highest prestige. However, journals vary
enormously in their prestige and importance, and the value of a published article depends
on the journal. The significance of books, also called research monographs depends on
the subject. Generally books published by university presses are usually considered more
prestigious than those published by commercial presses. The status of working papers
and conference proceedings depends on the discipline; they are typically more important
in the applied sciences. The value of publication as a preprint or scientific report on the
web has in the past been low, but in some subjects, such as mathematics or high energy
physics, it is now an accepted alternative.
role in science
Scientific literature is where scientific debates are properly carried out and adjudicated.
preparation of an article
The actual day-to-day records of scientific information are kept in research notebooks or
logbooks. These are usually kept indefinitely as the basic evidence of the work, and are
often kept in duplicate, signed, notarized, and archived. The purpose is to preserve the
evidence for scientific priority, and in particular for priority for obtaining [patent]s. They
have also been used in scientific disputes. Since the availability of computers, the
notebooks in some data-intensive fields have been kept as database records, and
appropriate software is commercially available.
The work on a project is typically published as one or more technical reports, or articles.
In some fields both are used, with preliminary reports, working papers, or [[preprint]s
followed by a formal article. Articles are usually prepared at the end of a proje3ct, or at
the end of components of a particularly large one.
scientific authorship
The nature of the content
A scientific article has a standardized structure, which varies only slightly in different
subjects.
The first part is normally an abstract; this is a one-paragraphy summary of the work, and
is intended to serve as a a guide for determining if the articles is pertinent, and to furnish
subject metadata for indexing services.
1. The format should be archival, in the sense that libraries should be able to store
and catalogue the documents and scientists years later should be able to recover
any document in order to study and assess it, and there should be an established
way of citing the document so that formal reference can be made to them in future
scientific publication. The lack of an established archival system is one of the
hurdles that World Wide Web based scientific publication has had to overcome.
Reliable repositories such as arXiv or PubMed Central have been institued, and
progress is now being made on their interoperability and permanence.
2. The content should be presented in the context of previous scientific
investigations, by citation of relevant documents in the existing literature.
3. Empirical techniques, and the results of the investigation, should be described in
such a way that a subsequent scientist, with appropriate knowledge of and
experience in the relevant field, should be able to repeat the observations and
know whether he or she has obtained the same result. This naturally varies
between subjects, and obviously does not apply to mathematcsand related
subjects.
4. The conclusions drawn should be based on previous literature and/or new
empirical results, in such a way that any reader with knowledge of the field can
follow the argument and confirm that the conclusions are sound. That is,
acceptance of the conclusions must not depend on personal authority, rhetorical
skill, or faith.
Peer review
Peer review and the learned journal format are each convenient ways of ensuring that the
above fundamental criteria are met, rather than being in themselves essential to scientific
literature.
The purpose of peer review is quality control, a term which also encompasses other
means towards the same purpose. The "quality" being referred to is the scientific quality,
the lack of flaws in the data, and the validity of the conclusions drawn from the data. The
lack of peer review is what makes most technical reports and World Wide Web
publications unacceptable as contributions to the literature. The relatively weak peer
review often applied to books and chapters in ed books means that their status is doubtful,
unless an author's personal standing is so high that his or her prior career provides an
effective guarantee of quality. Formal peer review is in flux and likely to change
fundamentally owing to the emergence of institutional digital repositories where scholars
can post their work as it is submitted to a print-based journal. Though this does not
prevent peer review, it permits an unreviewed copy into general circulation.
Investigative journalism
The Investigation
The investigation will often require an extensive number of interviews and travel; other
instances might call for the reporter to make use of activities such as surveillance
techniques, tedious analysis of documents, investigations of the performance of any kind
of equipment involved in an accident, patent medicine, scientific analysis, social and
legal issues, and the like. In short, investigative journalism requires a lot of scrutiny of
details, fact-finding, and physical effort. An investigative journalist must have an
analytical and incisive mind with strong self-motivation to carry on when all doors are
closed, when facts are being covered up or falsified and so on.
• studying neglected sources, such as archives, phone records, address books, tax
records and license records
• anonymous sources (for example whistleblowers)
• going undercover
Examples
• Black Like Me
o In 1959, John Howard Griffin, a caucasian, changed the color of his skin
and traveled in the U.S.'s Deep South as an African-American, later
writing a series of articles for Sepia magazine and then his famous book.
• Thalidomide
o The 'Insight' team of The Sunday Times achieved great renown in the
1960s for its exposure of public health scandals, most notably
Thalidomide.
o Paul Foot used his columns in The Daily Mirror and Private Eye to expose
miscarriages of justice.
• Watergate
o The Washington Post's investigation by Bob Woodward and Carl
Bernstein led to the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon.
• Revelation$, about Clearstream, which has been called the "biggest financial
scandal in Luxembourg" and was discovered by ex-Clearstream banker Ernest
Backes who co-authored a book about it with French journalist Denis Robert.
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press (or press freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free
public press for its citizens and their associations, extended to members of news
gathering organizations, and their published reporting. It also extends to news gathering,
and processes involved in obtaining information for public distribution. In the U.S. this
right is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Not all
countries are protected by a bill of rights or the constitution pertaining to Freedom of the
Press. For example, Australians have nothing in their constitution nor a bill or rights that
suggests anything to do with Freedom of the Press.
Besides said legal environment, some non-governmental organizations use more criteria
to judge the level of press freedom around the world. Reporters Without Borders
considers the number of journalists murdered, expelled or harassed, and the existence of a
state monopoly on TV and radio, as well as the existence of censorship and self-
censorship in the media, and the overall independence of media as well as the difficulties
that foreign reporters may face. Freedom House likewise studies the more general
political and economic environments of each nation in order to determine whether there
exist relationships of dependence that limit in practice the level of press freedom that
might exist in theory. So the concept of independence of the press is one closely linked
with the concept of press freedom.
The notion of the press as the fourth branch of government is sometimes used to compare
the press (or media) with Montesquieu's three branches of government, namely an
addition to the legislative, the executive and the judiciary branches. Edmund Burke is
quoted to have said: "Three Estates in Parliament; but in the Reportpooopers' Gallery
yonder, there sat a Fourth estate more important far than they all".
The development of the Western media tradition is rather parallel to the development of
democracy in Europe and the United States. On the ideological level, the first advocates
of freedom of the press were the liberal thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries.They
developed their ideas in opposition to the monarchist tradition in general and the divine
right of kings in particular. These liberal theorists argued that freedom of expression was
a right claimed by the individual and grounded in natural law. Thus, freedom of the press
was an integral part of the individual rights promoted by liberal ideology (see the section
below).
Freedom of the press was (and still is) assumed by many to be a necessity to any
democratic society. Other lines of thought later argued in favor of freedom of the press
without relying on the controversial issue of natural law; for instance, freedom of
expression began to be regarded as an essential component of the social contract (the
agreement between a state and its people regarding the rights and duties that each should
have to the other).
In 2003, the countries where press was the most free were Finland, Iceland, the
Netherlands and Norway.
In 2004, apart from the above countries,Denmark, Ireland, Slovakia, and Switzerland
were tied at the top of the list, followed by New Zealand and Latvia. The countries with
the least degree of press freedom were ranked with North Korea having the worst,
followed by Burma, Turkmenistan, Eritrea, China, Vietnam, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and
Iran.
Non-democratic states
According to Reporters Without Borders, more than a third of the world's people live in
countries where there is no press freedom. Overwhelmingly, these people live in
countries where there is no system of democracy or where there are serious deficiencies
in the democratic process.
• In Nepal, Eritrea and China, journalists may spend years in jail simply for using
the "wrong" word or photo.
England
The English revolution of 1688 resulted in the supremacy of Parliament over the Crown
and, above all, the right of revolution. The main theoretical inspirator of Western
liberalism was John Locke. Having decided to grant some of his basic freedoms in the
state of nature (natural rights) to the common good, the individual placed some of his
rights in trusteeship with the government. A social contract was entered into by the
people, and the Sovereign (i. e. government) was instructed to protect these individual
rights on behalf of the people, argues John Locke in his book Two Treatises of
Government.
Until 1694, England had an elaborate system of licensing. No publication was allowed
without the accompaniment of a government-granted license. Fifty years earlier, at a time
of civil war, John Milton wrote his pamphlet Areopagitica. In this work Milton argued
forcefully against this form of government censorship and parodied the idea, writing
"when as debtors and delinquents may walk abroad without a keeper, but unoffensive
books must not stir forth without a visible jailer in their title." Although at the time it did
little to halt the practice of licensing it would be viewed later a significant milestone in
press freedom.
Milton's central argument was that the individual is capable of using reason and
distinguishing right from wrong, good from bad. In order to be able to exercise this ration
right, the individual must have unlimited access to the ideas of his fellow men in “a free
and open encounter”. From Milton’s writings developed the concept of “the open market
place of ideas”: When people argue against each other, the good arguments will prevail.
One form of speech that was widely restricted in England was the law of sious libel that
made criticizing of the government a crime. The King was above public criticism and that
statements critical of the government were forbidden, according to the English Court of
the Star Chamber. Truth was not a defense to sious libel because the goal was to prevent
and punish all condemnation of the government.
John Stuart Mill approached the problem of authority versus liberty from the viewpoint
of a 19th century utilitarian: The individual has the right of expressing himself so long as
he does not harm other individuals. The good society is one in which the greatest number
of persons enjoy the greatest possible amount of happiness. Applying these general
principles of liberty to freedom of expression, Mill states that if we silence an opinion,
we may silence the truth. The individual freedom of expression is therefore essential to
the well-being of society.
Mill’s application of the general principles of liberty is expressed in his book On Liberty:
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and one, and only one person were of the
contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than
he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind".
Nazi Germany
Nazi propaganda was used to glorify Adolf Hitler and stifle dissenting viewpoints.
The dictatorship of Adolf Hitler largely suppressed freedom of the press through Joseph
Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry. As the Ministry's name implies, propaganda did not
carry the negative connotations that it does today (or did in the Allied countries); how-to
manuals were openly distributed by that same ministry explaining the craft of effective
propaganda. The Ministry also acted as a central control-point for all media, issuing
orders as to what stories could be run and what stories would be suppressed. Anyone
involved in the film industry -- from directors to the lowliest assistant -- had to sign an
oath of loyalty to the Nazi Party, due to opinion-changing power Goebbels perceived
movies to have. (Goebbels himself maintained some personal control over every single
film made in Nazi Europe.) Journalists who crossed the Propaganda Ministry were
routinely imprisoned or shot as traitors.
India
The Indian Constitution, while not mentioning the word "press", provides for "the right to
freedom of speech and expression" (Article 19(1)a). However this right is subject to
restrictions under subclause (2), whereby this freedom can be restricted for reasons of
"sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with
foreign States, public order, preserving decency, preserving morality, in relation to
contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to an offence". Laws such as the Official
Secrets Act and Prevention of Terrorism Act (PoTA) have been used to limit press
freedom. Under PoTA, person could be detained for upto six months for being in contact
with a terrorist or terrorist group. PoTA was repealed in 2006, but the Official Secrets
Act 1923 continues.
For the first half-century of independence, media control by the state was the major
constraint on press freedom. Indira Gandhi famously stated in 1975 that All India Radio
is "a Government organ, it is going to remain a Government organ..." With the
liberalization starting in the 1990s, private control of media has burgeoned, leading to
increasing independence and greater scrutiny of government. Organizations like Tehelka
and NDTV have been particularly influential, e.g. in bringing about the resignation of
powerful Haryana minister Venod Sharma.
United States
John Hancock was the first person to write newspapers in the British colonies in North
America were published "by authority," that is, under license from and as the mouthpiece
of the colonial governors. The first regularly published newspaper was the Boston News-
Letter of John Campbell, published weekly beginning in 1704. The early colonial
publishers were either postmasters or government printers, and therefore unlikely to
challenge government policies.
The first independent newspaper in the colonies was the New-England Courant,
published in Boston by James Franklin beginning in 1721. A few years later, Franklin's
younger brother, Benjamin, purchased the Pennsylvania Gazette of Philadelphia, which
became the leading newspaper of the colonial era.
During this period, newspapers were unlicensed, and able freely to publish dissenting
views, but were subject to prosecution for libel or even sion if their opinions threatened
the government. The notion of "freedom of the press" that later was enshrined in the
United States Constitution is generally traced to the sious libel prosecution of John Peter
Zenger by the colonial governor of New York in 1735. In this instance of jury
nullification, Zenger was acquitted after his lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, argued to the jury
(contrary to established English law) that there was no libel in publishing the truth. Yet
even after this celebrated case, colonial governors and assemblies asserted the power to
prosecute and even imprison printers for publishing unapproved views.
During the American Revolution, a free press was identified by Revolutionary leaders as
one of the elements of liberty that they sought to preserve. The Virginia Declaration of
Rights (1776) proclaimed that "the freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of
liberty and can never be restrained but by despotic governments." Similarly, the
Constitution of Massachusetts (1780) declared, "The liberty of the press is essential to the
security of freedom in a state: it ought not, therefore, to be restrained in this
commonwealth." Following these examples, the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution restricted Congress from abridging the freedom of the press and the closely
associated freedom of speech.
John Locke’s ideas had inspired both the French and American revolutions. Thomas
Jefferson wanted to unite the two streams of liberalism, the English and the French
schools of thought. His goal was to create a government that would provide both security
and opportunity for the individual. An active press was essential as a way of educating
the population. In order to be able to work freely, the press must be free from control by
the state. Jefferson was a person who himself suffered great calumnies of the press.
Despite this, in his second inaugural address, he proclaimed that a government that could
not stand up under criticism deserved to fall.
Jefferson said: "No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and
which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and
truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all avenues of the truth".
In 1931, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Near v. Minnesota used the 14th
Amendment to apply the freedom of the press to the States. Other notable cases regarding
free press are:
• New York Times Co. v. United States: The Supreme Court upheld the publication
of the Pentagon Papers.
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan: The Court decided that in order for written words
to be libel, it must be, first of all, false. It must also be published with the
deliberate intent to ruin someone's reputation.
In Branzburg v. Hayes (1972), the Court placed limits on the ability of the Press to refuse
a subpoena from a Grand Jury by claiming Freedom of the Press. The issue decided in the
case was whether a reporter could refuse to "appear and testify before state and Federal
grand juries" by claiming such appearance and testimony "abridges the freedom of
speech and press guaranteed by the First Amendment." The 5-4 decision was that such a
protection was not provided by the First Amendment.
Notable exceptions
• In 1798, not long after the adoption of the Constitution, the governing Federalist
Party attempted to stifle criticism by means of the Alien and Sion Acts. (It was
notable that the Sion Act made criticism of Congress, and of the President, a
crime, but not criticism of the Vice-President. Jefferson, a non-Federalist, was
Vice-President at the time the Act was passed.) These restrictions on freedom of
the press proved very unpopular and worked against the Federalists. Thomas
Jefferson was among those who opposed the Acts, and he was elected President in
the election of 1800. Jefferson then pardoned all those convicted under the Acts.
He made it a principle not to ask what they had done, but only whether they had
been charged under the Acts.
• 1988: Hazelwood School District vs. Kuhlmeier: The Supreme Court upheld that
the principal of a school has the right to review and block controversial articles of
a school paper funded by the school and published in the school's name.
Every news organization has only its credibility and reputation to rely on.
While various existing codes have some differences, most share common elements
including the principles of — truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness
and public accountability — as these apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information
and its subsequent reportage to the public.
Like many broader ethical systems, journalism ethics include the principle of "limitation
of harm." This often involves the withholding of certain details from reports such as the
names of minor children, crime victims' names or information not materially related to
particular news reports release of which might, for example, harm someone's reputation.
Codes of practice
While journalists in the United States and European countries have led in formulation and
adoption of these standards, such codes can be found in news reporting organizations in
most countries with freedom of the press. The written codes and practical standards vary
somewhat from country to country and organization to organization, but there is a
substantial overlap among mainstream publications and societies.
One of the leading voices in the U.S. on the subject of Journalistic Standards and Ethics
is the Society of Professional Journalists.The Preamble to its Code of Ethics states:
Common elements
The primary themes common to most codes of journalistic standards and ethics are the
following.
Objectivity
• Unequivocal separation between news and opinion. In-house orials and opinion
(Op-Ed) pieces are clearly separated from news pieces. News reporters and orial
staff are distinct.
• Unequivocal separation between advertisements and news. All advertisements
must be clearly identifiable as such.
• Reporter must avoid conflicts of interest — incentives to report a story with a
given slant. This includes not taking bribes and not reporting on stories that affect
the reporter's personal, economic or political interests. See envelope journalism.
• Competing points of view are balanced and fairly characterized.
• Persons who are the subject of adverse news stories are allowed a reasonable
opportunity to respond to the adverse information before the story is published or
broadcast.
• Interference with reporting by any entity, including censorship, must be disclosed.
Sources
• Reporting the truth is never libel, which makes accuracy and attribution very
important.
• Private persons have privacy rights that must be balanced against the public
interest in reporting information about them. Public figures have fewer privacy
rights.
• Publishers vigorously defend libel lawsuits filed against their reporters
During the normal course of an assignment a reporter might go about — gathering facts
and details, conducting interviews, doing research, background checks, taking photos,
video taping, recording sound. Should he or she report everything learned? If so, how
should this be done? The principle of limitation of harm means that some weight needs to
be given to the negative consequences of full disclosure, creating a practical and ethical
dilemma. The Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics offers the following
advice, which is representative of the practical ideals of most professional journalists.
Quoting directly:
• Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use
special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or
subjects.
• Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by
tragedy or grief.
• Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or
discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.
• Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about
themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or
attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone's
privacy.
• Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
• Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects or victims of sex crimes.
• Be judicious about naming criminal suspects before the formal filing of charges.
• Balance a criminal suspect's fair trial rights with the public's right to be
informed.
Presentation
Self-regulation
In addition to codes of ethics, many news organizations maintain an in-houseOmbudsman
whose role is, in part, to keep news organizations honest and accountable to the public.
The ombudsman is intended to mediate in conflicts stemming from internal and or
external pressures, and to maintain accountability to the public for news reported. Also,
to foster self-criticism and to encourage adherence to both codified and uncodified ethics
and standards.
As with other ethical codes, there is perennial concern that the standards of journalism
are being ignored. One of the most controversial issues in modern reporting is media bias,
especially on political issues, but also with regard to cultural and other issues.
Sensationalism is also a common complaint. Minor factual errors are also extremely
common, as almost anyone who is familiar with the subject of a particular report will
quickly realize.
There are also some wider concerns, as the media continue to change, for example that
the brevity of news reports and use of soundbites has reduced fidelity to the truth, and
may contribute to a lack of needed context for public understanding. From outside the
profession, the rise of news management contributes to the real possibility that news
media may be deliberately manipulated. Selective reporting (spiking, double standards)
are very commonly alleged against newspapers, and by their nature are forms of bias not
easy to establish, or guard against.
This section does not address specifics of such matters, but issues of practical
compliance, as well as differences between professional journalists on principles.
Standards and reputation
Among the leading news organizations that voluntarily adopt and attempt to uphold the
common standards of journalism ethics described herein, adherence and general quality
varies considerably. The professionalism, reliability and public accountability of a news
organization are three of its most valuable assets. An organization earns and maintains a
strong reputation, in part, through a consistent implementation of ethical standards, which
influence its position with the public and within the industry.
• Washington Post
• New York Times
• Wall Street Journal
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
• The Globe and Mail, Canada
• The Cable News Network (CNN)
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports two news platforms:
o National Public Radio (NPR)
o Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), known in particular for The
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and Frontline
Advocacy journalists — a term of some debate even within the field of journalism — by
definition tend to reject "objectivity", while at the same time maintaining many other
common standards and ethics.
Creative nonfiction and Literary journalism use the power of language and literary
devices more akin to fiction to bring insight and depth into often book-length treatment of
the subjects about which they write. Such devices as dialogue, metaphor, digression and
other such techniques offer the reader insights not usually found in standard news
reportage. However, authors in this branch of journalism still maintain ethical criteria
such as factual and historical accuracy as found in standard news reporting. Yet, with
brilliant prose, they venture outside the boundaries of standard news reporting in offering
richly detailed accounts. One widely regarded author in genre is Joyce Carol Oates for
book on boxer Mike Tyson.
New Journalism and Gonzo journalism also reject some of the fundamental ethical
traditions and will set aside the technical standards of journalistic prose in order to
express themselves and reach a particular audience or market segment.
Tabloid journalists are often accused of sacrificing accuracy and the personal privacy of
their subjects in order to boost sales. Supermarket tabloids are often focused on
entertainment rather than news. A few have "news" stories that are so outrageous that
they are widely read for entertainment purposes, not for information. Some tabloids do
purport to maintain common journalistic standards, but may fall far short in practice.
Others make no such claims.
Some publications deliberately engage in satire, but give the publication the design
elements of a newspaper, for example, The Onion, and it is not unheard of for other
publications to offer the occasional, humorous articles appearing on April Fool's Day.
In countries without freedom of the press, the majority of people who report the news
may not follow the above-described standards of journalism. Very often non-free media
are prohibited from criticizing the national government, and in many cases are required to
distribute propaganda as if it were news. Various other forms of censorship may restrict
reporting on issues the government deems sensitive.
There are a number of finer points of journalistic procedure that foster disagreements in
principle and variation in practice among "mainstream" journalists in the free press.
Laws concerning libel and slander vary from country to country, and local journalistic
standards may be tailored to fit. For example, the United Kingdom has a broader
definition of libel than does the United States.
Laws with regard to personal privacy, official secrets, and media disclosure of names and
facts from criminal cases and civil lawsuits differ widely, and journalistic standards may
vary accordingly. Different organizations may have different answers to questions about
when it is journalistically acceptable to skirt, circumvent, or even break these regulations.
Another example of differences surrounding harm reduction is the reporting of
preliminary election results. In the United States, some news organizations feel that it is
harmful to the democratic process to report exit poll results or preliminary returns while
voting is still open. Such reports may influence people who vote later in the day, or who
are in western time zones, in their decisions about how and whether or not to vote. There
is also some concern that such preliminary results are often inaccurate and may be
misleading to the public. Other outlets feel that this information is a vital part of the
transparency of the election process, and see no harm (if not considerable benefit) in
reporting it.
When certain distasteful or shocking material is considered important to the story, there
are a variety of common methods for mitigating negative audience reaction. Advance
warning of explicit or disturbing material may allow listeners or readers to avoid content
they would rather not be exposed to. Offensive words may be partially obscured or
bleeped. Potentially offensive images may be blurred or narrowly cropped. Descriptions
may be substituted for pictures; graphic detail might be omitted. Disturbing content might
be moved from a cover to an inside page, or from daytime to late evening, when children
are less likely to be ing.
There is often considerable controversy over these techniques, especially concern that
obscuring or not reporting certain facts or details is self-censorship that compromises
objectivity and fidelity to the truth, and which does not serve the public interest.
For example, images and graphic descriptions of war are often violent, bloody, shocking
and profoundly tragic. This makes certain content disturbing to some audience members,
but it is precisely these aspects of war that some consider to be the most important to
convey. Some argue that "sanitizing" the depiction of war influences public opinion
about the merits of continuing to fight, and about the policies or circumstances that
precipitated the conflict. The amount of explicit violence and mutilation depicted in war
coverage varies considerable from time to time, from organization to organization, and
from country to country. (See also: Military journalism.)
Many print publications take advantage of their wide readership and print persuasive
pieces in the form of unsigned orials that represent the official position of the
organization. Despite the ostensible separation between orial writing and news gathering,
this practice may cause some people to doubt the political objectivity of the publication's
news reporting. (Though usually unsigned orials are accompanied by a diversity of
signed opinions from other perspectives.)
Other publications and many broadcast media only publish opinion pieces that are
attributed to a particular individual (who may be an in-house analyst) or to an outside
entity. One particularly controversial question is whether media organizations should
endorse political candidates for office. Political endorsements create more opportunities
to construe favoritism in reporting, and can create a perceived conflict of interest.
Investigative methods
The Washington press has been criticized in recent years for excessive use of anonymous
sources, in particular to report information that is later revealed to be unreliable. The use
of anonymous sources increased markedly in the period before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Science issues
The mainstream press is often criticized for poor accuracy in reporting science news.
Many reporters are not scientists, and are thus not familiar with the material they are
summarizing. Technical information is also difficult to contextualize for lay audiences,
and short-form reporting makes providing background, context, and clarification even
harder. Food scares are an example of the need for responsible science journalism, as are
stories connected with the safety of medical procedures.
One of the primary functions of journalism ethics is to aid journalists in dealing with
many ethical dilemmas they may encounter. From highly sensitive issues of national
security to everyday questions such as accepting a dinner from a source, putting a bumper
sticker on one's car, publishing a personal opinion blog, a journalist must make decisions
taking into account things such as the public's right to know, potential threats, reprisals
and intimidations of all kinds, personal integrity, conflicts between ors, reporters and
publishers or management, and many other such conundrums. The following are
illustrations of some of those.
• The Pentagon Papers dealt with extremely difficult ethical dilemmas faced by
journalists. Despite government intervention, The Washington Post, joined by The
New York Times, felt the public interest was more compelling and both published
reports. (The cases went to the Supreme Court where they were merged and are
known as New York Times Co. v. U.S. 403 US 713 [4]
• The Washington Post also once published a story about a listening device that the
United States had installed over an undersea Soviet cable during the height of the
cold war. The device allowed the United States to learn where Soviet submarines
were positioned. In that case, Post Executive or Ben Bradlee chose not to run the
story on national security grounds. However, the Soviets subsequently discovered
the device and, according to Bradlee, "It was no longer a matter of national
security. It was a matter of national embarrassment." However, the U.S.
government still wanted The Washington Post not to run the story on the basis of
national security, yet, according to Bradlee, "We ran the story. And you know
what, the sun rose the next day."
• The Ethics Advice Line [6], a joint venture, public service project of Chicago
Headline Club Chapterof the Society of Professional Journalists and Loyola
University Chicago Center for Ethics and Social Justice [9], provides some
examples of typical ethical dilemmas reported to their ethical dilemma hotline and
are typical of the kinds of questions faced by many professional journalists.
Journaliste en danger
Journaliste en danger (JED), is an independent, non partisan non-profit organization
(French: association sans buit lucratif) founded on November 20, 1998 in Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of Congo on the initiative of a group of Congolese journalists for
the defence and promotion of the press freedom in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
JED was founded out of the concern that press freedom was being violated and that
journalists had become victims of unfair justice. JED is not an association reserved solely
for journalists, but rather a wholly independent and open structure to all those who feel
like having a vocation to defend and promote their right to inform and to be informed
freely without any restriction.
Since May 2003, JED has been active in eight other central African countries: Burundi,
Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, The Central African Republic,
Rwanda and Chad.
These laws may also be described as open records or (especially in the United States)
sunshine laws (alluding to "letting light shine" on the process). A related concept is open
meetings legislation, which allows the public access to government meetings, not just to
the records of them. In many countries, privacy or data protection laws may be part of the
freedom of information legislation; the concepts are often closely tied together in political
discourse.
A basic principle behind most freedom of information legislation is that the burden of
proof falls on the body asked for information, not the person asking for it. The requester
does not usually have to give an explanation for their request, but if the information is not
disclosed a valid reason has to be given.
In Albania, the constitution of 1998 guarantees the right of access to information; the
legislation supporting this is the Ligj nr. 8503, date 30.6.1999, Per të drejten e
informimit per dokument zyrtare (Law no. 8503, dated June 30 1999, On the right to
information over the official documents). This requires public authorities to grant any
request for an official document. (in English, in Albanian)
Australia
In Australia, the Freedom of Information Act 1982 was passed at the federal level in
1982, applying to all "ministers, departments and public authorities" of the
Commonwealth.
Belize
In Belize, the Freedom of Information Act was passed in 2000 and is currently in force,
though a governmental commission noted that "not much use has been made of the Act".
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, both federal entities - the Republika Srpska and the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina - passed freedom of information laws in 2001, the
Freedom of Access to Information Act for the Republika Srpska and Freedom of
Access to Information Act for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
respectively. As such, though there is no single national-level law, the whole of the
country is covered.
Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, the Access to Public Information Act was passed in 2000, following a 1996
recommendation from the Constitutional Court to implement such a law.
Canada
In Canada, the Access to Information Act allows citizens to demand records from
federal bodies. This is enforced by the Information Commissioner of Canada. There is
also a complementary Privacy Act, introduced in 1983. The purpose of the Privacy Act
is to extend the present laws of Canada that protect the privacy of individuals with
respect to personal information about themselves held by a federal government institution
and that provide individuals with a right of access to that information. It is a Crown
copyright. Complaints for possible violations of the Act may be reported to the Privacy
Commissioner of Canada.
The various provinces and territories of Canada also have legislation governing access to
government information; in many cases, this is also the provincial privacy legislation. For
example, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applies to the
province of Ontario's provincial ministries and agencies, boards and most commissions,
as well as community colleges and district health councils. In Quebec the Act respecting
access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal
information governs access to government information.
Chile
In Chile, there is a constitutional provision for the freedom of information, but no Access
to Public Information law. The right provided by the Constitution is regulated in the
articles 11 (bis and ter) of Law N° 19,653, which modified Law N° 18,575. In it, it is
stated that administrative activities in the agencies of the public administration and
documents of organizations that work with them are public. The public can request
information with the following requirements: it has to be in a written matter and it does
not have to be information already available to the public. Information has to be delivered
in 48 hours.
Colombia
In Colombia, the constitution gives a right of access to public information, and the Ley
57 de 1985 Por la cual se ordena la publicidad de los actos y documentos oficiales
(Law 57 of 1985, for the ordering of the official publicity of the acts and documents)
implements this, giving the right of access to documents que reposen en las oficinas
públicas - which reside in the public offices. - Also there is a Law called "estatuto
anticorrupcion Ley 190 de 1995" or anticorruption act. The 51st Article oblies public
offices to list in visible area all the contracts and purchases every month. It is slowly
becoming to effect.
Croatia
In Croatia, the Zakon O Pravu Na Pristup Informacijama (Act on the Right of Access
to Information) of 2003 extends to all public authorities.
Czech Republic
Denmark
In Denmark, the Access to Public Administration Files Act of 1985 applies to most
public agencies, and an unusual clause extends coverage to most private or public energy
suppliers.
Ecuador
In Ecuador, the Transparency and Access to Information Law of 2004 declares that
the right of access to information is guaranteed by the state.
Estonia
In Estonia, the Public Information Act of 2000 extends to all "holders of information",
which is clarified as being all government and local government bodies, legal persons in
public law and legal persons in private law if they are performing public duties
(providing health, education etc).
European Union
Regulation 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 May 2001
regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission
documents [4] grants a right of access to documents of the three institutions to any
Union citizen and to any natural or legal person residing, or having its registered office,
in a Member State. "Document" is defined broadly and it is assumed that all documents,
even if classfied, may be subject to right of access unless it falls under one of the
exceptions. If access is refused, the applicant is allowed a confirmatory request. A
complaint against a refusal can be made with the European Ombudsman or an appeal can
be brought before the Court of First Instance.
Finland
France
The implementing legislation is the Loi n°78-753 du 17 juillet 1978 portant diverses
mesures d'amélioration des relations entre l'administration et le public et diverses
dispositions d'ordre administratif, social et fiscal (Act No. 78-753 of 17 July 1978. On
various measures for improved relations between the Civil Service and the public and on
various arrangements of administrative, social and fiscal nature). It sets as a general rule
that citizens can demand a copy of any administrative document (in paper, digitized or
other form), and establishes the Commission d’Accès aux Documents Administratifs, an
independent administrative authority, to oversee the process.
Georgia
In Germany, the federal government passed a freedom of information law in 2005. Six of
the sixteen Bundesländer - Berlin, Brandenburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Schleswig-
Holstein, Hamburg and Bremen - have approved individual "Informations-Freiheits-
Gesetze" (Freedom of Information laws).
Hungary
In Hungary, the Act on the Protection of Personal Data and Public Access to Data of
Public Interest extends a right of access to all data of public interest, defined as any
information processed by a body performing a governmental function. Complaints and
contested applications may be appealed to the Data Protection Commissioner.
India
The Indian Right to Information Act was introduced to the Indian Parliament in July
2000. It came into effect on 12 Oct 2005. Under this law the information has become a
fundamental right of the citizen. Under this law all Government Bodies or Government
funded agencies have to designate a Public Information officer (PIO). The PIO's
responsibility is to ensure that information requested is disclosed to the petitioner within
30 days or within 48 hours in case of information concerning the life and liberty of a
person. The law was inspired by previous legislations from select states (among them
Maharastra, Goa, Karnataka, Delhi etc) that allowed the right to information (to different
degrees) to citizens about activities of any State Government body.
However the RTI India has certain weaknesses that hamper implementation. There have
been questions on the lack speedy appeal to non-compliance to requests. The lack of a
central PIO makes it difficult to pin-point the correct PIO to approach for requests. The
PIO being an officer of the Govt. institution may have a vested interest in disclosing
damaging information on activities of his/her Institution, This therefore creates a conflict
of interest. In the state of Maharastra it was estimated that only 30% of the requests are
actually realized under the Maharastra Right to Information act. The law also bares
disclosure of information that affects national security, defence, and other matters that are
deemed of national interest.
Ireland
In Ireland the Freedom of Information Act came into effect in April, 1998. The Act has
led to a sea-change in the relationship between the citizen, journalists, government
departments and public bodies. There are very few restrictions on the information that
can be made public. A notable feature is the presumption that anything not restricted by
the Act is accessible. In this regard it is a much more liberal Act than the UK Act.
Decisions of public bodies in relation to requests for information may be reviewed by the
Information Commissioner.
One particular controversy which has caused concern to journalists and historians is that
traditionally government ministers would annotate and sign any major policy or report
documents which they had seen. However this practice has fallen out of favour because
of the new openness. This annotation and signing of documents has often given a paper
trail and unique insight as to "what the minister knew" about a controversy or how he or
she formed an opinion on a matter. Also civil and public servants have become more
informal, in keeping written records of potentially controversial meeting and avoiding
writing memos as a result[5]. While this information would not often be released, and
sometimes only under the thirty year rule, the fact that government ministers now do not
annotate and sign documents creates the concerns that while government is open it is not
accountable as to who did or saw what or how decision making process works.
Israel
Many public bodies are not obliged to follow the law, which limits the potential for use
by the public. Currently, the freedom of information regime in Israel is unusual in that it
is the only country where public universities and colleges are not subject to the legislation
on a national basis; the justice minister, however, has looked into extending the law to
cover these institutions.
Jamaica
Japan
Montenegro
A freedom of information law was passed in Montenegro late in 2005, after a process of
several years.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, the relevant legislation is the Official Information Act. This
implemented a general policy of openness regarding official documents and replaced the
Official Secrets Act.
Norway
Pakistan
A 2 day seminar is being held at the Holliday Inn, Islamabad by the Ministry of Law
Pakistan on the 28th and 29th of September 2006 for the discussion of the forthcoming
legislation: Freedom of Information Act.
Paraguay
In Paraguay, the law protect the "habeas data" that means that any citizen can request a
copy of the info related to him in public or private offices, and request to be destroyed if
it founded inaccurate. This was used mainly by old oppositors after the Pdt. Stroessner
long (1954-1989) dictatorship in order to find info about themselves. In 2005, efforts had
been made to transparet the Government buys, with a system that publish in the Web the
requests, as also the results.
Republic of Moldova
Romania
Since 2001 there is one law on Freedom of Information and one on transparent decision
making processes in public administration (a sunshine law). You can find the English
versions of these laws in the annexes of the following studies: Access to Public
Information: Guide for Citizens and Transparency of Decision-Making in Public
Administration - citizens and administration guide
Serbia
In Serbia, the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance gives access
to documents of public authorities.
Slovenia
Slovenia passed the Access to Public Information Act in March 2003. The Act governs
the procedure which ensures everyone free access to public information held by state
bodies, local government bodies, public agencies, public funds and other entities of
public law, public powers holders and public service contractors.
Information Commissioner's site
South Africa
South Africa passed the Promotion of Access to Information Act on 2 February 2000. It
is intended "To give effect to the constitutional right of access to any information held by
the State and any information that is held by another person and that is required for the
exercise or protection of any rights"; the right of access to privately held information is
an interesting feature, as most freedom of information laws only cover governmental
bodies.
Sweden
In Sweden, the Freedom of the Press Act of 1766 granted public access to government
documents. It thus became an integral part of the Swedish Constitution, and the first ever
piece of freedom of information legislation in the modern sense. In Swedish this is
known as Offentlighetsprincipen (The Principle of Public Access), and has been valid
since.
The Principle of Public Access means that the general public are to be guaranteed an
unimpeded view of activities pursued by the government and local authorities; all
documents handled by the authorities are public unless legislation explicitly and
specifically states otherwise, and even then each request for potentially sensitive
information must be handled individually, and a refusal is subject to appeal. Further, the
constitution grants the Right to Inform, meaning that even some (most) types of secret
information may be passed on to the press or other media without risk of criminal
charges. Instead, investigation of the informer's identity is a criminal offense.
Thailand
In Trinidad and Tobago, the relevant legislation is the Freedom of Information Act,
1999.
Turkey
"TURKISH LAW ON THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION" (Law No: 4982)came into
force on April 24th, 2004.
United Kingdom
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (2000 c. 36) is the implementation of freedom of
information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level, with the exception of
Scottish bodies, which are covered by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
(2002 asp. 13).
United States
In the United States the Freedom of Information Act was signed into law by President
Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966 and went into effect the following year. The
Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments were signed by President Bill
Clinton on October 2, 1996.
The Act applies only to federal agencies. However, all of the states, as well as the District
of Columbia and some territories, have enacted similar statutes to require disclosures by
agencies of the state and of local governments, though some are significantly broader
than others. Many combine this with Open Meetings legislation, which requires
government meetings to be held publicly.
Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, the Access to Information and Privacy Act (AIPPA) was signed by
President Mugabe in February 2002.
If you plan to write magazine and newpaper articles, don't quit your day job until you are
making enough money to sustain your lifestyle. This means that you will do your writing
in the early morning or in the evening or whenever you have a spare moment.
Steps
1. If you are a young person, submit a poem or story to a children's magazine such
as Owl .If you are a teenager, join your school's yearbook committee and submit
articles to the school newspaper. Regard this effort as good practice for your
future freelance career.
2. If you are a college or university student, craft strong, well-written essays for
class. You can also offer your services at the writing lab, and write articles for the
student newspaper, literary magazine, and alumni magazine.
3. Subscribe to "The Writer"
4. Join a freelance writers association
5. Go to the reference section of your local bookstore and buy a copy of "The
Writer's Market".
6. Submit letters to the or of your local newspaper.
7. Write articles for your church bulletin.
8. Create a blog.
9. Write articles for wikiHow.
10. Join a professional organization and write articles for their newsletter.
11. Write articles for your office newsletter or intranet site.
12. Think of something you'd like to write about, then send a query letter to the
city/lifestyles/sports or of your local newspaper asking if they are interested in
publishing an article on the topic. Include the first paragraph of your article and
an outline of the rest. Call in two weeks if you don't get a reply.
13. Find publishers you'd like to write for, then read their guidelines.
14. Think of something you'd like to write about, then send a query letter to the or of
a pertinent major publication asking if they are interested in publishing an article
on the topic. Include the first paragraph of your article and an outline of the rest.
Call in four to six weeks if you don't get a reply.
15. Just write.
16. Be random. Be different. Consider all thoughts. Think freely.
17. Be you.
18. Meet Alot of different people.
19. Consider the impossible
20. Forget what they think. What do you think?
21. Know about your subject
22. Listen to creative music
Tips
• Before submitting anything to a major publication, make sure you read their
guidelines.
• Always send a query letter to a major publication before submitting a completed
article.
• Update your resume every time you have an article published.
• Know your grammar. For help, see http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/
• Set aside a room in your house for writing. On your tax return, claim this space as
a business expense.
• Keep receipts. Many of your purchases are tax-deductable.
Warnings
• Maintain honest financial records. Your earnings are taxable.
Steps
1. Start telling all your friends and relatives about your career change to get the word
out. They may not be able to help you directly, but they're bound to know
someone else who needs your services.
2. Print business cards with your contact information to hand out at parties or other
social gatherings. Any time you land a client, make sure you hand out multiple
business cards.
3. Take a writing or grammar class at your local community college if you are
worried about the quality of your writing.
4. Accept writing projects from charities or non-paying clients to build up your
sample portfolio.
5. Try to find other freelance copywriters in your area to create a network. If they
have extra work, they can pass it on to you.
6. Buy a book, such as Writer's Market, that lists available writing markets and
guidelines.
7. Call marketing firms in your area to see if they hire freelance copywriters. The
worst thing they can do is say no.
8. Create a brochure or postcard advertising your services and mail it to local
businesses.
9. Continually check online job listings. Copywriting jobs tend to appear and
disappear quickly, so check often.
10. Always spell-check your work before submitting anything.
Tips
• Don't be discouraged if your career doesn't immediately take off. It may take
several months to establish a client base that hires you on a regular basis. With
determination, you will have a steady amount of work and income.
Steps
1. Go straight for the throat. Type the words out as fast as you can. If you can type
without looking at the keyboard, sometimes that helps. What can slow you down
is constantly correcting your typos. Write at least a few paragraphs before going
back.
2. Instead of big writing sessions, write in little paragraphs or phrases all throughout
the day. You can build on this practice. Big writing sessoins will come out of it.
3. Try writing with your eyes closed (on a keyboard, not paper). Develop a flow.
4. Write when you just wake up. You can be insane that way. And insane is good.
5. Read all sorts of things, but really take the time to dig into an old fashioned book.
Determine what is good writing and what is not. Find your literary heros. While
there are many in the past, there are many here in the current day, too.
6. Go to the library or B&N, where it is comfortable, grab a stack of books, and read
for hours on end.
7. Go back to writing with a pen. Switch things up a bit. Experiment with your
different writing moods.
8. Write in a public place. Snatch words or bits of other people’s conversation as
you are writing. This can be a lot of fun.
9. In the end, enjoy ing! ing is such a huge part of writing. I cannot emphasise this
enough. Really learn to perfect your prose. Omit the redundant!
Whether it's for a magazine, newspaper, your teacher, or even wikiHow, writing an
amazing article whittles down to one widely-adaptable technique. Here's how to use that
technique to your advantage.
Steps
1. Determine your topic. Exactly what are you going to write about? Brainstorm for
ideas if you have to. When writing for wikiHow, you may even wish to refer to
requested topics for ideas.
2. Figure out who your audience is. Are you writing for a beginner, an intermediate,
or an advanced audience? For example, if you are writing an article about
"Creating PowerPoint Slides," are your readers new to PowerPoint, or business
people looking for advanced tips?
3. Do your research. How well do you know the topic? Is it something you can write
easily about with little or no preparation, or do you need more information from
experts in the field?
4. Decide on the length of the article. Teachers, magazines, and newspapers will
often give you a limit. wikiHow articles, on the other hand, are often "as long as
they need to be and no longer."
5. Compile a list of possible sources for you to consult. This can include documents,
internet research and people to talk to.
6. Write either an outline or a summary of your article. This will help bring the
concept of the article into sharper focus.
7. Write the rough draft of the article as follows:
o Tell your readers what you are going to tell them. This is your
introduction. For example:
This article taught you how to create a PowerPoint slide
presentation. You learned how to choose a template, how to create
a title slide, and how to create topic slides.
8. Check over your piece for presentation.
Tips
• Neither the outline nor the summary for your article has to be in traditional I, II,
III format. The point of formatting is to help you. If you feel you can find your
focus by writing a list of incomplete sentences, then go for it. Later, if your
teacher wants a formal outline, you can create one from the article itself.
• By checking grammar and spelling errors last in the ing process, you won't waste
any time by correcting those on something you may delete.
• If you're writing for a newspaper or magazine and are new to professional writing,
it's customary to introduce yourself and your story in a query or pitch letter. Find
the name of the or who will be handling your piece (i.e.; if you're writing an
article about cars for a newspaper, find the name of the car-section or). This
information can be found in the masthead, a box containing the names of the ors,
usually found near the front or comment pages of a publication. Write a catchy
but brief outline of what your story is about and why that publication's readership
would be interested in it. Also include a few lines about your experience as a
writer. The tone of this letter should be professional, but affable and friendly. It is
not the place to make demands, or admit your shortcomings as a professional
writer. Discussing wages and freelance fees should come after the or has accepted
your pitch.
• If you have no experience as a professional writer, do not start off pitching
columns (opinion pieces). Columns are generally reserved for people who have
either been working at a publication for a very long time, or for people who have
a particular expertise in a field. If you're new to writing, start small. Think
obituaries, human-interest stories and simple news articles. It's generally easier to
start with newspapers than with magazines. Try writing for life, fashion, arts, cars
or travel sections before pitching stories to news. These sections tend to be
understaffed and therefore have a greater budget for freelance writers.
• If you're interested in pursuing a career as a writer, be realistic. People who make
their living as writers generally start to build their portfolio of published work as
early as high school. It generally takes even the most dedicated writer several
years before he can make a living off of the trade. In other words, don't quit your
day job. Ease into writing gradually, perhaps doing freelance pieces while
maintaining a more stable job part-time.
• Take some courses in both non-fiction and fiction writing. Not only will they help
with your work, but also you can make contacts in the business by getting to
know your professors and fellow writers. This will help you to be taken seriously
when you start pitching articles for publication. Being a good freelance writer
means knowing how to write and how to network.
Warnings
• When writing for a newspaper or magazine, do not do so for free. Ask what their
freelance fee is beforehand. Your pay will usually be calculated on a per-word
basis. Your work is valuable. Writing for free demeans the profession and makes
making a living more difficult for those of us who depend on freelance fees to pay
the bills. (But if you're just starting out, volunteering to do some articles for
smaller community papers, student publications and trade magazines is a great
way to build your portfolio. Be warned that these publications rarely have the
money to pay freelancers anyway.)
• Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to write the article. If you don't, then
you'll be rushing at the last minute to create something that isn't representative of
what you can truly do.
• Do not be a diva. Your work will go through several ors, copy-ors and fact
checkers before being published. It will be changed. Pulling a temper tantrum is a
surefire way to not be invited to work for that publication again.
• Your reputation as a writer is almost as important as the work you submit, do not
make errors or plagiarize. Copying something without attribution is the quickest
way to get blacklisted as a writer. Keep your notes and source lists handy so that
your ors can verify your work. If you do make a mistake, come clean immediately
and apologize profusely.
• Don't miss deadlines. Generally speaking, a late article is worse than a mediocre
one.
• Literary circles are small and gossipy. Don't say anything bad about a fellow
writer or or, ever. You never know who's married to whom.
Here are some tips on how to become a good writer. It takes time, perseverance and
practice but with patience, good practical approaches and determination, you can turn
your creative desire into concrete writing.
Steps
1. Expand your vocabulary. Read books, especially newspapers daily. If possible,
reading a dictionary or thesaurus can also be very useful.
2. Get 2 notebooks. One is a 'Vocabulary Notebook', the other an 'Inspirational
Notebook'. In your Vocab Notebook, write down new words and their meanings,
and also some mnemonics (memory tips). In the Inspirational Notebook, write
down bits and pieces from your daily life, like a fun conversation you overheard
in the mall, or a joke a friend told you. This can also be a diary/journal.
3. Join online or neighbourhood writing groups. Wikihow is already an excellent
choice. Here, write as much as you can, join in discussions and also help works.
ing helps to improve your writing.
4. Brainstorm before starting a story. If you are going to write a non-fiction one, do
your research. Research is incredibly important for non-fiction writing, because
facts must be true. It is also important for fiction because you want your novel or
short story to sound plausible.
5. Decide on a plot. If it is going to be a fictional story, what is the plot? Think:
o When?
o Where?
o Why?
o Who?
o How?
6. Remember your characters, and visualize them in your brain. They are going to be
really important if you are going to write a fictional story.
7. Use your imagination! It's perfect alright to have flying elephants in your
hometown, but be prepared to explain why. Don't just say: "Then, an elephant
came fluttering into my home. The end."
8. Finally, write more! Reading is also important, but never, ever be afraid to set that
pen going. Write, write, write!
Tips
• Just write! It doesn't matter if it feels blocked or looks like gobbledygook to begin
with; let the words flow out and things will begin to take shape. Leave for a few
days and come back. You will see something in what you have written and be
able to start transforming it.
• Read more. A lot of inspiration will come from as wide a reading variety as
possible.
Warnings
• Have a room or a space to write in. Distractions are dangerous to a writer
Steps
1. Tell a story and mention your business, product or service in the body of the press
release.
2. Proofread your press release many times. Look for grammar and spelling
mistakes.
3. Write a press release about the new products or services you're offering on your
web site.
4. Create a press release about the results of an online survey or poll you have
completed.
5. Submit a press release about a trade show or seminar you're hosting.
6. Create a press release about your opening of a new web site.
7. Submit a press release about an online award your business or web site has won.
8. Write a press release about a free e-zine you're publishing.
9. Create a press release about online products or services you're giving away.
Tips
• Keep your press release one page in length.
• Your header, contact information and release date should be at the top of your
press release.
• Use short sentences and double space your lines.
• Your header and first few sentences should grab the readers attention.
Warnings
• Your press release should sound like news, not an ad.
• You should only send your press release to the media related to the topic of your
press release.
Steps
1. Make sure you can write well. This means being both technically proficient and
having an engaging writing style. Alternatively, you can use a proofreader for the
former and either a ghost writer or PR hack for the latter. Regardless, its always
best to get someone else to read your article before submitting.
2. Work on writing quickly and making your points in a lively and succinct manner.
3. Find a niche topic and become an expert. It's easier than being a fantastic writer
who can write across a variety of subjects and research skills.
4. Pick a topic you are passionate about, something you know about well. Or find
out what is of perennial interest and become an expert in that area.
5. Become familiar with the publications you are targeting. Read it everyday for at
least two weeks and become familiar with the paper’s ‘style’. Get a style guide if
you can.
6. Develop relationships with section ors by providing facts for them on your topic
when asked, sending Christmas cards and being on time, helpful and friendly.
Start by emailing them a short biography and identify yourself and your area for
future work. When your topic comes up, hopefully they’ll call you first.
7. Keep an eye on current events to be ready for your opportunity. You may only
have a 48 hour window to write and submit your piece from when the story
breaks.
8. When the opportunity arrives, choose a unique or different angle for your piece to
help it get a run; it’s time to juice those media relationships.
9. Pitch your story to the opinion or (whom you’ve been cultivating) first if you can
and never send an unsolicited completed piece – unless you have lots of time on
your hands and are happy to receive frequent rejections.
10. Work with the or when your pitch is accepted. Do this to meet word limits and
deadlines and accept all feedback. Trust that they want you to produce the best
article possible, one that will run in their publication.
11. Make sure to provide controversy in your piece through an argument. Remember,
this is your opinion and you should choose a side and make your point. It’s the
opinion or’s role to provide balance, not yours.
12. Accept failures. If your pitch fails, it means you’re one step closer to success.
Take heart in accelerating news cycles, you can be certain your topic will come
around again soon. Don’t get discouraged, try widening your targeted publications
or your speciality.
13. Get blogging. In the meantime, start a blog for practice and send it to on-line
opinion and other on-line news services.
Tips
• The "Opinion Page" is traditionally a section of the paper that is focused on
biased, individual views on topics of the day. The page includes Letters to the or,
which are usually a couple of hundred words each, two to four longer opinion
pieces either submitted or commissioned and the orial, written by the paper’s
managing or.
Steps
1. Get to one of the freelance websites - getafreelancer, freelance, elance etc.
2. Register.
3. Bid for applicable projects.
4. Get selected.
Tips
• Try to provide a demo of the project
How to Freewrite
Do you have writers' block? Did you choose a topic or idea to develop, but find yourself
stuck? Try freewriting! This exercise is used by writers to gather their thoughts and ideas
before they begin a document, with the result being an endless, non-punctuated, and free-
flowing paragraph that'll be immensely helpful in the preliminary writing process.
Steps
1. Set a timer or use the clock on your computer screen to give yourself 5 to 10
minutes to continuously write. This is so you don't need to worry about the time.
2. Select a topic for your freewriting (if you've chosen to do focused freewriting).
Write this topic at the top of your page.
3. Start your timer.
4. Write down whatever comes to mind in relation to your topic (if you have one). If
you are doing unfocused freewriting because you are trying to come up with an
idea or topic, just write down every random thought that crosses your mind as
quickly as possible.
5. Continue writing until the designated time has run out. Do NOT stop until that
point.
Tips
• A good way to avoid wanting to freewriting is to turn off your computer screen
so that you cannot see the words that are being typed.
• A countdown timer with an alarm may be better than just a clock as it will save
you from constantly looking at the clock.
• Use relaxing music to help your mind relax itself.
• If you are having a hard time at the start then use your senses, simply write what
you are feeling directly through your senses: Is it hot or cold or maybe you are
hungry or tired, whatever you are feeling just write it and then the rest will come
to you.
Warnings
• Freewriting is not guaranteed to work for everyone, but it can help to break even
the toughest writer's block
Steps
1. A local newspaper may be the best place to start your career. Check the paper's
classified listings to see if any job openings are posted.
2. If your location isn't flexible, get to know someone at the local paper. They'll be
able to tell you if and when a position is open. A good way to get to know a
copyor at your paper may be calling the paper after business hours and asking for
the copy desk chief. Tell them why you're calling and offer to buy them dinner in
exchange for their advice on how to become a copyor. As hokey as it sounds,
most people enjoy being reminded that their job is desirable and sought after.
3. Once you get the interview, you better know your Ps and Qs. To brush up on your
skills, check out "When Words Collide: A Media Writer's Guide to Grammar and
Style" By Laurne Kessler and Duncan McDonald. Also know your AP style: is it
a website or a Web site?
4. Pass the test. Most papers have a copying test that requires you to perform well in
spelling, punctuation, grammar, and general knowledge.
5. Stay informed! Copying isn't just about grammar, it's about fact-checking too. Do
the numbers in that graphic add up? Is that really ragweed, or is it goldenrod in
that photo?
6. Have a dirty mind. Seriously. Copyors have to be aware of pop culture
connotations to avoid embarrasing headlines or worse.
7. Know computers.
8. Know a few programs. Most copyors also layout pages, especially in the
newspaper industry. Learn Adobe InDesign or QuarkXpress if you really want to
make yourself competitive with college grads.
Warnings
• Copying can be a pretty thankless job sometimes. You can work late hours and
may have to make late-night calls to ors or reporters, who often don't like being
awakened. Just a warning.
Steps
1. Set up a template for your newletter starting with page size (letter size is usually
best).
2. Develop a layout grid which sets page margins, divides your page into columns,
and establishes horizontal lines on which to "hang" your text and pictures. For
example, page margins of .5" all around, a simple 4 column grid, with .125"
gutter, and horizontal divisions every 1". Note that a grid simply organizes your
elements, columns and art can be more than one column wide but don't overdo it.
3. Design a simple masthead with a logo, newsletter name (try 30 to 36 point type),
business name, issue number and date. Proportion the masthead to take up a little
less than a third of the depth of the front page, e.g., if your copy area is 7.5 wide x
10" deep, a 7.5 x 2" masthead with about an inch of white space below will be
about right.
4. Learn to use your style sheets--they'll save a lot of time in the end. To begin, keep
the number of styles to a minimum. For example, Body text, Headline, Subhead,
Caption, Bulleted List, Contact Info might be all you need.
Tips
• Keep your fonts to a minimum. Choose one serif type family (e.g., Times family)
for body text and captions, and one sans serif (e.g., Helvetica family) for
headlines and subheads.
• Serif types, such as Times or Garamond are easier to read in text so try starting
with a Body text style of 9 point Times, with 10.5 point line spacing.
• Resist the temptation to make the fonts too large. 9 point body type is elegant, 10
point body type begins to look amateurish.
• Use the best photos and clip art (check the web for dozens of free clip art sites)
you can find and again, resist the temptation to make them too large.
Warnings
• Avoid text widows and orphans, i.e., words left by themselves at the end of
paragraphs or single lines left at the top of columns. It's usually easiest to do this
with ing, but you can also tweak the character width or tracking. Don't go
overboard with this though or your text will look inconsistent.
• Control hyphenation by setting your body text style to no more than two
consecutive hyphens.
• Spell check, spell check, spell check.
• Don't feel you need to fill every inch of space. White space allows the eye some
rest and contrast, and will better show-off your content.
• Only ONE space between a period and the start of the next sentence, not two.
• Don't go overboard with special effects. A drop shadow or other effects, if used
appropriatly, can give a professional look to your project; but doing too much
looks cheap.
Steps
1. Brainstorm your ideas on a blank sheet of paper. Write down whatever ideas
come into your head, however 'un-suspenseful' they sound. Brainstorm character
names, personalities, setting, anything and everything. It doesn't matter how
messy your paper becomes, all you need are ideas.
2. Think about the five senses: taste, touch, smell, sight, sound. For example: "I
could taste the salty tang of the sparkling ocean washing around my feet."
(Alright, so taste and feet don't really fit, but it's just an example). Write down at
least two for each sense. Eventually, you can choose the best ones to put down.
3. Think about your main character. Imagine their appearance, their personalities,
odd habits they may have, anything! Think of at least one simile and one
metaphor to describe them. You can even base your main character on yourself, if
you like.
4. Plan how you will create suspense and tension. Think about including some hints
that suggest what is to happen later in the story/opening. For example: "I didn't
notice the motorcycle parked in the driveway, nor did I notice the kitchen window
that had been opened."
5. Start writing! Start by describing the setting. You can use maybe 1-2 paragraphs
for this. Don't change your idea halfway through the paragraph and cross
everything out, just finish writing about that particular idea, then write about the
new one. If you do this, you will find it easier to continue writing.
6. For the ending of your opening, (that sounded slightly weird) write something that
would make the reader want to continue reading. For example: "A gun barrel
emerged from out of the darkness and aimed itself straight at me."
Tips
• You can use what I call the 'zoom effect'. Start from something big, like the
setting, and 'zoom' in to something small, like the expression on your character's
face.
• Never cross out anything unless it's a spelling mistake or something like that!
Crossing things out will make you more reluctant to write.
Steps
1. Make sure you have natural talent and a creative flair. If you don't, take a course
or go back to school.
2. Become obsessed: Read and collect every magazine you can get your grubby little
hands on.
3. Find your niche: Through the previous step you should be able to determine your
favorite type of publication (art, fashion, trade, etc.)
4. Try to focus on your favorites, it's easiest to write about things you actually have
an interest in.
5. Create an extensive database of magazines and their publishers. You can gather
this information from the masthead or in some instances, through researching
online.
6. Most ors are going to want to see clips or sample pieces. Since you are starting
from scratch you will need to create up to 3 brilliant articles that you don't intend
on ever publishing to serve simply as a reference of what you are capable of.
7. From Information you've gathered from mastheads, mail or email ors and be sure
to address them by name to show that you are familiar with their publication.
Politely ask them for Submission Guidelines and include the sample work you
concocted earlier.
8. Keep approaching Magazines/ors while waiting for responses. Provided you have
talent and skill, with determination, eventually someone will bite.
9. Don't expect to be paid for your first few pieces and be sure to communicate that
with the people you are contacting. The pieces you publish will begin your
clipbook that will help you acquire paid assignments in the future. For new
writers, published clips are like gold so don't ever be bitter about working for free
(in the beginning)
Tips
• Start by contacting smaller independant magazines
• Learn how to create an excellent query letter
• Search postings seeking writers on websites like Craigslist
Warnings
• When contacting Magazines via internet, never mass email. Send each
correspondence individually
Writing a children's story requires not only imagination and creativity, but also the ability
to put yourself in the mind of a child. Sit down and think about what a child might think
about. Concentrate alone with your thoughts and an idea will pop up all of a sudden.
When it does, do not let it go, start writing. Just get the thoughts and ideas out, and do not
worry about spelling or grammar. That will be taken care of later.
Steps
1. Brainstorm story ideas. The story is perhaps the most important aspect of a good
children's book. Consult some of your favorite books (children's or not) for
examples, but try to be original. Choose a story that fits your interests and talents,
such as action, fantasy, or mystery.
2. Develop your characters. In order to have a good story, you need some interesting
characters. Who is the main character of the story? Is there more than one? Are
the characters human, animal or fantasy, or do they include elements of all three?
Before you begin, it is best to make an outline of the characters and how they fit
into the story.
3. Make a story outline. Use note cards, draw it in picture form, or write a standard
outline. The important thing is to have a general understanding of the beginning,
middle and end of the story, and of how the characters will interact and evolve. A
good story usually has some sort of conflict or obstacle that the main character
has to resolve, after which everyone lives "happily ever after". Here's the
breakdown:
Tips
• Keep it simple. Depending on the age group you are trying to engage, you don't
want to make your story too complex and difficult to follow, because younger
kids will quickly lose interest.
• If you want to be more daring, play with the standard story formula by leaving the
ending open for interpretation (a la J.K. Rowling). You can leave the reader
wondering what might happen next. This can be especially useful if you are
thinking about expanding the story into a series of children's books.
• Please, PLEASE use humour. We all have it. Focus on 'silly' things that will have
both the child and the adult reader laughing together. Use made-up words, rhyme,
and alliteration: Dr Seuss knows, it's much easier and more fun to read aloud.
• Whenever possible, show the character's personality through speech and actions,
not bland statements like "Sally is selfish". Try to differentiate between different
characters by having them react differently to the same situation, for a start.
• Make sure your diction (level of word usage) and storyline are audience-
appropriate:
Age 0-18 months: very simple words, animal noises and names of animals,
colours, mommy and daddy. Children's games such as hide-and-seek and
peekaboo (which teach children to deal healthily with short-term seperation).
Bright colours, faces. Learning to use the toilet. Very short sentences, simple
ideas that are supported visually.
Age 18 months - 3 years: Fuller sentences with some describing words. Basic
concepts such as growing and sharing which require thought but can still be
supported visually. Simple emotions: happy, sad, lonely, wanting. Learning to
wait. Exploring the world: a forest, an ocean, a preschool, a playground.
Everything is BIG at this age. Creativity: building blocks, play-dough, crayons.
Knock-knock jokes. Being a big brother/sister. Being a friend (this is a very new
concept at this age; children are becoming aware of others' thoughts and feelings).
Learning to count.
Age 3-5 years: Slightly larger storyline. More complex sentences explaining the
motivation behind actions shown on the page. Adventures. Getting lost and
finding your way home. Fighting. Being brave in spite of fear. Telling the truth.
Thinking of others before yourself. Explaining how you feel. Learning to spell.
Learning to add. Telling parents if someone hurts you or makes you feel bad.
How to resolve arguments (though they still need a lot of help at this age, they can
be introduced to healthy argument resolution, especially the idea of sharing and
thinking how others feel). Disappointment.
Age 5-7 years: overcoming challenges. Learning new skills. Understanding good
reasons to do something and bad reasons to do something. Magic. Confusion.
Books long enough to read over two or three nights. Use bigger words but be
careful to explain them, so as not to frustrate new readers.
Warnings
• Avoid using slang words or inappropriate language/situations (remember, this is a
children's book!).
• If you plan on publishing your tale, do not include art work unless you are a
talented in this area. If your work is accepted, the publisher will find the perfect
illustrator for your story.
• Do not be tempted to snag artwork from the Internet, as you may unintentionally
violate copyright law
Tips
• Don't bother e-mailing ad execs. They want to see how you sell concepts and they
can't do that online.
• Forget about showing CD's your poetry or high school essays. They want to know
you can write ads.
• Take freelance work if it's offered. Do anything to show CD's you can perform.
• Don't give up. If you've got talent you'll get a job.
Tips
• Analysis/Understanding: Defining the background of the audience aids the writer
in determining what information is already understood and what information
needs to be included. More information may need to be included so that the
audience can understand and reach the conclusion that your document intends.
• Demographics/Interest/Environment: Demographic characteristics of the audience
can help determine the style and content of a document. Age groups, areas of
residence, gender, and political preferences for example, are some of the
characteristics to focus on. Paying attention to these aspects of the audience can
also help sidestep any offensive remarks or topics that the audience would not
relate to or appreciate.
• Needs/Customization: If there is more than one audience, you can write sections
specifically pertaining to the corresponding audiences, or write in one particular
fashion that applies across the board. Similarly, if there is a wide variability in the
audience, cater to the majority--write to the majority of the people that will be
reading the document. References to other sources with alternative information
may need to be included to aid the minority of the readers.
Warnings
• Audience analysis is part of the beginning stages of producing a target document.
Whereas audience analysis does help to start off the project and lead the writer in
the right direction, it is only one step in the formation of a document. It is
beneficial to consult other rhetorical strategies that may help guide the writing
process even more so.
Steps
1. Research the current trends in programming by ing lots of first-run series, as well
as reading Variety or Hollywood Reporter
2. Start creating general ideas for a show by brainstorming.
3. Visit The TV Writers Vault and read professional advice on developing and
protecting concepts.
4. Start to write your concepts as a full synopsis for proposal.
5. Register it in The Television Writers Vault and monitor any reviews or activity by
production companies that scout the Tv Writers Vault for new material to
produce.
6. Sell the project to a production company and begin work as a producer and/or
writer on your own project.
Think of yourself as the next Aesop? If you're thinking of writing a fable, there are some
things you need to know. Read on and create!
Steps
1. Read some fables to get the general idea of what they are and how they are
structured.
2. Work out the basic elements of your fable. Usually, fables have animals acting
like human beings, a problem to be solved, and a moral at the end.
3. Write it backwards. Start off with the moral, and then write the story.
4. Think about what personality your main character should have, he needs to be
able to learn your moral.
5. Think about how your other characters can fit the moral. For example, in the story
of the tortoise and the hare, the tortoise was slow, therefore the moral was 'slow
and steady wins the race'.
6. Make up a situation where your character learns the moral.
7. Write all your description and dialogue so that it reflects the characters'
personalities.
Tips
• Read your stories to young children. They can be a very useful audience to gauge
how well you have put across your ideas. If they laugh when they're meant to and
if they get the meaning of your fable, then you're on a good track.
5. Check out the NaNoWriMo forums. This helps get you excited to write, and is
full of information to make your novel more realistic, ideas to pad your word
count, links to online thesauri and dictionaries, and even a forum for other writers
in your region.
6. Pick up some NaNoWriMo dares! These are from the forum and are just silly (or
not-so-silly) plot twists, characters, or objects that you try to work into your
novel. NaNoWriMo is all about quantity, not quality, so many writers choose to
try and work in as many dares as possible. One of the most popular dares is the
Traveling Shovel of Death™, a shovel that is used to kill or bludgeon characters.
7. On November 1st, start writing! You only have 30 days to write your 50,000 word
novel, which is about 1700 words per day. Make sure you have planned time to
spend writing!
8. Keep track of your word count. You can update your word count at any time on
your user profile.
9.
NaNoWriMo progress
Starting November 25th, you can upload your entire novel for verification. If
you've reached the 50,000 word goal, you'll receive a downloadable certificate
and your name will appear on the list of winners!
10. Use December to finish your novel and it. In the spirit of NaNoWriMo, you
should have done no ing during the month of November, which probably means
your novel needs a bit of cleanup to be the best it can be.
11. Share your finished novel! Give copies to friends, family, and other NaNoWriMo
authors.
Tips
• Go to your regional NaNoWriMo meet-ups! You can meet others in your area
who are working on their novels. These meetups are a great place to share plot
and character ideas, and just to vent your frustration when you get stuck.
Warnings
• Don't start writing until November 1st! You have to start NaNoWriMo with a
blank slate. No previously written prose is acceptable.
Steps
1. Use logic and desire to create the vision you want.
2. Think about what you want to write, instead of what you want to get from writing.
You won't get anywhere if all you're after is money.
3. Be prepared to work odd hours -- you'll need to write whenever ideas strike, even
if it's the middle of the night. Completely immerse yourself into the world you
create.
4. Find what works for you and stick with it. Even if you get dozens of rejection
slips, if you feel comfortable working the way you do, you'll eventually have
success.
5. Take advice: never succumb and never doubt. If you succumb and doubt, then
you have heightened your failure and will likely fail. But if you oppose failure,
then your masterpiece will drip underneath your fingers and perhaps change the
world.
6. Know that writer’s block isn't a real thing. The block may be due to other needs.
Heed to those needs and then return – renewed.
7. Do not let typing become mechanical. Love, wine…, any action of rejuvenation
precedes typing.
8. Write, write, write. Don't stop.
Tips
• Unsubscribe to the biographies of other artists. Subscribe to their arts, perhaps,
but not their lives.
• Be simple and check your thoughts and aspirations.
Warnings
• Be aware that if you are writing books they may not sell well
Steps
1.
writing ideas
Pick your story ideas based upon what you know (even if just a little bit - see
number 2). If you know your starting subject then it's easier to branch details from
it, and it's so much easier to write about.
2. Research subjects that you are familiar with but aren't quite experienced with For
example, let's take surfing. Most people know what surfing is, they've seen it on
TV or in reality, but they don't know how to do it. So, if you have a surfer
character in your story, research it. Research the moves, the techniques; interview
a surfer about the experience. Yada yada.
3. Decide what audience you are writing for, it could be, children, teens, or even
adults. Once you've established those two factors, you will have a better idea of
what to write about.
4. Get inspirations in your everyday life. For example if you want to write a
children's book, observe children. See how they act, see the world through their
eyes, and then write about something that fascinates them. Listen to the news
maybe your brain can conjure up a story just waiting to be written. Everyday life
can be an inspiration.
5.
Make sure that you always have a notepad with you. If you're on the bus, at work,
wherever, if something piques your interest, write it down so you won't forget.
6. Write down your dreams, maybe you could make a story out of one or more of
them. A good way to capture dreams is to set your alarm clock about an hour
early than when you usually wake up, and always have a notebook within hands
reach so that the first thing you can do is write the dream down. Dreams evaporate
from memory (possibly forever) at an exponential rate, so get it down at once!
7. Write down the purpose, lesson, reason that you are telling this story. Make sure
that is what you are expressing with the story.
8. Read through your story and !
Tips
• There is no such thing as writer's block. Rather, it should be known as "Writer's
Laziness". If you wake up one morning and realise that you don't know what to do
for that next chapter, don't hang about until "inspiration" sets in. Otherwise you'll
be hanging about for a very long time. Instead, simply sit down and start writing
with whatever comes into your head first (but don't take what you just wrote too
seriously at this stage). Eventually you'll be back on a roll with some good ideas
and you can go back and /replace what you just wrote to suit your new ideas.
• However, there is a second type of writer's block: the type that kicks you in the
teeth just as you're in the middle of writing. You know, when you finish that
paragraph and suddenly, WHAM: "What am I gonna do next?!" When this
happens, go out for a walk, or listen to some inspiring music, or just take a break.
After a while go back and try writing again, and soon it will come to you.
• Read 100 books before writing one, and 200 before writing two.
• If you get writer's block, maybe that means you've painted yourself into a corner.
Is the plot really going the way you want it to? Maybe the scene you're writing
isn't necessary. Try getting to the action (I know it's there, happening in your
head) a different way.
• While ing, be sure to improve on your wording, like, use 'buttercup' instead of just
staid 'flower'. There is almost always a better word(almost).
• You've all seen those little dialogue tags that say things like 'Andrew said' or
'Molly whispered.' But without those tags, could you tell who was talking? Have
each character have a unique voice! Maybe they slur their words, have an accent,
etc. Most of the time, people don't talk in full sentences. They give one word
answers, use lazy words such as "Yeah, uhhh, mmhmm," etc.
Warnings
• Try not to "drag" the book on. Give details, but not too many that the reader will
be bored.
• On the other hand don't give so few details that nobody understands what is going
on.
Steps
1. Pick up a copy of the Novel and Short Story Writer's Market. This is a book that
is published each year and lists magazines that specialize in publishing fiction.
2. Identify potential magazines where the story might fit (i.e., if your story is
fantasy, then look for magazines that accept fantasy stories).
3. Obtain a copy of the magazine's guidelines. Many now have them online.
4. Read samples of the magazine to get a feel for if your story will fit.
5. Format the manuscript in proper manuscript format, including any requirements
listed in the magazine guidelines.
6. Write a letter to the magazine and send your story
7. Record the details of the submission for later reference.
Tips
• Reading several copies of the magazine will help keep you from submitting to
magazines that may not be a good match.
• Use Courier/Courier New for the submission letter
• Always be professional in all correspondence
Warnings
• Avoid fancy paper, fancy fonts, or graphic headings. It's the story that should
stand out, not the paper.
• Submit only what the magazine is asking for. If you submit a 5,000 word story to
a magazine that only takes 3,000 word stories, no matter how good the story is,
it's going to get rejected.
• * Pay attention to the or's name! It is bad form to spell their name wrong.
Steps
1. Before you begin to write your romance novel, choose a publishing house that
specializes in this genre.
2. Purchase or borrow the "Writer's Digest Market for Writers". This book lists
publishers of books as well as magazine articles, newspapers, etc... You will be
able to access contact information, send for guidelines, and get specifics from
each publisher. Most credible publishers list themselves in this fantastic reference
book.
3. Research the publishing houses that are most likely to buy your ideas.
4. Follow their formula guidelines strictly.
5. Your research should be thorough and if you are writing an historical romance
novel, don't fictionalize the historic components.
6. Don't give up and work on your book regularly.
Tips
• Schedule a time to write on a regular basis. Don't deviate from your schedule.
Approach this with discipline and do not let others discourage you. If possible, try
not to tell many others what you are doing until you are well on your way into
writing your book.
Warnings
• Do not submit your books to publishers that are merely printing companies
encouraging you to "self publish". They are just looking for your printing
business and you will spend a lot of money if you pursue this. If you specialize in
a pertinent or specific topic that will have limited appeal to a buying audience,
this option might be recommended. In that case you will market your books
directly to your audience. This is not usually the case for romance novels.