WorksheetsJournalism Basics
Total questions: 17
Worksheet time: 17mins
What is NEWS? (check EVERY answer that is TRUE)
A factual account/description of an event or occurance that people may need or want to know about
A collection of mostly opinions on a topic
A presentation of current events
A personalized retelling of something that happened, specifically from a journalist's own point-of-view
WHICH ELEMENT OF NEWS IS THE FOLLOWING:
Location. Location. Location. The distance something is happening in relation to the reader(s) - if an event is happening close by, it will have a greater impact on a reader.
Proximity
Timeliness
Prominence
Novelty
Conflict
WHICH ELEMENT OF NEWS IS THE FOLLOWING:
How recently something occurred - the closer something is to happening RIGHT NOW, it will hold more impact and importance to the reader.
Proximity
Timeliness
Prominence
Novelty
Human Interest
WHICH ELEMENT OF NEWS IS THE FOLLOWING:
The more well-known or famous the person(s) involved in a story are, the more important/impactful it will be to a reader, even if it is a somewhat uneventful or insignificant occurance to the average person.
Conflict
Timeliness
Prominence
Novelty
Human Interest
WHICH ELEMENT OF NEWS IS THE FOLLOWING:
If there are two or more opinions/sides to a topic or event, then it will be more important to a reader - people tend to be more interested in current events if they involve rivalries, arguments, fights, disagreements, etc.
Conflict
Proximity
Prominence
Novelty
Human Interest
WHICH ELEMENT OF NEWS IS THE FOLLOWING:
If something is unusual, original, or unique, readers want to know what it is and why it happened - the more rare something is to occur, the more it becomes news.
Conflict
Proximity
Timeliness
Novelty
Human Interest
WHICH ELEMENT OF NEWS IS THE FOLLOWING:
If the story evokes or draws out any type of strong emotion(s) in readers, they will have a greater connection with it, and it will have a greater impact as a result.
Conflict
Proximity
Timeliness
Prominence
Human Interest
Which part of a news article gives the name of the journalist who wrote it, and the date it was published?
the headline
the byline
the flag
the caption
the lead
Which part of a news article acts as its title, very briefly stating the main WHAT of the story?
the headline
the byline
the flag
the caption
the lead
Which part of a news article describes what is happening in a photo, and oftentimes gives photo credit to the photographer?
the headline
the byline
the flag
the caption
the lead
Which part of a news article is the very first paragraph, which briefly summarizes the main and most importanle of the 5 W's?
the headline
the byline
the flag
the caption
the lead
A GRAF is a paragraph in news writing, almost always only 2-3 sentences long.
True
False
An EDITORIAL is an article in which the journalist includes his/her own opinion/thoughts on the story.
True
False
Which of the following terms is categorized as WRITTEN false statements/lies that are published in news stories?
Libel
Slander
Both libel and slander
Neither libel nor slander
Which of the following terms is categorized as SPOKEN false statements/lies that are broadcast in news stories?
Libel
Slander
Both libel and slander
Neither libel nor slander
What journalistic writing technique organizes information so that the most important and need-to-know details are at the beginning, and the less important details are sorted out near the end.
The Inverted Pyramid
Editorializing
The 5 W's
None of the above
What is NOT one reason the INVERTED PYRAMID used in news writing?
It gets the point of the story to the reader in the fastest way possible.
It provides the facts without all of the “fluff” of normal writing.
It lends itself to quick editing of story length.
It allows a journalist the opportunity to bend the truth without being penalized.
