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WorksheetsCh5 Breaking News & Developing Stories
Total questions: 30
Worksheet time: 16mins
What is one of the main tasks of a journalist?
To entertain the audience
To figure out the point her audience needs or wants to hear
To write fiction stories
To create advertisements
What is the primary purpose of a breaking news story?
To provide background information on an event
To communicate new information about unexpected events as they occur or shortly afterward
To analyze the impact of an event
To summarize past events
What does a developing news story focus on?
Providing historical context for an event
Relating new information about a breaking story as it becomes available
Offering opinions on an event
Reporting on events that happened last year
What is the news cycle?
The amount of time between publication or broadcast of one edition and the next edition
The type of story you write
The format of your content
The length of a news article
How does a shorter news cycle affect reporting?
You will report more breaking news
You will produce more general news
You will write longer articles
You will have fewer deadlines
What is influenced by the news cycle?
The type of story you write
The number of reporters
The length of the article
The color of the newspaper
What happens with a longer news cycle?
You produce more general news or features
You report more breaking news
You have more deadlines
You write shorter articles
What are the five W's essential for breaking news stories?
Who, what, when, where, and how
Who, what, when, where, and why
Who, what, when, where, and which
Who, what, when, where, and whom
What should journalists do if they publish a story with missing information?
Ignore the missing information
Indicate that an effort was made to get the missing information
Wait until all information is available
Make up the missing information
What should journalists guard against when reporting?
Overanalyzing
Guessing
Simplifying
Exaggerating
What is the primary focus of journalists when writing their reports?
Write what the facts are
Write what the audience wants
Write what they believe
Write what is popular
What is another name for the five W's leads?
Detailed leads
Summary leads
Creative leads
Analytical leads
What is the strongest form of a "who" lead?
Who did it
Who had it done to them
Who reported it
Who saw it
In the context of a "who" lead, what is an identifier in the following headline?
Band director Stacy Harris will leave HTHS this July to become fine arts administrator for the district.
Band director
Fine arts administrator
Stacy Harris
HTHS
What should your sentence begin with?
The "who" lead
The "when" lead
The "where" lead
The "what" lead
What type of verbs should be used in a "what" lead?
Passive, weak verbs
Active, strong verbs
Future tense verbs
Past participle verbs
What is an example of a "what" lead in the following sentence?:
A three alarm fire demolished the grocery store across the street from East High on Friday night.
The grocery store was across the street.
A three alarm fire
East High on Friday night
East High is located near a grocery store.
What should be avoided when using "when" in a lead?
Specific dates
Days of the week
Words like today, tonight, or tomorrow
Months of the year
What is the purpose of including "where" in a lead?
To provide context
To introduce a character
To describe an event
To summarize the story
Why is the "why" lead important to readers?
It provides entertainment.
It offers explanations.
It gives detailed descriptions.
It includes historical context.
What is the "why" lead in the following sentence?:
A broken water main kept East High’s new semester from opening on schedule.
East High
The new semester was not opening on schedule
A broken water main
East High's new semester
Why might the "how" be essential in some breaking news stories?
It provides the location of the event.
It explains the method or process involved.
It gives the time of the event.
It identifies the people involved.
What should you do if the "how" is not available in a breaking story?
Ignore it completely.
Make up the information.
Let your audience know you’re working on getting that information.
Skip the story.
Why might journalists avoid using the word "why" in their reporting?
It encourages them to provide factual information.
It tempts them to speculate or inject their own opinions.
It helps them to clearly identify causes.
It simplifies complex human activities.
Why is it difficult to assign one cause to an event according to the text?
Human activities are too simple.
Human activities are too predictable.
Human activities are too complex.
Human activities are too random.
What determines the length of a lead?
The type of content being discussed
The way you communicate with your audience
The number of sentences you want to use
The complexity of the topic
How are leads meant to be heard (radio/TV) different from leads meant to be read (print)?
They tend to have more sentences than those meant to be read.
They tend toward fewer sentences, but may be longer
They contain multiple ideas per sentence
What is the main challenge for online publications in capturing a reader's interest?
They have limited time before the reader clicks away.
They have too much content to display.
They need to include multimedia elements.
They must be updated daily.
What is essential for online publications to be easily read?
Complex sentences and detailed analysis
Clear subjects and powerful verbs
Long paragraphs and technical jargon
Multiple hyperlinks and images
What is the recommended lead sentence length for student publications?
48 words or more
35 words or less
50 words or less
40 words or more
