News Writing For Everyone

How to write: the enormity of an evolving language

2012-02-12T06:45:00.000-08:00

Teaching people how to write a news story, or any other kind of article, often requires upholding a purist stance. This is especially so when it involves words that have been bastardised.

Some words have been skewed to such an extent that it is impossible to convince those who utter such heresy that they are part of a linguistic conspiracy that would drastically change the way we communicate. Dramatic? Definitely, but someone has to stand up for tradition.

The focus of our irritation today is the word "emormity". How often are we bombarded by phrases such as "he has not really appreciated the enormity of his achievement" for a person who may have won a sporting title for the umpteenth time.

However, enormity, in its original meaning, does NOT mean huge. It is not the noun for enormous, which is actually "enormousness". Enormity means the quality of being outrageous, or wickedness. A phrase such as "we don't understand the enormity of war until we experience it ourselves" would be more appropriate.

Still, as mentioned before, English is an evolving language and enormity has been so ingrained into the lingo as the noun for enormous that even dictionaries appear to have given up the fight. Indeed, I have seen some dictionaries using both definitions for the word enormity.

A big kick in the guts for the traditionalists. But we continue the protest.

News carrier still going strong in Hong Kong at 86

2012-02-10T04:38:00.000-08:00

Newspapers and the people they employ change over time. The folks who deliver newspapers, however, sometimes remain the same. I was recently in the city I grew up in, Hong Kong, and was delighted to see that the man who used to deliver our papers was still plying the corner of Hankow Road and Peking Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon.

Mr Tam (pictured), who says he is 86 years old, is of small size but always muscular. He was often seen hauling huge piles of newspapers that would have a man twice his size wobbling at the knees. He still looks as fit as a fiddle even though he leaves some of the heavy lifting to his assistants.

The English newspapers he has carried for the past 40 years, in my memory at least, have changed quite a bit. The Hong Kong Standard is now a free tabloid, having once been a paid-for broadsheet and a strong rival to the former British colony's leading daily, the South China Morning Post.

The SCMP remains a broadsheet but its news agenda has changed significantly since Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. The news is heavily political and the design has veered towards allowing for more white space. I'm not sure if I like the new look.

As late as the 90s, there was heavy and healthy competition between the two newspapers but, from my brief reading of one edition, I think the Standard can no longer offer any real threat.

Whatever the case, there is room in Hong Kong for two English-language dailies and, hopefully, Mr Tam will be around for many more years to carry the news.

What writing fee denotes a 'Money-scavenger'?

2012-02-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

Greetings Fellow Freelance Journalists

Surely there needs to be solidarity among us to prevent these kinds of job ads. At $1 an article, who is the scavenger?

(Seen in online ad)

Hello Freelancers!
Here is a project for all of you.
I am going to make a team of writers and I have a perfect plan in My Mind to do that.
This project is for all those who wanna join my team.
But You "MUST AGREE" to the following terms before bidding.

I need Quality writers not Money-scavengers.
You Should be able to produce 8-10 articles of 500 words daily.
You Should be able to follow the rules and regulations and be strict to them.
You have to prove your ability for joining my team.
Payments will be made via MoneyBookers, PayPal or Freelancer.com as best suits.
Payments are $1/500 words at the start and I will increase the rates according to the good quality of the articles.
No Milestone or Escrow Payments.
These Rates will continue for 2 weeks and In that Period, I will select the best of the writers from those.

If you are agree to the above terms then you are welcome to bid otherwise please don't BID here and go somewhere else.
Happy Bidding!

Chocolate bar for Media Writing Skills student

2012-02-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

Today (Saturday) was lesson four of Media Writing Skills at UCSI University first semester in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It was an important class because students were taught the fundamental structure of a news story as used in major outlets in the world such as Bloomberg, Reuters and Wall Street Journal.

During the class, I asked the students to identify the main function of one of the key layers in a standard news article. They struggled for a long time, coming close on many occasions. However, it was Fajjar who came up with the correct answer.

For this, he received a bar of Cadbury's Fruit & Nut chocolate, which I insist is the best chocolate in the world. That's me on the left and Fajjar on the right.

Next week, the students will watch the move, The Paper, after which they will be asked to write a news article based on the events of the movie using the system they learned today.

How to write: avoid getting into a dilemma

2012-02-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

Writing to a set style is not always easy. Every publication or outlet has its own style guide, many of them endless lists of words and spellings that make for laboured reading.

It is not always easy or practical to remember how every single word in your company's guide is spelled or in what context it should be used.

I remember there was a time in the newspaper I worked for that even the sub-editors, the supposed guardians of style, had become weary of ensuring we were right every time. It seemed we were changing every day. I once asked a colleague: "What is our style for 'fufill' [one 'l' or two]?" He sighed and replied: "Today ... it's two."

Despite this, I am a big fan of style guides because, when followed, it brings consistency to a publication and enhances its identity. Whether it is American or British style does not really matter (I use British, mostly). The main thing is that there must be consistency across all media platforms.

Today, I'm starting a series on style. This is not really about spellings or meanings, it is mostly about words that are often misused. I get riled when I see words, phrases or even suffixes used wrongly when journalists and copywriters, above all people, should know better.

Before I start, however, a word about bastardisation. This is the process in which a word is misused so often for so long that even the protectors of the language, whoever they may be, have resigned themselves to its new meaning.

An example is the word "awful". This word is derived from "awe". However, awful these days is something negative whereas it was originally a word that expressed admiration for something.

English is a living, breathing and evolving language and some of the words I highlight may already have been bastardised. But I don't care. I'm a traditionalist!

Anyway, the first word in the annoying list is ... dilemma.You see it all the time. For example: He faces a dilemma on whether he should go to Harvard or Yale. Many writers think that if a person has two choices or more, it is referred to as a dilemma. I've also read dilemma being written as synonymous with problems.

Actually, dilemma is when you have only TWO choices and both are UNDESIRABLE. So, if you have to choose between walking through a pit full of venomous snakes or a river full of hungry crocodiles, you are in a dilemma.

If you have a choice between a promotion in your job or more money with another offer, then this is not a dilemma because both paths are attractive.

Stay tuned for the next annoying writing habit. Your comments are welcome.

Have English, will write for peanuts

2012-01-31T15:32:00.000-08:00

The job ad starts promisingly. "Looking for high quality article writers. Must have excellent grasp of English and must produce error-free articles that will pass copyscape. Must meet deadlines and be willing to rewrite articles that do not meet my high standards."

Fair enough, I say. All employers would want these qualities in a writer. However, then comes the kick to the guts. "I pay $2 per 500-word article."

The sad part is that this job ad has several bidders. Why do people accept writing articles at $2 a shot? It only serves to bring the market down. If the employer is asking for assembly-line BMR and SEO articles, then one could just about, at a stretch, accept this. But to demand high quality? Please!

About five years ago, a freelance writer could expect to be paid from $7 to $10 an article. Going back even farther, people would pay as much as $15 to $20 an article. These days, a decent gig would be about $5 an article.

However, we now have an influx of writers from all over the world, many of them whose English writing skills are on par with native speakers. Many of them, also, cannot string two sentences together. Whatever the case, they are willing to write for ever-decreasing prices.

Great for webmasters but not so great for the freelance writing community as a whole.

News writing and print-quality writing that demands solid news angles remain better paid options but that requires more leg work in terms of building contacts, building reputations and, ultimately, building a viable freelance career.

The cheaper-paid jobs are the ones available en mass on the many websites that ask you to bid for work. However it is you earn your living as a writer, I hope your hard work is not devalued by those who write for peanuts and we can all band together and set certain standards so that our skills are appreciated financially and aesthetically.

The Paper is close to how newspapers really work

2012-01-24T02:34:00.001-08:00

The Paper, a 1994 movie directed by Ron Howard, is an entertaining film that, in my opinion, most accurately reflects the workings of a real newspaper.

When I watched it, I noticed that almost all incidentals, such as journos struggling for spellings, tricky paragraphs or dealing with readers wanting apologies, is something that you see in papers all over the world.

News writing is universally similar and it was heartening to see that what happens in newsrooms all the way in the US is the same as what we experience in Hong Kong, Singapore or Malaysia.

I show this movie every time I teach Media Writing Skills at UCSI University in Kuala Lumpr so my students can understand the importance of quotes in news articles.

It stars Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, Marisa Tomei, Glenn Close, Randy Quaid and other fine actors.

I'm still not bored by this movie even though I've seen it more than a dozen time.

By the way, Ron Howard, to me, will always be Richie Cunningham. I'm happy he has become a world-class director.

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

Media finds 'Captain Coward' guilty

2012-01-21T02:23:00.000-08:00

I'm not here to judge Francesco Schettino, the captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia, which wrecked off the shores of Ligurian island, causing deaths and major financial loss for the owners of the stricken vessel.

But I don't have to. The world's media already have. He is now nicknamed Captain Coward for the way he reportedly abandoned his post while making token attempts to save passengers after the ship crashed into the rocks. Reports say he refused coastguard orders to return to the ship.

Schettino, in defending himself, says he actually saved more than two thousands lives.

Whatever the scenario, the media have already branded him and the whole world now has someone to target. Maybe he is to blame, maybe he is not. Whatever the case, his trial by media has guilty written all over it.

*Learn news writing the easy way. Click here to discover how you can learn to write like a journalist in six steps.

No such thing as unbiased

2012-01-20T06:27:00.000-08:00

It is inspiring and annoying to see young, budding journalists eager to enter the profession in their quest to change the world.

They go in convinced they will be unlike the writers they read and will only write objective, unbiased news based on truth, justice and with both sides of the story.

I say it's time to wake up and face reality. News writing is not and will never be unbiased. By simply choosing an angle, you are already taking a stance.

Of course, I'm not a complete cynic. Journalism is a great avenue for highlighting injustice, calling for equity and giving all parties a voice. However, each publication has an agenda, most of the time based on financial considerations. And journalists must adhere to the themes that boost advertising revenue.

More on this later...

2011-02-04T04:35:00.000-08:00

I have served my three-months notice. During that time, I had to travel to Qatar for the AFC Asian Cup.

It was a good tournament but I couldn't stay for the whole three weeks because of some issues back home.

Anyway, I'm checking out the freelance market and it's a jungle out there. I firmly believe you can make a living as a freelance writer, but you really need to go out and grab the work.

Some thoughts later.

Back in freelance

2010-11-13T08:01:00.001-08:00

I've just quit my full-time, cushy job ... no new job, no plans, no nothing at the moment.

I'm going to try the freelance journalism route once again. Last time, while the money was okay, the hours were killing.

But I'm going to be more careful this time. Join me in this journey into the unknown.

News writing angles can be hard to grasp

2009-01-17T04:26:00.000-08:00

I had an important lesson in the media writing skills class I teach once a week, to do with news angles.

At the end of the class, the students were asked to spot news angles from a speech by a former Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Happily, most of them did well but they were still not entirely comfortable with the concept of angles for news writing.

I spent another 30-40 minutes with them going over it, looking at other examples and analysing writing techniques and it appears they have it sussed.

I hope so, because for successful news writing, you simply MUST know about news angles.

the 14-week course is pretty much covered in my ebook on news writing.

Bashing it out

2009-01-05T02:51:00.000-08:00

Journalists are trained to bash out article after article, as long as the information is available. At work today (Monday, Jan 5, 2009), I managed to churn out eight.

Nothing spectacular, lengthy or too in-depth. Just simple articles written in standard news writing style, providing the essence of what needed to be said. I could have done 20 of those in a usual shift but, as it turned out, only eight were needed today.

News writing techniques allow journalists to write at speed. And anyone can learn these methods. Check out my website on news writing.

Cheers

Stand-up comedian ... er, I mean, teaching

2009-01-04T06:41:00.000-08:00

I just started lecturing on media writing skills at one of the local universities here. It's a part-time thing, once a week, which suits me fine and I enjoy imparting the knowledge I've gain from more than two decades in the business.

My first act on the first day of the course was to trip over as I climbed on to the stage. The students thought I was a comedian. But I turned it into an exercise and told them to write one paragraph about what happened. It was a great news writing initiation for them and gave me an idea of where they were in terms of grasping the essence of writing a news article.

Hopefully no more comedy acts in future lectures. The next one is about angles, which I've outlined in detail in my news writing book.

Later people.

Remembering Everest man Sir Edmund Hillary and a hard-nosed hack

2008-02-27T02:18:00.000-08:00

Recently, New Zealand's pioneering Everest-conquerer Sir Edmund Hillary passed away. Several days later, veteran Hong Kong journalist Kevin Sinclair died. Both had an ever-so-slight influence on my news writing career.

Sinclair, while hardly a global figure on the scale of Hillary, was nonetheless a well-known name in Hong Kong, having covered and commented on the political developments of the former British colony for more than 40 years.

For me, who was just learning news writing, it was ironic that these two personalities died within days of each other because both had a major impact on me as a budding journalist.

In the mid-80s, when I was just starting out as a reporter in a business information company in Hong Kong, I was assigned to my first-ever press conference, which was about Hillary promoting the Indian Himalayas as a tourism destination.

Kevin Sinclair was also there. Sinclair was known as much for his rasping voice as his columns. He had his cancer-ridden throat removed earlier in life and he spoke with a guttural, grating voice that was difficult to understand.

Because of his voice, he had a female assistant who asked questions on his behalf. Anyway, on this occasion, the Indian delegation and Hillary were singing the praises of the Indian side of the Himalayas as a great place for tourism.

I, as a rookie journalist, was dumbstruck at the thought of being in the same room as the first man to climb Everest, AND being able to ask him a question.

Towards the end of the conference, Sinclair's assistant stood up and asked the following question (can't remember the exact words): “With border tensions with China, do you think it is safe for tourists to go to that part of the Himalayas?”

One of the head table answered that they don't want journalists to ask questions about those issues because the conference was about positive aspects of the Himalayas as a tourist haven.
Sinclair was furious. Normally hesitant to speak publicly because of his voice, he stood up and rasped: “If we can't ask questions, why are we here?!”

With that, he packed up his brief case and stormed off with his assistant scampering behind him. Hillary and the head table did not really knowing where to look.

That one incident taught me a lot. There was everyone else, in awe of Hillary. And along comes a veteran hack and brings them down to the level of mere mortals.

Don't get me wrong. It was great for me to be in that press conference and Hillary was brilliant. He answered my question about the Yeti eloquently and many of the newspapers went with that angle the following day.

But Sinclair's action made me realise that no matter how famous the name, journalists shouldn't feel they are in the presence of divinity. Yes, they deserve respect for their achievements but they are, after all, only human.

And that's why they passed away. Hillary deservedly received global tributes upon his passing, and Sinclair received fitting obituaries in the Hong Kong media and was also feted by the Chief Executive Donald Tsang.

I will remember them for that incident 22 years ago, when an icon of the 20th Century and a hard-nosed journalist made a big impression on my career.

*If you want to write learn journalism news writing, in double-quick time, don't forget to purchase my ebook, “Secrets to How Top Pros Write News”. For only US$27, you can learn the writing techniques of leading news agencies and publications. You can see for yourself just how easy it is to write like a journalist. Try it now. Click here.

Chasing Tennis Stars

2007-11-23T20:32:00.000-08:00

Well, three out of four ain’t bad.

News writing is never simple when you don’t have someone or something to write about. I was supposed to show you a transcript of an interview with world number one tennis player, Roger Federer.

The interview is there, but it was not done by me. Long story, but worth telling.

Federer played former world number one Pete Sampras in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on November 22, 2007. Spain’s Rafael Nadal and France’s Richard Gasquet played each other on Tuesday, November 20.

I was supposed to have five minutes with each player. Reuters, one of my clients, wanted me to ask each of them about the match-fixing controversy in tennis.

On Tuesday, I interviewed Nadal and Gasquet and wrote an article about how they are confident of catching Federer. You can read the article here.

I had also asked them about match-fixing but wanted to save my quotes until after I sat with Sampras and Federer the next day.

On Wednesday, I had my five minutes with Sampras and was about to go inside the room to interview Federer only to be told by organizers that time was running short and the players were in a rush to have dinner with Malaysia’s deputy prime minister.

Naturally, as world number one, Federer’s quotes were the most important to the story. Still, I discussed it with the Reuters Asian sports editor and we agreed that something had to go out that night.

We had to somehow work Federer into the story and the result is this article, done in simple news writing style.

The next day, the Reuters reporter from the Kuala Lumpur bureau, Hsu Chuang Khoo, contacted me and told me he was going to watch the match.

I told him there was no point two of us going for one match, so I would stay at home

Couple of hours before the match started, I got a call from the organizers saying Federer had agreed to pay back his five minutes about an hour before he was due to go on court.

I contacted Chuang and informed him about the interview. We agreed that he would complete the interview, phone the quotes over to me, and I would file the article.

And that’s the story, and here’s the article.

Check out my website about news writing and learn how you can write like a journalist.

Gearing Up for Federer and Sampras

2007-11-11T18:15:00.000-08:00

Sport is a great opportunity for journalists to test their news writing skills. Writing sport employs the same principles as news, business, entertainment or any other kind of journalism writing.

It has been a long time since I've covered any big-time tennis. However, I'll have to brush up pretty quick because some star names are coming to Kuala Lumpur.

I'm down to cover two exhibition matches: Roger Federer v Pete Sampras and Raphael Nadal v Richard Gasquet.

After both matches, the players will be required to attend post-match interviews with all the media.

I've been told that I would have five minutes one-to-one with each player. So, I'll have to prepare some good questions.

Reuters have already told me what line of questioning they want, which I can't reveal at the moment.

However, my experience of these types of interviews tells me not to expect much.

These players are there on appearance money and may not want to say anything too controversial for fear of upsetting sponsors.

But you never know. Because there are no ranking points at stake, they may be a bit more relaxed and decide to let everything out.

Also, there is the possibility that my "five minutes" may never happen, as I've experienced in the past. Injuries or flight delays can easily be drawn upon as an excuse to get out of an interview.

In any case, I'm looking forward to some good tennis and trying to use the news writing techniques that I recommend to churn out my article.

Tune in on Nov. 24 and I'll tell you what happened.

News Writing Will Stand Strong

2007-11-04T06:51:00.000-08:00

News writing versus writing off the top of your head. Is the Associated Press really dead?

Well, according to an article in WebProNews, that is the presumed scenario.

Rich Ord, CEO of iEntry, writes: "The old news order is dead, the AP will have to adapt or die."

He says the explosion of blogs and news aggregation sites will kill off AP, which is suing Moreover.com for linking to its stories.

To me, this highlights an ignorance of what journalism is. The lack of knowledge of the media industry is enhanced by the statement: "In the pre-Internet days the AP had little competition beyond a few other news syndicators like Reuters and UPI".

Maybe in the United States. But where is Agence France-Presse, a news agency that is equally good as Reuters? And as for UPI, well ... many news outlets gave them up long time ago.

The main point Ord has missed is that news agencies such as AP, Reuters and AFP cater to a completely different market.

Blogs and news aggregation sites are brilliant. As long as copyright laws are adhered to, you can pull together the best and latest stories in the world and stick them on to a single portal for easy consumption.

New agencies primarily cater to other outlets, such as newspapers, Internet websites, magazines, television and radio stations and others who require news written by qualified journalists employing proper journalism standards to gather, write and deliver news articles.

Of course, not all journalists are good or ethical but they work within a coded industry in which they are (often) accountable) and must stick to certain standards.

Do you get bloggers with accreditation for White House press conferences? How many bloggers would take the time to interview newsmakers? How many would verify a source?

Maybe some would, but the truth is, they can still write whatever they want, true or false, and post it on their blogs.

AP doesn't do that. Whatever they write, whoever they quote, they must ensure its veracity. The same goes for Reuters, AFP, UPI and other global and regional news agencies.

They also use the tried and tested news writing methods used by journalists all over the world.

Blogging and aggregation are great additions to the media family. However, AP do not need to feel threatened.

However, Ord is right in that, as in any industry, AP and other journalists must keep up with an evolving environment and tailor the way news is written and delivered to meet the needs of a changing market.

But until bloggers use the same principles of writing, sourcing and delivering as journalists, their genre will remain "blogging" and not "news". Both can live side by side and both can enjoy healthy growth.