The Elements of News Writing

PART ONE: Journalism

1. History of Journalism in the United States

2. Legal Considerations in Journalism

3. Ethical Considerations in Journalism

4. The Role of the News Media in American Society

5. The Future of the Mass Media

6. Tips From the Best

PART TWO: The Basics

7. What is News?

8. Kershner's Five Rules of Journalism

9. Basics of Good Journalism

10. A Stylebook Primer

11. How to Read a Newspaper

PART THREE: Grammar and Usage

12. Commonly Misused Words

13. Commas, Colons and Semicolons

14. Punctuating Quotations

15. Active and Passive Voice

16. Spell Checkers

PART FOUR: Writing News Stories



17. How to Write a News Story in 15 Steps

18. How to Write a Strong Lead

19. How to Structure a News Story

20. How to Conduct an Interview

PART FIVE: Covering Beats

21. How to Cover Meetings and Speeches

22. How to Cover the Police and Courts

23. How to Cover Disasters and Tragedies

24. How to Write Obituaries

PART SIX: Specialized Writing

25. How to Write Reviews and Criticism

26. How to Write Editorials and Columns

27. How to Write Profiles

28. How to Write Feature Stories

29. How to Market Feature Stories

PART SEVEN: Editing Newspapers

30. How Newspapers Are Organized

31. How to Plan a Newspaper

32. How to Lay Out a Page

33. How to Write Headlines

34. How to Write Cutlines

35. How to Use Photos and Graphics

36. How to Edit Stories

Index