JOURNALISM 370

January 11, 2012

LET’S TALK ABOUT A BANK ROBBERY

GENERAL THOUGHTS• Circles are passive voice or jargon.

• Everyone had passive voice errors.

• These are easy to correct.

• Watch the word “by.”• Watch any form of “to be.”• Remember subject verb object.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: DID WE NEED THE TELLER’S NAME?

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: DID WE NEED CLOTHING DESCRIPTION?

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: DID WE NEED TO SAY NOBODY GOT HURT?

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE STORY?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT• Avoid being cute with your writing, at least when talking

about a serious subject matter.

• Commas are your friend.

• I went to the bookstore, and I got a Potato Bowl sweatshirt.• After I went to the bookstore, I owned a Potato Bowl

sweatshirt.• Space out your paragraphs.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT• Remember the notes I talked about in class. I mentioned

them for a reason.

• Read copy aloud• First State Bank was robbed this morning.

• Was stolen from register.

• Witness say

• Diet Coke break• Space out paragraphs

HOW I WOULD WRITE THIS STORY

A suspected bank robber is in jail after an early morning heist in Smithville.

Police believe Ronnie Jones, 38, of Springdale walked into the First State Bank, told the teller he had a weapon and demanded money.

The suspect left with about $10,000 and fled to a neighborhood north of the bank.

An hour later, police found Jones and a sack containing the money.

A judge set his bail at $100,000.

HOW I WOULD WRITE THIS STORY• I wrote 71 words.

• The copy I have you was 141 words.

• SVO writing, passive voice and critical thinking cut the copy nearly 50% without sacrificing critical content.

COMMUNICATION THEORY: BASICS

THE BASICS OF COMMUNICATION

a. Sender/Organization

b. Message

i. Contributes to organizational objective

ii. Convincing to recipients

c. Channel

i. Which medium is best

d. Receiver

Publics,

Stakeholders

THEORIES OF COMMUNICATION

a. Media uses and gratifications

i. Choose messages based on their needs

b. Cognitive dissonance

i. Reject messages that conflict with predispositions

c. Framing

i. Focusing on attributes to generate

maximum interest

THEORIES OF COMMUNICATION

d. Diffusion and adoption

i. Awareness, interest, trial, evaluation, adoption

e. Hierarchy of needs

i. Physiological, safety, social, ego,

NEXT ASSIGNMENTS• The statement of work is now due January 25. It was due

January 18.

• Your reading memo is due a week from today at 3:10.

• Here are ways I will grade you.

• Formatting: Check the syllabus.• Is there a beginning, middle and end?• Did you differentiate your copy?• Did you mention mention all of the material?• The challenge of this assignment is to synthesize a lot of

material into one page.

COMMUNICATION THEORY: PERSUASION

FACTORS IN PERSUASIVE WRITING

a. Audience analysis

i. Channeling

ii. Passive, inactive and active audiences

b. Source credibility

i. Expertise, sincerity, charisma

ii. Celebrity “transfer”

c. Appeal to self-interest

i. What does the audience want to know?

FACTORS IN PERSUASIVE WRITING

d. Clarity

e. Timing and context

f. Symbols, slogans, acronyms

i. Nike swoosh, “priceless,” NOW

FACTORS IN PERSUASIVE WRITING

g. Semantics

i. Word choice and framing

h. Suggestion for action

i. Tell them how to feasibly do something

COMMUNICATION THEORY: ARGUMENTS

CONTENT ANDSTRUCTURE

a. Drama (Humanizing the issue)

b. Statistics

c. Surveys and polls (Hop on the “bandwagon”)

d. Examples to clarify and reinforce

e. Testimonials to create source credibility

f. Endorsements

g. Emotional appeals

i. Guilt, fear

ii. Combine with logical arguments

COMMUNICATION THEORY: GETTING PEOPLE TO DO WHAT YOU WANT

PERSUASIVE SPEAKING

a. Develop a pattern of “yes” answers

b. Offer choice between this or that

c. Get a commitment to action

d. Ask for more; be prepared to settle for less

ETHICAL STUFF ABOUT WHICH TO THINK

a. Propaganda:

“…the deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.”

ETHICAL TOPICS TO AVOID

a. Falsehoods

b. Specious reasoning

c. Misrepresentation

d. Diverting scrutiny

e. Unlinked emotional appeals

ETHICAL TOPICS TO AVOID

f. Concealing their purpose

g. Misrepresenting consequences

h. Unsupported emotional appeals

i. Oversimplification

j. Unjustified certainty

k. Advocating something they don’t believe in