Put me in, coach
Joy of Journalism
Jackie Bretz
MJE, CJE
Director, Kentucky High
School Media Partnership
[email protected]
In a perfect world….”Joy”nalism
•
Hassle-free technology
•
Hourly wages for work on
publications
•
Perfect grammar and
personalized training
•
Flexible deadlines and unlimited
budget
•
Supportive administration, no
censorship
•
Three-hour journalism class
period
•
Democratic society preserved
for future generations
Ours is not perfect…not yet
• Joy givers:
• Joy killers:
•
• Technology trouble
•
Getting a publication out on
time with no prosecutable
errors
Having student voice heard,
respected and heeded
•
Wonderful stories
•
Pride in ownership
•
Enthusiastic, positive learning
experience that leads to lifelong growth and self-motivation
to achieve the highest for the greatest number in our
continuing quest for the utmost …..
• Lack of time
• Grammatical errors
• Reporting errors
• Having to fix stories so
much that you don’t know
who gets the by-line
• Discouragement
• Weak effort, complaints
about everything
Too much fixing is a killjoy
• The teacher/editor fixes the
story-not the writer
• The teacher/editor fixes
way before deadline
• Fixing gets the story up to
standard for the publication
• Fixing divides
• Fixing can create resentment
• Fixers take control
Coaching can put the “Joy” in
• What is coaching?
• Coaching is an art-• It’s not just for
improving the final
product
• The coach is honest
but cares about
improving the writer
as well as the writing
Coaching your way to “Joy”nalism
• photo
• Deadlines control
whether the
classroom is a
democracy or
absolute monarchy.
• The teacher/editor
coaches the writer but
fixes the story—which
by definition, occurs
near deadline.
The BIG difference
• What can coaching do for the
writer?
• The coach?
• The story?
How do I coach?
• Make coaching
conferences brief
• Let the writer speak
first
• Figure out how the
writer feels about
the work
• Help the writer to
identify the most
important problem
Coaching 101
• Discuss the story
throughout its life
• Have writer make
changes
• Do not make coaching a
punishment or
embarrassment
Develop a coaching vocabulary
• Clarity
• Collaborate
• Collect
(information)
• Details
• Focus
• Foreshadowing
• Ideas
• Indirect lead
and direct
lead
• Nut graph
• Order
• Pace
• Points of
emphasis
• Audience/pur
pose
• Rhythm
• Self-edit
• Show--don’t
tell
• Voice (neutral
or objective in
a newsstory)
• Points of
entry
Coach so that your writers hear
voices, asking...
• Am I answering
questions readers will
have?
• What should be the
main idea of my story?
• Which will be my
anchor quote?
Remember the writer’s needs...
• When writers turn in flawed work, an editor
can ask these questions to help reveal the
flaws, without the editor having to deliver the
bad news:
• “Tell me about the story.”
• “What should I be looking for?”
• “How do you feel about the piece so far?”
•
adapted from Coaching Writers: Editors and reporters working together
by Roy Peter Clark and Don Fry
More voices…..
• Should I have a
‘killer’ ending?
• How do I know
what is important
in my story?
• What “really”
happened?
Do more front-loading
• Front-loading is
preparation, research,
thinking through the
assignment FIRST
• This saves time in the
long run-• FL prevents over-fixing
• Fosters confidence,
correctness, motivation
to do your best
Everyone’s a Coach
• Establish coaching
relationships on your
staff
• Everyone should coach
someone as well as
receive coaching
• How would establishing
coaching relationships
impact your staff?
Your publication?
Hey, Coach! What do you say?
• A Smithville native, Judge
Meg Jones attended local
Brown Elementary School
and Elvis Presley High
School before deciding to
join the Peace Corps,
serving in Uganda.
Put me in, Coach!
• Your local community has had a recent
influx of non or limited English speaking
families--some are refugees, others are
migrant workers.
• How can you coach the reporter to help
him/her develop this idea?
Photos of BGHS Gem and Beacon Staffs taken by Jackie Bretz
Thanks!