In Campus Journalism: Sports Writing

Trying to run as fast as he can!

Sports page is one of the most read sections of the newspaper because it is filled with action and emotion of players who are idolized by sports enthusiasts.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD SPORTS WRITER:

• Must be a sports enthusiast.
• Must know the basic roles, strategies, team and players or team records.
• Ability to take note quickly without missing the important sequence of the play.
• Must be fair in reporting even if he has a favourite team or player.
• Must observe accuracy in presenting facts.
• Has wide knowledge on sports lingo.

QUALITIES OF SPORTS

• Basically, it answers the five W’s and one H.
• It primarily describes the most thrilling and eventful part of the game.
• It uses more colourful words, adjectives, figures of speech, local color and longer sentences, which are not commonly used in straight news.
• It uses special vocabulary called sports lingo.

In Campus Journalism: Sports News Writing

Trying to chase the ball!

Sports Writing is also news writing. It carries the structure of a combined straight news and an action story. A sports writer must tell his intended readers on what really had happened in a particular game thereby describing the actions, particularly, spectacular actions done by the players/athletes in a particular game or event. However, a straight news differs from that of a sports news in the sense that in a sports news, the writer uses special vocabulary words-- the sports lingo. Creativity and imagination and imagination are employed in describing action, thus, sometimes sport stories have the flavour of features.

To be able to become a good sports writer, he/she must possess certain qualities, to wit:

1. He must have a nose for news
2. He must be familiar of all sports/events
3. He must have a working knowledge on the jargon of sports writing, usually referred to as sports lingo.

Qualities of a Good Sports Writer

1. Must know team/individual standing
2. Must be familiar with the rules and regulations, strategies and tactics of the game or event he is writing about
3. Must know coaches and players as intimately as possible
4. Must observe accuracy
5. Must be able to take notes quickly without losing the sequence of the play
6. Must be fair and unbiased, even if you have personal favourites.
7. Must use the specialized language of the game being reported.
8. Must be at the sports venue not as a cheerer or spectator but as reporter.

In Campus Journalism: Photojournalism

Trying to get the best shot!

Pictures and artwork are aids in catching the reader’s attention. A series of black-and-white pages with nothing but printed words is certainly unattractive. Carefully taken, appropriately chosen and properly cropped pictures add life to a n otherwise boring and text-heavy page.

         The age of modern technology has made the art of taking pictures considerably simple and easy. One need not be an expert photographer to come up with good and well-composed pictures because most cameras today are equipped with sophisticated devices that take care of some of the technical concerns of a photographer.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD PICTURE:

A picture worth printing must possess certain qualities. These are:

1. It must feature a prominent personality, event, or place.
2. It should tell a story by itself.
3. It should have a certain degree of human interest. Something odd or unusual never fails to draw attention.
4. It should capture a portion of the drama of life.
5. It should show a person or persons in action. Posed and stiff pictures create a sense of inactivity and lifelessness.
6. It must express the recent events.
7. A good picture should clearly show the faces of its subject matter. A picture of unrecognizable faces means nothing to the readers.
8. A picture must be properly cropped so that the desired image may be highlighted. Cropping means getting rid of the undesirable and unnecessary images of portions of the picture.
9. Any picture must have a caption (also called a cutline) summarizing the “story” the picture tells. Poetic caption is also acceptable, and in many instances, attracts readers, example: Icing On A Concrete Cake, Sa Ihip ng Hangin, Musmos sa Likod ng Rehas, etc...

In Campus Journalism: Newspaper Design

NEWSPAPER DESIGN

Makeup and Layout

Makeup – arrangement of the display elements on a printed page, including headlines, body texts, illustrations, photos, white spaces and column lines. It also refers to the page design of a newspaper while layout refers to that of a magazine or an advertisement.

Three functions of a newspaper makeup:

1. To provide attractive appearance to the individual pages and a pleasing harmony or contrast in the continuity of pages.
2. To show the relative importance of news and feature materials through their positioning in the pages.
3. To facilitate reading through the avoidance of monotony or disharmony in the appearance of newspaper pages.

Qualities of a good make-up:

A good design of a magazine.

• Contrast - A black headline next to the column of gray body type creates a pleasing contrast. Two or three subheads or quotations from the story can brighten a wide expanse of gray body text. A picture can also provide contrast in a page.
• Balance - This is achieved by arranging heavy or dark elements to offset one another. For example, a three column picture on the upper left can be balanced by a three--decked, three--column head on the right.
• Symmetry - Each space should have a focus of attention - a headline, a picture, or a combination of both to ensure that the readers’ eyes fall first on that spot.
• Unity - The page should be attractive as a whole, with all its parts fitting harmoniously together.

In Campus Journalism: Feature Writing

A very beautiful rose bud.

• A feature takes an in-depth look at what’s going on behind the news.
• It gets into the lives of people.
• It tries to explain why and how trend developed.
• Unlike news, a feature does not have to be tied to a current event or a breaking story. But it can grow out of something that’s reported in the news.

Different point of views of feature story:

• The story behind
• Personality in profile
• Tracking a trend

Feature Writing Tips:

• Start with a lead that captures your reader’s attention.
• Move your story along with descriptions of what happened, quotes from people involved in the issue, and details that place the reader in the midst of the action.
• Make sure your ending is meaningful.

In Campus Journalism: Editorial Writing

Editorial write-ups express facts and opinions in concise, logical, pleasing order for the sake of entertaining or influencing opinion, or of interpreting significant news on public issues or policies in such a way that its importance to the average reader is made clear. They are usually written in an elegant but understandable language.

Expressive of the paper’s stand on vital issues, the editorial is a personal commentary written by any member of the editorial staff who comments on issues relevant to the public. It’s a critical interpretation of significant, usually contemporary events so that the readers will be informed, influenced, or entertained. It’s the voice of the paper, not of an individual editor. Moreover, it tries to express the people’s conscience, cause, and convictions in relation to prevalent issues and events.

Types of Editorial

one way-- different directions

• Editorial of Entertainment aims to entertain. Short and amusing, it espouses humor to suggest the truth.
• Editorial of Information seeks to give the facts unknown to the readers, with minimum explanation.
• Mood Editorial written by two or more editors from different newspapers which they publish simultaneously in their respective papers.
• Pooled Editorial written by two or more editors from different newspapers which they publish simultaneously in their respective papers.
• Editorial of Interpretation explains the meaning of a news event, current idea, theory, or conditions.
• Editorial of Commendation, Appreciation, or Tributecommends a person or organization for worthwhile deeds accomplishments.
• Editorial of Criticism points out both the good and bad features of events or situations to influence the reader and to suggest a solution.
• Editorial of Argumentation or Persuasion argues in order to convince or persuade some people.

Panitikang Pinoy: Paalam sa Pagkabata

PAALAM SA PAGKABATA

(KUWENTO/CEBUANO)

Salin ni Nazareno D. Bas sa

"Panamilit sa Kabantanon ni Santiago Pepito

Pangkat I

Wala akong nakikitang pagbabago. Tulad nang nagdaang mga madaling-araw: ang ginaw, katahimikan, dilim-iyaon din ang bumubuo ng daigdig ng aking kamalayan. Maraming bagay ang dapat mailarawan. Ngunit alam kong iisa lamang ang kahulugan ng mga iyon. Alam ko.

Purple roses.

Sa kabilang silid, sa kuwarto nina Nanay at Tatay, naririnig ko ang pigil na paghikbi. Umiiyak na naman si Nanay. Ang sunud-sunod na paghikbi ay tila pandagdag sa kulungkutan ng daigdig. Napabuntung-hininga ako. Umiiling-iling. Hanggang ngayon hindi ko pa nakikita ang tunay na dahilan ng damdaming iyon na matagal nang umalipin sa kanya.

Walang malinaw sa aking isipan. Mula sa aking pagkamulat ang pagkainip ay kakambal ng aking buhay. Sa aking pag-iisa di ko maiwasan ang pangarap na magkaroon ng batang kapatid na nag-aangkin ng mabangong hininga at taglay ang ngiti ng isang anghel. Ngunit ang damdamin ko'y tila tigang na lupang pinagkaitan ng ulan.

Maliwanag na ang silangan nang ako'y bumangon. May bago na namang umaga. Ngunit ang tanawin sa bahay ay walang pagbabago. Tulad ng dati, nakikita ko si Nanay na nakaupo at nag-iisip sa may hagdanan. Nakatitig siya sa sampayan ng lambat ni Tatay. At madalas ang kanyang pagbubuntong-hininga.

Matagal ko nang nakikita ang sampay na lambat. Ngunit hindi ko nakikitang ito'y ginagamit ni Tatay. Noon ay walang halaga ito sa akin. Nagsimula ang pagpansin ko sa lambat noong ito'y itinapon ni Nanay mga dalawang taon na ang nakakaraan. Galit na galit si Tatay sa ginawa ni Nanay. Pinagbuhatan ni Tatay ng kamay si Nanay. Pagkatapos ipinabalik kay Nanay ang lambat sa sampayan.

"Hanggang ngayon ba'y hindi ka pa nakakalimot, Tomas? Alam ng Diyos na wala akong kasalanan. Ang kanyang ginawa ang siya mong ginawa tuwing ikaw ay darating sa madaling-araw. Ang kanyang amoy ay siya ring amoy na galing sa dagat. Magkatulad ang inyong ikinikilos. Sino ang hindi mag-aakala na siya ay hindi ikaw? Huli na nang malaman ko ang katotohanan. Huli na nang siya ay aking makilala. Totoong lumigaw siya sa akin. At mula noon ay alam mo iyon. Ikaw ang aking iniibig, Tomas. Kailan mo pa malilimutan ang nangyari?"

In Campus Journalism: Editorial Cartooning

A sample editorial cartooning. Photo owned by www.colombian.com

Editorial Cartoons:

-          Editorials in pictorial/caricature form.

-          Supplement and crystallize the editorial commentary.

-          Have greater impact than the editorial proper.

-          Connect important parts by providing a link between the news and views of the paper.

-          Play a vital and effective function in influencing public opinion.

-          Make a character or an event more humorous, interesting and entertaining.

-          Emphasize a single point and topic.

Forms of Editorial Cartooning

• Criticism – discriminating judgement
• Appreciation – true or adequate estimation
• Comment – reflections or observations

Subjects/Topics in Cartooning

• Culture – enlightenment or civilization
• History – past events
• Economics – business, production and consumption of goods and services
• Political – government, relationship of people and leaders and among leaders.
• Social – interaction among people