The F Word

March 24, 2018

There’s a new “F-word,” and that word is “fake.”

I am talking about the term “fake news,” which, since 2016, has been the way for people of prominence to direct attention away from their mistakes, lies, or flat-out corruption.

For instance, when New Your Times reporters, including David Barstow, Mike McIntire, Patricia Cohen and Russ Buettner, printed reports with data, names, places, and interviews detailing Donald Trump cheating on his taxes.  Trump could have easily prove the reports true or false by simply releasing his business tax reports, as other politicians have done, but chooses not to and instead can only declare, “That’s fake news!”

Oh, what fabulously sweet victory it would be for the Trump to prove the reports false. But stating "Fake news!" is the only thing he can do.

It has been pretty effective, I'm sorry to say.

The President and a few other politicians have done the "Fake news!" thing so much and so often that the responsible news medias have a "credibility complex" it has to deal with, according to a report from one of my online journalism feeds I follow. The credibility the news media is dealing with is due in most to the politicians bleating "Fake news!"

Here is a simple way I explain to non-journalist how to identify if a news source is commonly reports falsehoods: If your favorite news source has never made a correction or a clarification, they are a source of falsehoods and fake news. You see, even the best news sources sometimes make a mistake, and reliable, fact-checking news sources are quick to publicly correct them. Doing so guards and even fortifies their credibility. Fake news sources, however, don't correct mistakes or false information because, ironically, that would damage their credibility to the kind of audience they seek.

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Update April 2024

"Fake news!" is out. "Political scam!" and "Witch hunt!" are in when someone can't produce evidence to defend themselves against allegations and investigations.

Being a feature writer

Last year an excellent reporter left our community newspaper for bigger opportunities and I lost an excellent Ninja Journalism guest blogger. See Jennifer Ritters' posts here, here and here.

Jennifer is a good reporter and a gifted feature writer as well, which added greatly to the paper.

Accidents, crime, city council reports and school district news are interesting and important.  However, what readers dearly want is to know is the community around them and the people who make it special.

Don’t believe me? Attend a city council meeting without a hot-button topic on the agenda and then go to a grass-roots benefit event. Notice the difference in attendance? People care about people, and your news outlets should reflect that with quality feature stories.

I cover news with dedication but I LOVE writing features, and readers love them as well.

I rarely get a compliment on an important news pieces I busted my butt on but I received glowing emails after my feature on the shy, always-picked-last student who loved his school and team so much he graduated, went to trade school and returned to get a job as sports equipment and grounds manager. I sometimes start my best features and photos on the upper fold of my front pages and found these papers flew off the racks compared to having a front page picture of a city council member.

1. Look for the positive. Take a fresh look at your community and instead of looking for what needs to be fixed, look at what is working.
2. Know that everyone has a story. You just need to be a good enough reporter to find it.
3. Read good features. I teach “If you are going to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader.” If you want to be a sizzling romance author, you better be a hungry reader of such. The same is true of features.
4. Learn not to be a just news reporter. Writing features often requires patients, sensibility and sometimes compassion. Other posts on Ninja Journalism contain examples of how to talk with people, break the ice, make people comfortable how to find stories.

If you don’t have a good feature writer, get one. If you can’t afford one, be one.

What seems like trivial information to a news story can be developed into a feature. I was reporting a basic sports story about an outstanding student athlete and found she has a graduated older sister and mother who were all track champions as well. I did not simply mention the family in the story, I interviewed them all, included photos of each in sports action, and made that family prodigy of champions the focus of my story.

Here are a couple of my features already posted on Ninja Journalism:

Amazing cancer cure story

A peaceful storm

I encourage you to put the “human” in human interest stories.

Humans are interesting. Just ask one and find out.

Share your thoughts at amosnews@yahoo.com

The ( - ) Hyphen Strikes Back

Mr. Hyphen Face

Let's talk hyphens. You know, that little punctuation symbol of connectivity. We use

it often when connecting a collection of words to make one noun, such as sister-in-law. I wrote about hyphens here, where I talk about the evolution of some compound words.

It is most used in error when it is unknowingly left, and the rules are kind of squishy.

Here are some examples of where they are important:

1. Susan decided to resign her employment contract. (We'll miss you, Susan)
Susan decided to re-sign her employment contract. (It great to have you, Susan)

2. Jacob recovered the chair. (It was stolen and he got it back)
Jacob re-covered the chair. (Now it the chair looks nice)

3. I saw a man eating shark. (Yum! I love seafood)
I saw a man-eating shark. (Yikes! Get out of the water!)

4. The battalion was made up of six foot soldiers. (A half-dozen soldiers)
The battalion was made up of six-foot soldiers. (Tall guys)

5. We found ourselves in a dirty movie theater. (Popcorn was everywhere)
We found ourselves in a dirty-movie theater. (X-rated movie)

My thanks to the Society of Professional Journalist for bringing these little buggers to my attention in their news feed. You should follow SPJ on Facebook.

A co-worker once wanted me to correct and use "coworker," but I wouldn't budge because coworker looks funny, like you are saying "cow orker." It turned out my instincts were right, according to AP Style. However, I do disagree on a couple of AP Style rules, as you will find elsewhere in this blog.

You can reach Christopher at amosnews@yahoo.com

Get over the "over" thing

I have both praised and thumbed my nose at the AP Stylebook in Ninja Journalist - here and here. Now I get to thumb my nose at the faithful followers that believe the book is infallible. I never thought the day would come, but AP Stylebook announced it is now acceptable to use “over” referring to a greater numerical value and some writers are throwing themselves on their swords over the move.

Many believe you can’t say or write “The tickets cost over $50” or “There were over 500 people at the festival.” They believe “The tickets cost more than….” and “There were more than 500 people….” is the only correct way. The funny thing is, I have not heard a sensible reason why it must be that way.

Comments on social media show how incredulous some are at learning that AP has given in to the over with distraught cries such as “I may never get over this,” “No, no, no, NO!” and “Boo! Wasn’t expecting AP to dumb down.”

The argument is that “over” is a physical location. I say yes, and it is a numerical value as well.

How silly it would be for us in journalism to claim to be experts in the language of numbers, like numerologist, mathematics professors, scientists and bankers. Those professionals often use “over” in reference to a higher numeral value and they are the experts in numbers, not us and not the Associated Press.

When a banker has too much money represented on the sheets at the end of the day, they don’t say “We have a more-than-age.” No, it is an overage. An OVERage.

Consider this: The word “out” is a physical location. However, just like our special word “over,” “out” is numerical as well, such as “You are out of money” - the number of dollars you have is zero. Out is also used as an adverb, adjective and preposition. Surprise!

I used/wrote “more” when I could get away with it and when I became an editor-reporter I gleefully did every chance I could.

There are over 40 negative comments on the Face Book conversation I saw and only three positive ones, counting my own. My favorite is from Gary Kircherr of the Erie Times-News, saying “This crotchety bellyaching over the removal of a silly style rule that should never have been there in the first place exemplifies perfectly why copy editors are always the first newsroom employees to be laid off. You whiners are giving the rest of us a bad name. Get over it already.”

Indeed, Gary. They need to get OVER it.

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The hardest story

I have often been asked, “What is the hardest story you have done?”

That is a tougher question than it appears because there are different kinds of hard stories. When it comes to tedious reporting and government leaders trying keep me from digging up their filth, I have one at the top of my list that I will share in a future post. Today, I expound on another kind of hard story and how I handled them when they occur.

When one of the community’s students or children are critically hurt, fall gravely ill or die, these are among the hardest stories I have done. Unlike metropolitan reporters, as a community photojournalist I become endearingly attached to the community I serve. I treat these stories differently than other news stories.

One example is an incident involving two middle school friends. While at a lake, one became endangered in the water and the other went to save his friend. The first survived but the friend that went to the rescue drowned. I got the report and a quote from the sheriff’s department and after much thought phoned the parents of the surviving boy. I explained I already had enough information for the story but wanted to give them an opportunity to add their thoughts if they wanted. They appreciated the chance to tell the community how thankful they were to “our hero” and how saddened they were for the other family’s loss.

When I understood the two families were close, I asked the mother if she would phone her friend for me and ask if they wanted to add their thoughts as well. It was uncomfortable for me, but the result was an emotional and fruitful meeting at one of the homes with both families and the surviving boy. During the meeting I also asked if it were OK to take pictures. They agreed and I used a pocket camera to photograph the parents hugging at the close of the meeting. It could have been just a news report but it became an inspirational story, although the hardest kind to do.

For suicides, I do not lead off the story with that fact. For students, I report the untimely death, highlight the student’s activities and accomplishments, include a positive quote from a teacher or administrator and end with, “The Sheriff’s department reports that (name) took his/her life at (location).” I don’t report how it was done or anything about a note. I was once criticized by another editor for not using a paper-selling suicide headline, but that’s just too bad because I don't sell drama and I think about the families when I cover these things.

It was the first student suicide for a particular high school and the district superintendent would not return my phone calls and instructed the school’s public information officer, administrators and teachers not to speak with any media, which hurt because I was the local paper and the others were metropolitan media. All I wanted was “He was very friendly and he will be missed by all,” but I had nothing. In desperation, I pleaded my case with the public information officer, telling him “I have to print the story. There might as well be something positive for the kid’s last time in the paper.” I begged the PIO to talk to the superintendent and explain my intentions and please get any statement for me. The superintendent personally called me and gave me what I wanted. I was pleased to later receive an email of thanks from the super for my handling of the story and it opened doors of trust for me with the school district.

Reporting about adults seem easier for me, but I have done too many stories like this about kids over the years – two student suicides, four traffic deaths, one drug overdose death, one drowning and three terminal illnesses. However, I am going to stop here and tell you my teaching point is leave the family and fellow students alone and be delicate, yet tactful, at gathering quotes from appropriate sources. Your readers won’t miss the drama. Above all, handle the story respectfully.

Sorry for the bummer post this week, but this is an unfortunate subject that journalists have to deal with. I hope it helps.

Share your comments and thoughta at amosnews@yahoo.com

AP Stylebook: More stupid rules

More stupid things from the AP Stylebook

Before I take more shots at the Associated Press book of style referenced by journalist around the world, you must first read my earlier post "AP Style" about how the book is an important tool here you have not already. I throw a few stones at the book then as well.

Go ahead. Read the earlier post and come back…

AP Stylebook wants you to add the word “diploma” after "GED." Such as, “She earned her GED diploma” and not simply "She earned her GED." Oh really? Since GED stands for General Equivalency Diploma, you would in fact be saying “She earned her General Equivalency Diploma diploma,” and that would be redundantly redundant.

In dates where A.D. or B.C. are needed, AP Stylebook wants you to put “A.D.” before the number but put “B.C.” after the number. So it would be "Carriages and coaches were first used around AD 750 but in 400 BC people just walked or rode the family yak." This rule must be based on the same logic we use our left hand to open doors on Tuesdays and Thursdays but our right hand Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The AP Stylebook wants you to capitalize the word "adrenaline" for no particular reason. The adrenaline produced in your body. No fooling.

AP Style book: Buy one, read it, use it, but don’t be a slave to it. If you alter from it, have a darned good reason for doing so, keep your alteration consistent and make the rest of the office do so as well so readers never see variations in your publication.

Its/It's, your/you're, there/their/they're

I have waited a long time to say this, but I can’t hold back any longer. I have a pet peeve about people who misuse words. Specifically, its and it’s, your and you’re, and there, their and they’re.

I don’t see these words used incorrectly in professional writing, but I see these words misused in casual writing, social media, advertising and even business correspondents.

A simple way to check yourself is to simply take a moment and think about the use of the word. Is it a contraction? Is it possessive? If it is a contraction you will be able to substitute, in your head, the two seperate words.

For instance, “your” is possessive. Your nose on your face belongs to you, therefore it is your nose. “You’re” is a contraction, the combining of “you” and “are.” I believe you’re cool because you read this blog.

I was chatting online with my younger brother on Facebook and I responded with a crazy, funny statement. My brother typed back, “Your nuts.” So I responded, “What about my nuts?” He didn’t get it.

I admit I am a poor speller and sometimes a careless writer and I have to proof the heck out of my stuff (see Editing and Proofing), but I always get its and it’s, your and you’re, and there, their and they’re correct. I even pronounce them correctly, and you didn’t know there was a difference, did you?

For a humorous look at 10 commonly misused words with visuals that may help you remember how to use them correctly, visit this post by The Oatmeal, a clever and funny artist.

Face-to-Face

I prefer to do interviews at a subject’s home, place of business or a location familiar to the subject. This helps the person to be comfortable and open up to me and it allows more opportunities for good pictures and not just ho-hum headshots.

Be respectful. You are on someone’s turf, so show respect for your surroundings and to people and don’t poke around where not invited and. If there are cute kids around, don’t goochie goochie with them but say hello and redirect your attention to your subject.

Be punctual. Get an early start if you are finding a place you have never been before. Even when I am running on time I often give the subject a phone call when I am getting close to make sure they are home and ready for me, “Hi, this is Chris from the paper coming to meet you at 2:30. I wanted to tell you I am 15 minutes away and looking forward to meeting you.”

Be casual... Don’t make it all a question and answer session, but allow the subject to talk and let the conversation go where the subject wants to take it. Be ready to note good quotes. If a subject offers you something to drink you say yes. This will improve your brief relationship.

…but stay on subject. I have had interviews where the subject was happy to have company and the conversation jumped all over the place except for where it needed to go for too long. This is OK for a while, but in time you have to respectfully and tactful get back to the subject, bring the visit to a close and get back to the office.

Don’t overstay your welcome. On the other hand, I have enjoyed the company of a subject so much I had to remind myself to bring the interview to a close and leave.

Don’t be overwhelmed with the awesomeness of a person, their title or the coolness of the story. Remember, they may be awesome, but you are a Ninja.

File the contact information. You may need them again.

Professional bull rider
Pistol Robinson

Stay alert. Look for small details that can add atmosphere to your story, like sound, movement or a reaction to a question.

I did a story on professional bull rider Pistol Robinson back when he was in high school. I met the rising rodeo star at his parent’s ranch-like home on land outside Alvarado, Texas and we relaxed in rustic chairs on his front porch. At one point in the interview I asked the young cowboy if he had ever been seriously hurt bull riding. He looked long and silently at his right boot perched on the rail and painfully flexed his ankle up and down, the heal of his boot creaking against the wood. After another pause he rubbed his boot and said, “I’m always healing up from something,” I described his answer exactly like that in the story.

AP Style

I have a like-hate relationship with the Associated Press Stylebook. I sure don’t love it, but I like it because one needs a standard to follow so your writing and style is consistent one story to the next, one week to the next, in sync with other writers of your office and with those of other magazine, web news, company newsletter or whatever publishing you do.  It looks sloppy to the reader if your terms, capitalization or punctuation is not consistent or is incorrect.

Buy one, brief yourself with it, keep it near your computer and refer to it often. A new addition comes out each year and in my opinion there are not enough changes to warrant a brand new one each year, but buy one three years old or less and toss the old one when it is over five years old. You can buy a slightly used one for about 10 bucks and a new one cost about $25. The book contains much more than technical word usage, like newsgathering conduct, privacy, media law and copyright infringement. Get one, read it and use it.

The book changes slightly each year because new words come into use, words magically combine into compound words, and trends change the terms we use. When I first studied journalism, the word fireman had just been done away with in favor of fire fighter, because more women were

entering that field. Then fire fighter became firefighter. Another example of term changes is the word Indian, which was put aside long ago and the term American Indian was used for many years. The current AP Style prefers Native American, which I disagree with because Hawaiians and Eskimos are also natives in America. I lost that argument to another editor proofing a story of mine, but I didn’t edit it and left it American Indian. Bad boy.

For the most part, the few things in the AP Stylebook I don’t agree with I still follow. However, I am still not sold on capitalizing the word internet, because nobody can explain to me how internet fits the definition of a proper noun. Even the title AP Stylebook is wrong. What right does the Associated Press have to create their own unique compound word? It should be "AP Style Book."

Hyphenated words are a pain to keep up with. "Cover up" can be "cover-up" depending if it is a noun or a verb. I hyphenate co-worker but some AP Stylebooks differ depending on the addition you have and my 2009 book leaves the word out. To me, coworker looks like it would read “cow orker” at a glance, so I hyphenate it. In the same way, compound words sometimes are used incorrectly.  Here is a link to a list of 190 common compound words. I like this list because cow orker is not on it.

And for gosh sakes, don't use this blog as a guideline to style!

#journalism #reporter

Ninjas Have Multiple Skills

I am a strong believer in being multitalented and believe that no matter what your job is, the most useful journalist is one that is proficient in reporting, writing and photography. And I mean various areas of writing and various areas of photography; hard news, features, sports, columns, city beat, even ad photography. You can’t be a Ninja in every field, but don’t excel in one and be a dunce in all the others.

My weakest talent was column writing because I don't normally care to express my opinions in the paper and, most importantly, it cut into my time. After I became the editor in a newspaper group, the corporate owners in another state required each newspaper to have one editorial column a week. They believed (I strongly disagree) the thing readers love most is reading opinions. If you don’t know what columns are, they are regular appearing opinions on relevant subjects. Anyway, I was a bad boy and wrote only one column a month for my paper and I squeezed out a couple good ones and won a 2011 First Place Column Writing award from the North and East Texas Press Association, which helped me win the Sweepstakes Award that year. I found that hilariously ironic.

Excel in your best fields but learn a little of everything: reporting, news writing, feature writing, column writing, sports reporting, photography, page layout (“paginate” is the pretty word for it), editing and even graphics. Having proficiencies in different areas improves the things you are best at and increases job security by making you a more valuable employee. It also makes you aware of the big picture of what goes on with your paper and helps you be a better employee. If your strongest field is one kind of writing, learn other types of writing and for gosh sakes photography. On the other hand, if all you want to do is sports photography, you will be out of a job when a good sports photographer that can write and do a little page layout comes along.



Ninja tools.

I became all of it. It took a few years to learn multiple skills, but I did it with the help of key co-workers I was fortunate to be around.

The most worthless person in my office was a reporter who asked me to go take pictures of the person they just spent and hour with. “You were just there!" I said. Why didn’t you take pictures?” He played to my ego, “You do it so much better.“ Other lame excuses I have heard are “I don’t have a camera” and "I don't know how." Well, get a camera and learn how.

If you are a writer and not a photographer, get a simple camera and start taking pictures.The best way to begin is to look at other good photography and try to emulate those results. I will go in depth in future blog entries and also share steps to instantly being a better photographer. I will also share how to begin in other skills, such as graphics, sports, column writing, features and other groovy stuff. I am not going to move your hand on your mouse and show you what to do, but I am going to tell you how to start.

Back to being versatile.

Whatever you excel at, pursue excellence in that area with vigor. However, cross train in other areas. The best place to start is with your peers because people love to share about what they do well (that is why I am writing this blog), so ask people around you how they do their work. They will eagerly tell you. If you have no one to speak with in a field (or the person doing that job in your office is bad at it), find someone else you can learn from. The internet is a good place to learn, but starting with the people around you is best.