Overview and Rationale: Journalism often requires more than just talking to participants of the news. Journalist, in order to truly know and describe a story, must see things with their own eyes.
Directions: Students will attend an event, observe, photograph and report on an event of their choosing. This could be a concert, a meeting, a community event, an art opening, a play, or any other event. Students must interview one person from the event as well.
Assessment:
Grading will be based on description of the event in the article, use of an interview, and photographs.
Event Journalism Tips Read this article from Thoughtco.com
"Before you attend your event, you should have a rough idea of what you are going to write about. Perhaps this year’s event is smaller than in the past due to a pandemic or anemic fundraising. Or the event may be tied to some broader trend going on, such as a regular yoga class held outside in a rapidly gentrifying area. Or maybe your intend to use the event to talk about a broader issue, such as how this year’s Pride parade shows the shift in attitudes about the LGBT community. But as Mike Tyson famously said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. You need to be ready to pivot to a completely different story if the event changes — such as when an outdoor concert turns into a disastrous mud pit due to an unexpected storm—or you find a better angle while talking to people at the event. - Ryan Teague Beckwithfrom Medium.com
Prepare Before the event, learn what you can about what’s going to happen. A sporting event might have a program or roster with the players’ numbers and names. A public meeting might have an agenda. A conference program will list the speakers. A more informal program will have an organizer who can provide an overview and some background.
Take good notes What are you seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, thinking, noticing as you attend an event. A helpful note-taking technique for events is to use initials or other abbreviations for people.
Take a 360-degree view At any event, the audience might provide some potential stories, sometimes a better story than the speaker or other focal point of the event. Look around and behind you during an event, rather than just being riveted on the speaker or the action, or the athletes on the court. Maybe it's a fan, or a family member, or a ref that catches your eye.
Watch for the surprise Most events unfold as planned. But sometimes a surprise happens. A player gets injured. A coach gets angry. A protesters disrupt a meeting. You can’t plan for the surprise, but you must remain alert and adjust your plans when surprises happen.
Visual content Event coverage needs to include visual content. Unless you’re working with a visual journalist, you need to plan to provide the photos and/or videos needed as part of your coverage. Shoot photos of the speaker(s) and crowd. Don’t shoot from the back of the room (unless trying to depict a packed room). Get close enough to provide a clear shot of the action.
Write The sooner you can write after an event, the fresher and more accurate your story will be, even if you don’t have an immediate deadline. If you can write a few paragraphs during a break, before you know what your final story or your lead will be, you will help yourself write more quickly and accurately after the event.
Answer the question: “What’s this story about?” and that should give you the focus of your story, as well as helping with your lead.