Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Chapter 9: Reporting: The Basics and Beyond
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Reporting on ongoing storm damage is an example of covering a ______.
A. breaking news event
B. speech
C. meeting
D. news conference
2. Reporting on a commencement address is an example of covering a ______.
A. breaking news event
B. speech
C. meeting
D. news conference
3. Reporting on a city council meeting is an example of covering a ______.
A. breaking news event
B. speech
C. meeting
D. news conference
4. Reporting on a new product introduction during an organized event for media at a
corporate headquarters is an example of covering a ______.
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
A. breaking news event
B. speech
C. meeting
D. news conference
5. When it comes to preparing for an event, it can be helpful to do all of the following
EXCEPT ______.
A. ignore other reporters who have attended these events before
B. check out the physical layout of the room
C. find out who is involved
D. contact the event coordinator
6. ______ help(s) you determine what will happen at the event and who is involved.
A. Post-event interviews
B. Background research
C. Quotes
D. Secondary sources
7. Breaking news events are among the most ______ stories for reporters to cover.
A. simplest
B. easy
C. difficult
D. minimal
8. ______ can be good events to cover, as you can help share a person’s expertise on
a key topic with your readers.
A. Breaking news
B. News conferences
C. Meetings
D. Speeches
9. At ______ type of event, your job as a reporter is to sit in as a substitute for your
readers and distill for them what happened.
A. meetings
B. speeches
C. breaking news
D. news conferences
10. ______ help a person or an organization disseminate a single message to multiple
media outlets in a single moment.
A. Meetings
B. News conferences
C. Speeches
D. Breaking news
11. ______ can include some of the background you gathered, any quotes you got from
sources prior to the event, and optional lead elements, based on the outcome of the
event.
A. Background information
B. Post-event interviews
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
C. Shell information
D. Secondary sources
12. The purpose of any event story is to ______.
A. tell the story in chronological order
B. regurgitate the facts
C. tell the story in narrative form
D. find the most important aspects of what happened and report them to people who
need to know about them
13. A lot of things that make for interesting content happen ______.
A. “outside the lines” of the event itself
B. only during the event itself
C. before the event occurs
D. only after deadline
14. Once the event ends, ______.
A. your work is over
B. your work is just starting
C. you need to get something to drink
D. you should go home
15. When you talk to people after the event, you can do all of the following EXCEPT
______.
A. delve deeper into their thought process
B. ask them to elaborate
C. get pretty bored
D. flesh out the “why” elements of your story
16. Secondary sources include all of the following EXCEPT ______.
A. members of a group that helped arrange a speaker
B. members of the public who protested an event
C. witnesses to a breaking news event
D. other reporters
17. In every piece of writing, you should make sure you have all of the following
EXCEPT ______.
A. qualitative data
B. proper nouns spelled right
C. events outlined in their correct sequence
D. outcomes presented in a clear and coherent way
18. Many meetings use formal rules such as ______.
A. Ryan’s Rules of Order
B. Robert’s Rules of Order
C. Rose’s Rules of Order
D. democratic process
19. A beat approach allows the reporter to ______.
A. handle all kinds of different assignments
B. cover a variety of fields
C. become a contact point for people in that area who want to see certain things
covered
D. work on nonspecific areas of coverage
20. Police news, court coverage, higher education reporting, and religious information
are examples of ______.
A. focus groups
B. conceptual beats
C. geographic beats
D. thematic beats
21. With ______, coverage efforts are more about the physical place and what is
happening there than any particular aspect of one thematic area.
A. geographic beats
B. focus groups
C. thematic beats
D. conceptual beats
22. ______ focus on things that lack a concrete definition or a central junction point for
coverage.
A. Geographic beats
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
B. Conceptual beats
C. Thematic beats
D. Focus groups
23. It’s a good idea to do all of the following before starting a beat EXCEPT ______.
A. interview your predecessor
B. read your own publication
C. seek secondary sources
D. talk to your boss
24. It’s a good idea to do all of the following when starting a beat EXCEPT ______.
A. get out of the office
B. build sources
C. gather documents
D. conduct post-event interviews
25. It’s a good idea to do all of the following when continuing a beat EXCEPT ______.
A. ignore bigger trends
B. follow-up calls
C. connect the dots
D. check back for continuing developments
26. ______ stories can emerge from trends you notice on your beat, interesting people
you meet, or generally intriguing concepts you encounter in your daily life.
A. Breaking news
B. Feature
C. Meeting
D. News conference
1. Not every meeting, speech, or news conference merits news coverage.
2. It is not necessary to assess the news value of the event.
3. Breaking news comes from crimes and disasters that happen at random times in odd
locations.
4. Speeches often contain multiple points of view.
5. A meeting is an event where a governing body of representatives comes together to
deal with the business pertaining to that group or the people that the group represents.
6. News conferences are not helpful for an organization to disseminate a single
message to multiple media outlets in a single moment.
7. If you have never attended a speech or meeting before as a journalist, you should
spend some time getting acclimated to what will likely happen.
8. Background research does not help you determine what will happen at the event and
who is involved.
9. The purpose of any event story is to find the most important aspects of what
happened and report them to people who need to know about them.
10. Just because you hadn’t planned for these things, it doesn’t necessarily follow that
they don’t matter to your readers.
11. Post-meeting interviews are not helpful.
12. It’s often not necessary to seek secondary sources at an event.
13. Many meetings use formal rules, such as Robert’s Rules of Order.
14. Getting contact information is a waste of time.
1. What types of beats are there?
2. What are some basic ideas to consider when building feature stories?
3. What are some of the things you should look for in terms of observation?
4. What makes for good localizations?
5. Why are obituaries important?
1. What are some major types of events and how are they covered?
2. How can you prepare to cover an event?
3. What is the best way to cover an event?
Filak, Dynamics of Media Writing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
4. List and describe the different types of reporting beats.
5. Why do profiles, localizations, and obituaries matter to readers?