Filak, Dynamics of News Reporting and Writing 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Newswriting Assignments
Chapter 7: Basic Reporting: News That Finds You
Assignment 1: Meeting coverage
Description of Assignment: Newspapers that cover geographic areas frequently send their reporters to cover
meetings of city or county government or school boards. The meetings may seem dry, but readers count on their
hometown newspaper to be there so they can keep abreast of what’s happening in their community. Look at the
Assignment 2: Puerto Rico crisis
When people or organizations understand that a given topic will interest a lot of journalists, they usually call a
news conference to meet the needs of the media. The goal is to convey a polished message to many media outlets at
once, rather than in multiple interviews.
Public Domain Source Material:
Huckabee Sanders–Long news conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFSwqcrY9n0
Gov. Ricardo Rossello news conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhMmOh_hJYQ
Assignment 3: Gametime
Filak, Dynamics of News Reporting and Writing 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
The sports page is often the most heavily read section in a newspaper, even during times of crisis or war. People
like to have an escape from the headaches of the real world, and often turn to sports as a refuge.
At the same time, it’s likely your college has a team that hasn’t had a sports reporter show interest in a very long
time. It’s time to right that wrong. Look at your college or university’s athletic schedule and find a game in the next
Assignment 4: Speech coverage
A speech may seem like the easiest type of event to cover for beginning journalists, but it presents unique
challenges to the reporter. Boiling down a long speech into a short story takes some tough decision-making. What
do you put in? What do you leave out? When do you use direct quotes, and when do you rephrase?
Look at your college or community calendar and find a time when someone well known will be in town for a
speech. Give yourself enough time to research the speaker and the topic, so you will have a lot of background
available for your story. The people who sponsored the event will have information for you.