Even though this is in the very first part of the chapter, I think it’s very important to remember since it talks about the unique structure of a news article. This type of story is ultimately told in a way that’s opposite a traditional fictional story. News stories are told with the resolution/end result presented in the very beginning. Most, if not all of the facts that support resolution should be at the beginning of the article as well. The book says this is so because it presents the case in a straight-forward and easy to understand format for readers to quickly digest. This format has become especially important in the age of digital cell phone screen reading because nobody really wants to read a long news story so they can just read the first section and get all the information. This format is described later as the reporter brings the reader, “to the center of a story and then put the reader on the scene” (23).
Last class we spoke a lot about the huge problem plagiarism in journalism. I think all of the information gathered must be cited to where the reporter got it; especially when it’s researched instead of an interview. However, if a quoted source wishes to be anonymous, they can be cited as anonymous. The book says if there is attribution, sometimes it is important to put it right in the lead when there are controversial claims being made. But when there isn’t any information like that, the attribution can just be listed later on in the story since it doesn’t hold as much importance and will just complicate the lead.
