2. JOURNALISM IS NOT CREATIVE WRITING
• A journalist’s job is to report the truth
• A journalist gives a voice to the
voiceless
• Makes the comfortable feel
uncomfortable
• Reports conflict and sometimes
resolution
• Makes people think

3. DON’T
• Indent paragraphs
• Write an essay
• Write a report

4. DON’T ASSUME
• Research the proper name of everything
• does a company use a hyphen, etc?
Example: Walmart or Wal-Mart
“Googling” only takes seconds
DON’T BE A LAZY JOURNALIST

5. DON’T
• Use acronyms on first reference
• Make up your own acronyms
• Don’t write in “text” format
• LOL, OMG, TTYL, etc.

6. DON’T USE PASSIVE VOICE
• After speaking with
• responds to
• When asked
• has been
• was asked
• the response was

7. DON’T REFER TO A BUSINESS ENTITY AS
• They
• Who
• Their
Use “it”
Ex: don't: The UCF Knights have gained national attention, and their voice
is being heard loud and proud.
Do: The UCF Knights have gained national attention, and its voice is being
heard loud and proud.

8. DON’T
• Use big “wordy” words
• Don’t editorialize. Just write the facts
• Remember: write for a fifth grade
audience

9. DON’T
• Ask questions you can’t answer
• Use rhetorical questions
• Use clichés

10. DON’T
•
Quote other journalists
•
Quote biased news organizations
• ex: Fox News
•
Use stock photos to accompany a story

11. DO
• Start a new paragraph with each quote
• Use “he said” or “she said” when ending a
quote
• Use short sentences
• Know your audience (who are you writing for?)
• Write as if the reader doesn’t know what you are
writing about

12. DO
• Always refer to the AP Stylebook – it is a
journalist’s Bible
• Research a topic before writing about it
• Look for a different angle

13. INTERVIEWS DO’S AND DON’TS
DO
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Write out questions ahead of time
Ask interviewee if he or she can be recorded
• know the state law regarding recording interviews
Start with an ice breaker
Thank the interviewee for taking time to do the interview
Be confident (even if you are not, act like you are)
LISTEN to the person speaking and HEAR what he or she is saying
Take good notes, use shorthand you can understand
Ask the person to “repeat that” if need be
Meet in a neutral place for the interview
Follow-up later if questions arise

14. INTERVIEWS DO’S AND DON’TS
• DON’T
•
Move from one question to the next without a bridge
•
Disrupt the person while talking
•
Rely on a voice recorder
•
Complete a quote, or assume what he or she said
•
Accept gifts from interviewee
•
Promise a biased story
•
Use anonymous sources
•
Email, be personable with a phone call or meet in person

15. MONTHS, DATES AND NUMERALS
• Abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct.,
Nov. and Dec. when used with a specific date
• Spell out when using alone or with a year alone
• Do not use a comma when a month and year are
used together
• Never use st, nd, rd or th with dates (may be
used with street names above 10)