SCRIPTS, RULES AND RUBRICS

JEANC Oct. 15, 2011

Me

High school features editor College radio news director CNN newswriter The mommy years: campaign press

secretary, restaurant reviewer, union newsletter editor, freelance education writer

Recovering public relations writer FINALLY! Journalism adviser

The program at Davis High Journalism 1 (fall semester: 3 articles +

sports game story + review go on website)

ROP Journalism 2 Multimedia (spring semester: video and radio packages up on website, radio also goes to KDRT community radio)

ROP Journalism 2 HUB (full-year: produces HUB, KDRT “Dirt on Davis,” and bluedevilhub.com

Atul GawandeThe Checklist Manifesto

Atul GawandeThe Checklist Manifesto

Two kinds of errors: errors of ignorance (mistakes we make

because we don’t know enough) errors of ineptitude (mistakes we

make because we don’t make proper use of what we do know)

The answer? Checklists! Even experts need

checklists to walk them through the key steps in any complex procedure

Pilots, pit crews, surgeons… journalists?!

Gawande’s Harvard address Two million patients pick up infections in American

hospitals, most because someone didn’t follow basic antiseptic precautions. Forty per cent of coronary-disease patients and sixty per cent of asthma patients receive incomplete or inappropriate care. And half of major surgical complications are avoidable with existing knowledge. It’s like no one’s in charge—because no one is. The public’s experience is that we have amazing clinicians and technologies but little consistent sense that they come together to provide an actual system of care, from start to finish, for people. We train, hire, and pay doctors to be cowboys. But it’s pit crews people need.

Doug LemovTeach Like a Champion

The big idea: let’s normalize error to maximize learning

Make getting it wrong and then getting it right normal

Wrong answers: don’t chasten: “We already talked about this!”don’t excuse: “That’s okay. That was a tough

situation.” Lemov: “It’s better, in fact, to avoid

spending a lot of time talking about wrongness and get down to the work of fixing it as quickly as possible.”

Right answers: not too much fuss or praise

What does this have to do with journalism? (Answer: everything.)

Lemov: Kids won’t answer a question because they’re afraid of being wrong

Wilkerson: kids won’t take a risk because they’re afraid of making a mistake and getting screamed at

And, finally, Malcolm Gladwell…

The 10,000 hour rule (It takes 10,000 hours to get good at anything!)

My brain… Lots to learn…and

more all the time with multimedia

By definition, our students aren’t anywhere close to reaching the 10,000 hour threshold

Everything we do is a complex task

Garden variety news story Get an idea Focus on an angle Find an expert Write a business email to request an

interview with an adult expert Find sources who aren’t my friends Conduct an informative, ethical interview Take notes

(and there’s still more!)

Evaluate interviews and decide what to include and what to delete

Write a summary news lead Choose a structure that best fits the story Know “news style” Know AP style Avoid legal and ethical transgressions Revise Proofread

(and that’s not counting all the life skills…) How to work with other people How to reassure reluctant sources How to take criticism How to stand up to those in charge How to get the courage to do something

scary How to get your story done by deadline How to roll when things go wrong

We ask a lot out of ourselves

Let’s give our students a fighting chance by breaking down complex tasks

Gawande-style by using:

SCRIPTS RULES

RUBRICS

Scripts

What could you use a script for?

DO DON’TPhone calling a stranger:Hello, I am Rafael Reporter. May I speak with Eddie Expert please? Oh, hello, Mr. Expert. I am with The HUB newspaper in Davis, California. I am researching a story about immigration issues in higher education. Professor Ursula Ucdavis suggested your name; she said you were an expert in this field. Would you be willing to do an interview with me, either in person or on the phone?

Phone calling a stranger:Ummm, hi, is Eddie Expert there? Yea…I’m Rafael and I wanted to talk to you about immigration. Oh, yea, I’m with The HUB—it’s just a high school newspaper. Anyway, Eddie, here are my questions and I just need short answers because I have to have an expert for my article. Ummm, Eddie? Eddie? Did you hang up?

YOUR FIRST INTERVIEW

Prepare Introduce Listen Check

PREPARE

Research the story using friends, colleagues, Internet

Ask the basics Use “gentle commands” to get stories,

not just facts

“Gentle commands”

Tell me about… I’m curious about… Describe your reaction to… I’ve always wondered about… Talk to me about… I can’t imagine how that made you feel.

[Then pause a long time.] Take me back to five minutes before it

happened and walk me through it.--Don Ray, Investigative Journalist

INTRODUCE: Steps to an ethical interview WEAR YOUR PRESS PASS

Not optional…this gives a visual signal to your interviewee that you’re now a journalist, not a student or classmate

ASK PERMISSION

Hello, do you have a moment to talk?

INTRODUCE

My name is _______________. I am doing an assignment for my journalism class at Davis High School. Can I talk to you for ____ minutes about _________.

INTRODUCE: Steps to an ethical interview BE UP-FRONT AND ETHICAL

“Okay, I’m going to start the interview now. And I want you to know that everything you say from this point on could end up in the school paper or web site.”

ESTABLISH RAPPORT

LISTEN

Don’t interrupt Let silence be your friend Listen hard enough to be able to

formulate follow-up questions

CHECK

Glance quickly at notes Clarify names, places, dates Read back important quotes Confirm important/suspicious

information Get contact information for

further follow-up

Emails to adults

A stranger A referral from someone else An acquaintance

RULES

Beginners like absolutes We’re all beginners

Interviews during class

Wear a press pass Never disturb a class if a lecture is in

progress No shout-outs to kids in the class Ask teacher permission to interview a

student 5-minute rule: anything that takes longer

than five minutes needs to happen outside of class

RUBRICS as a teaching tool

Checklists as part of peer editing

Even “experts” need CHECKLISTSNEWS BRIEFS Is topic newsworthy? (using this criteria: timing,

significance, prominence, proximity, human interest). Did you interview at least two people to find needed

details? Have you ensured that absolutely everything in your brief is

accurate, with no assumptions on your part? Have you included at least one quotation, using a proper

speech tag? Does your story consist of 4-5 short paragraphs (1-3

sentences each)? Do you begin with an interesting lead (no “when” or “where”

starts!) that tells the news? Have you suggested a headline? Does it follow AP and HUB style?

Even EDITORS need CHECKLISTS

The HUB needs MORE scripts, rules, and rubrics

Sample letters for business manager Script for handling a difficult interview Script for handling request to approve

article before printing Portfolio checklists Steps to creating an online portfolio Sources for data

thehubclass.wordpress.com

kwilkerson@djusd.net

Back to Gawande… Recently, you might be interested to know, I

met an actual cowboy. He described to me how cowboys do their job today, herding thousands of cattle. They have tightly organized teams, with everyone assigned specific positions and communicating with each other constantly. They have protocols and checklists for bad weather, emergencies, the inoculations they must dispense. Even the cowboys, it turns out, function like pit crews now. It may be time for us to join them.