8 Journalism Techniques Communicators Should Know

Stacey Derkmarketer ∙ writer ∙ designer ∙ geek

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Why does journalism matter?

1. Know your audience

1. Know your audience

Who Why How long

Demographics: Who Purpose Attention Span

2. The real who, what, when, where, why & how

Who should care about this story?

What does this story have to do with me?

What do I have to do?

Is this relevant/ timely?

When do I have to act?

Was this near me?

Where do I have to go?

Why should I care?

Why should I keep reading?

How am I supposed to respond to this?

How do I proceed?

2. The real who, what, when, where, why & how

Who is it about?

What is it about?

When did it happen?

Where did it happen?

Why did it happen? or Why did they do it?

How did it happen? or How did they do it?

Questions about the story

Relevance to me

3. Stop burying the lead

3. Stop burying the lead

What will your audience care most about?

Put it first!

4. Write headlines, not subjects

4. Write headlines, not subject lines

Attract

Engage

Inform

5. Find the story

5. Find the story

Tell the story

It doesn’t have to start with “Once upon a time” to be a story

6. Write to the funnel

6. Write to the funnel

Most important or relevant

Least important or relevant

6. Write to the funnel: Sub-point on length

Newspaper:• Columns/op eds ~200-500 words• Stories - large metro/national ~1200 words• Stories – regional/local ~600-800 words

Magazine:• Stories ~1400 words (~2 pages)• Depth features ~3000-4000 (4-5 pages)• Mini-features ~80-120 words

8.5x11 typewritten page (12pt – Times New Roman)• ~250-300 words double-spaced• ~500-600 words single spaced

Online publications:• e-newsletter articles ~500/800 words• mini-features ~80/120 words• blogs ~100-500 words

Typical Word Counts

7. Effective hooks and blurbs

7. Effective hooks and blurbs

Blurb Headline hook

Paragraph ending hook

Quick bytes of info

Read the article!

Read the article! Keep reading!

Use “teasers” cautiously/sparingly

8. Choosing images

8. Choosing images

Images to drive interest: Tell the story, or make them curious

Images to drive understanding or retention: A picture, chart or map is worth a thousand words

Look for this door, call box on right

Tools and Resources Win 8: screen clipper

Word/Outlook: word count

Word/Outlook: readability

Word/Outlook: Thesaurus

A camera!

Chicago Manual of Style

Images: iStockphoto.com, bing (watch copyrights)

Stacey Derk

To connect with Stacey!Email: sderk@vnextconsulting.com

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About Stacey:  Stacey has been helping people and companies figure out what they want to say and how to say it for over 20 years.  After earning a BA in Journalism and Advertising at UNC-CH,  she was an editor at a magazine on the East Coast, but soon succumbed to the siren song of technology. Through roles in marketing, sales, program management and product management, Stacey gained experience in all aspects of promoting and selling products and services.  She has sold to the federal government and large corporations, trained thousands of people on software and leadership, marketed in Japan and Australia, led communications strategy and execution for groups large and small, managed millions in marketing budgets, and written speeches and coached executive presenters speaking to 20,000 people.  All the while, she’s leveraged her foundation in journalism to create credible, engaging, informative content. 

In 2010, after 18 years at Microsoft, she left and joined Simplicity Consulting, to focus on helping individuals and businesses communicate more effectively as a consultant, speechwriter, and coach.  In addition to her communications, marketing, and sales background, Stacey is a certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator™ facilitator.