Your Thoughts Matter

Tools for Journalists

The journalistic method: Five principles for blending analysis and narrative

Source: JournalistsResource.org
 

The intersection of knowledge and narrative, of informed journalism, is the heart of what the Journalist’s Resource project continues to explore. In the short essay below, Nicholas Lemann, a professor and dean emeritus at the Columbia Journalism School and a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker, articulates a method for journalism that integrates knowledge while preserving the art of storytelling. We reprint it here with his permission:

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Associated Press style basics

Source: JournalistsResource.org
 

The Associated Press was founded more than 150 years ago and now has thousands of employees working in more than a hundred countries for a readership that numbers in the millions. AP style is designed to address the challenges of the organization’s large size and readership. It had to be easy for reporters and editors to use and also produce stories that are clear and concise.

Glossary of common terms used in digital journalism

Source: JournalistsResource.org
 

Far from being recent acquaintances, mass journalism and high technology have long been inseparable companions. When the London Times installed the first steam-powered presses in 1814, they not only quadrupled the speed of page production, they also vastly increased the paper’s reach and power. Later advances such as cameras, telegraphs and telephones — to say nothing of computers large and small — only deepened the relationship between the press and technology.

Style overview: Understanding the differences between AP and Chicago style

Source: JournalistsResource.org
 

The writing term style refers to a set of rules that help ensure that your stories are as clear, consistent and understandable as possible. There are a number of style guides available for journalists, the two most prominent of which are The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style.

Acronyms

Source: JournalistsResource.org
 

Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of a multiword term. These can be names of organizations (NATO), nations (USA), and phrases (FAQ). While acronyms are highly efficient, care needs to be taken when using them. Too many, the AP Style Guide warns, produces “alphabet soup.”

General guidelines