Leonard Downie Jr.'s gave good advice on reporting to the teachers at the Reynolds Institute. In the past two days, he explained what it takes for someone to be a good reporter, and showed one way of explaining this to students.One of the things he mentioned, that teachers should explain to students, is that reporters have to have a game plan.
"Anticipate non-responses and figure out how you will get them to answer the question."
Reporting has to be strategic and well planned out. Students have to be prepared to get the answers they need by identifying the sources they will use, write questions they will ask, identify the problems they might face, and find strategies to get the answers they need.
Aside from teaching students to have a game plan, it would be useful to use the movie All the President's Men to point out some of the strategies the reporters used in the movie, similar to what Downie did during his debrief of the movie.
One of the strategies to point out, for example, is teaching students to wait for responses.
"Silence is important," said Downie.
Overall, one of the many important things discussed in this institute that will drive my teaching of Journalism is, as Downie explained, "The best writing is dependent on good reporting."
Janet Amezcua
Olympian High School
Chula Vista, Ca.
Yes, the whole bit with Len Downie was exemplary. I intend to cull the notes from these blog posts, the videos shot, and the movie itself and use it in my class next year. It was exciting to meet a man who had been a part of the uncovering of the Watergate scandal and, alone, would have been worth the trip to Phoenix! Thanks to Steve for getting him here!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Janet. I will be showing the video of him speaking to us and "All the President's Men" in my Speech and my Communications classes.
ReplyDeleteTina Davis
Ketchum High School
Ketchum, Okla.
Great post Janet! Len Downie was one of the most interesting speakers we had at the Institute. I could listen to his stories all day. I agree with you Janet about having a game plan for reporting. I do not spend enough time with my students on reporting techniques. I think showing scenes from the movie would help and maybe model an interview. I always wonder why we do not have amazing features and I know it is because we have weak interviews. I want to work on this next year.
ReplyDeleteKat Gurganus
Keller High School
Keller, Texas
One problem I always have is getting them outside their comfort zone when it comes to interviews and the like. Downie had some quotes I plan to throw at them about this very thing.
ReplyDeleteGregg L.
Fantastic post, Janet.
ReplyDeleteLeonard Downie Jr. was one of my favorite speakers - because it covers an area that I heavily focus on in my classroom. I will definitely do more with this lesson from here on out.
Sara Gonzales
Cypress Lakes High School
Katy, Tx