《英文新闻写作》考试复习资料

Journalism Glossary 四、名词解释(共5小,每小题3分,共计15分。) Agenda-setting: a theory of mass communication suggesting news media influence audiences through the choice of stories to cover and space or time given them; thus, media determine which issues people should think about. Anchors: newscasters who host news broadcasts. Body: the main part or central information of a news story following the lead. By-line: A line at the beginning of some writing in a newspaper or magazine giving the writer’s name. Citizen journalist: the rapid rise of Internet technology, in particular blogging, tweeting and social networking, have empowered persons without professional training to function sometimes as journalists feeding information to mass media. These practitioners now are known as a distinct category -- citizen journalists. Column: an article in which a writer or columnist gives an opinion on a topic Dateline refers to the city from which a news story originates. It usually comes right at the start of the story. Editor: the person who "edits" a story by revising and polishing; the person whose job is to approve copy when it comes in and to make decisions about what is published in a newspaper or magazine. Editorial: an article expressing a newspaper or magazine owner's or editor's position on an issue. Feature writing: journalistic writing covering people, places and events in greater depth and with less timeliness than an immediate hard news story. Gatekeepers: people who determine what will be printed, broadcast, produced, or consumed in the mass media. Hard news: immediate factual accounts of important events, often appearing first online, in a broadcast or in a newspaper. Headline: the "title" of a newspaper or magazine story. In-depth: a news story that is comprehensive, thorough and detailed. Inverted pyramid: the structure of a news story which places the important facts at the beginning and less important facts and details at the end, enabling the editor to cut bottom portion of the story if space is required. Journalistic ethics: generally accepted principles of right and wrong and good standards and practices applicable to professional journalists. Layout editor: the person who begins the layout plan, considering things like placement and amount of space allotted to news and advertising copy, graphics, photos, and symbols Lead: the first sentence or first few sentences of a story Managing editor: the person who co-ordinates all news departments by collecting all copy and ensuring that all instructions for printer or typist are clear and consistent; the person who meets and consults with the staff to make a plan 五、简答题(回答下列问题,每个题目至少包含三个要点。共4小题,每小题5分,共计20分。) 1. What are the main elements of news values? ●timeliness ●proximity ●prominence ●conflict ●currency ●impact ●human interest 2. List the conventions for writing news leads. ● A lead should contain the essence of the story. ● A lead should begin with the most important elements of information. ● A lead writer should use the active voice if possible. ● A lead should be positive. ● A lead writer should try to place the time element before or after the verb. ● A lead writer should try not to overwhelm the reader with too much detail. ● A lead writer should always avoid editorializing and always indicate the source of information. ● A lead should avoid mentioning names unfamiliar to the reader. ● A lead should avoid abstract words and use vivid, concrete words that enable the reader to visualize the scene. ● A reporter may choose to begin a lead with what is directly related to people’s everyday life. 3. Tips for Fine News Writing Being correct is necessary but not sufficient. (1) Good writing should be precise. (2) Good writing should be clear. ●Keep sentences short. ●Keep to one idea a sentence. ●Favor subject-verb-object sentences. ●Avoid using more than three prepositonal phrases in one sentence. ●Avoid using more than three numbers in one sentence. ●Use plain and simple words instead of jargon, journalese, or cliches. (3) Good writing should be concrete. (4) Good writing should appeal to the reader’s senses. 4. What are the functions of news headlines? ●Summarize the news. ●Attract the reader’s attention with large print and sometimes with language of shocking or sensational effect. ●Index the news. ●Decorate the page. ●Fill the space. 5. What are the tips for producing great news features? ●Find a topic t hat’s doable. What you need to do is find a narrow, focused topic that can be covered reasonably well in the space of a 1,500-word news feature. ●Find real people. You have to have real people in your stories who will bring the topic you’re discussing to life. ●Get plenty of facts and statistics. ●Get the expert view. Experts lend news features authority and credibility. ●Get the big picture. This “big picture” kind of reporting shows that there's a larger context to the issue you’re writing about.