BE THE PRESS: LOCAL INTERVIEWS, NATIONAL NEWS

• learn how to research and write a newspaper article.
• analyze extensive information on a single selected issue in the 2008 presidential election.

• Students learn two formats for newspaper articles, the "straight news" article and the "In-depth" news article.
• Students choose a national issue of interest to them, and interview someone on the local level about that issue.
• Finished newspaper articles may be placed in school publications or in the newspaper serving the community.

• Distribute the "Straight News" and "In-depth News" handouts, along with a recent newspaper article.
• Review the principles of a straight news article, and ask students if they can find and label:
  • the "who/what/when/where/why/how" in the lead paragraph.
  • the decline in importance ("pyramid") of the details in the paragraphs that follow.
• Distribute National Issues Ideas and allow students to choose a topic. Encourage them to invent their own ideas for articles on national problems seen from the local viewpoint.
• Distribute and discuss the Templates handout, even though students are not yet ready to use it.
• Students should consult the Internet for background information on their chosen issues. (www.publicagenda.org is an excellent resource for this research)
• Assist students needing help in arranging interviews, especially if public officials are involved.
• Once students have gathered information, review the Templates handout. If there is time, slotting the information into the template could comprise a second class session.

For excellent and interested writers, an in-depth article can be assigned. (See second template.) The best straight news articles can be submitted to school papers or parent newsletters, and to community newspapers.

Contact Leah Clapman (extra@newshour.org) with outstanding articles that may be published on our Web site.