Howdy, and welcome back; What’s up?
Yep, that’s right “WHAT” is up for more about the WHAT business, with a warning to the wise:
AVOID GENERIC WHAT’S
In other words, when is a what is not a what ?
or what I like to call NON-WHATS
Time and time again, especially students or even some adult print news journalists will plug in ‘generic’ whats — aka: NON WHATS
Here are a few samples to clarify:
A the School Board held a meeting, a candidate made a speech, a council agreed upon an agenda, an agreement was reached, a decision was rendered, a debate took place, a letter was composed and sent , someone took a trip somewhere, a board considered something. A policy was implemented, the legislature passed a law, the planning department approved (or rejected) a new city development plan and so on.
The fact that a plane took off or people went to the grocery store is not a WHAT in the sense of newsworthiness. These kinds of things that describe WHAT we do routinely are commonplace and non-descript.
I mean really, no offense, is there something of public interest or importance in the fact that you went to work or school today?
It’s not news (or if it is, we have some problems)
So Think further about those generic , and sad to say, all too common NON WHAT’s
Here’s a question for you: WHAT did all of those faux whats NOT DO?
They did not tell you WHAT is so important about them.
They didn’t tell us WHAT the speech, decision, meeting etc. was all about: its motives, impact, specifics, practicality, significance in terms of change or perpetuating the status quo and so on.
As the news reporter, you have to let the reader know WHAT the policy said or will or will not do, or WHAT the effects were or debate substance revealed.
Well, that seems easy enough.
But try these two major presidential decrees on for size. These kinds of public pronouncements, be they written or spoken by a prominent entity, are the basis of many a news story.
A good reporter will use such material as the foundation for interviews to add detail and various story angles.
For the narrower purpose of this lesson though, just listen to each and see if you begin to get a bead on the dual WHAT’s they contain, (one for each document)
Following that you will go on to read the text of each for the exercise you will undertake.
As you listen, formulate an initial impression of the WHAT for each .
Then, pause the audio and refer to the print versions of the two Documents located at the bottom of the text version for this lesson.
Resume the audio after you have read the documents. In your note guide, answer the three questions you will see after the second document.
For the What of 9980, if you put something to the effect that Truman ordered an end to various types of discrimination in Federal Employment and designated Fair Employment Officers to monitor the government’s employment practices, you are right on track.
For 9981, if you characterized the main effect as Truman ordered racial integration or desegregation in the US military, you have the gut of the WHAT for that landmark Executive Order.
For your generic NON WHAT if you wrote down that “Truman issued two Executive Orders” you are spot on.
Ok, so here you can take a look as to how the NYT wrote its dual WHAT lede based on both of the orders on that historic day and compare that to your draft lede.
“President Truman ordered today the end of discrimination in the armed forces as “rapidly as possible” and instituted a fair employment practices policy throughout the civil branch of the Federal Government. “
Here, again, we have a WHO/WHAT lede, this time with a twist: it has a double what.
Note also where the WHEN is placed, and holds to the principle to NEVER NEVER NEVER start a lede with When .
Of course, there was much more information to follow that lede as the story moved more into the policy details of the orders, coverage of his speech announcing them, the reactions of jubilation by Civil Rights advocates, and defiance by segregationists, the politics and political motives behind the moves, speculation on how such change would be implemented and accepted by those in the military and the Federal work force and so on.
That’s where the real sinews of the story come together, taking us past the headlines.
But again, we will look at such matters in another lesson on the “Anatomy of a news story.”
Now for a few details: note where the WHEN IS PLACED :
Not at the start, that’s for sure.
A news article is not a speech like those of FDR, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy..” or Lincoln’s “Four score and seven years ago…” in his famed Gettysburg address.
We love our “Once upon a time “ bedtime story openings, underscored by the beloved “A long time ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away” in Star Wars lore…. BUT IT AIN’T NEWS WRITING BABY!
In the case of the desegregation lede the when is placed right after the first ————- PAUSE Right….. the first WHO: “President Truman today….”
“When” often follows in second or third place when it comes to the who/what or what/who lede constructs.
There will come times when you will struggle with where to put the when as it may interrupt the flow or feel grammatically clunky, but the cardinal rule cannot be breeched.
NEVER, NEVER NEVER START A LEDE WITH……. Yeah, you get it.
That wraps up Part II of the W/H lesson, and please join us as soon as you can for Part III, on WHY AND HOW.
Document texts follow:
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DOCUMENT 1 for 5 W’s 1H Lesson, Part II :
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9980 PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN, JULY 26 1948
REGULATIONS GOVERNING FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES WITHIN THE FEDERAL ESTABLISHMENT
WHEREAS the principles on which our Government is based require a policy of fair employment throughout the Federal establishment, without discrimination because of race, color, religion, or national origin; and
WHEREAS it is desirable and in the public interest that all steps be taken necessary to insure that this long-established policy shall be more effectively carried out:
NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:
1. All personnel actions taken by Federal appointing officers shall be based solely on merit and fitness; and such officers are authorized and directed to take appropriate steps to insure that in all such actions there shall be no discrimination because of race, color, religion, or national origin.
2. The head of each department in the executive branch of the Government shall be personally responsible for an effective program to insure that fair employment policies are fully observed in all personnel actions within his department.
3. The head of each department shall designate an official thereof as Fair Employment Officer…..
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Document 2 for 5W’s 1H Part II :
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981
PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN JULY 26 1948
Establishing the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity In the Armed Forces.
WHEREAS it is essential that there be maintained in the armed services of the United States the highest standards of democracy, with equality of treatment and opportunity for all those who serve in our country’s defense:
NOW THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, by the Constitution and the statutes of the United States, and as Commander in Chief of the armed services, it is hereby ordered as follows:
1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.
2. There shall be created in the National Military Establishment an advisory committee to be known as the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, which shall be composed of seven members to be designated by the President.
3. The Committee is authorized on behalf of the President to examine into the rules, procedures and practices of the Armed Services in order to determine in what respect such rules, procedures and practices may be altered or improved with a view to carrying out the policy of this order….etc etc.
HERE ARE YOUR QUESTIONS TO BE COMPOSED IN WRITING :
PLEASE LABEL YOUR ANSWERS AS “ TRUMAN POLICY ‘WHATS’ “ AND LETTER THEM a) b) and c) :
a) Write down a generic NON WHAT that encompasses both of the documents.
b.) Write down WHAT THE WHAT is for each.
c) Write a draft lede for a news story based on the wording of each of the Executive Orders . ( that will be 2 separate ledes )
d) Write a separate lede that combines both of the WHAT’S
At this point , please resume the audio and listen or listen and read along: