How Does the Media "Spin" a Story?

1. Go to the following website.
http://www.forbes.com/celebrities/#page:3_sort:0_direction:asc_search:_filter:All%20categories

2. Select a celebrity from among the top 25 Most Powerful Celebrities.

3. Follow the directions and fill out the handout on MEDIA SPIN.   What have you discovered about how the media portrays celebrities?  What is SPIN?   What is BIAS?

4. Post a comment on the blog and turn in your handouts for credit.

Finish your 1000 word story!

Shattered Glass/ 1000 Word Feature Article

Continue to work on your 1000 word article and we will also view Shattered Glass period 8.

Finish presentations/ Work on 300 word articles

1000, 500, and 300 word articles

300 Word Articles--the short and long of it!

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/182-questions-to-write-or-talk-about/?_r=0

There is a special kind of magazine article known as the 300-word article.   Here is your next assignment and some articles about it:

theamericanscholar.org/the-300-word-challenge/
William Zinsser's article

300words.posterous.com/

www.arcticllama.com/blog/writing-tips/300-words-about-writing-300-words/
How-to

www.drostdesigns.com/how-to-write-a-300-word-article-in-30-minutes-or-less/


www.donna-warren.com/portfolio/seo.html
an example of a 300 word article

Feature Articles

Feature Articles

FEATURE ARTICLES
A feature article is a creative article that deals with real events, issues, and trends.
However, unlike straight news articles, it places emphasis on the people involved rather
than on the facts of the news.
There are seven types of feature articles described on these pages. NOTE: Most feature
articles have elements of more than one kind.
THE HUMAN-INTEREST FEATURE
· This is the most common type of feature article.
· This type typically reports on someone’s success in spite of great odds.
· It may recall a tragic predicament.
· It may share a continuing struggle supported only by hope and faith.
THE PERSONALITY FEATURE
· The subject of the article may be famous or not so famous but has done something of interest
to others.
· This type usually shows how a person gained recognition.
· The personality feature is very much like a character sketch.
“THE BEST” ARTICLES
· The Courier-Journal has a column that publishes reviews of the “best” products of all kinds.
· This type of article usually includes the writer’s personal experiences with the product.
· It includes proof and examples that the product is the best of its kind.
· The article includes information about where to get the product and how much it costs.
· The article usually has a catchy title.
THE NEWS FEATURE
· This type of article brings a human-interest focus to breaking news.
· It adds personal involvement to what may otherwise be a distant, seemingly unimportant
event.

THE HOW-TO FEATURE
· This article explains how to do something – usually a complex process that most people
would not know how to do.
· The best how-to articles begin by telling the reader why it is important or beneficial for him
or her to know how to do this.
· The article explains the steps of the process in enough detail so that another person can do
this process.
· This article also includes a list of all of the materials needed to do this process.
THE PAST EVENTS FEATURE
· This article focuses on an historical event or historical celebration.
· The article typically includes research but is not like an encyclopedia report. The article
serves as a human interest history lesson.
· This type of writing is usually puts a “human face” on history. In other words, it lets the
reader know something about the people who were part of history.
THE INFORMATIONAL FEATURE
· This type of article shows insightful coverage of a topic.
· It gives detailed information focused on one aspect of a given topic.
· The article often refers to sources of research but is not like an encyclopedia report. Instead,
the writer makes a personal connection to the subject and includes his/her voice.


Various Ways to Include
Details in an Article:
Anecdotes Examples/Non-examples
Vignettes Tables/Graphs/Charts
Descriptions Facts
Comparison Contrast
Snapshots Pictures/Drawings
Reasons Quotations
Flashback Foreshadowing
Information adapted from Webster’s New World High School Writer’s Notebook

Types of Text Features:
Headings
Fonts
Subheadings
Bullets
Offsets
Text Boxes
Color Ink
Italics
Bold Font
Underlining
All Capital Letters