Course Readings
In our very first class, while discussing how to write a creative lede, we focused on a story from The Guardian about this athlete
Noah Lyles
While discussing how to carry out a successful interview, we talked about the importance of asking these types of questions, rather than yes-or-no questions
Open-Ended Questions
This is the first line of a story, and the line that establishes the who/what/when/where/why in a news story
Lede
During our first Guest Speaker Session, Elliotte Friedman discussed his early experiences covering this league (before he began working in hockey)
NBA
The first step for your Profile Story assignment was a story pitch, where you had to include an angle, a hook, three potential sources, and this
A working headline
When we first discussed how to write a Profile, we focused on a profile of a commentator who worked in a niche sport. What sport was it?
Ping Pong / Table Tennis
Though detailed preparation is crucial, it’s also important to be flexible during the interview process, and to add in these types of questions during the interview
Follow-Up Questions
This is the closing line of a feature, that leaves readers with something memorable
Kicker
Our first guest speaker, Elliotte Friedman talked about flying to this city, simply to be at the morning skate in case any players had issues with his work and wanted to speak with him
Winnipeg
We did an in-class group exercise where you were asked to organize different story elements, and outline a story.
Name the athlete that group exercise was focused on
Daryl Watts
In Week 10, we discussed a piece from the Washington Post about the intersection of sports and politics, including the writer's memories of reporting on a certain iconic athlete's funeral.
Who was the athlete?
Muhammad Ali
This quote is formatted incorrectly — where is the error?
“It’s kind of unheard of to win as many things as I have” Biles says. “I don’t physically understand how I do it."
Missing comma between 'have' and quotation mark
This is the (shape-based) name given to the basic structure of a news story, describing the importance of putting the most newsworthy information at the top of the story
Inverted Triangle / Inverted Pyramid
In our second Guest Speaker Session, Alex Wong talked about living and working in this city as he established himself as a writer
New York City
In our discussions of Profile Stories, we looked at an example of a Profile written by Kristina Rutherford.
Name the athlete that story was focused on
Chloe Primerano
In our discussion of multi-platform storytelling, I showed you three examples in class of interesting ways to tell stories on social media.
Name any one of the outlets that put out any one of those three pieces.
Wired / The Guardian
When we first discussed the interviewing process, I mentioned the importance of asking about this when trying to learn about your source's important experiences
Memory (i.e. what they remember thinking/feeling during those experiences, not just what happened)
This is the paragraph in a feature profile that closes the opening section, and lays out for the reader what the story is going to be about
Nut Graf
Our second Guest Speaker, Alex Wong, discussed his work on an internet series hosted by a former Toronto Raptor.
Name that series, or that Raptor.
'How Hungry Are You?' / Serge Ibaka
We did an in-class group exercise focused on multi-platform storytelling, where you were asked to pick an athlete and come up with three types of story ideas.
What were the three types of ideas you were asked to come up with?
A written piece, a video broadcast piece, and a social media piece
In Week 6, we discussed a reading that included this quote, describing the process of Profile writing:
“You try to get as close to the way another person sees the world as you possibly can, then relay it.”
Name the author of this piece, OR the outlet the piece appeared in
Zach Baron / GQ
When discussing the importance of observation in the interview process, I told a story about observing this player nearly leave after our interview, but then return to push in his chair.
Connor Bedard
When we discussed the reporting process for a feature profile, we talked about the fact that we learn who someone is through both interviewing and this
Observation (i.e. observing how they talk, what they do during the interview, how they move through the world)
Early in the semester, I played an audio clip for the class, where this acclaimed writer spoke about his perspective on storytelling, and how he wants his writing to ‘haunt’ the reader
Ta-Nehisi Coates
When we discussed Data Stories in class, we looked at a number of examples, including one that compared the overall scoring production of these two iconic athletes.
Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo