On Day One of the ASU Reynolds High School Journalism Institute, the self-proclaimed borderline seductive Steve Elliott said the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation had invested $4,286.71 (insert gasp!) on each of the 35 participants to be here for the next two weeks.
"Please, be worth it," he quipped.
That's just one of many Steve-isms -- some funny, all meaningful -- I tucked away and plan to steal. I mean, borrow. With attribution of course.
- "The more red pen on your paper, the more I love you."
- "You are what you read."
- "You can't write your way around vapid reporting."
And this gem: "Barf it out."
That last one couldn't have been less appealing before lunch, but it spoke to me. Steve used this imperative while talking about generating story ideas, brainstorming in particular. It forced me to think about how my own students come up with stories. (By the way, that's my spring 2014 class in the photo. They're selecting stories for the January-February issue of The Hi-Times, which you should check out at thscurrent.com.)
When my students offer their story ideas, they are usually seated in a semi-circle. As they plan each issue, my goal is for them to share ideas that an editor will then write on the board. I thought this arrangement was clever, and perhaps it would have worked if more than two of my 11 students ever offered up suggestions. Or they didn't all complain about the editor's handwriting. And don't get me started on how they tear apart their classmates' ideas. No, this process for me is not a thing of beauty.
The grim reality Steve addressed today is true: Ideas don't just come to you. To get my students more involved in this process, I have realized they're going to have to know what's going on. I will encourage them to read more news. I will absolutely teach them how to story map, a concept I had never heard of until today. That sounds way better than regular old brainstorming.
But I'd also like to try Steve's new and improved version of brainstorming: Write quickly and thoroughly. Don't stop to evaluate items. Don't toss ideas out of hand.
In other words, we'll barf it out.
Ginny Miller
Tupelo High School
Tupelo, Miss. (old AP style)
Tupelo, Mississippi (new AP style)
"Please, be worth it," he quipped.
That's just one of many Steve-isms -- some funny, all meaningful -- I tucked away and plan to steal. I mean, borrow. With attribution of course.
- "The more red pen on your paper, the more I love you."
- "You are what you read."
- "You can't write your way around vapid reporting."
And this gem: "Barf it out."
That last one couldn't have been less appealing before lunch, but it spoke to me. Steve used this imperative while talking about generating story ideas, brainstorming in particular. It forced me to think about how my own students come up with stories. (By the way, that's my spring 2014 class in the photo. They're selecting stories for the January-February issue of The Hi-Times, which you should check out at thscurrent.com.)
When my students offer their story ideas, they are usually seated in a semi-circle. As they plan each issue, my goal is for them to share ideas that an editor will then write on the board. I thought this arrangement was clever, and perhaps it would have worked if more than two of my 11 students ever offered up suggestions. Or they didn't all complain about the editor's handwriting. And don't get me started on how they tear apart their classmates' ideas. No, this process for me is not a thing of beauty.
The grim reality Steve addressed today is true: Ideas don't just come to you. To get my students more involved in this process, I have realized they're going to have to know what's going on. I will encourage them to read more news. I will absolutely teach them how to story map, a concept I had never heard of until today. That sounds way better than regular old brainstorming.
But I'd also like to try Steve's new and improved version of brainstorming: Write quickly and thoroughly. Don't stop to evaluate items. Don't toss ideas out of hand.
In other words, we'll barf it out.
Ginny Miller
Tupelo High School
Tupelo, Miss. (old AP style)
Tupelo, Mississippi (new AP style)
It was interesting to develop that presentation with help from some very good guides, including "Reporting and Writing the News" (or something close to that) by Carole Ridge out of the University of Alaska. I've done a lot of these things informally through the years, but showing students how it works so they can take ownership has proven effective in my newsroom. I'm glad you found the exercises useful.
ReplyDeleteSteve Elliott
Arizona State University
Phoenix
I agree that I would love to try the "barf it all out" method in my classroom. So often students stop to criticize an idea once it's spoken and it derails the rest of the brainstorming session. Good thoughts, Ginny!
ReplyDeleteSharon Northington
McCracken County High School
Paducah, Ky.
Also, "don't let perfection get in the way of progress" is another fav of mine I've picked up along the way to remind those kids with frozen fingers at the keyboard. Start writing. You'll feel better.
ReplyDeleteMy news staff uses a similar process. We also have the problem of only a few people generating all the ideas. This fall, we'll try barfing it out.
ReplyDeleteShannon Kuehmichel
This is such a great way to make sure students are not intimidated about writing their ideas out. Even if it isn't good, other students will be doing the exact same thing.
ReplyDelete