Journalism Perspective: reporting story

checklist for the story

is there a headline? a subhead?

is your lede built around a real person who is identified? (something about the person you are writing is in the lede)

is that person described? (physical description, how the person looks like)

their work or position identified?

is there a so-what graph that explains to the reader where this story is going and what is its precise focus? (should be within the first four graphs of story)

have you self-edited, removing all unnecessary words?

are all numbers, statistics, facts and observations attributed?

have you proofread for spelling errors?

for factual errors?

for typos?

are there any awkward sentences or phrases that need to be rewritten?

have you written a balanced story, one that includes opposing viewpoints?

are the stakeholders of the story interviewed — those that stand to win or lose? (ie. refugees, unemployed, victims, perpetrators, law enforcement, officials, etc)

are all numbers and statistics properly placed in a meaningful context? (not just numerators, but denominators as well; not just percentages, but the absolute numbers as well - eg. 15% drop is meaningless unless we know what the number was to begin with - essential for scale)

have you avoided using the word “love” — except in the context of human emotion for another expressing a profound bond for that other?

have you avoided the expression of your own opinion or viewpoints except where reinforced by others in a position to know?

have you stated anything as fact that others of reasonable minds would dispute?

is the structure fluid and logical?

are the transitions seamless? have you double-checked the first sentence of each graph to make sure that flows logically and smoothly from the preceding paragraph and thought?

are your sentences relatively short (except where run-ons are more effective?) are your paragraphs short — no more than three or four sentences?

have you created scene — a scene of specific place — within your piece?

have you actually visited all actual sites critical to your piece?

is your kicker a regurgitation of what came before or does it provide a fresh fact or quote that forces the reader to think about the piece after she/he has finished reading it?

have you placed your story is context? (how does the situation you describe compare to other districts or regions or jurisdictions? is the situation unique to the one place or part of a regional and national pattern?)

have the people you interviewed, in addition to identifying problems, offered potential solution or fixes?

have you identified who is responsible for a given situation? not merely a single person, but within the context of a bureaucracy or administration or governmental structure?

no more than 1000 words