By Hennie England
My first day at the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists introduced me to the basics of of journalism. On a day consisting of rain and questionable food, I learned how to write news stories, feature stories, and shoot broadcasts.
The structure of stories varies based on what type they are. Written news stories, for example, start with the most important details and as it goes on the details become more insignificant. In an upside down triangle shape. This is because when editing the information that is not needed or does not fit will be cut from the bottom. Feature stories are written in an hourglass shape. The most important details are still at the top, but at the end there are more important details.
Broadcast news stories take the shape of a diamond. They start by focusing on one person experiencing an event or problem. Then, they branch out by describing how the person is not alone and many other people experience this with them. Showing the broad scope of the event. They end by checking back in with the original person and their problems.
The thing I enjoyed learning about the most was how to shoot video broadcasting. one thing that stuck with me was “The Mantra.” This is a wide shot, medium shot, tight shot, super tight shot, action shot, reaction shot, and to capture the moment. We practiced this by taking a series of shots from each of these angles, the aim being to tell a coherent story. I took videos of a bench with a water fountain in the foreground. This was my wide shot. Then a bird landed on the bench and I took medium and close up shots of that. The bird flying away and the empty bench were my action and reaction shots. Together these shots capture the moment and tell the story.
In between these lessons, we went to lunch. The food was not good, but later the dinner food made up for it. There was chicken, rice, pasta, and fries. The best part was the cheesecake I had for dessert.
The craziest part of the day was the rain. While the whole Greene Team was walking to the newsroom, it started pouring. Everyone got soaked. But, overall, the day was fun and I’m excited to learn more.