I have trained in reporting, writing and editing skills for more than 100 newsrooms, conferences, universities and seminars. Each of these workshops combines traditional journalism skills with digital tools and techniques.
Editing
These workshops are designed for frontline editors working with reporters and other content providers:
- Accuracy first
- Helping reporters improve stories
- Developing story ideas
- Covering the big, breaking story
- Covering your community as a team
- Coaching journalists for multiple platforms
- Managing your changing workload
- The One-Minute (OK, Maybe 5-Minute) Editor
- Make every word count
Copy editing
- Copy editor struggles with headline
- SEO headline writing
- Writing alluring cutlines
- Make every word count
- Grammar matters
Reporting and writing
I don’t see writing and reporting as separate skills or processes, so most of these involve both, though some may emphasize one more than the other:
- Juggling daily news with enterprise
- Writing clearly on deadline
- Accuracy first
- Covering the big, breaking story
- Finding lively stories in boring budgets
- Make stories relevant to readers
- Scribbling with purpose (a workshop on taking good notes)
- Mastering your beat (this was the genesis of my self-guided News University course, Beat Basics and Beyond)
- Mining the data on your beat
- Ready for the road
- Make routine stories special
- Developing and cultivating sources
- Developing story ideas
- Every good story starts with a good idea
- Shut up and listen: Getting the most from your interviews
- Getting personal: Learning and telling life’s intimate stories
- Writing for readers
- Writing must-read columns
- The storytelling process: Writing as you report (part 1 of a four-part seminar on narrative journalism)
- Sweat the details (part 2 of a four-part seminar on narrative journalism)
- Using story elements (part 3 of a four-part seminar on narrative journalism)
- Make your story sing (part 4 of a four-part seminar on narrative journalism)
- Choose the right story structure
- Tell your story in layers
- Grammar matters
- Strong from the start: Writing crisp, tight leads
- Make every word count
- Organizing the complex story
- Putting on the polish: Rewriting to give your stories a fine finish
Contact me at stephenbuttry (at) gmail.com if you want to discuss fees and services. For information on my training background, consult my career map or the summary of my training career.
[…] used first person and I was too much a part of the story.) Cartoons accompanying Weingarten’s columns frequently include caricatures that make him recognizable (I recognized him the moment I saw him, […]
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