NEWSMAKER FEATURE ARTICLE

Page

of 3

COMM/THEA 387 – Introduction to TV News Production

ASSIGNMENT: Newsmaker Interview and Paper

This assignment should be approached from the perspective of it being an online article to be published on the web for a

news organization. Write it from a journalistic perspective. You are not a part of the article.

For this assignment, you will write a 900-1000 word feature article on a person who is a professional in the news media

industry. This person can be in front of the camera or behind the scenes. As long as they make their living as a broadcast

news professional, they are a qualified subject for this assignment.

The article should be double-spaced (12-point font, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins).

PROCESS: You should contact someone immediately and ask to have 20 – 30 minutes of their time for an interview.

Provide them with a deadline by which you must complete the interview. In your initial reach out – politely provide a

deadline by which you’d need a reply to set up an interview. In the interview, you should ask this person questions that

will give you insight into their career and career path. These questions should include, but are not limited to, something

along this line of questioning:

• how he/she broke into the industry

• how did he/she get to this point in his/her career

• what do his/her daily work duties entail

• how long does he/she typically work on a story

• what is the most interesting story he/she has ever worked on

• will he/she ever pursue another career outside journalism

• suggestions for someone looking to break into this field (i.e. a college student like you)

Make the interview like a structured conversation, and just talk to the news media professional like you would talk to a

friend of yours. You do NOT need to conduct the interview in person, but you should avoid an email interview. An

interview over facetime, zoom, skype or the phone is fine.

▪ After you have finished the interview, gather other details about the news media professional. Write the paper like

a feature article on that person.

▪ You should incorporate direct quotes from him/her and summarize a lot of the other points that were made.

▪ You are required to embed hyperlinks in your story that emphasize your interview subject’s story. (For example: If

you interview a reporter, you may hyperlink to his/her bio page, or his/her twitter page, or hyperlink to stories s/he has

done that s/he discussed with you in the interview. If you interview a news photographer, you may hyperlink to his/her

twitter page, or hyperlink to stories s/he has covered that s/he discussed with you in the interview.)

▪ Your article should also include at least one picture of that person.

There are also things you should NOT include or should avoid in your paper.

• Do NOT write the story in Question-and-Answer format. Q-and-A requires no analysis on your part and will not

receive a passing grade. You should write the story like an in-depth feature article, where you give the reader profound

analysis on this person and how he/she has gotten to this point.

• Do NOT include a Works Cited page or list of references. This is not a college paper, but rather a feature article.

Any links that you found online should be incorporated into your story as hyperlinks.

The person you are interviewing must be approved by the instructor before you conduct the

interview.

The written assignment is due as a Word Document attachment

submitted on CANVAS by TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, at 11:59 pm.

Article Grading Rubric

100-90 Excellent

• Points are perfectly conceptualized and supported by superior writing

• Accurately describes the whole scope of the subject and his/her career

• The article is developed logically

• The article flows effectively from beginning to end

• Demonstrates ability to connect, expand on, and critique details thoroughly throughout the article

• Exceptional quotations and summaries from your interview source are used to enhance the reader’s

understanding of the subject

• Superior usage of punctuation, spelling, and grammar

• Uses graceful language that skillfully communicates meaning to readers with clarity and fluency

• Uses quotes from the interview that powerfully support the article’s main focus and those quotes are properly

incorporated into the story

• Consistently follows AP style

• At least 4 hyperlinks are embedded in your article that support your points

• At least one picture has been added

• 3 – 4 pages in length

89-80 Good

• Clear points supported by effective writing

• Accurately describes the most important points of the subject and his/her career with a few minor omissions

• The article is adequately developed

• The flow is uninterrupted throughout the article

• Critiques of details are present, but are not overly thorough

• Direct quotes and summaries appear in context and support the reader’s understanding of the subject

• Few punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes that do not hinder the reader’s understanding

• Uses straightforward language that generally conveys meaning to readers

• Uses quotes from the interview that support the article’s main focus and those quotes are adequately

incorporated into the story

• AP style is generally followed

• At least 4 hyperlinks are embedded in your article that support your points

• At least one picture has been added

• 3 – 4 pages in length

79-70 Fair

• Points are moderately clear with competent writing

• Capably describes most important points of the subject and his/her career with several omissions

• The article is not fully developed

• The article fails to flow together at times

• Most quotations and summaries from your interview appear in context but do not support the reader’s

understanding of the subject

• Numerous punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes that slightly hinder the reader’s understanding

• Uses language that generally conveys meaning to reader with clarity

• Uses quotes from the interview to maintain most of the article’s main arguments

• AP style is followed sparingly

• At least 3 hyperlinks are embedded in your article that support your points

• At least one picture has been added

• Less than 3 pages in length

Less than 70 Unsatisfactory

• Points are unclear with inept writing

• Fails to describe or inaccurately describes the most important points of the subject and his/her career

• The article is not developed at all

• The article completely lacks flow

• Does not demonstrate ability to critique details or discuss details thoroughly

• Quotations and summaries are out of context and impede the reader’s understanding of the subject

• Many punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes that disrupt the reader’s understanding

• Uses language that sometimes impedes meaning

• Uses few direct quotes and does not properly incorporate those quotes into the story

• AP style is not used

• No hyperlinks are embedded in your article to support your points

• No pictures have been added

• Less than 3 pages in length