Quotes, Headlines & Photos – Comprehensive Study Notes

Keeping Audience Attention

• Goal: grab and maintain audience engagement in written, audio or visual journalism.

• Start with strongest material (inverted-pyramid: most important details first, least important last).

• Open with a strong verb and active voice.

• Beyond structure, add reinforcement tools: quotes, headlines, photos, clean style.

• Always remember primary focus = the audience, not the writer.

Tense Rules by Platform

• Radio / TV (broadcast): Present tense.
  Example: $(\text{A man is being arrested today.})$

• Online News: Present-tense variants (present-perfect or near-future) because events are unfolding the same day.
  Example: $(\text{A man has been arrested today.})$

• Print Newspapers: Past tense – the paper reaches readers a day later.
  Example: $(\text{A man was arrested yesterday.})$

• Consistency inside each story is crucial so readers instantly understand timing.

Quotes: Purpose & Value

• Provide authority, credibility, context, new info beyond media releases.

• Rare for pieces >3 paragraphs to omit quotes.

• Direct quotes should be placed exactly as said ("ums/ahs" can be tidied).

• Indirect quotes (paraphrases) summarise speech but never turned back into direct form.

• Quotes reassure audience journalist actually spoke to sources.

Attribution Mechanics

• Use said almost exclusively (objective, neutral).
  ✗ explained / commented / extrapolated → risk editorialising.
  ✓ said + past-tense verb in rest of sentence.
  Example: The teenager said Ocean Street had been dull since COVID.

• Broadcast scripts (radio/TV) keep says to preserve present tense.

Introducing a Speaker (first mention)

• Format: Organisation, Title, Full-name.
  Example: USC lecturer Peter English said …

• After first mention: surname only (English said).

• Confirm preferred honorific & name spelling during interview.

Quote Placement & Layout

• Speaker identification usually before the quote in hard news pieces.

• One sentence = one paragraph (news style).
  Facilitates quick scanning on mobile/online.

• Multi-sentence direct quotes stay together in same paragraph; each new paragraph starts fresh line.

• Follow outlet’s house style; compare three sites and observe patterns (exercise suggested in lecture).

Direct vs Indirect Examples

Quote-Style “Cheat Sheet” (Task 1 Hint)

• Always double quotation marks.

• Comma inside closing quote when attribution follows.

• Period inside quote if quote finishes paragraph.

• Ellipses acceptable to remove small, non-essential sections.

• Square brackets used to clarify pronouns or tense within quote (sparingly).

• Print and keep beside you while writing.

Headlines

• Function: biggest words on page; hook that drives reader into intro.

• Co-write with intro—avoid repeating identical words.

• Guidelines: 4–6 words; active voice; present tense; start w/ strong word/verb.

• Avoid slang, abbreviations & punctuation except unavoidable (e.g. “ABC”).

• Strive for single-line length; never spill 1 word onto next line.

• Daily Mail shows exception: SEO-driven 30-word headlines.

Example critique:

Monkey bites woman at Movie World on 
Gold Coast

• Repetition between headline and intro; word “Coast” overflow; consider rewriting.

Photos: Why They Matter

• Offer colour, context, emotional pull; sometimes best storytelling element.

• Essential for visual platforms (TV, online, social).

Three Shot Types

1. Establishing (wide) – sets scene.

2. Mid-range – subjects w/ some context.

3. Close-up – detail/emotion.

Planning & Execution

• Pre-visualise: light, location, framing, perspective.

• Take many shots; events evolve fast.

• Direct subjects—journalist knows desired message.

Composition Principles

• Simplicity: remove clutter; pick simple backgrounds.

• Rule of Thirds: enable phone grid; place focal points on intersections.

• Leading Space: for moving subjects, leave area into which they will move.

• Framing: foreground/background objects create depth.

• Perspective: vary height—crouch, climb, tilt camera to add interest.

• Horizontal orientation preferred for news sites; vertical ok for social.

Human Element & Verb

• Include people doing something (walking through puddle, holding prop) to convey action.

• Signage, placards add factual context.

Technical Phone Tips

• Enable grid; tap to set exposure/focus; experiment portrait vs landscape.

• Adjust exposure by sliding finger after focus lock.

Copyright-Free Image Sources

• Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Creative Commons Search, Wikimedia Commons, NASA archive.

• Acceptable fallback when live photo unobtainable (e.g., dolphins, magpies).

Captions

• ≤10 words, active voice.

• ID people left→right.

• Provide new information; avoid mind-reading (no "Smith looks sad").

• Credit photographer and agency/site.

Ethical / Practical Implications

• Avoid sensationalism; headlines must be backed by story substance.

• Accuracy paramount—misquotes risk credibility and legal exposure.

• Audience pays or invests attention; writers owe them clarity & truth.

• Planning photos ethically: no fake props that change meaning; okay if relevant to subject’s real context (actor w/ prop).

In-Class / Homework Activities

1. Compare quote styles on 3 news websites: speaker placement, 1-sentence paragraphs, punctuation.

2. Draft 4-6-word headlines & intros for same story, avoiding repetition.

3. Practice photographing same subject in establishing, mid & close-up; apply rule of thirds.

Key Takeaways for Task 1 (and Beyond)

• Audience first: craft intros & headlines as irresistible entry points.

• Maintain tense consistency relative to medium.

• Use said + past-tense for print/online; says for broadcast.

• Introduce sources fully once; surname thereafter.

• One sentence per paragraph; double quote marks; quote style sheet handy.

• Headlines: 4–6 strong present-tense words, no echo of intro.

• Photos: plan, compose, humanise; captions concise & credited.

• These fundamentals underpin clear, credible, engaging journalism across platforms.