General NewsSpot News The Core of Photojournalism What

General News/Spot News The Core of Photojournalism

What is News? ü Definitions of ‘news’ have always proven elusive, but there are some guidelines. ü Think about what you see in a newspaper -- what are the patterns?

Components of News ü Politics ü Safety ü Investigative/Uncovering Corruption ü Community Importance ü Human Interest ü Entertainment ü Unusual/Odd

How Photojournalists Contribute ü Supportive Photos ü Most news photos accompany news stories ü These consist mostly of event coverage like political speeches, city hall meetings, criminal trials, and community meetings. ü In most cases, photographers are requested after the story has developed.

Stand Alone Photos ü Occasionally a news photo will stand alone -that is, it will not accompany a story and may have an “extended caption” to explain its relevance. ü Extended captions may consist of three or four sentences that do roughly what a news lead and nut graph would do in a news story.

Spot News Photos ü May be packaged with a news story or without. ü What makes it different from general news is its spontaneity. ü Examples of spot news photos come during bank robberies, car accidents, criminal arrests, fires, extreme weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes and floods.

Tips for good General News ü First, look for scheduled campus events on the campus calendar at Chico State’s Web site. ü If you’d rather cover an event outside of Chico State. Look at a community calendar. ü Some event may require you to get permission or credentials, so be sure to call ahead for information. ü Also, be sure to cover an event that is likely to offer good aesthetic opportunities -indoors, low-light and sterile environments

Tips for Spot News ü Must be spontaneous! ü If you have access to a police scanner, use it! ü Listen to radio stations where news is flashed regularly; if there is an accident announced, go find it and take pictures. ü If you see an accident, pull over and take pictures. The bloodier, the better ü If you hear about a house fire go find it.

More Spot News tips ü Know your rights ü You can be near accidents, fires and crime scenes, just don’t intrude on officials’ progress or cross marked police lines. ü No matter what police say to you, you DO have a right to be near these scenes as long as you are on public property (e. g. street outside of burning house).

More Practical Tips ü Look in Chico State’s “free speech zone” for spontaneous events. ü Hang around the Orion’s photo room for access to a police scanner.

Yet more tips ü If you go to a place where there are officials: ü Introduce yourself right away -- that way you don’t look creepy or out of place. ü Be friendly even if they aren’t, they often warm up if you are initially nice. ü Even though it may be scary, dead or injured accident victims make good spot news photos, just be sure to be respectful of all relevant parties when capturing photographs.