What Do Good Articles/Writer's require

[Pat_Lowe]

I thought I'd put this to the classic forum since many of you are older men and have a vast experience in reading articles and journalistic pieces from a variety of different sources. I am currently studying Communications at university and am looking to major in Journalism, so advice/knowledge would be helpful. I'd be interested in seeing what you think makes up a good article, What makes a good writer? Who are some good writer's to study? etc etc

[Pat_Lowe]

which university?

A good writer requires a natural voice combined with the discipline of knowing your craft...just like a fighter must find his style and then put the training into it.

A good writer is able to tell a story, naturally, seemlessly, like he's speaking it to you. YOu as a reader should be able to catch his personality.

If you have any in depth questions feel free to ask. I graduated from a top 5 journalism school, and was published in the Ring, World Boxing, CNN, did scripts for radio shows, etc.

Western Sydney, Not the best university but in regards to its Communications department it is the best in the region.
Thanks for the answer though, I'm only in my 2nd semester now but when I have assignments or major articles to write I'm going to need to come up with some pretty good material, hence why I've asked the forum.

[john garfield]

which university?

A good writer requires a natural voice combined with the discipline of knowing your craft...just like a fighter must find his style and then put the training into it.

A good writer is able to tell a story, naturally, seemlessly, like he's speaking it to you. YOu as a reader should be able to catch his personality.

If you have any in depth questions feel free to ask. I graduated from a top 5 journalism school, and was published in the Ring, World Boxing, CNN, did scripts for radio shows, etc.

Excellent advice, r.

[Pat_Lowe]

Thanks John.


And also, I'd add that thinking too much about what youre writing makes your writing suffer. It should come naturally. Great writing requires lots of rewriting, so that initial draft should be a natural regurgitation of whats in your mind.

You'll have two basic types of articles, narrative and news. Narrative is like youre telling a story, often i start with a story or paint a picture...a la "Walking into ____ Gym is akin to walking into a furnace. The heat comes off the canvass...etc, etc"

News follows the reverse pyramid. The most important news comes first and then is put in order of importance.

Excellent thankyou very much.

[salsanchezfan]

...............Good points here; for all his wealth of information about older fighters, Bert Sugar is a horrific writer because he leans on formula too much; he's a one-trick pony.

I wonder just how well a Leibling would play in these times, where a more informal style seems to be the demand. :huh

[AREA 53]

I must confess certainly when reading boxing litrature, the howlers one can encounter sometimes makes me wonder if the article / Chapter has been outsourced to an office Junior ? so where historical events are concerned Accuracey bourne of good research is probably paramount once that foundation is established, one can express ones personal views and opinions from that solid base

This may sound a bit Silly, but i would recommemd seeing an old but good Clarke Gable / Doris Day film called "Teachers Pet" it has a Journalistic Backdrop, and one golden peice of Advice - Never forget the 5 W's (Who, Why, What, Where, and When !)

- ( Getting your Spelling Right also Helps !)

[janitor]

I thought I'd put this to the classic forum since many of you are older men and have a vast experience in reading articles and journalistic pieces from a variety of different sources. I am currently studying Communications at university and am looking to major in Journalism, so advice/knowledge would be helpful. I'd be interested in seeing what you think makes up a good article, What makes a good writer? Who are some good writer's to study? etc etc

In terms of scientific writing the trick is to structure every sentence corectly and put information in the order people expect it.

Sounds simple but is a pain in the but to implement over an article.

A sentence should be structured, context, then punchline.

If you have caried out research that suggests that the moon is made of green cheese then you say:

Our research, including A, B, and C suggests that the moon is made of green cheese.

not

The moon is made of green cheese acording to our research, including A, B, and C.

[SorceryatCaesar]

go back and read mike katz' boxing articles for the ny times - you can pull them up from times archives or proquest.

journalism is an art and a craft - you need an instinctive feel for storytelling, and you also need the basic tools of reporting. a good way to learn is to just read the good journalists - see how they did it. katz, mike marley (ny post), rich hoffer (la times and SI), wally matthews (newsday), ron borges (boston globe).