An Introduction to News Writing
3 Saturdays
January 20, January 27, & February 3, 2024
1:30PM -3:00PM
Corte Madera Store - $115
Whether you are an aspiring reporter or simply eager to polish your editorial skills, join journalist Mitchell Sam Rossi as he shares his insight and experiences from a forty-year career writing for various news organizations and monthly periodicals.
During this three-part workshop, Mitchell will illustrate the distinctive techniques of news gathering and article structure. Discussions will highlight the Five Ws, the Inverted Pyramid format, and how to create factual stories that do not feel heavy-handed.
The 90-minute sessions will cover:
- ways to find compelling stories
- developing reliable sources
- how to apply long-established news practices to your writing.
- interviewing techniques and the essential fact-checking processes.
- creating their leads and initial paragraphs with in-class exercises
- the ethics of news reporting
- objectivity versus opinion, fairness and balance, and how accuracy and clarity are the cornerstones of good news writing
- how news bureaus determine what is or is not a newsworthy story
- how to be sure your story ideas reach the printed page.
While discussions will focus on the fast-paced world of news reporting, the skills and techniques covered in class can be applied to a range of markets and will expand every writer’s toolbox.
Mitchell Sam Rossi is a journalist, author, and award-winning screenwriter. Over his forty-year career, he has written about environmental issues, community development, travel, automobiles, and technology. For fifteen years, Mitchell was a reporter and associate editor at the Los Angeles Times Calendar Section. An avid traveler and photographer, he holds a B.A in journalism and an M.P.W. in professional writing, both from the University of Southern California. Mitchell is a member of P.E.N., Left Coast Writers, and California Writers Club.