Please read the introduction and Section One (pages 3-41). Then, answer the following questions and be sure to exceed the requested word counts:
o What do you notice about the way he writes? Use specific examples, please. (75 words)
Bob Dotson writes stories to help and to influence his readers. He wants to help his readers get better at their writing by going in depth on his explanations. I noticed that he also adds a little bit of humor in his writing to entertain his readers and keep them intrigued in the book. Dotson is very straight up about what you need to do in order to be a good writer and reporter. He gives you tips and hints about what is easiest. He makes his writing so that you can understand everything. His use of details and explanations really helped me understand what he was trying to get across.
o What did you learn from reading pages 9 to 27? (75 words)
I learned that a soundbite is when you’re interviewing someone and you wait and pause after they answer to see if there is anymore that they will say to fill the silence. The silence will be uncomfortable but with that, the interviewee will think you don’t understand and go on explaining more. I learned that non-question/question is when you talk to someone about what is going on in their lives and then gradually bring the subject around the topic you want to discuss. I learned that you will always have deadlines to meet and to meet them; it is easiest to work on the middle of your story first because it is the easiest to write. Then you can write your intro and conclusion. Keep an ideas notebook to write down any extra notes or thoughts to add into your story.
o With the scripts: What do suppose is described in each column? Why would it be split like that? What else is interesting about the scripts? (50 words)
The left hand side of the script is supposed to describe what is going on and give some sort of background on the next shot. It is intended to explain the shots that are taking place. The right hand side of the script is the narration and the interviews that are happening. The say who is saying it and what they said. I think that the script is split like that to make it easier to understand what is going on and intended to emphasize the shots or actions. I think that it’s interesting that it is split but it makes things different and I guess easier to read because it moves smoothly.
o On Page 34 (and to the end of the section), Dotson writes about a long-form feature. Find one of these (a story at least 4 minutes long) on a TV news magazine such as Rock Center, 20/20 or 60 Minutes. Then, give and explain examples of how the storyteller uses the five bulleted traits Dotson gives on Page 34. (200 words)
I watched Death at School: Parents protest dangerous discipline for autistic, disabled kids by Brian Ross, off 20/20. It was about the debate on whether or not the punishment disabled kids get at school is too harsh and should be changed. The first scene was set with Terry Moran opening the story and setting up what Ross was going to be investigating. He talked about how most schools punishment is a trip to the principal’s office but for some it’s being locked in a window-less room or being locked up, alone. There were videos then played of footage from a school where the student was going through “skin shock therapy”. There was Ross being voiced-over during the video but also the natural sound of the screams of the student and talking of the teachers. Foreshadowing was used in the title when it says ‘death at school’ because some of the disabled kids died from their punishments the school had given them. The conflict was the distraught parents that wanted to do something about the punishment but couldn’t because there is no law against it in some states, as of now. The character growth was when one of the students mothers, who had died from the punishments, was being interviewed and she was obviously very upset about it and angry but realized that she now needs to help others so that doesn’t happen to other families. The resolution ended with there being schools that wouldn’t use harsh punishments, or even put their hands on the student, and that their system was even more effective than isolation or things of the sort.
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