Madison Commons Workshops - Materials

Madison Commons workshops offer citizen journalists basic information about journalism principles and creating stories that will engage readers while providing accurate information.

There is a wealth of information available on the web, and we’ve gathered articles with links to additional resources from some of those sites that citizen journalists may find helpful during their formal training and continued development. Our workshops emphasize a number of features, including accuracy and transparency in reporting.

No Train, No Gain [1] is one site that citizen journalists may find useful in explaining ways to ensure accuracy [2], whether developing a profile story about a local chef who teaches culinary courses or investigating contaminated water in local wells.

The Knight Citizen News Network (KCNN) [3] also outlines steps to ensure accuracy, and it also examines other journalism principles [4], such as fairness and transparency. While we talk about journalism principles, Commons workshops also offer ideas about how to interview individuals, take notes, and structure stories.

In addition to the No Train, No Gain [1] and KCNN sites [3], citizen journalists also may find valuable ideas at such sites as Poynter Online [5], a website for professional journalists with plenty of suggestions that will work for citizen journalists; and the Providence Journal [6], a daily newspaper in Providence, R.I.

Are you stuck with how to write a lead? Learn how one [7] Providence Journal writer develops her leads. Maybe you may want to consider an anecdote lead [8].

If you’re not sure how to structure your story, you may want to consider the inverted pyramid [9], a style with solid roots. If you’re writing a profile story, you may want to consider a narrative story structure [10].

Stories done well usually include planning and strong editing. The Madison Commons editors will help you with the editing process, but here are some helpful ideas [11] and numerous tip sheets [12] to use throughout the reporting, writing, and editing processes.