Pretty Clever. Pretty Damn Clever. Or To Put It Another Way: I Have Written Words

One thing young journalists -- and bad journalists of any age -- can't seem to resist is the over-generalized lead:

President Bush gave a speech or Bush talked about Iraq.

Life is short, and words are precious, but how do you make that point to students in their first reporting class? That is, how do you make it sooner rather than later? Well, here's my latest handout.

On Being Specific/Robertson


You ask me for a job recommendation, and I write:

I have had many students. Edith Eastman was one of my students.

Edith Eastman took my reporting class.

Edith Eastman wrote stories while in my reporting class.

Edith Eastman did homework while in my reporting class.

Edith Eastman said things about journalism while in my reporting class.

A Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist visited our class, and Edith Eastman asked her a question.

A Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist visited our class and asked Edith Eastman if it was all right to look through people’s keyholes to see what they were doing, and Edith Eastman answered the question.

When I asked Edith Eastman if it were all right to steal stories from other students, she answered the question.

Over the years, I have hundreds of students. A few are wonderful, some are very good, most are average and some are terrible. Let me assure you with absolute confidence that Edith Eastman fell into one of those four categories.

You ask me to say something about whether or not you should offer Edith Eastman a job. My answer is that I think she would like to be offered a job.