Brownbag: newsroom jargon for an in-house training session
A Best Newspaper Writing Brown Bag is a blueprint for a newsroom conversation on the craft of reporting and writing. It provides everything journalists need for a balanced meal:
Side dish: introduction and analysis by a Poynter faculty member.
Dessert: inspiration from American Society of Newspaper Editors Writing Award winners, gleaned from their interviews in Best Newspaper Writing.
Beverage: Talking Points and Assignment Desk suggestions that can guide the discussion or the steps needed to take your writing and editing to the next level.
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How to use a Best Newspaper Writing Brown Bag
In a newsroom or classroom:
- Schedule a Brown Bag session.
- Distribute copies in advance. (All Brown Bags are available as PDF files, so they’re easy to print out.)
- Use the content — award-winning journalism, interview excerpts and analysis — as the starting point for a conversation.
- You might begin by asking participants three questions:
• What surprised you about the material?
• What did you learn from reading the material?
• What do you need to learn next to get better at your craft? - Invite the participants to do one or more of the Assignment Desk exercises. Ask them to share what they’ve written, either with another participant or with the whole group.
- Read the material.
- Do one or more of the Talking Points and Assignment Desk exercises.
- Ask yourself three questions about it:
• What surprised you about the material?
• What did you learn from reading the material?
• What do you need to learn next to get better at your craft?
