In class, we've been discussing writing with clear, simple sentences. A writers' group at the Cleveland Plain Dealer has been talking about readability in much the same way. This memo from the Plain Dealer urges writers to put their stories in plain English. It cites " The Writer's Coach," a book written by Jack Hart, an editor at the Oregonian. It notes that you can test your readability with the Flesch-Kincaid test on most Word programs. Some of the folks who commented on the Plain Dealer memo worried that this might be "dumbing down" newspapers. Yet most writing coaches and editors will tell you it simply makes sense to write clearly. After all, the whole point in writing is getting people to read your work. Steve Buttry, now with the American Press Institute, offers these tips for writing clearly. And check out this advice from Joe Hight, the editor of the Oklahoman, as well.
So what's your take? Is it simply a matter of clarity in your work? Or do we run the risk of dumbing down newspapers?
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3 comments:
I don't think it is "dumbing down" but people want sentences. In fact, I bet if you could get the whole news story across in one sentence people would really enjoy it. People don't read newspapers for entertainment, except for the the comics and puzzles, they want the facts and with as little complication as possible.And to be honest with the low statistic rates of people graduating and the amount of people coming to college, the world does seem to be "dumbing down" in itself. Besides, using big words is just fluff and if it's suppose to be news, you have to appeal to a broad audience, including the educated and the non-educated. Also in the U.S , we have a lot of immigrants and they may also only understand plain English, you have to make it easy to understand, because the last thing a newspaper wants is for people to have to run to a dictionary every time they read a sentence or stop reading because it is incomprehensible.
I believe that "dumbing down" sentences is only half the battle when presenting something that is easy to read. I am talking about design.
With a growing trend towards viewing news online, the image is more important than the content. I know the purpose of our class is to report accurately and write concise, but using a more attractive face to the story is what will make a reader read it. I know not all stories cannot be dazzled with good photos, placement and/or graphics. But knowing the science of how words look on a page can be just as important, if not more important, than the content provided.
As writers, we all want our information presented intelligently. Maybe this is why "dumbing down" sentences is not a good idea. Perhaps I am off on a tangent here, but people like to read something eye-catching, not something that has been dubbed "third-grade reading level."
Chris - You are right. The best writers realize that how their story is presented will help grab readers' attention and pull them into the story. That's why the best reporters think about graphics, photos and other ways to illustrate their stories. Once readers start reading, however, only clear writing will keep them reading.
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