Knox Pages Editor Grant Ritchey, interviewed the Freddie Flash. His goal for this article is to spread the word about Fredericktown’s High School’s new online newspaper.
Ritchey interviewed the staff to find out what the paper did and why and how often stories are published.
To get to know the students, Ritchey asked about the staff roles and involvement in the Freddie Flash. He also asked how they got their articles.
The students then asked Ritchey questions, being an expert in the field of journalism as he earned his journalism degree from Ohio University and has been with Knox Pages for over three years.
Ritchey gave insightful answers and provided tips on how to improve articles and interviews.
Some of the tips he shared with the class were be accurate, ask how to spell names, use senses to immerse the reader by capturing the vibe, always use open-ended questions, and read articles out loud to find grammar mistakes.
As for journalistic style, he explained that the 1st sentence, the lead, must grab the reader’s attention and to make sure the most important information is early in the article since people don’t read whole articles.
Ritchey’s final advice was this: “When in doubt, leave it out.”
