News stories are comparable to shish-kebabs.

2/4/2009

One thing that many students can always remember when taking a class taught by Peter Ellertsen is that “a well crafted news story is like a shish-kebab.” He explains that when we write news stories, we must put in a couple paragraphs of information, separated by quote paragraphs, all stuck into a good news story.

Ellertsen has also taught his students that when we write our news stories, there is a certain way that we must write.

“People don’t have to read what you write.”

He instructs us to write to the reader like we would talk to them. “If not, we’ll lose the reader. If we do it repeatedly, we’d lose our jobs.”

Professor Ellertsen stresses to his students to remember key words and not necessarily whole sentences, and he uses his own experiences when explaining to us how to take notes.

“I would look over my notes to see what the main thing was that was said or that had happened, and that would be my lead. Once that was established, I would go through my notes, and find the best exact quotes that were complete enough to put into print. Look for a lively quote that is well-worded and sums up the story,” says Ellertsen about finding quotes for a good news story.

Quotes are an essential part of any news story, by making it not only an interesting story, but also a reliable one if taken from the source which the article is about.

Peter Ellertsen is a very well-educated man, as shown in his extensive knowledge he shares with his students in the classes he teaches, as well as on his detailed resume. He received his Bachelor’s degree in history at Albion College in Albion, Michigan in 1964, and then went on to get a Master’s degree in history at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1967.

In 1975, Mr. Ellertsen received a PhD in English from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and another Master’s degree in journalism from the Pennsylvania State University in 1983. In 1997, he received a Diploma for Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the International Learning Centres in Edinburgh, Scotland.

His experience also stems from his work as a political reporter and columnist for the State Journal Register in Springfield, Illinois, a courthouse reporter for the Rock Island Argus in Rock Island, Illinois, as well as a reporter and state editor for the Oak Ridger in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and is currently a tenured instructor at Springfield College in Illinois, Benedictine University.