This
staff training survey is used at the Boulder Daily Camera
and was provided by Curtis Hubbard, Deputy City Editor.
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Boulder Daily Camera
- Staff Training Survey
We are in the initial
stages of embarking on an initiative to emphasize and offer training opportunities
across the newsroom. Please answer questions in the five sections below
and return to me by Oct. 31.
1. Describe your
interest level in additional training:
| Not very interested |
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| Somewhat interested |
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| Interested |
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| Very interested |
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| Eager |
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2. I usually work
(pick one):
| The day shift |
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| The night shift |
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3. The best day for me to attend a one-hour in-house training seminar
is:
| Monday |
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| Tuesday |
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| Wednesday |
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| Thursday |
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| Friday |
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4. From the list
below, please pick 10 topics that most interest you and include any other
ideas you may have for "brown bag" seminars.
| How
to read an annual report |
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Legislature
101 |
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| Cops and Courts
101 |
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FOIA requests
and open records/meetings |
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| Libel and Slander
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The Web as a
reporting tool |
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| Interview techniques
and listening skills |
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Telephone skills
and customer service |
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| Meet the rest
of the Camera |
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Eye-catching
and informative headlines |
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| Design 101 |
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Math for journalists |
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| The power of
computer-assisted reporting |
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Enhancing reporting
with new media |
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| Handling sensitive
stories |
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Anonymous sources.
When and why |
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| The intricacies
of nut grafs |
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Writing leads |
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| Story organization
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Centerpieces |
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| What you should
know about graphics |
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What you should
know about photos |
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| Pitching stories
for other sections |
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Getting and using
quotes |
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| Deadline awareness
and responsibilities |
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Ethics |
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| Going off-the-record:
why? Pratfalls |
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Developing sources |
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| Fairness |
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Writing descriptively |
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| Take advantage
of our library and morgue |
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Writing short |
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| Making the most
of you beat |
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Generating story
ideas |
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| Accepting good
editing |
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Team reporting |
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| Literary devices
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News judgement |
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| Self-editing |
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Strong verbs |
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| Extraneous words,
phrases |
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Writing without
bias |
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| Story lengths |
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Significant details |
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| Narrative style
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Writing to the
senses |
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| Writing news
features |
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Elements of feature
writing |
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| Avoiding cliches,
jargon and stereo types |
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Profiles |
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| A touch of humor |
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Making technical
things clear |
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| How to write
reviews |
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Specialty writing |
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| How to package
story ideas |
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OTHER IDEAS (be
specific): |
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5. Do you have
any skills you'd like to share as part of one of the brown-bag sessions
or as part of the training initiative? Please elaborate:
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6. Mark any of
the following training opportunities that appeal to you?
| Lead
a writers group |
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| Join
a Writers' group |
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| One-on-one
critiques with my editor |
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| Monthly
Brown bag sessions |
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| Off-site
seminars, such as those offered at the CPA convention |
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| Taking
part in an effort to improve accuracy |
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| Join
a group to emphasize good grammar |
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| Share
my software skills with others |
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| Other
(please explain) |
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7. (Complete this
sentence) The best training opportunity provided me thus far in my career
was ...
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