Story 5: Final Story, Feature (15 percent) 750-1,000 words
Lab time will be used to work on your stories. Backup material must be submitted in class. This story will have specific writing guidelines and include an added value element such as a sidebar, fact box, chart, photos or links.

Specific guidelines: The final story will adhere to the Wall Street Journal formula. It will contain the same requirements as all out of class stories. I highly recommend, though, that you have more than the three required human sources:

1. Blurb and headline
2. Source list – must include name, identification and contact info for sources. All stories must have at least three human sources. (They cannot be your friends or family.)
3. Backup: you should submit your notes, original emails and any other printed materials. Recorded interviews should be noted on Source List.
4. Story must be local and sources verifiable.
5. Writing: includes an effective lead, nut graph if needed, organization, clarity, objectivity, AP style as well as correct grammar, punctuation and spelling.

The WSJ formula is as follows:

Soft lead -(usually person driven and anecdotal)
Nut graph -(The person illustrates a larger issue. Your nut graph describes that issue and links the person in your lead to others.)
Research -(The story must be based on concrete data, facts, studies or other information where you can verify someone’s experience as being part of the larger issue.)
Expert – Usually someone who can put the larger issue into perspective
Examples/Developments/Other issues – Other people who share the larger issue and their particular experience; developments regarding the issue; other spinoffs the issue might have caused.
Ending – Most WSJ formula stories have a circular ending, where the story comes full circle. That means you can end with the person you started with or otherwise tie back to the individual experience. You can also end with a forward ending – something that looks into the future.
Outline for Feature Story

Blurb: Women have always had a tough time proving themselves to be as worthy as men, but according to new research studies, the media portrays women to be less capable of executive positions.
Soft Lead:
Nut Graph: Media focuses more heavily on a whole host of negative or limiting aspects of women, including an intense scrutiny and emphasis on their looks and on how they’re struggling to balance life and work.
(Personal story from a Texas women executive… Rana Osman (Interview this weekend, runs a public relations firm in Dallas) and Dr. Linda Hind (Texas Muslim Women’s Foundation)
Body Paragraph 1: Research
1. “Women and Leadership” and talks about the reasons behind gender inequality.
a. Surveyed men and women and asked them a series of questions including if they thought they would see a female president.
b. 73 percent said they would, but when it comes to women leadership in politics and business, there is a lack of women in top positions.
2. Media Portrayals: Many factors come into play when analyzing gender equality generational differences and stereotypes.
a. Introduce with statists by the Pew Research Center where even though more women are leaders in TV shows and movies, there is still this underlying objectification.
b. Conant objectification and harassment towards women’s bodies and inequalities between men and women.
3. Women in Texas
a. Texas is very set back in it’s way when it comes to offering women high level positions in politics and business.
b. The study found that women in Texas are dealing with a worse work
environment
c. 27 when it comes to women representation in politics. Alabama, Maine, Rhode Island and Montana all embrace female executives in the workplace more than Texas does.
Expert Opinion: A. Personal interview with Ariela Gross
1. Expert on history of gender and the intersections with gender in society today.
2. Views on gender inequality and how women can be proactive to conquer this lingering issue.

Examples/Developments/Other Issues: A. Interview with jobs including high executive positions to a sales person in Texas
B. Scandal
1. Comparison of Olivia Pope to a modern day lawyer. Even though on air she is seemed as a powerful woman, we can still see how the media makes her into a sex object (Affair with president)
2. Status: Not as high as the president.
3. Take emotional abuse and contradict the strength and independence they strive to embody.
4. Susceptible to manipulation, compromise their values and integrity for anyone.
5. At first glance, we know Olivia Pope is a well-respected women and is known as the “fixer” in Washington DC. Fitz and Olivia’s relationship
http://inthesetimes.com/ittlist/entry/16357/feminist_role_models_scandals_olivia_pope_could_learn_from_greys_anatomy
Ending:
Budget Line- Final Story
The debate of women inequality is one that is still very relevant in our society today. Pew Social Trends explains why women and men are not equally qualified for certain jobs in the workforce. The article is titled “Women and Leadership” and talks about the reasons behind gender inequality. It also shows a survey taken by Pew Research Center, which surveyed men and women and asked them a series of questions including if they thought they would see a female president. Surprisingly, 73 percent said they would, but when it comes to women leadership in politics and business, there is a lack of women in top positions. Many factors come into play when analyzing gender equality, for example, generational differences and stereotypes.
In addition to discussing the article and its findings, I will interview Ariela Gross (Los Angles, California) who is an expert on history of gender and the intersections with gender in society today. I will ask her views on gender inequality and how women can be proactive to conquer this lingering issue. I will also interview Kim Parker, who is the director of social trends research at Pew Research Center. She specializes in gender inequality and how generations change over time. I think relating both of these topics together will give concrete evidence.
I will also interview women who have struggled with this issue in Texas. I will interview women from a range of jobs including high executive positions to a sales person. I will also back up my interviews with evidence from an article in the Houston Press titled “Texas Among the Worst for Gender Equality”. It explains how Texas is very set back in it’s way when it comes to offering women high level positions in politics and business.
Articles:
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/news/2014/09/texas_is_one_of_the_worst_states_for_gender_equality.php
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/01/14/women-and-leadership/

– Media portrayed in Scandal—is it start
– Sexualized in the media,
– More women in journalism school but less in top positions.