Use the notes and information provided to you below and write a complete news story for today’s Providence Journal. Remember to write a “newsy but creative lead,” address the 5 W’s and include quotes. Be sure to stay in the third-person voice and keep yourself out of the story.
When writing this news story, please be as thorough – and creative – as possible. In other words, you may use more of a “feature” lead rather than a “hard news” lead because of the human-interest nature of the story.
I am not requesting a specific length for this assignment – write whatever it takes to “tell the whole story” and to tell it well. Be sure to leave adequate time to proofread for errors, check for AP style, and rewrite any awkward phrasing. Note: there are deliberate spelling and grammatical errors in the notes. It’s up to you to write succinctly and spell things correctly.
Information
- According to the Providence police…….
- A dead body was found. It was laying (lying?) under a large peice of cardboard behind a dumpster. White male. On his right side.
- Body found by another homeless guy. He called the providence police at about midnight last night. The cardboard had been constructed into a makeshift roof.
- Body has been i-d’d as James Harper, he is 62. Police quickly i-d’d the body because an out of date drivers license with a photo ID of him. That was found in his coat pocket. The coat was ragged and threadbare – it was a designer brand. No doubt, maybe donated. Who knows? Salvation Army???
- The man was wearing a pair of mismatched gloves, an old wool hat. His shoes were 2 sizes too big for him. Pants were made of lightweight cotton.
- Using the license as their lead, police asked several other homeless individuals to identify and confirm that it was in deed Harper. He was found wrapped in an old wool army blanket. Soaked by the rains.
- Trickal of blood was found coming from the dead man’s ear. Both ears, as a matter of fact. Horrid.
- “ We’re not willing to speculate at this point. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause and time of death.” — This was said by the police officer. He was on the scene investigating.
- Dumpster was in an allay near Crossroads Rhode Island. Its located in the old YMCA building. The temperature last night plunged to 12 degrees (20 degrees below freezing). All night long there was a mixture of snow and freezing rain.
- This is the second time a homeless person has turned up dead this year in Providence. A young woman was found curled up in the corner of a bus shelter near Kennedy Plaza. She had frozen to death. It was earlier this winter. She was estimated to be 25 years old. Still not identified.
- The following information taken while interviewing Director Marilyn French from Crossroads…………
- Our agency provides a variety of assistance to homeless people and runaways.
- They help the homeless find local shelters (when we’re full) and food kitchens. Also provide a number of services, including free medical assistance, dental care… training for employment. That kind of stuff.
- More than 1,500 homeless people in Providence. For the second year in a row, Providence’s shelters have reached overflow capacity.
- We estimate that Harper has been homeless for about 10 months. He is believed to have been a life long Rhode Islander.
- “ We got to know Jim only recently. He was a sweet man, a quiet old gent. He used to come in for coffee and donuts every Tuesday…but only on Tuesdays. We used to joke with him and tell him we were having ‘Tuesdays with Jimmy’.”
- Early this morning, some homeless people were attaching goodbye notes onto Harper’s cardboard shelter. He had been a friend to some of them. One old man in his early eighties said Jim used to recite poetry to him late at night.
- “He had all these wonderful poems memorized and he’d close his eyes and just spout them right out. I don’t know where he got ‘em but they were some of the most beautiful words I ever heard.” The old man asked not to be identified in the paper.
Testimonials
