NEWS WRITING
· A
factual and timely account of an event,
idea or discovery
· Reports on any expected or unexpected developments or disruptions from
day-to-day life
TYPES OF NEWS
1.
Hard/spot
news
2.
Soft news
NEWS
VALUES
Timeliness: immediacy or how recent an event is. It’s like fish, you buy it when it’s fresh.
Significance: relevance to a good number of people. The more people affected, the more important the story.
Prominence: how known or identifiable a person or institution is. Which would you read: a fight over a guy between
two girls or the same fight between two teen superstars?
Proximity: geographical or emotional distance to
the readers. It’s more interesting when readers can relate to a story.
Conflict: clashes between people or institutions. Fights attract readers, from verbal disputes to wars.
Oddity: Unusual stories often make for intriguing stories but that doesn’t mean it
has
to be gross.
Human interest: stories that
appeal to human emotions.
Consequence: answers the “so what”. May not be apparent but it is important.
COMPONENTS OF A NEWS STORY/ NEWS
VALUES
Accuracy
An
important rule here is to NEVER ASSUME. Information should always be
verified, even if it is first-hand. Check the spelling of names, locations, positions, numbers, etc.
Proper Attribution
Always say who said what. Attribute your source of information (i.e. the person who
made the statement or the document from where the data
was taken) especially
events not witnessed by the reporter.
Fairness
Reporters get information from both sides of the story. No story is fair if it includes irrelevant information at the expense of
significant facts.
Brevity
Less is more. Be concise and direct to the point.
But
remember to not to omit important details just to
lessen word count. Knowing what to leave out comes
from experience.
Focus
Before you can explain, you should know what the story is all about in order to
emphasize what is important.
STORY STRUCTURES
INVERTED PYRAMID!
Pyramid
Diamond
Hourglass
WRITING THE NEWS
THE
LEAD
· It tells the readers the gist of the story in the first or second sentence or
paragraph
· It usually contains the five Ws and H: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
· Leads should be short, usually 21 words.
WHAT TO
ASK WHEN WRITING THE LEAD
What is the most important information or what is the story’s
main point?
What happened or what is the action?
What are the most recent developments?
Which facts are most likely to affect or interest your readers? Which facts are the most unusual?
DIRECT/ SUMMARY VS.
INDIRECT/ NOVELTY LEADS
Direct lead
This is also known as the simple summary lead. Write them concisely, usually in a
sentence.
i.e. Teachers declared yesterday a
“no-homework-week” to focus on reviewing for the upcoming DepEd evaluation exams in the School of the Fictitious.
Indirect/ Alternative lead
These leads attract attention through the use of different literary devices. They
do
not necessarily contain the gist of the story but it is important that the
following sentence or paragraph does…or else. Use them only when it seems
appropriate (consult news values) and when you really want to arouse the
reader’s interest.
SOME
INDIRECT LEADS
1.
Punch
2.
Description/
Picture
3.
Direct
Address
4.
Contrast
5.
Question
6.
Quotation
THE
BODY
· Supports what is stated
in the lead. It contains more facts and details from
reliable sources.
· Presents details
to what happened, who was involved, when where it
happened, causes and consequences of the event are presented. Use smooth transitional words like meanwhile, in addition to, furthermore and the like when shifting ideas.
THE ENDING
· Contains the least important details unless
you’re following a
pyramid or diamond structure.
· Also known as the “kicker.”
P.S. This is just
a sneak peek. You can download the full version (complete with tips, DO’s and
DONT’s, and examples, yay!) from the Downloads and Printables tab. Keep
writing! J
