Key components of a Good News Story

 Attention-getting headline
 A strong lead containing 5 Ws and H (who, what, when, where, why and how)
 Use of quotes
 Real facts (truth and accuracy matter)
 A strong summary
 Organization of the news (presenting information from most to least important)

What makes a story newsworthy?

 Timing: if it happened today, it’s news, if it happened last week, it’s not; with 24-hour access,
“breaking” news is important.
 Significance: How many people are affected?
 Proximity: The closer a story hits home, the more newsworthy it is.
 Prominence: When famous people are affected, the story matters. (i.e., car accident involving
your family vs car accident involving the President)
 Human Interest: Because these stories are based on emotional appeal, they are meant to be
amusing or to generate empathy or other emotions. They often appear in special sections of the
newspaper or at the end of the newscast as a “feel good” story to draw attention to something
particularly amusing, quirky or off-beat.