NEWS THAT MATTERS

for the school paper

Davao City Campus Journalism Academy
Davao Doctors College Inc.
May 4-5, 2017

ARIES N. OLIVEROS
School Paper Adviser, The Central Scholar
Chief, Curriculum and Instruction Services Division
Philippine Science High School - Central Luzon Campus
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga
 • School Paper Adviser, The Central
Scholar, Philippine Science High School
Central Luzon Campus
(Clark, Pampanga)
• Chief, Curriculum and Instruction
Services Division, PSHS-CLC
(2012- Present)

• Outstanding School Paper Adviser of

the Philippines 2015
• Founder, and President, Philippine
Science High School National Campus
Journalism Summit
ARIES N. OLIVEROS
 Journalism

“the art of writing for a publication in

newspapers and other periodicals,
embracing all thoughts and actions that
have significance and interest to the
readers”

Estrada and Nem Singh (2008)

 Functions of Campus Papers

✓ To document the work of the school

✓ To give information and entertainment

✓ To influence attitudes and behavior

Considerations in School Paper Production
To produce a school newspaper we need:
• Writers for the different sections
• Competent adviser(s)
• Division of tasks according to the
writer’s ability
• Monitoring of progress of articles
• Editing and proofreading of articles
• Printing of the newsletter
• Budget allocation
• Editorial policy
 Sections of a School Paper

News Section

- contains reports of past, present or

future event and must be factual,
truthful, accurate, fair and
interesting
Continuation…
News Section

Kinds of news in a school paper:

• new rules and policies
• campaigns, projects
• new properties (equipment, building)
• curricular offerings (courses, teaching
methodologies)
• school exhibits
• contest results, prize winners
• school problems
Continuation…
News Section

• seminars, convocations, meetings

• honor lists
• community and club activities
• PTA activities
• new administrators, teachers
• school population
• survey results
• experiments, demonstration lessons
• visitors
▪ an accurate and timely account of idea,
issue or event that affects a significant
number of people (Khan, 2012)

▪ aims to inform the reader

Definition of News continuation…

▪ a factual, truthful, accurate, unbiased

and interesting oral or written report
of a past, present or future event
(Cruz, 2010)
 NEWS
▪ uses simple, precise and concrete words

▪ direct to the point

▪ considerably short

▪ based on facts, not opinion

 NEWS
▪ begins with a lead (the first paragraph of
the news) with two basic functions:

a. to tell what the article is all about

b. to get the reader interested in

knowing the rest of the story

▪ answers right away all or any of the 5 W’s

and or the H
 NEWS
▪ presented using the inverted pyramid
structure (fact story) - details are arranged in
descending order of importance

▪ may follow the chronological order (fact story)

- is used for stories with strong narrative
elements and movements like games, fires
and accidents
Methods of Newsgathering
(Khan, 2012)

1. Observing
2. Interviewing
3. Researching
 Qualities of News
(Pangilinan, 2009)

1. Accurate
2. Objective
3. Balanced
4. Concise
5. Clear
NEWS ELEMENTS / NEWS VALUE
▪ Significance
- relative to the target audience of a
publication
▪ Timeliness
- pertains to the immediate past
- newest angle of the story
News Elements / News Values continuation…

▪ Proximity
- geographical or psychological
nearness of any event taking place
▪Prominence
- focuses on the fame or infamy of
persons, place, things or events
▪ Oddity
- strange or unnatural events, objects,
persons and places
News Elements / News Values continuation…

▪ Drama
- dramatic actions that move a
reader to tears or to laughter
- mystery, suspense, comedy
▪ Romance and Adventure
- emotional attachment between
people
- participation in exciting undertakings
or enterprises
News Elements / News Values continuation…

▪ Progress
- onward and forward march
of civilization or a country
- changes in the established
order on scientific achievements
▪ Numbers
- lotto / sweepstakes results, election
results, scores in the games,
fatalities, price of goods, age, vital
statistics
News Elements / News Values continuation…

▪ Animals
- stories of animals with human-interest
value
▪ Names
- personalities involved in the story
▪ Sex
- varied activities of men and women
 Pointers in Writing News

▪ Write a summary as soon as soon as you

have gathered the facts.
▪ List the facts according to their descending
importance.
▪ Dig out the lead facts; put the best “W”
forward.
▪ Write different versions of the lead; choose
the most interesting.
▪ Be accurate.
Pointers in Writing News continuation…

▪ Avoid editorializing.
▪ Present facts without bias.
▪ Names must be given in full when first
mentioned, then surname with
appropriate title thereafter.
▪ Write one idea in a paragraph.
▪ Avoid a series of very short or very long
paragraphs.
▪ Keep sentences simple and clear.
Pointers in Writing News continuation…

▪ Place direct and indirect quotations in

separate paragraphs.
▪ Prefer the active over the passive voice,
except when the object of the verb is more
important than the doer.
▪ Give all facts needed for the reader to
understand the story; anticipate the
reader’s questions and answer them in
order of urgency.
The Inverted Pyramid Format

Lead: Most Important Facts

Next Most Important

Facts

Less
Important
Facts

Least Important
Information
LT-QT-QT Newswriting Method
LEAD
Transition

Quotation

Transition

Quotation

Transition

Quotation
 Writing the Body of the News
▪ Do not sacrifice coherence for brevity.
▪ Use comparatively short paragraphs, but
with some variety in length.
▪ Avoid monotony in the use of direct and
indirect quotations.
▪ Keep the story clear, interesting and vivid,
but avoid giving trivias.
Contents of a “Good” News Section

• Student-centered
• Problem-solution
• Advocacy-oriented
• Community involvement
• Localized national issues
References:
Cruz, C. J. (2010). Campus Journalism and School Paper
Advising. (2nd ed.) Manila: Rex Book Store.

Harkrider, J. (1996). Getting Started in Journalism. Illinois:

National Textbook Company.

Khan, R. E. (2010). Campus Journalism. Mandaluyong City: Anvil

Publishing.

Panglinan, E. C. (2009). Journalism Handbook. (Rev. ed.)

Mandaluyong City: National Book Store.