NEWS

When a dog bites a man that is not news,

but when a man bites a dog that is news.
-Charles Anderson Dana, American journalist, 1819-1897
What is news?
News is an account of recent
events that has been
written, reported, published,
or broadcasted because of
its effect to people.
NEWS MAY ALSO BE DEFINE AS

Information not previously

known that is delivered through
the mass media and has some
impact on the audience.
WHAT WE NEED TO LEARN:
You need to learn the characteristics and
types of news articles;
You need to learn how to write a lead;
You need to learn the structure of news
story using inverted news pyramid;
You need to learn how to write transitions;
and,
You need to learn tips and guidelines on
how to write better news articles.
CHARACTERISTICS
OF NEWS
What makes a story
newsworthy?
Timeliness Prominence Proximity

Human
Conflict Impact
Interest

Oddity Number
 TYPES OF NEWS STORY
A. Treatment of facts
1. STRAIGHT NEWS straightforward reporting of
5Ws and 1H according to their importance;
2. INTERPRETATIVE to explain to the readers the
importance of the event: the case, background,
characters, and overall implications.
3. IN-DEPTH beyond the 5Ws; plays up the why
and how features and deals within deep details
using authoritative, documents, citing statistics, and
valid findings.
4. NEWS FEATURE - narrative report of an event
particularly the technical or scientific reports.
 TYPES OF NEWS STORY
B. By Time
1. ADVANCE STORY an account of an event
that will take place at some future time.
2. FOLLOW-UP an event that has been taken
place and holds heavy interest.
3. COVERAGE STORY an event that is taking
place or has already taken place maybe
routine, spot, or follow-up.
4. SPEECH STORY news about a person, his
opinions, ideas, criticism, on the subject of
discussion.
5. INTERVIEW STORY news item reporting
personal view of the interviewee.
THE LEAD

Lead:
The first paragraph of the news story.

Most important information. Focus on newest

It summarizes the news story by
information. Focus on the future.
answering all the WH-questions

Question to ask yourself:

What do my readers need to know most???
 Types of News Leads:
Use these often...
How lead - begins with the how of the story.
Used often.

Why lead - begins with the cause the story.

Used often.

What lead - begins with the fact of the story.

Used often.
 Types of News Leads:
Rarely use these...
Who lead - begins with a person. The person
is usually not the most important fact of the story.

When lead - begins with time. Rarely is the

time the most imporant factor.

Where lead - begins with the place. Hardly

ever is where the most important factor.
HOW LEAD
SENATOR BINAY REACTS TO VICE GANDAS SENADOR
AGAD STATEMENT
Through a Senate Press Conference held last
Wednesday, Sen. Nancy Binay responded on comedian
Vice Gandas statement Senador agad? []

WHY LEAD
SENATOR BINAY REACTS TO VICE GANDAS SENADOR
AGAD STATEMENT
Because of comedian Vice Gandas Senador
agad? statement, Sen. Nancy Binay reacted to it last
Wednesday during a Senator Press Conference. []

WHAT LEAD
SENATOR BINAY REACTS TO VICE GANDAS SENADOR
AGAD STATEMENT
Sen. Nancy Binay reacted to Vice Gandas Senador
agad? statement last Wednesday during a Senator Press
Conference. []
WHO LEAD
SENATOR BINAY REACTS TO VICE GANDAS SENADOR
AGAD STATEMENT
Sen. Nancy Binay responded on comedian Vice
Gandas statement Senador agad? through a Senate Press
Conference held last Wednesday []

WHEN LEAD
SENATOR BINAY REACTS TO VICE GANDAS SENADOR
AGAD STATEMENT
Last Wednesday, Sen. Nancy Binay responded on
comedian Vice Gandas statement Senador agad? through
a Senate Press Conference. []

WHERE LEAD
SENATOR BINAY REACTS TO VICE GANDAS SENADOR
AGAD STATEMENT
During a Senator Press Conference, Sen. Nancy
Binay reacted to Vice Gandas Senador agad? statement
last Wednesday []
THE INVERTED PYRAMID
OF NEWS WRITING
<- Lead should be here!!!
What Ws (or H) did you
not mention in the lead?
Support with quotations.
It should relate with lead.

Any more Ws (or H) that

Would be good if
mentioned? Support with
quotations. It should
relate with lead.

Other relevant
information that may
Be helpful to the readers
NON-TRADITIONAL LEADS
Straight lead (or Summary lead)

A good lead incorporates the inverted pyramid

style with the most important facts first. It
tells readers what they want to know in a
creative manner. If the reader only read the
lead, he or she would have a solid grasp of
the story. The accident report below can be
written in a straight lead. Journalists often
resort to summary leads pressed for time.
STRAIGHT LEAD
SPORTS CAR CRASHES ON LOCAL PLAYGROUND: NO
SURVIVORS.

On a local playground of Upper Bicutan

Taguig, a Ferrari sports car crashes claiming the
lives of five children and two mothers who are at
the scene when it happened. Witnesses say that
the sports car was speeding and showed no intent
of hitting the brakes, Police Inspector Jake
Hernandez reported.
 QUOTATION LEAD

Quotes frequently are the essential documentation for a

lead and should be used immediately after a
paraphrase that summarises them. Here paraphrasing
the verbatim quotation permits the removal of
unnecessary words. But if a verbatim quotation itself
is very important or interesting, it can be the lead
itself.
``I was furious that that disreputable young man had the audacity to sit in
my antique rosewood chair.''
That's how tiny, 82-year-old Louise Freeland today described her brush
with a gun-toting escaped convict whom she talked into surrendering to
Sheriff's officers.
QUESTION LEAD
Many editors dislike question lead on the basis
that people read newspapers to get answers, and
not to be asked questions. But if the question is
provocative, it may be used as a lead.

What is the first thing that a woman buys when she is

advised that she won $250,000 in a jingle contest?
Mrs. Jane Roe, informed by XYZ Soaps that her entry
took top prize in the nationwide contest, said that
she will buy a rhyming dictionary that has voice
recognition . . .
 YOU LEAD (DIRECT ADDRESS LEAD)
The `You' lead is intended to make a personal appeal
to the reader involved in a complicated situation.

If you are living in the Taguig area, you

might experience power interruptions in the
following weeks. The main powerplant in
Hagonoy, responsible for providing electricity in
the Taguig area, was on fire last Wednesday
leaving all operation equipment unusable.
CONTRAST LEAD
To vary monotony, a saga can be split
into two sentences -- the first of which
refers to the humble beginning and the
second to the hero's latest triumph.

Richard Roe, who started 47 years ago as a

$10-a-week janitor for Consolidated
Corporation, today took office as the firm's
$2,63,000-a-year chairman and chief
executive officer.
BLIND IDENTIFICATION LEAD
If the person concerned is not well known in the
community, his/her name is less important than
other salient facts that identify the person. eg. "a
80-year-old woman" instead of her name.

A police inspector's son was attacked with a knife by some

miscreants on Mount Road this evening.
The victim Pratap Daniel, 20, has been admitted to a private
hospital and his condition is critical.
Lets talk about

Transitions
Transitions
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. Hold the story together.
Link the paragraphs together.
Can be fact, indirect quote or a partial quote.
For example - FACT TRANSITION:
(lead) Former Republican presidential candidate John
McCain will speak to seniors Friday about his experience as
a prisoner of war.
(Direct Quote)Seniors will learn a lot about duty and
commitment when they hear Sen. McCain, Principal Ike
Sumter said. We are so excited that he agreed to come.
(Fact Transition) During the Vietnam War, Sen. McCain
was a prisoner of war for five years.
Transitions
Can be fact, indirect quote or a partial quote.
For example - INDIRECT QUOTE TRANSITION:
(lead) Former Republican presidential candidate
John McCain will speak to seniors Friday about his
experience as a prisoner of war.
(Direct Quote)Seniors will learn a lot about
duty and commitment when they hear Sen.
McCain, Principal Ike Sumter said. We are so
excited that he agreed to come.
(IQ Transition) Sumter said he was moved after
hearing Sen. McCain speak about his
imprisonment.
Transitions
Can be fact, indirect quote or a partial quote.
For example - PARTIAL QUOTE TRANSITION:
(lead)Former Republican presidential candidate
John McCain will speak to seniors Friday about his
experience as a prisoner of war.
(Direct Quote)Seniors will learn a lot about duty
and commitment when they hear Sen. McCain,
Principal Ike Sumter said. We are so excited that he
agreed to come.
(Partial Quote Transition) Sumter said he had tears
in his eyes when he heard Sen. McCain speak about
his imprisonment.
Transitions
Use transitional words to help with the flow
(as needed): After all, Also, Finally, In
addition, However, Otherwise, Then
For example:
In addition to speaking about his
experience as a prisoner of war, McCain also
plans to talk to students about the importance
of voting.
HEADLINES!
1. Subject + Action + Detail Headline
THREE CHILDREN KILLED IN CAR CRASH

2. Subject: Detail/Quote
DELA ROSA: PNP DID NOTHING WRONG
1,738: TOTAL DEATH COUNT IN HAITI
EARTHQUAKE

MAIN RULE: It should contain the controversy

of the story at hand;
Checklist for News Stories
Use the inverted pyramid as a guide for structure
Use proper transitions for flow
Use quotations for supplementary information
Revise until you are concise. 2-3 sentences per
paragraph.
Use complex or compound complex for
maximizing information in one sentence
Use: (1) Active Voice! (2) 1st and 2nd Person!
Remove your opinion in the article
ACTIVITY!
1. A new bill from Sen. Weirdo Pumentel that would require that the
fingernails of all Filipino citizens must be trimmed or else their
fingers shall be removed.
2. From the reports from Fire Chief Jason Fireman, A fire broke out in
the firefighters station. The firefighters were unable to respond
because the fire trucks were on fire as well.
3. The Muntinlupa Maximum Security Pound for Dogs had a breakout
with their most notorious and dangerous convict Poodles escaping.
Poodles is infamous for his cutebait modus.
4. A rally that was conducted from the POWER Party List was done in
front of the Department of Energy Main Office because they rejected
their candidate for appointment James Reid in the DOE Secretary
position. The disappointed activists appealed that his appointment
should be reconsidered.