News Writing Styles

Hourglass & Kabob

Group Members

Alisha Nazeer
Humera
Kinza Ali
Maira Siddiqui
Namrah Shariq
Tehmina Najeeb
Urusa Babar
Why we organize

“If you don’t hit a Newspaper reader

between the eyes with your first
sentence, there is no need of writing
a second one.”
How we organize

Develop an Idea

Collect Information

Construct a story

Correct
Styles of writing

Inverted Pyramid

The Diamond Structure

Hourglass or Martini glass

Kabob style or Wall Street Journal

Formula
The Hourglass (Martini glass)
Elements

The Top

The Turn

The Narrative

The Ending
Advantages

It has a proper beginning, middle &

the end.

The writer gets to use story telling

technique.

Reader gets the complete story. It

unfolds as he/she reads.
Cont..

It fulfills reader’s need for news &

their natural desire for story.

Quotations sound like real speech.

Disadvantages

The information may repeat.

The story becomes longer than

Inverted Pyramid.

Readers might get bored.

Usage

The hourglass can be used in all

kinds of stories: crime, business,
government. But it is best suited
for dramatic stories that can be
told in chronological manner.
The Kabob style
Elements

The story opens with an episodic,

illustrative, or account lead
(particular cases)

The nut graf takes after the lead

and for the most part clarifies the
lead
Cont..

The body of the story is supporting

data (cites, realities,
advancements).

The conclusion incorporates

another episodic or depiction of the
general population/individual
included into the story.
 Advantages

The story is humanized & relatable to the

read.

The issue has an element of reality in it.

Argument in the story is validated by

anecdote.

Information revealed in episodes, so rarely

repetitive.
Disadvantages

The story can work well around

only one theme.

Stories are long & may look like a

feature story.
Usage

It is useful for brightening

bureaucratic stories & major issues
of society.
Conclusion

There is no “one size fits for all”

formula

Use show-in-action techniques.

Give them the information at the

right moment.
Exercise