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How to Write a News Report

Why pay attention to the news?
■ To be informed

■ Entertainment

■ Education

■ Interest

■ Connection to the world

 What is the story?
■ Look at each of the following pictures.

■ Create a detailed idea of what is going on in

the picture. Use point-form notes.

■ Brainstorm the who, what, where, when,

and why for each photo.

■ Your event should be newsworthy.

Hard News Stories

• Time is a factor

• Reports need to get details of an event

• As quickly as possible

• Same day or following day at the latest

5Ws and H
• Who • These questions are
• What what a news report
• Where focus on
• When
• Why
• How
Headlines
• Title of the article

• Short

• Cover main event

• Grab reader’s
attention
What would be YOUR
Headline? The Middle East may be on fire, but
here in celebrity-obsessed North
America, the news that's burning up the
social media networks is about two of
the most famous hairstyles reduced to
nothing more than a pile of wispy
clippings on some salon floor.
Canadian teen heartthrob Justin
Bieber has bobbed his bob. Gone is the
thick swoosh of bangs so copied by so
many earnest teen boys since the Beebs
exploded on YouTube and took over pop
music.
And then there's Jennifer Aniston,
that other celebrity with the much-copied
tresses, whose long straight layered shag
from her days as Rachel Green in the
1990's sitcom Friends has changed little
since the show went off the air in 2004.
Her recently shorn shoulder-length bob
lends her a somewhat more mature air
now that she's 45.
Holy Haircuts: Aniston and Bieber
Get Chopped The Middle East may be on fire, but
here in celebrity-obsessed North
America, the news that's burning up the
social media networks is about two of
the most famous hairstyles reduced to
nothing more than a pile of wispy
clippings on some salon floor.
Canadian teen heartthrob Justin
Bieber has bobbed his bob. Gone is the
thick swoosh of bangs so copied by so
many earnest teen boys since the Beebs
exploded on YouTube and took over pop
music.
And then there's Jennifer Aniston,
that other celebrity with the much-copied
tresses, whose long straight layered shag
from her days as Rachel Green in the
1990's sitcom Friends has changed little
since the show went off the air in 2004.
Her recently shorn shoulder-length bob
lends her a somewhat more mature air
now that she's 42.
Take the Lead!
• The lead is the
first paragraph of
the news report

• It answers the
5Ws and
(sometimes) the
HOW

• It contains the
most important
information
Expansion of the Lead
• Expands on the information from the lead
• Often involves an eye witness quotation
• Can be multiple paragraphs
What is an Eye Witness?
• Someone who was at
the scene and can
verify the details of
the story
Additional Information/Conclusion

• Has extra details that

a reader may want to
know from reading
the entire article
• Usually reveals follow
up information
(results, dates,
financial burdens)
Headline:
Byline:
Dateline:

Lead:

Expansion of the Lead:

Additional Information:
- Now refer back to the point-form ideas you
created from the 4 pictures earlier in the
slideshow

- Cross-reference them with the following details,

which were the actual events associated with
each photo!

- Were you close? Is your idea more interesting?

Less interesting? More newsworthy? Less
newsworthy?

- How much detail did you provide versus the

information in these LEADS?
Rescues (U.S.)
▪ U.S. firefighters cut
through concrete and used
a soapy lubricant to free a
woman who fell and
became stuck in a narrow
opening between two
buildings Wednesday.
▪ The woman spent about
four hours in the tiny
space. Firefighters said
they hadn’t gotten a clear
explanation of how the
woman fell.
Sports (Portugal)
Garrett McNamara
now has the Guinness ▪ http://www.youtub
World Record for the e.com/watch?v=b
largest wave ever QQ_4hDwNyc
surfed after riding a 78-
footer in November
2011 off the coast
of Nazare, Portugal.
 White Rhinos on the Brink of
Extinction
A species on the verge of
extinction, there are only 4
white rhinos left in the world.
After Nabire, a female white
rhino died in July 2015 of a
ruptured cyst, there are only
3 surviving females. The
only male white rhino left,
who is named Sudan and
lives in Kenya, has had his
horn cut off and is under 24
hour guard to protect him
from poachers.
World Events (Somalia)
▪ A California couple and
two other Americans
taken hostage by Somali
pirates were killed
Tuesday morning by
their captors, shortly
before a U.S. special
operations team boarded
the hijacked vessel,
killed two of the pirates
and captured the rest,
U.S. military officials
said.
WHY LEARN ABOUT
NEWS REPORTING?
 OSSLT – Written in Grade 10
and required for graduation
■ You will be given a
Parade Cancelled After Tree photo and a headline
Collapses in City Street ■ From that information
alone, you must write
a properly structured
news report
■ You make up the
details and
information, but it
must make sense in
connection with the
provided photo and
headline!
 REQUIREMENTS

- Write in PAST tense (make the event the day or two prior and do
NOT write as though you are ‘live on scene’)

- ONLY use third person personal pronouns (he, she, they, etc)

- Follow proper structure (Lead, Body, Concluding Info)

- Include two quotes from different eye witnesses

- Use proper spelling, grammar, punctuation

- Write no more than 1 page of information

 Practice writing a news report
for ONE of the following:
Truck Driver Takes to Stolen Painting Found by
Skies in Lawn Chair Tree