NEWS WRITING

Prepared by: Leonel Alvarado

DISCUSSION OUTLINE
• PRE-WRITING
• Elements of
News
• Skills
• Getting the News
• WRITING
• Angle
• Structure
• Parts
• POST-WRITING
PRE-WRITING
WHAT IS NEWS?

• North, East,
West, South
• News is information
that has a meaning
for a set of readers
 ELEMENTS OF NEWS
 Impact—How many people does the event affect?
How seriously does it affect them?

 Proximity—An event will be more important if is

closer to the readers.

 Timeliness—Is the event fresh? Is it new? The news

must be timely to be of use to readers.
 Prominence — Names make news, and big
names make big news. Ordinary people are
intrigued by the doings of the rich and famous.

 Novelty — This is the new in news, the

unusual. The "firsts," "lasts" and "onlys" have
been the staples of the news business for
many years.
 Conflict — Conflict has been the
currency of great literature, drama and
movies for all time. Newspapers are no
different.

 Audience — Who is the audience?

 IMPORTANT TO MASTER
THESE SKILLS

 Nose for news

 Listening
 Comprehension
 Curiosity
GETTING THE NEWS

 Actual coverage
 Interview
 Research
WRITING
THE ANGLE

The main idea of a news story or lead is

called the “angle.” It is also referred to as
the “hook” because it is used to grab or
hook the reader’s attention.
THE INVERTED PYRAMID STRUCTURE
FROM THE MOST IMPORTANT TO THE LEAST IMPORTANT

Lead

Supporting details

Minor
details
NEWS REPORTING BASICS

 Contains 5 Ws and 1 H
 Parts of news story
o Lead
o Body
THE LEAD

 Refers to the first few paragraphs of the

news article

 Presents the gist of the story

THE BODY
• Importance of News Reporting
1. include a chronology of the issue being reported
2. provide background information or historical
context of the issue
3. cite sources of information
4. primary sources for crucial data
5. secondary sources for background info
POST-WRITING
 Review
 Revise
 Rewrite
TIPS
 Use the active voice.
 Verify your data.
 Focus
 Revise and sharpen.
 MORE TIPS…
 Understand the event first. Then write.
 Write when you know what you want to say.
 Keep your eye on the lead.
 Be coherent. Paragraphs must flow.
 Always assume that your reader is a first time reader so
provide definitions if there are any needed.
 Avoid judgments and inferences. Let the facts talk.
 PRACTICAL
TIPS…
 Avoid too many details in the lead paragraph.
 Numbers 1-9 ar espelled out, 10 and higher – write in numerics.
 Grade school – PUPILS ; High School and College –
STUDENTS, but now both are called LEARNERS
 Avoid repeating the same word in the same paragraph.
 Leads must be, at the maximum, 35 words long. Paragraphs must
only be one or two sentences long.
 When using a company/ institution/ department name more than once
in a story, use its acronym after the first time you use the term in its
fullness
MORE PRACTICAL TIPS…

 Be especially careful to avoid phrases and sentences

that are redundant--- that unnecessarily repeat the
same idea. The following phrases contain only two or
three words, yet at least one--- the word in italics– is
unnecessary:
MORE PRACTICAL TIPS…

 Avoid long, unfamiliar words. Whenever possible

substitute simpler and shorter words that convey the
same meaning .