basics of newswriting

The Basics of Newswriting

Mr. Manfred Evanz M. Palcat

What is news?

– News is a new information or a report about something that has happened recently.

--- Merriam Webster Dictionary

In other words…

Recent information Current events Somebody or something interesting Something previously unknown

Values of Newsworthiness

Timeliness Proximity or Nearness Significance Prominence Oddity or Unusualness Conflict Progress

Essential Qualities of News

Accuracy Brevity (briefness) Clarity Objectivity

Common Examples of School News

Classroom story Enrolment story Meeting story Program/Party Story Honor roll

Common Examples of School News

Awards story School Improvement story Election story School Organization/Club story Out-of-School Activity

Where can we gather news?

Offices, departments, library School calendar Invitations and memos Different clubs and organizations Sports teams Students and teachers Community

Kinds of News

Straight news – consists of facts reported without elaboration.

News feature – based on facts; writer may give his impressions, may describe and narrate without resorting to biased opinion.

Basic News Structure

The Inverted Pyramid of news suggests that news be told in order of most interesting or important to least interesting or important.

Lead or Lede

– A lead or lede paragraph is the opening paragraph of an article, essay, news story or book chapter. Often called “the lead”, it usually occurs together with the headline or title. It precedes the main body of the article, and it gives the reader the main idea of the story.

– It is typically a one-sentence paragraph that summarizes the basic facts of a story and conveys to the reader what the reporter found out in his/her reporting. It provides answer to the five Ws and one H of news reporting – who, what, where, when, why and how.

The Lead or Lede

The 1st paragraph: Most important part of the article, summarizes the storyThe Hook: Arouses the readers interestAnswers right away the most important questions: 5 W’s and 1 H

The Lead or Lede_____

The Angle– The main idea of a news

story and lead is called the “angle”. It is the main point that the rest of the story will try to support.

Writing the Lead

Kinds of Lead

Straight Lead – depending on the nature of the story and its driving news elements, a straight lead can focus on one or a few of the six question words.

Novelty Lead

Straight Lead

5 Ws and1 H Formula

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

Writing a Straight Lead

Many students in SAC are getting bald early.The GJC board had a meeting.The meeting was held last night.They ate chicharon during the meeting.One of the causes of baldness might be the wearing

of caps.The board passed a resolution banning the wearing of

hats in the school.The board voted 9-1 in favor of the resolution.

One Story, Six Possible Leads

– Who? — The school board passed a resolution last night banning the wearing of caps in all school buildings.

– What? — Cap wearing was banned in all school buildings last night after the school board passed a new resolution.


– Where? — In St. Anthony’s College last night, the school board passed a resolution to ban the wearing of caps in all school buildings.

– When? — Last night, the school board passed a resolution banning cap wearing in all school buildings.


– How? — By a 9-1 margin last night, the school board passed a resolution banning cap wearing inside the school premises.

– Why? — Citing a pattern of early-onset baldness in St. Anthony’s College students, the school board last night passed a resolution that restricts cap wearing in all school buildings.

Novelty Leads

Astonisher LeadBetter attend your

classes on November 5!

Contrast LeadTwenty years ago,

he was the school’s janitor. Now, he came back to become the college dean.

Novelty Leads

Epigram Lead – verse, quotation

Like father, like son…

Picture Lead – describes to create a mental picture of the subject.

The new dean, although only in his 30s, is already silver-haired.

Novelty Leads

Background Lead – describes the setting

Decorated with buntings and multi-colored lights, the quadrangle became a grand setting for a barrio fiesta as St. Anthony’s College celebrated its…..

Parody Lead – a parody of a well-known song or poem

Never say never…

Novelty Leads

Punch Lead - short, forceful, explosive

God’s not dead!

Quotation Lead“Ignorance, not

poverty, causes malnutrition.”

Thus revealed former Isabela governor Grace Padaca to …

Novelty Leads

Question LeadWho will be the

next Antique governor? The answer will be known on…

Guidelines in Writing the Lead

Pack the most important info in one sentence Start with the most important or unusual idea of

the news event. Go direct to the point

Guidelines in Writing the Lead

Rarely use the “when” and “where” leads Use less than 30 words Avoid starting with articles: a, an, the Do not mention names in the lead unless the

person is well-known

The Body

The details of the lead Arranged from most important to the least important One sentence, one paragraph Sentences are generally less than 25 words Include quotations from at least two different people

The Ending

Wraps up the remaining details of the story One way to end is with a “kicker”, which is often a

catchy quote

Pointers in Newswriting

1. One idea per sentence - As much as possible, write one-idea, one-sentence paragraphs.

2. Limit the sentence length to not more than 25 words - Simplify. The simplest and clearest way of saying something is often the shortest and most eloquent.

3. Follow the subject-verb-object format - Good news writing starts with good sentence structure, and that means simple construction:

Subject-verb-object. Refrain from using a lot of commas.


4. Use strong verbs and an active voice - Write most of your sentences like this: “somebody does something”. Note also that when a sentence is recast into active voice, it becomes shorter.

5. Reduce difficult words to their simplest terms - As much as possible, use words that are understandable by the average reader. When it is necessary to use unfamiliar or technical terms, explain them briefly. Prefer concrete, specific words to abstract and general ones.


6. Use no more than three prepositional phrases per sentence.

7. Choose the precise word.

8. Keep it simple - Write to express not to impress.

9. Show, don’t tell - Don’t just describe something. Reveal a piece of the world to yourself and to your readers.

10. Give your source when necessary - Those people and documents need to be cited in attribution because that helps the reader evaluate the reliability of information.


11. Identify all persons - Write their full names the first time they are mentioned.

12. Keep it objective - Stay completely impartial. Do not use “I” and “me” unless you are quoting someone.

13. Have an angle - It can help make the purpose of the story clear and give it focus.

14. Quote people.

15. Avoid preaching at the end of the story.


16. Be very careful - Choose your words with care. Do not assume their meaning. Use dictionary to make sure of word meanings. Watch your grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, use of abbreviations and sentence construction.

17. Read newspaper everyday - Study constantly the construction of news stories in good national newspaper to improve your writing style and technique.

Tips in News Gathering

See for your selfFind the person who

knows Compare all versionsGet both sides Do not give up too easily

Be tactful and courteousMake and keep friendsGet into printResearch Observe proper

attribution.

End of Lecture

Let’s test your knowledge and see

what you have learned!

Newswriting Exercise

1. The two candidates for mayor of Champaign debated last night at Central High School.2. The debate was sponsored by the League of Women Voters. About 245 people attended. Three-hundred people had been expected.3. Republican candidate Mack Abraham said he would try to accomplish three things if elected: (1) He would add new businesses to Marketplace Mall; (2) He would crack down on drinking by university students in Campustown; (3) he would streamline council meetings.4. Democratic candidate Maya Evans, the incumbent, accused Abraham of trying to give something to everyone. She said she had learned that Abraham’s largest contributor was a major backer of Marketplace Mall.5. Abraham said he had not received any money from anyone connected with the mall.6. Questioned from the audience, Abraham said he would make public the names of donors only by the dates required by law, and not before.7. League of Women Voters President Sally Harm thanked the candidates for a good debate and said she thought the evening was a success.

Using the facts below, write a news led. Suggest an appropriate headline for your article.

basics of newswriting

Education