News Writing Handouts

Mayor Ramon A. Benjamin Sr. National High School Dacuton, Dumarao, Capiz

THE RADIANCE

Journalism Seminar and Workshop Theme: “Breakthrough in Campus Journalism” November 6-7, 2015

NEWS WRITING

Compiled and Presented by: Elaine Grace Bimbao What is News?  Defined as any information about an incident, unusual event, place, person, or pronouncement that is new to a certain group of people.  Ordinary information, however, does not comprise news. For an information to be considered news, it must be considered news, it must be unexpected or a” break from the normal flow of events”. In other words, for any information to be called news, it must be unusual, unexpected, and even dramatic.  Some say that news is a reflection of reality.  Mitchell Charnley of the University of Minnesota defines news as “tomorrow’s history done up in today’s neat package.” IDEAL and USEFUL News Story  It is accurate  It is balanced and fair  It is truthful  It is objective  It is brief  It is properly attributed  It is well-written Attributes of a Good News Story  Timeliness  Refers to the immediacy of the news.  Occurrence of events must be reported immediately.  Reporting the events as they unfold or occur separates journalists from a historian or a story teller.  Proximity or Nearness  An event that occurs near the readers is more meaningful than the same event that unfolds in distant places.  Prominence  Stories about famous people and celebrities easily make news.  Minutes pronouncements and little things done by these people or anything they do are subjects of news.  Oddity  Strangeness of anything usually triggers the man’s consciousness.  News worthy is any unfolding of events, especially so if such occurrence deviates from the normal course of the event.  Significance  The importance of an event and how it affects the people are always considered newsworthy. NEWS CATEGORIES

 NOVELTY  This refers to anything new or about the latest inventions, discovery, trends, fashion, etc.  PERSONAL IMPACT  News about PDAF Scams and allegations of corruptions have shocked the country.  LOCAL NEWS  A sex scandal involving the local mayor is more significant to and more preferred by the people than any national scandal.  MONEY  News about who won the biggest sweepstakes prize, purse prize of Manny Pacquiao’s latest fight and how much Janet Lim Napoles allegedly pocketed in the PDAF scam are fascinating news stories for the readers.  CRIME AND PUNISHMENT   SEX 







 







The assassination of Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino and the implementation of Death Penalty were celebrated news of the country.

Love and stories about the latest flings of famous actors and actresses are among the staples of local news papers. News about sex videos of famous people and celebrities occupy the minds of people. The case of Vhong Navarro, Denise Cornejo, and Cedric Lee is a recent example of these categories. CONFLICTS  Some news stories are about wars and revolutions. These may also refer to the gaps between the rich and the poor. The recent events in Thailand and Ukraine are examples of these categories. RELIGION  The election of new Pope, the centennial of the founding of the Iglisia ni Cristo, the Ramadan of the Muslims always hold news stories. DISASTERS AND TRAGEDIES  The typhoon Yolanda and its effects to people, the Earthquake in Bohol, the Malaysian Airlines mishaps gain prominence in the news pages. HUMOR  Jokes, anecdotes, and cartoons enliven the pages of newspapers. THE UNDERDOG  Stories about the underprivileged and the ordinary people of the street are worth subject of news stories. HUMAN INTEREST  Stories about the kindness of the likes of Mother Teresa, Princess Diana, Michael Jordan and other fascinate the consciousness of mankind. When Pope John II visited his jailed assassin, he embraced him, forgave and blessed him. The news about such humility and kindness echoed to the entire world. Success stories like that of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is an example of human interest stories. HEALTH  Stories about the latest virus that struck the country, dengue fever, and the latest drugs developed to lessen the effects of illnesses are welcomed news stories. SCIENCE



This category includes news stories about latest inventions, scientific breakthroughs, and latest technological advancements.  ENTERTAINMENT  Stories about best movies and how they are made, the actors and actresses involved in these films, even their dialogues that become personal credo to some---these are subjects of news stories extensively written in newspapers and magazines.  FAMOUS PEOPLE  Pronouncements, good and bad deeds, fashion, achievements, etc. of famous people are great source of news stories.  WEATHER  Reports on weather, especially now that climate change affects the world, are written extensively.  FOODS AND DRINKS  Tales about the wines consumed by the rich and famous, the latest cuisines and even the food shortages in some calamity-stricken areas are subjects of news stories. Two General Kinds of NEWS  STRAIGHT NEWS (Hard News)  Presents data in straight forward or direct fashion. It usually uses the summary lead.  NEWS FEATURE (Soft New)  Presents the data indirectly through the use of novelty. Types of News According to Treatment  HARD NEWS DEALS WITH IMPORTANT MATTERS  They are objective, direct. And factual.  SOFT NEWS DEALS WITH INTERISTING MATTERS  They are subjective and oftentimes are being featurized.  VISUAL NEWS TELLS ABOUT ACTION STORIES THAT ARE CONCRETE AND EXPLICIT  it adopts the following format:  Lead  Lead support  Details(chronological narrative)  Background/end  VERBAL NEWS FOCUSES ON THE IMPORTANCE OF WORDS AND WHO SAID THEM  it uses the following format:  Lead  Lead support  Details (context, e.g. the speech or words said)  Background/end  CURRENT EVENTS  It tells about report of past events.  ADVANCE NEWS  Is about report of future events.  FOLLOW-UP NEWS  Is a news report that follows current or advance news. The 5 Ws and 1H + A or S

 Who the event happened to? With whom the event is acted upon?  What happened? What will happen? What did not happen? What will not happen? What is the news all about?  Where the event happened? Where the event will happen?  When the event happened? When will the event happen?  Why did the event happen? Why will the event happen?  How the event happen? How will the event happen?  Authority or Source is about what the authority say about what happened or what will happen or about the contexts of the news. Tips in News Gathering  Be enthusiastic about each assignment no matter how unimportant it may seem to you.  Observe closely.  Get your facts from reliable sources.  Get all facts.  Have many contacts with students, faculty members, other school personnel, community members.  Never break a confidence.  In talking with sources, concentrate upon the thought rather than words.  Write your story as soon as the facts are gathered.  Go all out for local news.  Do not neglect follow-ups.  Action is more newsworthy than statements or opinions.  Play up news that has to do with community improvement.  Do not let your story become overburdened by figures.  Focus on the local (or school angle in the case of campus papers) whenever possible.  Check carefully to be sure you have all the facts and have them straight. General Tips in Writing the News  Use transition words such as however, therefore, in addition, meanwhile, etc.  Avoid long paragraphs.  Always check names.  Keep the lead short, usually fewer than 25 words.  Attribute opinion.  Find out who, what, when, where, why, how and so what (impact).  Report information basic to the story, even if it is routine.  Avoid passive voice constructions (e.g. the ball was hit by the boy).  Use single, strong verbs instead of several weak ones.  Keep to one idea per sentence.  Avoid having more than three numbers in any one sentence.  Avoid having more than three prepositions in any sentence.  Keep to subject/verb/object sentences as much as possible.  Cut unnecessary words and redundancy.  Avoid qualifiers (e.g. very) and choose the precise word.  Avoid long words when short ones will do the job. News Story Structure  There are three basic structures of news story. These are: inverted pyramid, narrative or storytelling, and hour glass.  Inverted Pyramid Considered the most popular structure of a news story.

Most Important Information Supporting Data and Examples Least Important Data

Parts of the News  Headline. It is the title of the news story.  Body. It contains the lead, the lead support, and the details. The body explains the lead, gives background narrations, definitions, quotes, observations, and other details.  End. It summarizes the main idea of a news story. The end is what the readers most remember s about the news story. The lead is the writer’s promise to the reader . It captures the essence of the story. It answers what the story is all about. It encourages the readers to continue reading the news story. Varieties of Lead  Direct lead or summary lead tells at once the reader or listener the most important aspects of the story.  Delayed or novelty lead entices the reader or listener into the story by hinting at it contents. Types of Leads  CONVENTIONAL LEAD. It answers the 5W’s and 1H. It also gives the readers the proper attributes or authorities. The Who Lead Ronnie Reyes has been chosen to represent General Santos City in the Philippines Teen Idol 2014. The What Lead Political and economic-related violence in Thailand capital Bangkok yesterday claimed three lives of protesters as police and rioters made an abrupt confrontation over the alleged irresponsible statement of government authorities. The Where lead Sochi, Russia will gather the world’s best athletes as it hosts the 2014 Winter Olympics. The When Lead Appointed Wednesday by the chancellor is a four-member grievance committee to conduct investigation on the alleged physical assault committed by one faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences. The Why Lead In order to duplicate last year’s top performance in Nation Achievement test in Region 12, the Division of General Santos City intensified monitoring of all schools and required rigid reviews for all pupils and students. The How Lead Repeatedly stabbed by the suspect, the victim suffered multiple body wounds and was rushed to the hospital where doctors declared him out of dander.

 Grammatical Beginning Lead. This type of lead uses grammar to highlight the most important aspects of the news story. Prepositional Phrase Lead With stinging jabs, speedy crosses, and crushing hooks, ring icon Manny Pacquiao reduced Miguel Cotto’s face into a pitiful pulp and wrestled from the former the WBO super welter weight crown. Infinitive Phrase Lead To fulfill his destiny as the country’s leading journalist, young Maximo Solliven pursued a writing career at Fordham University in New York, USA. Participial Phrase Lead (present and past participles) 1. Attacked by media people in one side and pressured by religious groups in other, Joseph Estrada was forced to step down from presidency in 2001 2. Aiming to erase the stigma of his last two defeats, Manny Pacquiao will vent his rage and self against Brandon “Bambam” Rios in Cotai Arena in Macao on the 24th of November , 2013. Gerund Phrase Lead Putting pressures and confining the Persian warriors in the narrow passage were the goals of the 300 chosen Spartans lead by King Leonidas in the battle of Thermopelae. Clause Lead Because of numerous American soldiers going home invalid and wounded, US President Lyndon b. Johnson was forced to stop sending men to Vietnam, leading America to drop its claim of superiority in Sout East Asia in the early 70’s.  Novelty Leads Question lead. A thought-provoking question that entices the readers. Which would you prefer--- an extravagant, rich person or a thrifty, poor one? Answers will be known soon as RGT Radio posed the same question to its listeners in line with its local program, “Palaguin Mo Ang Pera Mo.” Descriptive Lead. It gives the readers a description or mental picture of a person or event in the news story. Eyes questioning, bold, and staring wide; a shoaled face with traces of blood; a haggard body mind and soul--- this was Shabart Gula as photographed by Stephen Curry that earl morning in a remote village of Afghanistan. Shabart Gula, through that picture, would become, in the three years to come, the Monalisa of photography. One Word Lead. It consists of a word that best describes the news story. Vindicated. This is what Romeo Canto felt when the court ordered the imprisonment of the suspect of the murder of his brother three years ago. Quotation Lead. It uses well-known quotations. “Today we love what tomorrow we hate; today we seek what tomorrow we shun.” Former President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo could have predicted this thought from Daniel Defoe as she now contemplates her fate and destiny.  Wrap up on Preparing the Lead: 1. Present a summary of the story. 2. Identify persons and places involved. 3. Stress the news peg. 4. Stimulate the reader continue reading the story. 5. Vary the lead.  The body of the news story gives the readers the detailed parts of the news. It develops and explains the facts and data given in the lead.

 The ending is often what the readers remember most about the story. The ending is so important that news writers should know how to end their stories before they start writing them. *END OF NOTES*

Reference: A Campus Journalism Book by Ronnie Repalbor Sunggay Published and Copyrighted 2014