ment should analysis are: «. Make an zations and year. News Story Structure the same time, faced with daily deadlines and a limited writing time, journalists also need to write fast and editors need to be able to edit even more quickly Thus, unlike other forms of writing, where the author builds the story before it rises into the climax, the journalistic style of writing begins from the climax or the ‘most important aspect of the story and ends with the least important detail. I: today's fast-paced world, people want information and want to get it fast. At ‘The news story structure is designed in such a way that it answers both the fast delivery of news demanded by its readers and its fast construction by its producers. ‘That structure is more popularly known as the “inverted pyramid” format. This format facilitates the work of the editors because the first paragraph of the story (the lead): 1) guides them in writing the headline; and 2) allows them to easily shorten the story if there is not enough space in the newspaper. Even in today’s digital age, the format is kept because it also allows readers, who have no time to read the whole story, to get an idea of the news by simply reading the first two to three paragraphs. English Literary Structure Journalism Structure‘Writing in the inverted pyramid can be a challenging format to anyone who has been drilled in the English writing form since his/her elementary days. Newswaiting can be confusing for a high school student since he/her will need a shift in paradigms when taking journalism as an elective. The Lead Alll news stories, whether straight news or feature, start with a lead. There are two types of leads traditional and alternative, The lead is the fist paragraph of the news story and at the same time serves as its climax. News stories are not suspensefill because the lead immediately tells the reader if someone has died, has been arrested, or sentenced, Ifthe news story is about a speech, then the lead tells the reader the gist of the speech or the principal message of the speaker. Traditionally, the lead is expected to answer six (6) basic questions: who, what, where, when, why (5 18) and how (H). ‘These days, the writer is expected to put the best Wor H forward and leave the less important ones for the succeeding paragraphs. How do we know which is the best 1” co: Hf Simple, The news values cue usin, For example, if a story is newsworthy because it involves a prominent person, then you should opt for a “who" lead. But ifthe story is significant toa lot of people, then you should use a “what” lead. ‘Who lead: British Prince William yesterday said he will visit the Philippines in November. What lead: The oil price hike wil tigger higher food prices, economists from the University of the Philippines said in a symposium on Tuesday. ‘When lead: For the first time in 20 years, a Muslim from Mindanao was nominated as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Where lead: Luneta Park was filed with G-string clad men on Saturday in an effort to raise awareness of cultural minorities, Why lead: Fauity wiring caused the fir that razed a hardware store to the ground yesterday. How lead: Using his bare hands to kill the snake, the soldier saved a six-year-old boy from being bitten. Apart from giving information, the lead also serves to attract the reader to the story. It would be a pity if after spending a whole day digging for information, there is ‘no one to read it because the lead is boring or too long. An effective lead is a single sentence that contains only one idea. Also, the lead should emphasize what is most newsworthy; it should highlight the news value. What is the strong point of the story? Is it prominence or is it oddity? If the Protagonist of the story is not a prominent person, the rule of thumb is simply to identify the person using common elements rather than his name. For example: Weak lead: Juanita de la Cruz, 18, a student of the Far Eastern University, died in a car accident along North Expressway yesterday. 22 Cuveus Joumausuone who has Newswriting in paradigms here are two se news story {because the i sentenced. f the speech who, what, jeave the less s the best W rthy because Ethe story is mie. = University of 2 Speaker of etfort to raise esterday oy from being ader to the jon, there is | Also, the t the news dity? If the s simply to mple: car accident ‘trong lead: An 18-year-old feriale student of Far Eastern University died in 2 car accident along ‘North Expressway yesterday. “The lead also reports the story's most recent developments. A news story begins its narration from the ending. We do not write that a person held up a restaurant when that person had already been apprehended; or report that a person was injured when he had already died. To illustrate: ‘Weak lead: A McDonald's outlet in Cubao was held up at around midnight on Tuesday by a lone gunman, ‘Strong lead: A man was arrested by police at dawn Wednesday for allegedly robbing a McDonald's outlet in Cubao. ‘Strong lead: Police arrested a man at dawn yesterday for allegedly robbing a McDonald's outlet in Cuban, Lastly, the lead should be action-oriented, telling the readers what the story is and not merely what the story is about (i.e, its topic). For instance: ‘Weak lead: Results of a survey showing Filipinos’ perception on government corruption was released by the Social Weather Station yesterday. ‘Strong lead: The Bureau of Customs was deemed the most corrupt by Filipinos, a survey by the ‘Social Weather Station revealed yesterday. Alternative Leads Apart from the traditional 1% and Heads, today’s journalists rely on more colorful leads to attract readers. They are called “alternative” because they sometimes break convention or even rules of grammar. They are also called “delayed” leads because they only give a “clue” to what the story is about instead of informing the reader. ‘The summary of the story is left to the so-called “nut graph,” which is found in the second or third paragraph of the story. The nut graph is similar to the traditional lead, although it is longer and contains almost all the Ws and H. The term takes its origin from a nut shell (nilagang mani), which you have to crack open to reveal its contents, Although they may be used for any type of news story, alternative leads are more often used in news stories that have oddity as its primary news value or in news features. Some of the more common types of alternative leads are: * Punch lead - A punch lead is a brief, witty, and sometimes paradoxical statement. Like a good joke, itis a punchline that catches readers off guard. ‘Sample lead: Watching television can be deadly. ‘Nut graph: Joselito D. Cruz, 35, was beaten to death when he changed the television ‘channel against the wishes of the other patrons at the Lopaluza Bar along Taft Avenue lastnight. Cuarrn 3 New Sony Struct 23.24 * Picture or descriptive lead ~ ‘This type of lead is a vivid word picture of an event. It is usually used for sidebar stories to big events such as the story on. congressional fashion during the president's State of the Nation address. ‘Sample lead: Dressed in shiny metallic blouses, the silver jubilarians waved, smiled, and posed for the cameras during their homecoming festivities at the St. Cecilia’s Auditorium on February 8. © Direct address lead - Violating newswriting convention of writing in the third person, this lead is written using the second person “you,” with the aim of targeting specific readers. ‘Sample lead: if your parents are alumni of this school, then your family may be eligible for ‘the annual loyalty award. ‘Nut graph: The Aurora Elementary School Loyalty Award will be given to a family that has been with the school for at least two generations, Principal Mike Matino announced during the flag ceremony yesterday. * Contrast lead ~ This lead uses the compaison of two conventional extremes, such as black and white, young and old, rich and poor, healthy and sickly. This is usually used for personality profiles, but it can be used for crime stories as well ‘Sample lead: Forty years ago, he was a fish vendor in Tondo. Today, he is the ninth richest person inthe country. * Question lead ~ This lead uses a pertinent question, which at the same time serves as the key idea of the story. This lead is only effective if the question is phrased in such a way that people would be interested in its answer. ‘Sample lead: |s a tuition fee increase really necessary? Nut graph: A tuition fee increase can be avoided next year, if the school manages to raise 500,000 trom the newspaper drive, Principal Francis B. Ochoa said yesterday. * Quotation lead ~ For news stories, this lead uses a succinct remark or a bold statement from a speech or an interview. For features, this lead may also be culled from historical figures, well-known literature or even the Bible. ‘Sample lead for news: “We will win the championships," coach Virgilio Santos confidently declared yesterday. ‘Sample lead for features: “What isthe truth?" Unie Pontius Pilate who never waited for an answer, students of Sister Mary Belle stayed for her Tuesday Catholic Doctrine classes. + Literary allusion lead — Usually used for features, this lead makes use of famous lines from popular literature or well-known proverbs. Here is an example of a lead, tweaked from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. ‘Sample lead: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of an investment banker. (Originally, “an investment banker” is “a wife” from the first line of Jane Austen's Pride and the Prejudice). auras Journausnare of an story on ess. 3, smiled, Cecilia's ng in the b the aim eligible for ily that has announced | extremes, ly. This is = as well ninth richest same time question is, ages to raise day. & or a bold pay also be ble bs confidently waited for an rine classes, se of famous ample of a sion of a good ent banker” is Writing the Jead is the hardest part of newswriting because it is not only an exercise of sill but also of judgment. Choosing the right lead means choosing the tight angle of the story and choosing the best way of stating it, Thus) most journalists ‘would agree that once the lead has been writen, 50 percent ofa story is done. ‘Any event can be written into a news story from the most mundane tothe most unusual, Taking the nursery chyme “Jack and Jill” and making it into 2 real event, how would the lead be written? For the sake of the story let’ say ehat Jack and Jill swore siblings, age 9 and 6, and had fallen from one of the Chocolate Hills in Carmen, Bohol. ‘The poem: — Jack and Jill went up the hill, to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown ‘and Jill came tumbling after. “Traditional: A nine-year-old boy died and his si-yeer-old sister seriously inured in an accident at the Chocolate Hills of Bohol yesterday. ‘Alternative: a. There was no poetry in his death. (punch lead) Jack and Jill went up the hill to shoot a perfect pictur. (literary allusion Yead) The Body ‘As we noted earlier, the news story takes the shape of an inverted pyramid. The fast paragraph serves to give the story its focus and the rest ofthe story follows fs seer Hike fee two to three paragraphs of a news story should only serve to expound ‘on the lead. To illustrate, let us go back to our earlier example. Lead: ‘hn 18-year-old female student did ina car accident along North Expressway yesterday. ‘Second paragraph (identification of the WHO): ‘Te vetim was Joan de l2 Cruz, a pre-aw student of the Far Eastem University and daughter of Court of Appeals Justice Jose de la Cruz. ‘Third paragraph (expounding the WHAT, WHERE, and WHEN): ‘She was found dead Inside a 1980 Toyota Corolla with plate number ALY 340, by highway patrolman at around 3 pm. The car ws in a ditch not far from the toll plaza of North Expressway. Her body was brought to the Valenzuela Memorial Hospital. ‘Ouaren 3; New Stor Srecust 25Fourth paragraph (expounding on the WHY and HOW): Initial police reports showed that the brakes of her car malfunctioned, causing the car to ‘kid and fall nto the atch. “The brake fluid container was died up and the brake lining was very thin,” said Police Orficer Manuel Reyes ofthe Valenzuela Police precinct. Fifth paragraph (adding drama to the story): Police called the family of the victim and her father came to Identity the body. “She was ‘Supposed to follow in my footsteps and be my legal aid,” said the teary-eyed Justice de la Cn, ‘Sixth paragraph (related, but least important information); The accident caused a four-hour trafic jam along North Expressway. But trafic was {ollowing smoothly by 8 p.m. ater the damaged cr had been towed. ‘The paragraph immediately following the lead should build on the story’s focus. In the example above, the focus was on the eighteen-year-old victim. Thus, the second paragraph was devoted to identifying who she was. Paragraphs should only contain one major idea. Thus, the Way and the How were separated from the other IVs to give the story greater clarity. The paragraph that adds drama was also separated from straightforward facts of the previous paragraphs. Every paragraph of a news story's should give readers additional information and specific details. Unlike essays, news stories do not contain topic sentences. For instance: Essay: The eyewitness managed to get a description of the gunman’s car. News: The eyewitness said she saw the gunman escape in a white Honda Civic driven by a woman. We always say that the paragraphs and sentences should be brief as possible. But we should not end up with the extreme—that is, sentences and paragraphs becoming too choppy or repetitive. For instance: x He stood on a street corer. The wind was blowing. He peered into the darkness. He was a stranger. He realized that he had no place to go. ~ Standing on a windy street comer and peering into the darkness, the stranger realized that the had no place to go. AAs much as possible, journalistic writing is always in the active voice. Active voice means the sentence is structured in such a way that shows that “someone did 26 Caurus Jovmwausnig the car to lining was something,” This is opposed to the passive voice, which articulates that “Something was done by someone.” For example: X The games were enjoyed by the participants of the two-day conference. The participants enjoyed the games during the two-day conference. In choosing which voice to use, however, be guided by whether you want to emphasize the doer or the receiver of the action. The passive voice is the better option when the subject is not known or when the receiver of the action is more important than the actor. Examples: ‘The cigarette vendor was attacked and badly beaten while jogging through Rizal Park yesterday. ‘The new Congress building will be completed in July. ‘The Campus Beat For a secondary school paper, the most common news stories will be about school policies, student competitions, changes in personnel, or crime and accident stories within the neighborhood of the school. A school policy story should contain: the gist of the school policy, the reasons for its issuance, a statement of the administration, and reactions of those affected. A student competition story should highlight the winners; unusual, exciting, or unique facts regarding the competition or the players; and a background on the competition. Stories about changes in school personnel should be more of a personality feature regarding the newcomer. If significant, a sidebar could also be written about the one leaving. However, ifthe newcomer was appointed because of the demise of the former official, then a longer feature may be written regarding the deceased as a memorial for him/her. For a campus paper, crime and accident stories should be limited to the vicinity of the school or to events involving a school constituent. (Garren 3: New Son Smurune 27