WRITING

the

NEWS
By: Maria Cecilia M. Genove, Ed. D.
NEWS
– information that has a meaning for a
set of readers. Its bases are:

Facts
Interest
Readers
3-part process of
writing the news
1. Coverage
– refers to getting the news; may
include actual witnessing of the
event, interview, printed material,
or a combination of the three.

3-part process of writing the news

2. Interpretation
– involves explaining the news,
filling the background, forecasting
and, sometimes, passing moral
judgment. This is mainly the
responsibility of the editor and the
columnists.

3-part process of writing the news

3. Play
– is the assigning of “value” to the
news. The evaluation is done by the
copyreader, the news editor, and
even the layout artist.

3-part process of writing the news

ELEMENTS OF
THE NEWS OR
NEWS VALUES
1. Immediacy or Timeliness – playing
up the newest angle of a story.
2. Proximity or Nearness – closeness,
not only of place, but of interest.
3. Consequence – importance and
breadth of appeal, intensity, and
extension.

elements of the news or news values

4. Prominence – familiarity to
reader; refers to places, persons,
things, and situations.
5. Oddity – unusualness
6. Human Interest – appeal to the
emotion and instincts
7. Conflict – physical and mental
struggle
8. Change
elements of the news or news values
9. Names – more names mean more
readers; however, avoid mere listing
of names; some form of explanation or
interpretation should precede the names.
10. Numbers – suggest the breadth or
extension of the news.
11. Drama – mystery, suspense, comedy
12. Amusement

elements of the news or news values

 TYPES OF
NEWS STORIES
 NEWS STORIES ACCORDING TO
APPROACH OR TREATMENT:

1. Straight News Story

– news told in direct fashion. It depends
on the freshness of facts for reader
interest. It proceeds from the most
important to the least important. It uses
the inverted pyramid structure.

types of news stories

 NEWS STORIES ACCORDING TO
APPROACH OR TREATMENT:

2. Human Interest Story

– appeals to the emotion and attempts to
gain a response from the reader.

types of news stories

 NEWS STORIES ACCORDING TO
APPROACH OR TREATMENT:
3. Interpretative News
– helps the reader understand the
significance of the facts of the story. It
may include:
a. Why the incident occurred
b. Background
c. Personalities of principal persons
involved
d. Significance
types of news stories
 NEWS STORIES ACCORDING TO
APPROACH OR TREATMENT:

4. News Feature – halfway between a

news story and an editorial.

5. Sidebar Story – a brief news item on

some lighter aspects of an event run
side by side a significant news item.

types of news stories

SPECIAL TYPES OF NEWS STORIES:

1. News Briefs or a News Round-up – a

news item usually no more than 2
paragraphs.
2. Bulletin – it is an important, but last-
minute news. It is printed on the first
page in bold face type and may be
boxed.
types of news stories
SPECIAL TYPES OF NEWS STORIES:

3. Meeting Story
– it includes purpose, time and place,
name of organization, participants,
background, information about
speakers, kind of meeting, what
happened.

types of news stories

SPECIAL TYPES OF NEWS STORIES:

4. Speech Story
– it includes the speaker and his/her
background, theme of the speech,
occasion, time and place, quotations,
description of audience, including
unusual reaction.

types of news stories

SPECIAL TYPES OF NEWS STORIES:

5. Box Story
– it is a news story enclosed in a “box”
(printed material in black lines usually
rectangular). The most common types of
copy for which a box is suitable are:
a. Short important news item
b. Summaries of large news items

types of news stories

 c. Lists of related or similar events in
connection with a news story
d. Short feature stories, often connected
with a news article
e. Special announcements
f. Game schedules or records of
previous contests
g. Reports on fund-raising
The box story is used for emphasis as well as
variety and attractiveness in make-up.

types of news stories

SPECIAL TYPES OF NEWS STORIES:

6. Personal News
– it has no real news value, but a purely
personal item of interest only to the person,
his friends, acquaintances, and admirers.

types of news stories

WHAT SHOULD
BE INCLUDED
IN SCHOOL
NEWS
1. Worthwhile or extraordinary acts of students
2. Stories of success, conflicts, or suspense
3. Anything that informs, entertains or sets
students, teachers, or administrators thinking
about reforms and improvements
4. School convocations and other programs
5. Interviews of visiting personages

what should be included in school news

6. Visitors or speakers in the classrooms
7. Unusual goings-on
8. Experiments
9. Special programs
10. Special projects
11. Field trips

what should be included in school news

THE LEAD
The LEAD
it is the beginning of a news story. It is
the most important paragraph of the
entire article. The reporter tries to place
the most important items into the
opening 6-8 words. A common
classification of leads is the
conventional type or the 5 Ws and 1 H.

the lead
Depending entirely on which one the
reporter considers as the most important,
then, that could be his lead. The WHO and
the WHAT are usually the most important
elements of a news happening, the WHEN
and the WHERE are the last. A lead does
not necessarily answer all six of the
questions.

the lead
CLASSIFICATION
OF LEADS
1. WHO LEAD (or name feature)
2. WHAT LEAD (or event feature) – what the story
is about
3. WHY LEAD – reason why an event took place
4. HOW LEAD – used for unusual happenings and
action stories
5. WHEN LEAD – used if an event takes place at
an unconventional hour, or in making an
announcement where the time is important to the
reader
6. WHERE LEAD – used if an event takes place at
an unusual location

classification of leads
 TESTING
A
GOOD LEAD
Are all of the essential 5 Ws and 1 H included?
Are the remaining essentials arranged in their
proper order?
Does it begin with specific, interest-arousing
words?
Are there any unnecessary words or details?
Are all persons identified?
Is it clear in both structure and content?
Is it of the right length?
Is it written in the proper tone – serious or
light?

testing a good lead

POINTERS IN
WRITING THE
NEWS STORY
1. Write the story as soon as you have
gathered the facts.
2. Play up a dominant point or angle.
3. Be accurate.
4. Avoid editorializing (direct statement of
opinion by the reporter).
5. Mention the source of news to strengthen
the reader’s confidence in the accuracy of
the story and to protect the paper from libel
suits. This is especially true when it
concerns opinion rather than facts.

pointers in writing the news story

 6. Present facts without bias. Be
objective. The writer’s opinions and
feelings should be kept out of the story. A
reporter is allowed only a LIMITED amount
of comment.
7. Names should be given in full when
first mentioned. Thereafter, use surnames
only or any special title. Avoid the use of
“Mr.” For women, unless there is a special
title, use surnames or “Ms.,” regardless of
civil or marital status.

pointers in writing the news story

8. Avoid “coloring” the story by the use of
words which have a tendency to prejudice
the reader.
9. Write one-idea, mostly one-sentence
paragraphs. Be brief and concise.
10.Begin every paragraph with a significant,
interesting fact.
11.Avoid a series of very short paragraphs.
Average length is 35 words per paragraph,
or rarely more than 2 column inches.

pointers in writing the news story

12.Write mostly short sentences. Vary the length
of the sentences, but keep them simple and
clear.
13. Place direct and indirect quotations in
separate paragraphs.
14. Reader interest determines the length of the
story.
15. Avoid polysyllabic words.

pointers in writing the news story

16.Use simple, specific words; adjectives and
adverbs should give way to verbs and nouns.
Avoid uncommon words, superlatives, and
trite expressions or clichés.
17. Write a good lead.
a. Do not cram the 5 Ws in the opening
sentence if the result is long and unreadable.
b. Avoid beginning a lead with figures, with
articles “a, an, the” or with the expletives “there,
it.” However, if the sentence will sound choppy,
it is best to keep the article.

pointers in writing the news story

18. Prefer the active to the passive voice,
except when the object of the verb is more
important than the doer.
19. Give all facts needed to understand the
story. Anticipate the reader’s questions and
answer them in order of urgency.

pointers in writing the news story

DIRECTIONS IN
PREPARING
COPY
Type story on standard-size bond paper,
double-spaced with one and a half margins on
both sides.
In the upper left-hand corner of the first page,
write a one-word or two-word slug (also called
a guide-line) indicating the subject of the
story. Below this, single-spaced, write your
surname and the numeral 1111. Succeeding
pages should have the surname of the reporter
and the page number indicated as 2222
or 3333.
directions in preparing copy
Start typing the story in the middle portion of
the bond paper.
Write the word “more” at the bottom of each
sheet except the last. Indicate the end of the
story with “30.”
The last paragraph on each sheet should be
complete. Do not run part of the paragraph
over to a succeeding page.

directions in preparing copy

In making corrections, delete words with
“xxxxx,” then continue typing. When doing
corrections mechanically, insert them
vertically.
Copy with too many corrections should be
retyped and read again for fresh corrections.

directions in preparing copy

 THE
INVERTED
PYRAMID
LEAD – contains the most important or most interesting information

More Facts

Supporting information or background

Less important facts

Minor Facts

Least significant information

the inverted pyramid

GUIDELINES IN
WRITING THE
NEWS STORY
The reporter should write for the reader.

Convey technical information in your stories in

layman’s terms.

The reporter should write short sentences and

short paragraphs.

Avoid wordy sentences.

Use standard grammar.

guidelines in writing the news story

 TIPS ON
INTERVIEWING
Be prepared. Try to avoid going into an
interview “cold.”
If you know anything about his or her work,
warm up to the interview by asking for
clarification or repetition of aims, methods, or
results.
Make sure you identify yourself completely and
clearly.
Be on time for the interview. Phone ahead if
you are going to be late.
tips on interviewing
Keep the interview to one hour or less. If you
are still unclear, ask for a second interview,
even if it must be by telephone.
Do not make promises you won’t be able to
keep.
As the interview is closing, always ask, “Is
there anything else we may not have covered?”
Do not close the doors, so to speak, between
you and your interviewee. Remember, you may
still go back to your source for another
interview in the future.

tips on interviewing
THANK YOU!