NEWSWRITING NEWSWRITING NEWSWRITING NEWSWRITING

NEWSWRITING.pptx

1. NEWS WRITING

2. The ABCs of News Writing Accuracy Brevity Clarity

3. NEWS TREATMENT Hard News Deals with important matters Objective, direct and factual Soft News Deals with interesting matters Featurized and subjective

4. Visual News Verbal News Action story that is concrete and explicit Lead Lead support Details – chronological narrative Background/End Story focuses on importance of words said & who said them Lead Lead support Details – context Background/End

5. Types of News according to Time Element Current News - a news report of a past event. Advance News - a news report of a future event. Follow-up News - a news report that follows current or advance news.

6. The Five W’s and One H Who What When Where Why How And So What?

7. NEWS ELEMENTS Impact Proximity Timeliness Prominence Novelty Conflict Relevance Usefulness Human Interest

8. IMPACT Impact is determined by the number of people affected, the number of boats that sink, the number of cars wrecked, etc. The more people affected, the more boats sunk, and the bigger the impact of the story.

9. PROXIMITY The closer your audience is to the event, the greater its news value.

10. TIMELINESS "New" is a big part of news. If it happened just before deadline, it's bigger news than if it happened last week.

11. PROMINENCE The public cares more about celebrities than they do about people they don't know.

12. NOVELTY If an event is unusual, bizarre, the first, the last, or once-in-a-lifetime, it has more news value than if it is something that happens all the time.

13. CONFLICT War, politics and crime are the most common news events of all. If everyone got along, there wouldn't be much news.

14. USEFULLNESS How can I use this information? Home, business and leisure news sections have sprouted in newspapers in an attempt to give readers news they can really use .

15. HUMAN INTEREST A story may be weak on the other news values, but be interesting anyway. It can be as simple as an interview with a fascinating person who does unusual things.

16. News Story Structure The most popular structure for news stories. Information/facts are arranged in descending order of importance. The most important material is placed at the beginning of the story, and less important material follows. Succeeding paragraphs explain and support the lead. It is popular because it serves readers well. It tells them quickly what they want to know. It also serves the reporter by forcing her to sharpen her news judgment, to identify and rank the most important elements of the story. Inverted Pyramid

17. News Story Structure The inverted pyramid has big disadvantages. Although it delivers the most important news first, it does not encourage good writing. Many times stories do not have an ending crafted by the writer; they simply end. There is no suspense. Reporters tend to lose interest, time and energy. Writing in the second half of the story is casual at best, and poor at worst.

18. The Inverted Pyramid

19. Inverted Pyramid LEAD LEAD SUPPORT/ DETAILS END MOST IMPORTANT FACTS IMPORTANT FACTS LEAST IMPORTANT FACTS

20. News Story Structure Narrative/Story telling Narration or story telling uses scenes, anecdotes and dialogue to build to a climax. People are prominent in the story, and they are responsible for the action. The story has a beginning, middle and end. Quotations sound like real speech. The words and actions of the characters reveal motives.

21. News Story Structure Hourglass The hourglass combines some of the best elements of both the inverted pyramid and the narrative. It consists of three parts: a top, which tells the news quickly; the turn, a nimble transition; and the narrative, a chronological retelling of events. The hourglass works well with police stories, courtroom dramas and other incidents that lend themselves to chronological narration. The hourglass has several advantages: Readers get the news high in the story; the writer gets to use storytelling techniques; and it encourages a real ending.

22. THE LEAD The lead is the first word, sentence or paragraph of the story. Sometimes it can be two or three paragraphs.

23. What are the rules for a good lead? Keep it short. .

24. What are the rules for a good lead? Get to the point.

25. What are the rules for a good lead? Focus on the action.

26. What are the rules for a good lead? Hook the reader.

27. NEWS WRITING STRATEGIES Write a short lead The lead is your promise to the reader. It must: Capture the essence of your story by answering the question – What is the news story all about? – in one sentence/paragraph of 25 – 35 words. Encourage the reader to continue.

28. CONVENTIONAL LEADS 1. Who lead 2. What lead 4. Why lead 5. When lead 3. Where lead 6. How lead

29. GRAMMATICAL BEGINNING LEADS Prepositional Phrase Lead – With paints, brooms, and other construction materials , the parents began preparing the school under the Brigada Eskwela Program. 2. Infinitive Phrase Lead – To increase awareness on the menace of dengue fever , the local health office conducted orientations in schools and offices..

30. 3. Participial Phrase Lead – present or past participle form of the verb Dressed like military men , the kidnappers were able to abduct the victims with ease. 4. Gerundial Phrase Lead – Gunning for first place , the Jaena High School band played its repertoire which earned the applause of the crowd.. 5. Clause Lead – Because of the special elections in the ARMM , all classes in the region were cancelled. GRAMMATICAL BEGINNING LEADS

31. NOVELTY LEADS 1. Punch lead 2. Question lead 3. Sequence lead 4. Quotation lead 5. Contrast lead 6. Epigram lead 7. Scenic lead 8. Cartridge lead 9. Descriptive lead

32. Provide Background for Body of the News Build strength in the middle of your story with: Background material Examples Quotes Definitions Observations

33. The ending is often what the reader remembers most about the story, so end strong . The ending is so important that you should know how you are going to end before you start. Many writers save a good piece for the end, perhaps their second-best quote . (The best quote would be used near the top of the story.) Roger Simon, a columnist for The Baltimore Sun , switches his leads and endings to see which works best in which spot. The most common type of ending is the quote ending . Look for a quote that sums up the main idea of the story. Another favorite is the circle end. In the circle end, you return to an idea expressed in the lead. Provide Good Ending for the News

34. Do not editorialize Reporters are eyewitnesses to the news . Their job is to tell the readers what they saw and what other people thought or said about the event. Opinions should come from other people, not the news writer.

35. Use transitions (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 (Example: The ball was hit by the boy.). General Tips

36. 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. Use specific nouns. Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly. General Tips