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News Writing. News, as defined by the editor of the New York Sun , is. “Anything that interests a large part of the community and has never been brought to its attention before.”. Seven Factors Used To Determine If An Event Is News.
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News, as defined by the editor of the New York Sun, is “Anything that interests a large part of the community and has never been brought to its attention before.”
Seven Factors Used To Determine If An Event Is News • Impact—How many people does the event affect? How seriously does it affect them? • Proximity—An event is more important if it is closer to readers. An earthquake in a far-off land is not as interesting as one that is close to home.
Seven Factors Used To Determine If An Event Is News • Timeliness—Is the event fresh? Is it news? • Prominence—Names make news. Ordinary people are intrigued by the rich and famous. • Novelty—New and unusual events are always popular with readers. Firsts, lasts, and only events make big news.
Seven Factors Used To Determine If An Event Is News • Conflict—Conflict in real life, just as in movies and literature, always interests people. • Audience—Different events may be news for one group, but not another.
Tabloid writing is similar to news writing in that the above factors contribute to the success of the “news.”
The difference between news writing and tabloid writing is that news writers are professionally bound to present the facts accurately while tabloid writers are not.
Tabloid writers embellish and exaggerate or even make up the “facts,” and entire stories to sell papers.
Tabloid Writing Assignment • Choose a topic/Create a title. • Create and identify the 5 W’s (where, when, why, who, what) and H (how) of your story. • Once you have the facts, decide on a focus or a theme. Each new story should have one dominant idea which is the focus or reason for writing the story.
Tabloid Writing Assignment • Decide which facts are most important and put them in a logical order.
Inverted Pyramid • Most popular style. • Descending order of importance—most important info. Is in the beginning; least important at the end. • Does not encourage good writing. • Many stories do not have an ending, they simply end.
Inverted Pyramid • No suspense. • Writing in the second half of the story is usually mediocre. • Continues to be popular in today’s news. Why?
Story Telling Structure • Writer uses scenes, anecdotes, and dialogue to build to a climax. • People in the story are prominent and are responsible for the action. • The words and actions of the people reveal motives.
Hourglass Structure • Combines elements of the other two structures. • Consists of three parts: a top, which tells the news quickly; the turn, which serves as a transition; and the narrative, a chronological retelling of events.
The Lead • The purpose of the lead is to hook your readers so they continue their reading. • The lead immediately tells what the story is about. • Three types of leads; two more commonly used for straight news…
The Direct Lead • Quickly gives a summary or statement of the most important events; quickly tells the climax of the story. • Think of it as telling the punch line before you tell the joke.
Summary Lead • Immediately tells, in 25 words or less, the 5 W’s and the H. • Summary lead is what you commonly see at the top of most stories.
Delayed or Feature Lead • Sets the scene or evokes a mood with an incident, anecdote, or example. • Captures the essence of the story and encourages the reader to continue.
Direct Quote Lead • Article begins with an actual quote from one of your interviews or from your research.
Parody Lead • makes “fun” of the story by playing on words, alluding to a popular song, movie, or idea in the opening lines.
After Writing Your Lead… • Finish the rough draft for the rest of your story. • Remember the real strength of the story comes from the details that back up the promise of the lead. • Remember to end your story with an appropriate lasting impression.
