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News Reporting and Writing

Difference between Mass Communication and Journalism

Mass Communication: Just as the name implies, it impacts masses. Newspapers, radio, TV,
magazines, social media, films; any platform that is used to spread messages, opinions, news and
entertainment to the masses (a large group of people) comes under the purview of Mass
Communication. It is a broad field and includes a fusion of photography, filmmaking,
journalism, advertisement, public relations, content writing, etc.

Journalism: It revolves mainly around communicating news to people, be it any strata – politics,
economics, business, science, sports or entertainment news.

Journalism works in three simple steps: Gathering data or news, editing it and validating it with
facts, broadcasting it to the masses through both print and electronic media. Print media includes
newspapers and magazines and electronic media includes TV, Radio, and these days, even the
Internet.

Or simply you can say Mass Communication is an umbrella term that includes many fields such
as Advertising, Event Management, Public Relations, etc., one of which is Journalism.

News:
So, the basic assumption of journalism is the collection, presentation and interpretation of news.
Thus, news is the spinal cord of journalism.
Why is News called News?
It all started in the 14th century, when the English word ‘news’ developed as a special use of the
plural form of ‘new’. As the name implies, ‘news’ is associated with the presentation of new
information.

It is also believed that the letters in the word “NEWS” is derived from the four directions as
indicated below:
North
East
West
South
This shows that news can come from anywhere.

Definition of News:

News is hard to define and there is no exact. Comprehensive and single definition can be
presented up to yet. However, some definitions are worth mentioning:
 News is a report of recent events.
 News is whatever your readers want to know about.
 Information not previously known to (someone).
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 News is anything out of the ordinary.

 Something having a specified influence or effect.
Types of News:

News stories are basically divided into two types:

Hard News:
Hard news refers to the news stories that have a big impact at the society as a whole and need to
be reported urgently. News related to politics, international affairs, crime, economics and natural
calamity etc. are considered hard news. Thus, it deals with serious subjects. Examples include:
Earthquake, flood, an accident in town, a major political announcement or development etc.
Other key difference is about the deadlines provided to the journalists. A reporter covering a hard
news story is given a much tighter deadline, owing to the urgency of the coverage. 
Another difference between hard and soft news is the tone of presentation. Hard news stories are
often short (less than 1,000 words) and are told in a very matter-of-fact way. This factual
approach takes: What happened? Who was involved? Where and when did it happen? Why?
Hard news stories are supposed to be strictly objective- the journalist does not give his or her
opinion on the story, but should provide facts as they are. The hard news stories also ideally
follow the Inverted Pyramid structure of writing.
Soft News:
A story or narrative that may not need to be published urgently. Soft news is usually about
trends, on-going events, or human-interest stories. News related to arts, entertainment and
lifestyles etc. are considered soft news. Thus, it does not deal with serious subjects. Examples
might be tips on how to stretch properly before exercising, what to look for when buying a new
computer or feature stories like profile of an athlete or a political figure.
Soft news can be a timeless feature. For example, an article on the benefits of chocolate, “Tips to
lose weight etc. can be published at any given point of time. 
Soft news stories can be longer than hard news stories. They can be subjective and do not follow
the Inverted Pyramid structure of writing. They are often told anecdotally (Story-telling) as soft
news does not focus merely on the basic facts instead it tries to entertain or advise the reader. 
Elements/ Qualities/ Characteristics of News:

1. Accuracy
This is the first requirement of a good news report. You must get all your facts right, starting
from the name and designation of the subject to the statements made by him or her. You cannot
hide behind the excuse that that there was not enough time to cross check the facts.
The facts that you need to check are:
 Names and their spellings
 Designations
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 Incident details. In case it is an accident, you must know the exact number of people who
were injured or killed.
 Statements: The quote reported in the news report must be accurate, and in context. It
should not be misinterpreted to imply another meaning.
 If it is a sports story then you must make sure that the number of runs made or goals
scored are mentioned accurately.
 If it is a court story you must make sure that the court verdict is presented accurately.
2. Attribution
All news reports, with a few exceptions, must be sourced. The source can be identified as
follows:
a. Individual: An individual, who witnessed an accident or survived an earthquake, can be
quoted by name as an eyewitness.
b. Organisation: A spokesperson authorized by an organisation to brief the media on its behalf.
The spokesman can be referred to by:
i) Name and designation
ii) Designation
c. Anonymous sources: There are occasions when a news source, who happens to be a senior
government official or an important leader, does not want his or her name to be used. In such
cases, the reporter can attribute the story like informed sources, official sources or sources who
don’t wish to be named. However, the reporter must know the source well, and should trust that
the information provided is correct.
3. Objectivity
Objectivity in the news is one of the most important principles of modern journalism. It means
that the news covers to the consumer intimated without any personal bias or any outside
influence that would make it appear anything but what it is.
4. Balance
The reporter has to write all the specific facts correctly, fairly and accurately and objectively. He
has to put all the facts together in a manner that his report conveys the correct and factual
impression. He has to give a fair picture of the event as it takes place. In order to be fair both to
the audience and about the person about whom news is given it is necessary that the news is
balanced in content and meaning. A reporter has to select and arrange facts in a manner so as to
give a balanced view of the whole situation.
5. Concise and clear
The importance of this characteristic cannot be overstressed. You must learn to write short
stories without missing important facts. Please remember that today’s reader is in a hurry. He
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does not have the patience to go through long news reports. It also means using short words,
short sentences and short paragraphs.
This is not easy to achieve. You are required to report an event in as few words as possible. You
can do this if you use short and simple words and keep out irrelevant facts. The intro of your
report must be short and crisp. The body must be made up of as few paragraphs as possible with
each paragraph devoted to one point.
News Determinants and News Values:
Information arrives in the newsroom minute by minute. It comes from a wide range of sources
by way of press releases, phone calls, social media, meetings, research and so on. However, a
newspaper has limited column inches to report the day’s events. A news broadcaster has only
limited minutes. Limited by time and space, a news editor cannot report all this material. So, they
must be selective, filter out information that is not newsworthy and retain the stories that most
interest their audience.
Those responsible for deciding the news agenda are called “gatekeepers”. They are usually the
newspaper or broadcast station’s owner, the editor or senior journalists. There are some
detriments which help gatekeepers in deciding which information is important as a news.

What makes an event, person, or idea news?

1. Timeliness or freshness
People want to know what just happened or what is happening now. The timelier the event is, the
more newsworthy it is. People want to know what happened yesterday, or what is happening
right now. These events are more newsworthy than an event that is a month, or even a week old.
Despite the recognized advantage, electronic media today have taken over the printed media is
being first with the news. But sometimes, an old event can also be valuable in aspect of news.
For example: A lost plane with two hundred passengers on board is found in a desert after ten
years. Obviously, it is a big national news and a journalist cannot ignore it. The successful
journalist never gives up his search for a “new angle” to an old story.
2. Proximity or nearness
Events closer to home are more newsworthy than events taking place far away. If an event
happens in close proximity to your home, it is important as a news. Example: A small brush fire
in your city is news. However, a small brush fire three states away is not a news.
A person will be more interested in knowing what is happening in their country instead of
knowing about abroad events. Even newspaper differ from one place to another. One should
notice the difference between Lahore and Karachi newspaper. But sometimes few events are
important to us even they don’t have the factor of proximity. For example: A Pakistani (Sadiq
Khan) selected as a mayor in Britain is news for Pakistanis.
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3. Prominence
A well-known person, place, or event has a stronger news angle than something that the audience
isn’t familiar with. If someone well-known person like political figure, celebrity and professional
athlete do something, it will be newsworthy. An average person cannot make news. Example: If
you do some volunteer work at a local children’s hospital, it most likely won’t make headlines.
However, if the Queen of England, President of the United States or a baseball player does, it is
newsworthy and will make headlines.
4. Impact or consequences
Stories that directly influence or affect your readers have significant news value. The greater the
impact the story has on your readers, the more newsworthy it is. People want to know how a
story is going to affect them. What consequences will be suffered if they don’t take action on a
specific issue? For example: If a giant storm cuts out power, flood in a town, petrol prices,
emergency situation in a country is newsworthy.
5. Human Interest

If a situation draws any sort of emotional reaction, it might contain the news element of a
human-interest story. People want to read stories about other people-how they live, what they’re
experiencing. Human interest stories usually feature people who make the news: the cancer
survivor who’s become an athlete, a family’s experience surviving a hurricane, the unlikely
student who won an award, etc. So, a human-interest angle can be a useful tool in helping you to
put a human face on a bigger story.
6. Conflict
Audiences are always interested in disagreements, arguments, and rivalries. If an event has a
conflict attached to it, many consumers will be interested on that basis alone. Let's not forget that
it's human nature to choose sides and stand up for that choice. Stories that involve conflict
include those about religion, sports, business, trials, wars, human rights violations, politics, and
even struggles against nature, animals, or outer space.
7. Oddity
If something is unusual, shocking, or bizarre, the strangeness alone could make it newsworthy. A
classic example of this is dog-bites-man vs man-bites-dog. 
Sources of News:
For Audience:

1. Newspapers and Magazines: These two also act as a good source of news. Newspaper on
both the levels national and international provides the best information in details. The newspaper
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has 5W’s and 1H which gives all the significant information at the starting of the news and
further deals with the minor details and same is done in the magazines.

2. Radio: We can see people are still relying on radio as a source of information. It is an audio
medium used by many in today’s time. Radio is prominent and seen in both rural and urban
areas. People in rural who cannot afford television rely on radio as it is cheap. If we talk about
urban areas where we do not see many using radio at their houses instead, they listen in their
cars. Over decades radio has gained popularity and is said is a good source of news.

3. Television: Television provides detailed information to the audience. Television is said to be

the most authentic source of news as it has visuals to establish the authenticity.

4. Social Media: Social media has become the main source of news in current century. We now
have all the information we need at the touch of an app and most people now get their news
information online, specifically from social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and
Instagram etc.

In Media:
The process of journalism begins with gathering of information. While gathering information,
anything that provides timely information to media organization and journalists is said to be a
news source. It can be any institute, person, record or document.
News sources for Media Organizations:
Media Monitoring:
In media organizations, there is monitoring cell in which journalists are doing monitoring of
other mediums or channels to find out important news. With media monitoring, you stay on top
of everything that comes on other channels or mediums like any information about organizations,
people, companies and topics. For media monitoring, news organization monitor all relevant
forums including TV, newspaper, radio and social media. Media organizations do monitor for
following reasons:
 To track news (For example: National channels monitor social media and international
media to get news)
 To be updated what their competitors are doing.
 To be aware what their channel is missing.
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Citizen Journalism:
Media organizations cater a growing number of those members from the general public who
want to report breaking news and submit their own photos and videos on a wide range of topics.
People who do this are often referred to as citizen journalists. These citizen journalists have also
become an important source of news to many media channels.
News Agencies:
All the mass media depend upon the agencies for the bulk of the news, even including those few
that have extensive news-gathering resources of their own. News agencies do not generally
publish news itself but supplies news to its subscribers, who, by sharing costs, obtain services
they could not otherwise afford. So, a part of news we watch, read or listen come from news
agencies as their only duty is gathering the information and send it to their subscribers (Media
organizations).
Reporters:
Reporting is the basic activity of journalism. Good journalism depends almost entirely on good
reporting — having the latest, most accurate, most credible information. Writing is important but
secondary to reporting. Thus, reporters are the most important source of information in
journalism.
News sources for Reporters:
News is happening all the time. Every minute of every day something newsworthy is happening
somewhere in the world. So, even if you are a journalist working in a small city, something
newsworthy is probably happening in your city at this moment. Your job as a journalist is to get
information on those events and present it to your readers or listeners. But you cannot be
everywhere all the time to see those events for yourself. That’s why you need other ways of
getting information on all those hundreds of events you cannot witness yourself. When someone
or something provides you with information, we call them a source for reporter. Following are
the sources of information for reporter:
 Press Conferences
A press conference is an event organized to officially distribute information and answer
questions from the media. Press conferences are held by companies, institutes or individuals and
are attended by the media. During the event, one or more speakers may address those attending.
Reporters may then be able to ask questions. Before a press conference takes place, a company
may issue a press release, outlining the nature of the event. 

 Press Releases
A press release is a short, compelling news story written by a public relation professional and
sent to targeted members of the media. The goal of a press release is to pique the interest of a
journalist or publication. The press release should contain all the essential information (who?
what? where? when? how? and most importantly why?) for the journalist to easily produce his
own story.
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 Backgrounders:

A backgrounder is an informational document often provided with a press release, press

advisory or as part of a larger media kit. The backgrounder gives the press or other interested
parties a more detailed background of an issue, event, person of interest or launch.

It is provided because other press or media documents such as media advisories and press

releases are necessarily kept short and succinct. The backgrounder provides more information to
the journalist or media outlet without compromising the readability or standard format of the
media advisory or press release.

 Press Notes
Press notes are delivered in written form in a simple language to satisfy general public and show
good intentions of government. Press notes present a firm stand on the part of the government
regarding any matter. Press notes contain information on a specific matter in which the
government’s firm stands is to be explained. They are considered to be the last words on
government’s point of view.
 Handouts
A handout is a document containing information which is circulated for general public.  The
handout may be issued by the government or its agencies to provide information of
their activities. The handout highlights the activities of the government in different fields. A
handout must have accuracy and general human interest. Its aim is to inform the general public.
 Important functions (Exhibition, Sports Gala, Festival etc.)
 Prominent personalities (PM, CM, Celebrity etc.)
 Institutes (Police departments, Hospitals, Courts etc.)
 Leaked documents:

You may occasionally be given documents which have not been officially released to the press.
They may be given to you by someone in a company or government department who does not
want to be seen giving them to the media. We call these leaked documents. Documents are often
leaked by people who believe that the public should know the contents (such as an
environmental report), but who are unable to reveal it in public themselves, perhaps because they
do not have the authority to do so. In some cases, documents are leaked by a person to gain an
advantage over someone else, perhaps someone who is criticized in the report.

Leaked documents are often excellent sources of news stories because they can contain
information which someone wants to keep secret. This might be a plan to do something which
the public might oppose, such as bulldozing homes to make a new road. It might be a report on
corruption within an organisation which the heads of that organisation do not want to be publicly
known. Just because a government, company or other group does not want information to be
known, that does not mean that you should not report it. If you believe that it is important to
inform your readers or listeners of certain facts, you must do that, even if the information was
given to you unofficially. 
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 Other Journalists:
One of the most reliable sources of information (although not completely reliable) are other
journalists. They may be your colleagues or reporters from a news agency which supplies your
organisation. If they are well trained, experienced and objective, their reports will usually be
accurate and can be trusted. 

 Stored sources:
This refers to information you can look up, in a book, in a library, on the Web – where
information is recorded. Once, stored sources were considered the least useful of all types of
sources for the journalist but the web has changed that, however. Now because of the web, stored
information can be accessed quickly and readily, and that information is much more like to be
more recent. Even the web does not solve the basic problems of stored sources: they are static
that they can’t be questioned.
 Personal sources:
This is information that you get from talking to people. Most news reporters have to interview
people to complete their news stories. News sources can be a moving person or still documents.
Such as people who have witnessed the crime would come to the news source or documents
found at the suicide crime spot would be considered as a news source.