Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter 6 - Reading Material
Chapter 6 - Reading Material
CAMPUS JOURNALISM
Chapter 6. In Focus: Writing the Whole News Story
If the lead tells the story in capsule, the body of the news explains the facts in detail.
Should one base the meaning of news writing on this argument, a writer may surmise two
concepts. First, the body of the news retells the story found in the lead. Second, the facts are to
be arranged logically in the body of the news. With these i conclusions, the writer should not only
be good at sensing newsworthy items and gathering news but also be adept in weaving the facts
As you go on to write the body of the news item, you should not delete the image of the
inverted triangle, which tells that the most important facts should come first. However, this is
mostly true to a fact story or a straight news. For an action story, the version is different. The
action story follows a chronological arrangement of data other than according to the importance
of facts. Sample stories under action story include stories that lead to themselves such as
Qualities of News
The aim of a news writers is to provide stories to startle and to engage the readers within
the first few sentences and, in the middle, to widen, deepen or sharpen their knowledge. As a
writer you should ensure that the news articles are of quality. When can you say that your articles
Accuracy
Attribution
Fairness
Brevity
Clarity
As a reporter, you must learn to get other's point of view. This may mean calling a person
late at night to get his side of the story or even holding back an investigative story for a day. But
you must do so. This is the best way to bring balance in the copy.
There may be times when an individual may avoid making a statement. In such a case,
state the point, indicating the efforts you made to get his point of view.
Fairness requires that you do not impute motives. Remember that your news report is
going to be read by hundreds of people, and you can influence their thinking by using loaded
2. Accuracy
As a reporter, you have much power. What you write can influence decisions, help form
public opinions of people and contribute to the general attitude of your readers.
With that opportunity in dipping your finger to public forum come the huge
responsibilities that cannot be taken so lightly. Say, you inadvertently committed an error of
detail like, misspelt the name of the guest speaker, misquoted the witness of the school crime or
omitted an essential piece of information. You not only distort the truth, which is the foreground
and anchor of the news. You not only misinform the public. You also damage the credibility of
your campus paper. Hence, being accurate in your writing, whatever article that may be, is your
A writer once opined, "I pardon the slight error on comma and period, but I abhor the
error on detail and fact." Further, by being accurate means editing the article before you send it.
✓ incident details. In case it is an accident, you must know the exact number of people
✓ statements: The quote reported in the news report must be accurate and in context.
✓ scientific names if it is a science story, you must make sure that all scientific names
are correctly spelt and explained. number of runs or goals if it is a sports story, then
you must make sure that the number of runs made or goals scored is mentioned
accurately.
3. Attribution
All news reports, with a few exceptions, must be sourced. This ensures that you are
injecting both facts and opinions, but the opinions are not yours. Always ask yourself, "Who said
by an organization to brief the media on its behalf. An organization in the school may be the
Parent Teachers Association, the Faculty Club, Performing Arts Society, Supreme Student
Sample:
Mr. Jing Gel Bells, president of the Parent Teachers Association, said that the
auditorium is...
➢ designation alone
Sample:
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The president of the Parent Teachers Association said that the auditorium
➢ 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 case, the reporter can attribute the story to informed
be named. However, the reporter must know the source well and should trust that
Sample:
➢ exceptions: The reporter need not to worry about attribution in those cases that
he/she has witnessed. For instance, the reporter can report a volleyball match or
a rally stating what happened. This is because these are statements of fact that
have occurred in public domain and have been witnessed by scores of people. The
historical facts.
Newspaper writing is not just academic writing. Hence, as a journalist, do not use big
words and long sentences to show the readers how smart you are or how extensive your
vocabulary is. Your Communication Arts teacher must have shouted this, "Write to express not
to impress." Also, remember that, as a writer, your target i readers or audience are pressed of
time. You have to give the news very quickly, concisely and briefly. Think of this: if all your news
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stories are newsworthy and with high degree of interest, then every story in the campus paper
competes for the reader's attention. With every story you write, ask yourself, "What is the news
here?" Then, ask yourself, including the persons around you - say, your co-writers - What
questions will the reader have that I need to answer? Jot them down and be sure none is left
unanswered.
When the reader starts to scratch his scalp, there are only two reasons why the reader
does so. First, his scalp is truly itchy. Second, you, as the writer, have failed to attain clarity. If his
reason is the second one, then the reader must be lying on a bed of thorns to grasp the details
of your news story. The culprit must be your lengthy sentences and paragraphs. In short, write
short. Write short sentences, short paragraphs and short articles. Use simple words. One tip to
ensure clarity is to read your story aloud. Doing this technique may be awkward, but it will help
The importance of this characteristic cannot be over stressed. You must learn to write
short stories without missing important facts. Please remember that today's reader is in a hurry.
He does not have lengthy patience to go through long news reports. Brevity does not only mean
writing a short story. It also means using short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
5. Style
Good writers are artists, so are news writers. As a promising news writer, you can
entertain, inspire, educate and sometimes earn the ire of your readers. A song goes, "Never to
walk in anyone's shadow." So, act according your own style. i Do not copy others' style but always
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remember to follow the guidelines in writing news articles. Look for some opportunities like the
construction of your paragraphs i and phrases, to veer from the old and traditional scenes in the
newspaper. Never forget, though, that your primordial objective is to tell people what they need
to know, not to show them how much of a literary artist you are.
5. Power quote: an interesting quote that propels meaning, not just a fluffy quote that gets
in the way
4. Simplify words.
1. Colloquialism. This can be described as writing in the way that one would speak. In doing so,
you should avoid using "filler" words like beginning the sentence with "basically," "often," "well,"
and "so".
replace "can't with cannot take note: cannot is one word "doesn't" with does not, "aren't" with
In news writing, too, you should limit your use of subjective pronouns. That is, use third
person perspective. Do not use first or second person pronouns like "L" "me," "you' and "we'
Included in the list of rules in writing is to avoid vague words. They are described as
expressions or words that are open to interpretation or that do not express precise ideas.
2. Circumlocution. This means that the writer uses many words where few would do.
indirectly expressed through several or many words. It is in contrast to brevity and conciseness.
3. Ambiguity. This case may be syntactical or semantical. Ambiguity can be either intentional or
unintentional. Intentional ambiguity may be used to mislead a reader or might be necessary due
to the context or subject matter. Unintentional ambiguity, on the other hand, should always be
1. Dr. Malou Wang, the school principal, tells her secretary, Mrs. Ana B. Yan, that the fault
2. According to some sources, when Mr. Carreon put the jar atop the glass table, it was
Improved: According to some sources, the glass table had broken when Mr. Carreon
3. Ambiguous: The Dean of the Agriculture Department required eggs to be stamped with
the date when they are laid by the animal science majors. (Who laid eggs?)
Improved: The Dean of the Agriculture Department required the animal science majors
to stamp the eggs with the date when they are laid.
4. Cliches. These are phrases that have been exhausted to the point where they have
No shadow of doubt
Needless to say
Stands to reason
5. Grandiloquence. These are expressions that are too pompous and use too colorful
language.
Grandiloquent paragraph:
A conflagration which spurred before the sun stroke its rays heightened the anxiousness
of the neighboring families of Maasim Elementary School on the 25h day of our Lord last year.
Clearer paragraph:
Started at dawn of April 25 last year, the fire in the Home Economics Building of Maasim
Transitional Devices
One way to attain the smooth flow of facts when putting them on the right perspective is
the use of transitional devices. They are like bridges between parts of your news. They are cues
Moreover, transitional devices are words or phrases that help carry a thought from one
sentence to another, from one idea to another or from one paragraph to another. Finally,
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transitional devices link smoothly sentences and paragraphs so that there are no abrupt jumps
You should be aware, too, that you only use these when needed. Do not overuse them by
There are several types of transitional devices, and each category leads readers to make
certain connections or assumptions. Some lead readers forward and imply the building of an idea
or thought, while others make readers compare ideas or draw conclusions from the preceding
thoughts.
Here is a list of some common transitional devices that can be used to cue readers
1. To add: and, again, and then, besides, equally important, finally, further, furthermore,
nor, too, next, lastly, what's more, moreover, in addition, first (second, etc.)
2. To compare: whereas, but, yet, on the other hand, however, nevertheless, on the
contrary, by comparison, where, compared to, up against, balanced against, vis a vis, but,
3. To prove: because, for, since, for the same reason, obviously, evidently, furthermore,
4. To show exception: yet, still, however, nevertheless, in spite of, despite, of course,
5. To show time: immediately, thereafter, soon, after a few hours, finally, then, later,
8. To show sequence: first, second, third, and so forth. A, B, C, and so forth. next, i then,
following this, at this time, now, at this point, after, afterward, subsequently, finally,
9. To give an example: for example, for instance, in this case, in another case, on this
occasion, in this situation, take the case of, to demonstrate, to illustrate, as an illustration, to
illustrate