Organizing a News Story

Inverted-Pyramid Style

• The lede
• The body of the story
• The conclusion
 When to Use Inverted-Pyramid
• If your story demands that you get to the
point ASAP
• Breaking news stories frequently use the
inverted-pyramid lede
 Body of the Story

• What comes after the

summary lede in breaking
news?
• Present the news in order
of descending importance
 Body of the Story

• After the lede, you

introduce other
important elements
– Additional facts
– Background
– Quotes
– Paraphrased information
– Transitions
 Prioritizing Paragraphs

• Significant supporting facts placed in order of

importance
• Include strongest quotes higher than peripheral or
paraphrased quotes
 Organizing the Story
• After your lede, you will need to add
necessary background to the story
• Is there important information that the reader
needs to know from previous reporting?
– Summarize key details so that the story makes
sense to a new reader
 Example
As summer vacation approaches, the West Los Angeles Police
Department will implement extra security measures to
combat problems with overcrowding and loitering in
Westwood.
Beginning the first weekend in May, West LAPD will
resume periodic curfew sweeps and mounted patrols, said
Linda Arneal, coordinator of the Westwood Village Merchants
Association.
Arneal added that officers on horseback are part of a
special task force designed to increase security and ensure
the safety of Westwood Village merchants and visitors.
 Quotes vs. Paraphrasing

• Direct quotes
– Use if the statement is
clear and does not need
clarification
– Use if it is particularly
memorable or striking
– Use if the person is well-
known and it adds
credibility to the story
 Example
“Westwood has become a beacon that
attracts people who have nothing to do,” said
Sgt. John Bradbury of the West Los Angeles
Police Department. “Minors cause problems
with overcrowding, drinking, drugs and
fighting.”
 Quotes vs. Paraphrasing
• Paraphrasing
– Use when statement is hard to understand or
technical
– Use when statement can be summarized better
for the flow of your story
 Example
Beginning the first weekend in May,
West LAPD will resume periodic curfew
sweeps and mounted patrols, said Linda
Arneal, coordinator of the Westwood
Village Merchants Association.
 Hourglass Style
• An alternative type of
writing news
• Begins with summary
lede where main news is
high in story
• A few paragraphs later,
the story contains a turn
that transitions into a
narrative style
 Hourglass Style

• A turn is a transitional
paragraph that is used to
tell the chronology of the
story
– Example:
• “Police gave this account
of the latest domestic
violence:”
• “According to police,
eyewitnesses describe the
event this way…”
 After the Turn

• The rest of the story is

written in chronological
order
• The narrative may repeat
some of the lead info, but
it also expands it
 Example of Hourglass Writing
• Police today accused a handyman who once worked in the home of
Elizabeth Smart with burglary and theft.
• The charges, filed against Richard Ricci, are not related to the
disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth. On June 5, the teen was taken
from her bedroom at gunpoint as her younger sister watched.
• Ricci is charged with one count of theft for allegedly stealing $3,500
worth of items - jewelry, a perfume bottle and a wine glass filled with sea
shells - from the Smart’s home in June 2001. The articles were found
during a search of Ricci’s home last month, said police.
• Here is what happened.  the turn
• After Elizabeth disappeared last summer, the …