What is news?

• News is information about current events

printed in newspaper or broadcasted by
the media.

In other words…
- Recent information
Pg. 1
- Current events
- Somebody or something interesting
- Something previously unknown
Elements of Newsworthiness
•Timeliness
•Proximity or Nearness
•Significance
•Prominence
•Oddity or Unusualness Pg. 2
•Conflict
•Progress
Campus/School News
• Classroom story • Election Story
• Enrolment story • School Org.
• Programs/Party /Club Story
• Honor Roll • Out-of-School
• Awards story Activities
Pg. 3
• School
Improvement
Important Qualities of News
a) Objective
b) Accurate
c) Clear
d) Brief Pg. 4
Structure of News
Inverted Pyramid
of news suggests
that the news be
told in order of
most important or
interesting to the
least important or Pg. 6
interesting.
Parts of the News Article
•Headline
•Lead
•Body
Pg. 7
The Lead
•The 1st paragraph:
Most important part of the article,
summarizes the story
•It should hook the reader by
catching interest
Pg. 8
•Answers the most important
questions right away.
Writing The Lead
•There are two kinds of lead: the
straight and novelty leads.
•Depending on the nature of the
story and its driving news
element, a straight lead can
focus on one or few of the six Pg. 9
question words.
The Straight Lead
•5 W’s and 1 H Formula
•Who?
•What?
•Where?
•When?
Pg. 10
•Why?
•How?
Sample Details: Get the 5W’s1H.
• Many pupils in General de Jesus College are
getting bald early
• The GJC board members had a meeting
• The meeting was held last night
• They ate chicharon during the meeting
• One of the causes of baldness might be
the wearing of caps
• The board passed a resolution banning Pg. 11
the wearing of hats in the school
• The board voted 9-1 in favor of the
resolution.
One Story, Six Possible Leads
• Who Lead
The school board passed a resolution
last night banning the wearing of caps
in school buildings

• What lead
Cap wearing was banned in all school
Pg. 12
buildings last night after the school
board passed a new resolution
One Story, Six Possible Leads
• Where Lead
In General de Jesus College last night,
the school board passed a resolution to
ban wearing of caps in all school
buildings.

• When lead
Pg. 13
Last night, the school board passed a
resolution banning cap wearing in all
school buildings.
One Story, Six Possible Leads
• How Lead
By a 9-1 margin last night, the school
board passed a resolution banning cap
wearing inside the school premise.

• Why lead
Citing a pattern of an early baldness in
GJC students, the school board last Pg. 14
night passed a resolution that restricts
cap wearing in all school buildings.
Novelty Leads
• Astonisher Lead
Better attend your classes on November 5!

• Contrast Lead
Twenty years ago, he was the school’s janitor.
Now, he came back to become the college
dean
Pg. 15
• Epigram Lead (verse, quotation)
Like father, like son
Novelty Leads
• Picture lead – describes to create a mental
picture of the subject
The new dean, although only in his 30s is
already silver-haired.

• Background lead – describes the setting

Decorated with buntings and multi-
colored lights, the quadrangle Pg. 16
became a grand setting for a barrio
fiesta.
Novelty Leads
• Parody Lead – a parody of a well-known
song or poem
Never say never…
This must be far away from the mind of a
45-year old man who killed himself…

• Punch Lead – short, forceful, explosive Pg. 17

God is dead!
Novelty Leads
• Quotation Lead – quotes statements
made by a speaker
“Ignorance, not poverty, causes
malnutrition”
This revealed former Isabela governor
Grace Pacada to..

Pg. 18
• Question Lead
Who will be the next SPG Mayor?
The answer will be known on…
Guidelines in Lead Writing
a) Pack the most important
information in one sentence
b) Start with the most
important or unusual idea
of the news event Pg. 19
c) Go direct to the point
Guidelines in Lead Writing
d) Rarely use the when and
where lead
e) Use less than 30 words
f) Avoid starting the articles with
a, an, the
Pg. 20
g) Do not mention the names in
the lead unless the person is
well-known
The Body
•The details of the news
•Arranged from the most important to
the least important
•One sentence, one paragraph
•Sentences are generally less than
25 words Pg. 21
•Include quotations from at least
two different people
News Writing Tips
•Make sure your facts are accurate
•Keep your sentences short
•Use the SVO formula
•Be specific
•Avoid long and complex words
•Write in third person Pg. 22
•Use adjectives sparingly
•Do not editorialize
Work Shop
Pg. 22
Example:
•Who? 1,000 residents
•What? Fire Accident
•Where? Mandaluyong City
•When?A while ago (kanina)
•Why? Flammable materials, no fire
hydrant nearby. Pg. 22
•How? The houses where made of
light materials
Example:
1,000 residents were left homeless after a
fire accident happened in Mandaluyong City a
while ago.

The fire was reported to the Mandaluyong

Fire Department immediately after it broke out.

“It was hard to put out the fire, due to Pg. 22

lack of fire hydrant and houses were very
flammable,” said the Fire Department
Captain.
Write a Straight Lead:
Who? 5+ dead
What? Magnitude 8 Quake
Where? Solomon Islands
When? This morning

Who? 39 Dead
What? Typhoon Seniang Pg. 22
Where? Misamis Oriental
When? Unmentioned
Write a Straight Lead:
• WHO? Carmelino Santos (Drug Pusher),
Bataan-PNP
• WHEN? July 28, 2018 / 6:00 PM
• WHERE? Bayan, Orani, Bataan
• WHY? Carmelino is suspected as the
number one drug dealer to high school
students Pg. 22
• HOW? Bataan-PNP conducted a buy-bust
operation
Write a Straight Lead:

Pg. 22