Structure of News

Alaeddin Amer P. Emperador

Reporter
 Summary Lead
Elaboration of a W

Elaboration of Another W
Fur
Elaboration of
1. Straight the W
another
News r
Ela
Story bor
 Lead
Narrative
2. News-
Feature
Story Surprise Climax
 Lead of One Isolated Event

Elaboration of
2.a The the Lead
Single- More
feature Details
Story
2.b The
Several-
feature,
Multiple
Angle or
Composite
story
 Lead Fact
Secondary
Fact III
Fact
IV
3. Fact
Story
 Lead Incident
Told
More Details Retold

More Details
Retold
4. Action MDR
Story
 Lead Summary

5. Speech Quote
Report, Summary
Quote,
and Quote
Interview
Stories Summary
Types of News Stories
Alaeddin Amer P. Empeardor
IV BSE1 English, Graduating
News stories may fall under any of the
following types according to:

1. Scope or origin
2. Chronology or sequence
3. Structure
4. Treatment
5. Content
6. Minor forms
 SCOPE OR ORIGIN
 Local news – report of events that take place within
the immediate locality.
 National news – news that takes place within the
country.
 Foreign news – news that takes place outside the
country.
 Dateline news – news preceded by the date and place
of origin or pace where it was written or filed: Tokyo,,
Jan. 20. (AP)
CHRONOLOGY OR SEQUENCE
Advance or anticipated – news published before
its occurrence, sometimes called dope or
prognostication. The reported foretells events
expected to occur at a time in the future.
Spot news – news that is gathered and reported
on the spot. It deals with unscheduled information
demanding immediate publication. The reporter
himself is an eyewitness to the event that took
place.
CHRONOLOGY OR SEQUENCE
Coverage news – news written from a given
beat. Both spot news and coverage news are
good examples of first-hand reporting.
Follow-up news – a sequel to a previous
story. Having a new lead of its own, it is a
second, third or subsequent chapter of a
serial.
STRUCTURE
 Straight news – news that consists of facts given
straight without embellishment. Its main aim is to
inform. It uses the summary lead and is written
using the inverted pyramid structure.
 News-feature – based on facts, but it entertains
more than it informs. It uses the suspended interest
structure like the narrative; thus, it cannot meet the
cut-off test. No resorting to biased opinions; the
reporter’s by-line usually appears with his story.
STRUCTURE
1. Single-feature or one-incident story – the story
deals with isolated event. A single fact is featured
and is explained further in the lead succeeding
paragraphs. The story breaks logically at every
paragraph; thus enabling the rep0rter to cut or
lengthen it as space dictates.
STRUCTURE
2. Several-feature, multiple-angled, or
composite story – several facts included in
the lead in their order of importance. These
facts are elaborated one after the other in the
body. It aims to draw together two or more
divergent aspects of related news items
separately; the writer writes them in one big
story.
TREATMENT
Fact story – plain exposition setting forth a
single situation or a series of closely related
facts that inform. It is written in the inverted
pyramid design.
Speech report – a news story usually written
from a public address, talks, and speeches.
TREATMENT
Action story – a narrative of actions involving not
mere simple facts but also of dramatic events,
description of persons and events, perhaps testimony
of witnesses, as well as explanatory data.
examples: Sports games, competitions,
accidents, and war reports.
 Interview story – a news report written from an
interview
TREATMENT
Hard news – events, such as killing, city council
meeting and speeches by leading government
officials, are timely and are reported almost
automatically by the media.
Soft news – events, such as lunch to honor a retiring
school custodian or a boy scouting jamboree are not
usually considered immediately important or timely
to a wide audience.
TREATMENT
Quote story – speeches, statements, and
letters, and to some extent, interviews when
reported, are regarded as quote stories. All are
based on recorded information, either written
or spoken, and transcribed by the reporter in
the form of news.
CONTENT
 Routine story – celebrations, enrolment,
graduation, election stories reported year in and
year out.
 Police reports – accidents, fires, calamity, crime
stories, etc.
 Science news
 Developmental news
 Sports stories
MINOR FORMS
 News brief – a short item of news interest,
written like a brief telegraphic message, giving
mainly the result in details.
 News bulletin – it is similar to the lead of a
straight news story. Its aim is just to give the gist
of the news.
 Flash – a bulletin that conveys the first word of
an event.
MINOR FORMS

 News-featurette – this is a short news feature

usually used as filler, e.g., “Quirks in the news.”
Maraming salamat sa pakikinig!
- Alaeddin Gwapo