News Writing

• News is any information about an unusual

event, place or person that is new to group of
people, and that information can be either be
appreciated or simply discarded by the
recipient/s of the information, depending on
the need or present state of that particular
groups of people
• THE LEAD
The lead is the first paragraph of the
news story that gives the reader the sense of
the story to follow. A way to write good leads
is to think of them in advance- to frame the
lead while the story is unfolding. For hard
news, the lead is usually brief, direct and
contains several general information.
 A pedicab driver was stabbed and killed when
he refused to give his earnings to the assailant
in Sampaloc, Manila last night.
Example 2:
The U.S. State Department issued a
stern warning to China to refrain from sending
armed ships to the West Philippine Sea ( South
China Sea ) and instead apply a peaceful
solution to the said contested area. (Lead)
• The Direct Lead / Summary Lead
The Summary Lead is the easiest to write,
and, at the same time, fits the fast lifestyle of
the reading public. It consists of guide
questions, who, what, why, where, when and
the how or popularly known in journalism
world as the 5W’s and 1 H.
• Example of Direct Lead:
• No Tuition Fee Hike
• Realizing the effects of worldwide financial crises
to most Filipino families, the High School principal of St. Mark
Catholic School announced yesterday that there would be no
tuition fee increase this coming school year.
• Dr. Roberto Gonzales said that the school
management is ready to sacrifice just as what the parents are
doing nowadays due to economic slowdown in the country.
• But Gonzales was quick to explain that the quality
of education will never be sacrificed despite the perceived lack of
budget of the school this coming school year.
• 1. The “Who” comes from the kind of person
involved judged by his occupation, religion, age,
and sex.
Example: Remi Rose Rodriguez has been
elected chairman of the College of Arts and
Sciences Students Board at Batangas State
University in Lipa City.
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2.The “What” is more important than the
“who” when the circumstance would be
significant no matter who the persons
involved.
Example: One man was shot dead and
another was beaten today in an outbreak of
violence as jeepney strikers tried to prevent
operation of the Shell Petroleum Corporation in
Makati City.
• 3. The “Why”, it is the cause rather than the
result that is the feature of the story.
Example: Trying to pass another car while
travelling at high speed brought serious injury
to two men last night when their automobile
overturned twice on Macapagal Boulevard at
Potter Avenue.
• 4.The “When” about the same may be said of
the “when” as of the “where”. It ordinarily is
included inconspicuously in the lead as:
Example: Four thieves hit two Makati stores
early Wednesday and got away with a total
loot estimated at P1,300,000.
• 5. The “How” means details to explain how is something
occurred. Consequently, when the feature unmistakably consists
in such details, care must be exercised to avoid wordiness.
 
Example:
What: killing of a pedicab by his passenger
Who: a pedicab driver
How: repeatedly stabbed in different parts of the body
Where: Sta. Cruz Manila
When: early morning
• Guidelines in Writing Your Lead:
The lead should be simple, brief, compact,
vigorous, attractive, and should shoot straight
as a rifle bullet into the reader’s attention.
- It should be written in a manner
appropriate to the subject matter.
- It should not carry gratuitous
opinion of the reporter, unless it is signed
• It should fix authority for information, lest
the reader questions the story’s authenticity.
• It should avoid beginning with non- essential
details.
 We have to take note that the news story takes the
shape of an inverted pyramid. The second and third
paragraphs of a news story should only serve to
expound on the lead.
Every paragraph in the news story’s body should
give readers additional information and specific details.
 
 
 
• The Campus Beat

For a school paper, the most common

news stories will be about school policies,
student competitions, changes in personnel,
or crime and accident stories within the
neighbourhood of the school.
• THANK YOU……