ABNER L.

PUREZA

HARD VS
SOFT
NEWS
Look at this news. (The Phil. Star)
A private plane carrying Interior
and Local Government Secretary Jesse
Robredo and his aide crashed off on
Saturday in Masbate.
Continuation…
Transportation and Communications
Secretary Manuel Roxas II said Robredo was
on board the light plane, a Piper Seneca, on
his way to Naga City in Camarines Sur when
they decided to make an emergency landing
in Masbate due to mechanical trouble.
Initial reports said Robredo’s police aide
de camp Senior Inspector Jun Abrazado had
been rescued from the crash area, but there
were no immediate reports of casualties.
Continuation…
“From Cebu, he was supposed to
go home in Naga but the plane was
unable to land, so they diverted to
Masbate,” Roxas said.
“The private plane crashed into the
waters one kilometer off Masbate... The
Coast Guard and other operatives have
been deployed there to do the search as
we speak,” he added.
Continuation…

Philippine National Police (PNP)

chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome
said Abrazado was rescued by fishermen
who saw the plane already on its descent.
Bartolome said that based on the
statements of Abrazado, the plane was
about 30 minutes away from Cebu City
when it encountered a problem.
Continuation…
Bartolome said the pilots then decided to
make an emergency landing at the Masbate City
airport but it missed the runway and crashed into
the sea.
“The plane did not make it. They were about
300 meters away from the airport when the plane
fell,” Bartolome said.
Abrazado confirmed that Robredo and the
two pilots were inside the plane when it crashed.
One of the pilots was identified as Jessup
Bahinting of Cebu-based Aviator Air.
Continuation…
According to Abrazado, one of the plane’s
wings broke when they were about 100 feet from
the ground.
He said he was seated near the door when
the plane fell, allowing him to escape.
Rescue authorities, however, suspended
the search and rescue operation at around 7:30
p.m.
Masbate City Mayor Socrates Tuason told
GMA-7 that efforts were still ongoing as of last
night to search for Robredo and the two pilots.
Most important w ‘s (lead)
 What: Plane crash

 Who: DILG Secretary Jesse Robledo

and the two pilots.

 Where: Masbate

 When: Saturday
Secondary lead (2nd paragraph): other
w’s,and elaborations of who.
 Transportation and Communications
Secretary Manuel Roxas II said Robredo
was (WHO) on board the light plane, a
Piper Seneca,(WHAT) on his way to
Naga City in Camarines Sur (WHERE)
when they decided to make an
emergency landing in Masbate due to
mechanical trouble.(WHY)
Building the nutgraph/ narration of source, background of the
event (3rd paragraph)

Initial reports said Robredo’s

police aide de camp Senior Inspector
Jun Abrazado had been rescued from
the crash area, but there were no
immediate reports of casualties.
DIRECT QUOTE (4TH -5TH
PARAGRAPHS)
“From Cebu, he was supposed to
go home in Naga but the plane was
unable to land, so they diverted to
Masbate,” Roxas said.
“The private plane crashed into the
waters one kilometer off Masbate... The
Coast Guard and other operatives have
been deployed there to do the search as
we speak,” he added.
6 to the last paragraphs -
th

 Continuation of the narration

 Attribution of sources
 Canned action (last paragraph)

Masbate City Mayor Socrates

Tuason told GMA-7 that efforts were still
ongoing as of last night to search for
Robredo and the two pilots.
Now, read this news.
(The Philippine
Daily Inquirer)

It was a toss-up between hitting a

population center and the sea with the
crippled aircraft approaching the
Masbate Airport.
Continuation…
Capt. Jess Bahinting decided to head for
the water instead, sparing casualties on the
ground but losing instead Interior Secretary
Jesse Robredo, his co-pilot and his own life as
well, in the tragic crash of the twin-engine Piper
Seneca at 4:30pm on Saturday.

Senior Insp. June Paolo Abrazado, the

only survivor, recounted the harrowing moments
before the aircraft fell off Masbate City in a three-
page statement in Filipino, a copy of which was
obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer Tuesday.
CONTINUATION…
Robredo's body was retrieved from the sea on
Tuesday morning, Bahinting and his Nepalese student co-
pilot Kshitiz Chand's bodies have yet to be retrieved from
the hull of the plane.

Abrazado, Robredo's police aide who clambered out

of the aircraft before it sank and was rescued later by
fishermen, said that the pilot was looking for the runway to
make an emergency landing while the plane, which already
lost its right engine, was flying very low over the city.

"There's the runway! There's the runway!" Abrazado

quoted Bahinting exclaiming as they approached the airport.
Continuation…
But the aircraft missed the runway, glided to the left
and headed toward the residential area of Barangay (village)
Ibingay, he said.

It seemed to him that Bahinting avoided crashing into

Ibingay, one of the most populous villages of the city.

As the plane banked to the right, sparing the village, it

wobbled, "nosed up and nosed down," and finally plunged
into the sea, he said.

"The sound of the crash was indescribable. I can't

explain it. But it was like the explosion of a bomb," he said.
"My initial reaction was to hug Secretary Robredo," he said.
Continuation…
Abrazado said he lost consciousness after
that.

"When I regained consciousness, seawater

was already rushing into the plane and the right side
of the plane appeared to have disintegrated," he said.

"But the door of the plane remained locked by

a latch. There was a piece of wood that apparently
pierced the glass pane of the plane. And the water
kept rushing in," he said.
CONTINUATION…
Abrazado said he looked around but could not see
Robredo.

"We were seated beside each other. I did not know if it was
me or he who got displaced. I just reached for my seatbelt because
seawater was flooding inside the plane. I saw light coming in and I
tried to surface. I did not know which part of the plane the light was
coming from. I was rattled. I was losing my mind. I tried many times
to unfasten my seatbelt but it seemed I could not even move my
hands. When I unbuckled it, I squeezed myself out from the plane. I
had drank seawater mixed with gasoline and I became dizzy.

As he floated away, he saw the plane bobbing up, with its

tail the only visible part above the water. The tail, he said, was
perpendicular to the surface.
Continuation…
"Then I could not move my hands again. I
was still wearing my shoes and pants. I said to myself
that I would die because I could not even move my
arms. I assumed that my arms were broken," he said.
Then he saw his bag floating. "I summoned
all the physical strength I could to reach for the bag.
My face was aching. My body was failing me. I
grabbed the bag and it kept me afloat long enough
until a fisherman came to rescue me."
Abrazado said for about 15 minutes he was
shouting and calling for help while the bag he was
holding on for dear life was also slowly sinking.
Last part.
"When I was rescued by a
fisherman, I looked back at the plane. I
saw no one from the plane was following
me. I could only see what looked like
debris," he said.
NEWS FEATURE :In focus

 Analyze the structure

of straight news
 Analyze the structure

of news features
NEWS FEATURE: In focus
 What are the similarities?
Both are structured in an inverted pyramid.
Both present facts to inform the readers in a reverse
chronology format.
 What are the differences?
Straight news only presents the w’s and their
elaborations, News feature on the other hand
presents background and goes beyond the usual
W’s. It has more human interest side. Straight news
uses summary lead while news feature uses novelty
lead. It is framed on the WHY and HOW elements.
NEWS FEATURE: In focus
 The presentation of the important W’s
unfold more slowly, but also follows the
inverted pyramid structure.
 It has more background, a little drama,
and human-interest angle.