News Writing

Mr. Gracia Rodel B. Deloria

 PRIORITIES
OF NEWS
1. It must be CURRENT.
2. It must mean something
to the people.
 ELEMENTS
OF NEWS
1. Immediacy
2. Proximity
3. Prominence
4. Oddity
5. Conflict
 ELEMENTS
OF NEWS
6. Suspense
7. Emotions
8. Consequence
 The writing process
STEP 1 – The first step in the process is
gathering. Good writing begins with good
reporting. The writer must find the details
that reveal meaning. You can’t write just
anything. You have to have facts.
 The writing process
STEP 2 – Decide on a focus or theme. Each
news story should have one dominant idea.
That is the focus of reason for writing the
story. Ask yourself, WHAT’S THE
POINT?
 The writing process
STEP 3 - Next, decide which of your facts
are most important and place them in a
logical order. Discard all facts that don’t
flow from your focus statement.
 The writing process

STEP 4 – Write quickly from beginning to

end, then spend time with the middle of
the story and also the ending.
 The writing process
STEP 5 – Edit your story to make it more
powerful. Make sure that you have written
what you intend to write. Read it aloud to
someone. Be merciless in removing
anything that doesn’t belong.
 The lead
Every news article starts with a LEAD—the first
1-2 sentences that summarize the most
interesting point of the article. The lead should
be brief yet catchy, giving the reader an instant
sense of what the article is about and making
him want to read more.
 What: suicide incident
 Where: Barangay Mayabon, Zamboanguita
 When: July 25, 2008 / the body was found at around 5:00 PM hanging in a
Tuba-Tuba tree
 Who: Carmelita Iloveyou, 39
 How: she hanged herself using an abaca rope
 The victim is a 3rd yr HS student of Zamboanguita University
 She is the school majorette and the reigning queen of their university
 Recently, she had a break-up with her bf named Carmelito Iloveyoutoo
because of a conflict about a banana cue.
 Carmelito is the campus crush. He has cute dimples. He owns 2 motorbikes.
 Carmelita is fond of using Avon Cosmetics and she was planning to join the
Miss Divine Lovers ’08.
 The police says that the girl might have hanged herself 12 hours before her
body was found.
 Burial is on July 31, 2008. 3:00 PM at Resurrection Garden
 Beauty queen commits suicide

A certain beauty queen and university

majorette named Carmelita Iloveyou was found
hanging using an abaca rope in a Tuba-tuba tree
late in the afternoon of July 25 in Barangay
Mayabon in Zamboanguita. She was believed to
have committed suicide twelve hours before she
was found dead, the police report says. They added
that an angle of love dispute cause by break-up
might have urged Carmelita to end life.
The interment of this junior student of Zambo
University is set at 3:00 PM of July 31, 2008 at the
Resurrection Garden.
Types of lead
1. WHO Lead
2. WHAT Lead
3. WHERE Lead
4. WHEN Lead
5. WHY Lead
6. HOW Lead
The story structure
MOST SIGNIFICANT

SIGNIFICANT

LESS
SIGNIFICANT
 STORY STRUCTURE
1. The most popular structure for news story is the
inverted pyramid. In the inverted pyramid, then
information is arranged in descending order of
importance. The most important material is placed
at the beginning of the story, and less important
material follows.
 STORY STRUCTURE
2. The inverted pyramid is popular because it still
serves readers well. It tells them quickly what
they want to know. It also serves the reporter by
forcing her to sharpen her news judgment, to
identify and rank the most important elements of
the story.
 STORY STRUCTURE
3. But the inverted pyramid has big disadvantages.
Although it delivers the most important news first, it does
not encourage good writing. Many times stories do not
have an ending crafted by the writer, they simply end.
There is no suspense. Reporters tend to lose interest, time
and energy. Writing in the second half of the story is
casual at best, and poor at worst.
 STORY STRUCTURE
4. One alternative to the inverted pyramid is narration or
story telling. Narration uses scenes, anecdotes and
dialogue to build to a climax. People are prominent in the
story, and they are responsible for the action. The story
has a beginning, middle and end. Quotations sound like
real speech. The words and actions of the characters
reveal motives.
 STORY STRUCTURE
5. A third story structure, the hourglass, combines
some of the best elements of both the inverted
pyramid and the narratives. It consists of three
parts: a top, which tells the news story quickly;
the turn, a nimble transition; and the narrative, a
chronological retelling of the events.
STRAIGHT SUMMARY
LEAD
Twenty-eight passengers and a
crew of four were killed last night
when a single-engine plane
crashed four miles south of
Manila.
Picture or dramatic LEAD
Mourners lined up for miles yesterday in
the pouring rain to take one last look
and lay flowers near the coffin of
Mother Teresa, who lived among
Calcutta’s sick and needy for 35 years.
 background LEAD
After two weeks of picketing,
United Auto Workers put down
their signs yesterday following an
agreement which would give
members a 10 percent raise.
 quotation LEAD
“I want to make my last term the best
ever, so you will miss me when I
go.” These were the words of
Mayor Agustin Perdices during his
oath taking, referring to his last
term in office.
 IRONIC/CONTRAST
LEAD
St. John’s Church survived the 1868 fire that
destroyed most of Bloomington, and it
weathered firebombs thrown in anger
during the sixties. But it crumbled last night
under the weight of snow from yesterday’s
freak storm.
 punch LEAD
Two muskrats have taken over
Holiday Pool, evading would-be
capturers and forcing residents to
look for other ways to survive the
latest heat-wave.
 Tips! Tips! Tips!
1. Avoid too much information.
2. Use direct quotations.
3. Keep it clear and simple.
4. Be objective.
5. Check your facts.
6. Keep it short.