NEWSWRITING

Chloebelle Cecilia A. Pe

CTTO:JAMES BRYAN R. MARCAIDA

NEWS WRITING
News is a report, oral or written,
of an event that has just
happened or which will happen
and which is of interest to
readers.
News is new information, true
information, important
information.
CHARACTERISTICS OF NEWS
1.ACCURACY (Kawastuhan)
2. FACTUAL (Katotohanan)
3. BALANCE (Timbang)
4. CONCISE (Kaikliian)
5.TIMELY (Napapanahon)
 Elements of news:
1. Immediacy - newness, recency, freshness news that is being
given to the public as soon as it happens is more
valuable than those disclosed after a long time.

2. Proximity - value of news depreciates with distance.

Look for news that interests people near
you. The farther you are from the place,
the less interested you are about happenings
there.

3. Consequence - how many people are affected by the news.

The more people are affected, the bigger the
news item.

examples: taxes, legislation

4. Oddity - refers to any unusual or
deviation from the normal.

5. Emotions - (human interest) anything that

appeals to our sense of pity,admiration and
hatred. . . . an appeal to the emotion and not
to the mind . . .

6. Conflict – disagreement between man and

his fellowmen, man and nature or man and
himself.
7. Prominence – this attracts more
attention than the ordinary. This can
be persons, places or objects.

8. Drama – certain events that the

discussion of which makes a reader go
on and on.

9. Progress – scientific progress,

inventions make life better. Progress is th
most important phenomenon in the press
10. Names- it involves newsworthy
people.

11. Numbers and statistics –significant

numbers like results of sweepstakes,
peso-dollar equivalence and the like.

12. Change and development-any

progess like putting up new school,
building, road , bridge and the like
could be news items.
Different forms of writing an incident
 Situation: A fire broke out and four persons
made their separate essays on what
happened.
For a 10-year-old grade school
pupil,
“I saw a fire. It was a big red fire. It
burned a house. There were many
people around. Some men put
water on the fire.”
For a romantic high school student:
“Fearful scarlet tongues arose to the star-studded
heaven and licked greedily at the doomed edifice
while the stout-hearted firefighters risked their all
to quench the terrible conflagration.”

For a lady observer/viewer:

“You know, Mare, there was a fire in our
community. I think it cost the owner a great
deal of money. The date was August 8.
August is the eight month. So I bet in the
lottery, 8-16-24-32-40-48.”
For a campus paper writer,
A fire of undetermined origin razed to the
ground a two-storey apartment owned by lawyer
Herman Lagon of 80 Lopez Jaena St., Jaro Iloilo
City, last night.
Four trucks from the Jaro Fire Station s the fire
within an hour. The damage estimated by the
police at P500,000 was covered by insurance.

The combination of simple, vivid and

dignified articles produces a copy simple
enough for Mr. Average Reader to
understand. We call it news article.
 Types of News Stories
A. According to style of presentation
1. Straight news. The data are presented in direct
fashion using the summary lead.
2. News feature. The data are presented indirectly
through the use of novelty lead.

B. According to place of occurrence

1. Local news. The event happens within the locality of

the reader
2. Foreign news. The event take place outside of the
country.
C. According to sources

1. Action story. The reporter himself is an eye witness

of the even that happens.
2. Based on the records news. The information are
gathered from the records like the police stations,
hospitals and other agencies.

3. Speech news. The data are gathered from the speech

of celebrities.

4. Based on interview. When data are gathered through

interviewing persons, who are knowledgeable or
authority of the event.
 Basic Structure of News
Straight news follow the structure of news writing. It is
written in inverted triangle form. The most important facts
are placed in the beginning. The other details and
background are given in the succeeding paragraphs.
Primary Lead

Secondary lead

Other important
details
Least
Important
details
Primary lead – usually a short paragraph which answers at
least four of the five Ws and one H at its
most effective angle.

Secondary lead – complements the main lead by answering

those of the five Ws and one H, which left
unanswered.

Other important details – other less important data that

give flesh to the story.
Lead (pamatnubay)–
Most important facts
The international airport in Lallo,
Cagayan, the first such international
gateway in northern Luzon, would
initially cater to direct flights from at
least five countries once in full
operation by the end of the year.
Bridge—Elaboration of lead
The new airport, according to the
Cagayan Economic Zone Authority
(CEZA), will cater to both domestic
and international flights, especially
from Asian countries like Japan,
China, Taiwan, Singapore, and
mainland China.
Less important facts
CEZA deputy administrator Julian Gonzales said
the airport’s major facilities such as control towers,
runways and passengers’ lounge have been
completed but the airport is expected to go on
commercial operation still by the end of the year.
Gonzales also explained that the airport would
make the economy of Cagayan and the entire
Cagayan Valley as well stronger and sustainable,
especially since the region is considered one of the
country’s food baskets.
Minor facts
CEZA is based in Cagayan’s northern
coastal municipality of Santa Ana where
Port Irene, an international port
established during the Marcos
administration, is also located. Santa Ana
is less than an hour’s drive from the new
airport.
 Advantages of the Inverted Pyramid Structure

1. It facilitates reading. By just reading the lead, one

can already get the news he wants to know.

2. It facilitates newspaper’s makeup. In cases of lack

of space, the lay out editor can strike out or delete
he least important paragraphs at the bottom,
because the most important facts on top.

3. It facilitates headline writing. Copy editor can

already prepare the headline of the story from the
ead.
 Nakadetine ngayon sa Manila Police Station ang
dalawang suspek na si Rey Vapinosa, 31, taga
Tondo Manila nang tuluyang arestuhin nina PO1
Peterson Flores at Lennon Jhon Nocedal,
nakatalaga sa Asuncion –PCP.
Nakasakay umano sa Mobile Car Patrol No.
3091 ang dalawang pulis nang madaanan ang
nagwawalang suspek at nakkmipag-argumento sa
kanyang kinakasama sa laban ng kalsada
Kalaboso ang sinapit ng isang security guard
matapos laitin ang dalawang bagitong pulis na
nagtangkang umawat sa kanyang pagwawala sa
kalsada kamakalawa ng gabi sa Tondo, Manila.
 The event sponsored San Miguel Corporation
tees off at 8:30 a.m. with prizes awaiting the
winners in the three classes as well as in the ladies
division.
The Association of Philippine Journalists
(Samahang Plaridel) will hold the 2014 Plaridel
Cup golf tournament on November 28 at the Wack
Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong
City.
Local journalists will take part in the one-day
tournament which is a fund raising project of the
Samahang Plaridel, a group launched in 2002
composing of veteran journalists and
communicators.
 The Lead
The lead is the first paragraph of the news story. In
straight news, it tells the most important facts of the story. In
feature article or news feature, it could be a word, a phrase,
a sentence or a paragraph that attracts and sustain the
reader’s interest.

Lead in a news story, particularly in straight news, need

not be too long. As a popular adage about it says. “A lead
should be like a miniskirt, short enough to be attractive, but
long enough to cover the essentials.”
 Classification of Lead
1. Summary lead. It answers the five Ws and one H
(What, Who, Where, When, Why and How). The story
is presented using the inverted pyramid form where
the most important data are in the first and second
paragraph. This is used in the straight news.

2. Novelty lead. It attracts the reader’s attention,

arouse his curiosity and sustain his interest. It is
used in writing a news feature or a feature article.
 Kinds of Summary Lead
1. What lead – used if the most important angle of
the news is the event

Example:
The 2014 District School Press
Conference (DSPC) is presently
conducted at Curva Elementary School
participated in by 145 campus journalists
and advisers of Pamplona District.
 2. Who lead – used if the most important angle of the
news is the person involved is more significant
han the event.
Example:
One hundred forty-five campus journalists and
advisers participated the 2014 District Schools Press
Conference (DSPC) held at Curva Elementary School
on November 12-14.
3. Where lead – used if the location where the event
take place is more significant than the other
aspects of the news.
Example:
Curva Elementary School (CES) hosted the annual
District Schools Press Conference (DSPC) attended by
145 campus journalists and advisers of Pamplona
District, November 12-14, 2014.
 4. When lead – seldom used lead because this is
only used if the time element is more important
than the other angles of the story.
Example:
November 12-14, 2014 is the conduct of the
annual District Schools Press Conference
participated by campus journalists and advisers of
Pamplona District at Curva Elementary School.
5. Why lead – used if the cause of the event is the
most effective angle of the story.
Example;:
To develop and enhance the writing competence of
pupils and advisers in campus journalism, Pamplona
District conducted a three-day District Schools Press
Conference hosted by Curva Elementary School on
November 12-14.
6. How Lead – used if the process or the manner of
how the event happened is more important than the
other angles of the news.

Example:
By lectures and contests the annual District Schools
Press Conference (DSPC) participated by 145
campus journalists and advisers is presently
conducted at Curva Elementary School, November
12-14.
 Rules in Paragraph Construction in News Writing

1. A paragraph in a news should not exceed 75 words.

2. Important facts must be placed at the beginning of the

paragraph.

3. Avoid repetition of clauses, phrases, and other similar

grammatical construction at the beginning of each
paragraph.
4. Do not put direct quotation and indirect quotation in the
same paragraph.

5. One-sentence paragraph is preferred in writing news, but if

t cannot be done, it should not exceed three sentences.
 6. For reading average number of words per sentence
should be between 15 to 20. A sentence longer than
30 words may be hard to understand.

7. Arrange paragraphs in the descending order of

importance so that the layout editor can delete the last
important ones for lack of space.
Tips in News Writing
1. Write the news as soon as you have gathered the facts.

2. List the facts according to their descending importance.

3. Highlight the most important data as your lead.

4. Be accurate in presenting facts.

5. Names should be given in full when first mentioned.

Thereafter, use Mr. and/or surname for men, Miss or
Mrs. And/or surname for women or any special or
appropriate title.
6. Attribute authority or source of news to strengthen
reader’s confidence in the accuracy of the story and to
protect the newspaper from libel suit.

7. Identify names mentioned. If the person has several

identifications, use the one relevant to the facts of the
story.
8. Avoid editorializing. Do not inject your opinion to the
news.
9. Be objective. Present facts without bias.
10. Make short paragraph. Write one-idea, mostly one-
sentence paragraph.
11. Use simple words.
12. Use short sentences but vary their length.

13. Do not involve yourself in the news by using first person.

14. Prefer the active to the passive voice.

15. Present both sides of the story involved in the news.

16. Do not use an important or unusual word twice in the
same paragraph.
17. Numbers from 1 to 9 should be written in word and 10
and above should be in numerical figure.

18. Do not start the sentence with numerical figure. Have it

in word.
HOW GOOD ARE YOU???
- -13 brand new dump trucks and eight brand new pick-up
trucks were acquired by city hall for road maintenance,
flood control and urban development projects
- -Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim turned over to the city
Engineer’s Office yesterday
- -Turned over rites was simple at the Manila City Hall
quadrangle
- -All trucks were bought locally amounting to 29.5 million
- -Alfredo Lim instructed City Engineer Armand Andres to
maximize the use of the new trucks to speed up
completion of ongoing city projects.
Possible Answer:
Mayor Alfredo Lim turned over to the City
Engineers' Office yesterday 13 brand new
dump trucks and eight pick-up trucks acquired
by the city hall for road maintenance, flood
control and urban development projects.
In a simple turnover rites at the Manila City
quadrangle, Lim instructed City Engineer
Armand Andres to maximize the use of the
new trucks to speed up completion of
ongoing city projects.
All trucks were bought locally amounting to
29.5 million.
 Ayon kay Judge Jesus Mupas ng RTC Branch 112, walang
sapat na dahilan ang korte para magtungo si Abalos ng apat na
araw sa Taiwan na nagsabing bibili ng “fingerlings” ng bangus
na mas mura umano
 Ibinasura ng Pasay City Regional Trial Court ang petisyon ni
dating Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos na makalabas ng
bansa tungo sa Taiwan
 Dinidinig kasalakuyan ang kasong electoral sabotage ukol sa
dayaan noong 2007 Senatorial Elections si Abalos.
 Isinampa ni Abalos ang naturang mosyon noong Oktubre 18.
 “Walang rason na nakikita ang korte para umalis si Abalos
dahil sapat naman ang supply ng bangus “fingerlings” sa lokal
na merkado” sabi ni Mupas.
Ibinasura ng Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) ang
petisyon ni dating Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr.
na makalabas ng bansa tungo sa Taiwan habang dinidinig
ang kasong electoral sabotage ukol sa dayaan noong
2007 Senatorial Elections.
Sabi ni Judge Jesus Mupas ng RTC Branch 112, walang
sapat na dahilan ang korte para magtungo si Abalos ng
apat na araw sa Taiwan na nagsabing bibili ng
“fingerlings” ng bangus dahil sa mas mura umano dito.
Paliwanag din ni Mupas na walang rason na nakikita ang
korte para umalis si Abalos dahil sapat naman ang supply
ng bangus “fingerlings” sa lokal na merkado.
Isinampa ni Abalos ang naturang mosyon noong Oktubre
18.
 THANK YOU
THANK YOU VERY
VERY MUCH!!!
MUCH!!!

 MR.  By: R. MARCAIDA

JAMES BRYAN
Maam Chloebelle
News Writing Facilitator

GOOD LUCK
NEWS WRITERS!