DIVISION campus journaLIsm

seminar-workshop for school

paper advisers and student
editors
Writing a News Story

The Particular Formula

used when Writing
News
Topics to be Covered:

 BUILDING THE STORY

n Definition of News
n Structure of the News
 The Lead
 The Summary Lead
 The Novelty Lead

n Steps in Writing the News Story

Topics to be Covered:

 BUILDING THE STORY

n Tips for Writing the News Story
 REPORTING SCHOOL NEWS
n The Classroom Story
n The Meeting Story
n The Enrolment Story
n The Program/Party Story
Topics to be Covered:

 Reporting School News

n The Honor Roll Story

n The Awards Story

n The School Improvement Story
n The Election Story
n Out-of-School Activity
n The Special Occasion Story
n The School Club Story
What is News?
News …
 is a record of the most interesting, important
and accurate information obtained about the
things man thinks, says, sees and describes,
plans and does.

“What is news? It is information only.””

-Walter Cronkite, former CBS News anchor

 Cabus, Bacuado Bag Mr., Ms. Intramurals
By: Romelyn G. Continedo

Aries Cabus, a III-Earth and Mary Therese Bacuado, a Grade 8-

Rose were crowned Mr and Ms. Intramurals on August 15, 2013 held at
Mabini National High School.
The lad captured different awards such as Best in Production
Number, Best in School Uniform, Best in Casual Wear, Best in Sports Attire
and Mr. Photogenic. His partner Mary Therese was also awarded as Best in
Sports Attire and Best in Casual Wear.
On the other hand, other contestants who competed were
Mercedez Tedoco and Daniel Tibar, who won 1st Runners-Up; Ma. Elena
Ondoy and Kim Vilalon won 2nd Runners-Up: Romelyn Continedo and
Joveniel Gale won 3rd Runners-Up; and the 4th Runners-Up went to Judy Ann
Tacoloy and Jomer Mariposa.
Structure of NEws
Inverted Pyramid Structure of a News
 The news story consists of:

n First paragraph or the LEAD:

 presents the most important or most

interesting element of the story.
n First paragraph or the LEAD:

o Example:

Berwynson R. Salazar, IV-Faraday, copped

the “Outstanding Young Filipino Creative
Researcher” title given by the World
Intellectual Property Organization during the
awarding rites at the Malacañang Palace
July 19.
 The news story also consists of:

n One or two additional paragraphs on

the other highlights of the story.

o Example:
Salazar received this honor for his
performance in the Singapore Youth
Science Fortnight. He emerged as the
highest awardees out of eight youth
delegates from Asian nations.
And the last:

n Elaboration
o Example:
In the Singapore Youth Science
Marathon with his teammate Allan
Reyes, batch ’85, ranked first in the Case
Study Competition (international level)
for their science project, “Parboiling as a
Pre-Planting Process For Oryza
Sativa(IR62 Variety).”
The Lead

What do my readers
need to know most?
 The lead:

n opens the news story.

n answers the questions who,
what, why, when, where,
and/or how.

n provides quick identification of

persons, places, events necessary for
quick understanding of the story.
 The lead:
n emphasizes the news feature
by placing it at the beginning.

n must be short and provocative;

must have only one sentence.

n must come naturally and the

rest of the story must flow
from it.
Sample lead:

Berwynson R. Salazar, IV-Faraday,

copped the “Outstanding Young
Filipino Creative Researcher” title
given by the World Intellectual
Property Organization during the
awarding rites at the Malacañang
Palace July 19.
The summary lead

n answers the five W’s (what. who,

why, where, and when) and one H
(how)
 Types of Summary Lead

n the what beginning

 A historical marker was…

n the who beginning

 Miss MHS Sweetheart of 1982, Estrellita

Castillo, III-6, and the runners-up were
crowned…
 Types of Summary Lead

n the who beginning

 Miss MHS Sweetheart of 1982, Estrellita

Castillo, III-6, and the runners-up were
crowned in colorful ceremonies which
started at 6:00 p.m at the school
quadrangle, Feb. 19.
Types of Summary Lead

n the why beginning

 Because the weather forecast

warned Metro Manila against no
more than “occasional rains,”…

n the when beginning

Today, September 30, is the…


 Types of Summary Lead

n the how beginning

 Trapped in their air-conditioned
bedroom…

n the where beginning

 Manila will be …
The Novelty Lead
 The novelty lead

n a good, straightforward lead,

stated in a subject-verb declarative
sentence.
 Types of Novelty Lead

n Dramatic statement

 Beware outsiders, and take care, students!

VHS security officer Roberto Crisostomo is
right there ready to “catch” outsiders who
crash in to molest students.
Types of Novelty Lead

n Narration

 A twenty-four year old clerk in a Swiss

patent office was curious about the
universe and during lunch hours scribbled
mathematical results of his thinking on
bits of paper.
 Types of Novelty Lead
n Unusual circumstance

 Being physically handicapped does not

deter Mario Rigos from joining school
activities.
n Idea subordination
 Because VHS was knee-deep in flood water
caused by Typhoon Ruping, classes were
suspended Sept. 9.
 Types of Novelty Lead
n Quotation

 “No amount of criticism can dislodge you

from the hearts of your people if you show
sincerity in whatever little things you do for
them,” Deputy Prime Minister Jose A. Roño
told the town mayors in Tagbilaran City,
Oct. 31.
 Types of Novelty Lead
n Question

 Who says that temper and sports don’t go

together?

n Description
 Looking bright, scrubbed and eager,
thousand of children will troop today to
their schools to begin a new school year.
 Types of Novelty Lead
n Suspended Interest

 Once the school gymnasium is built, more

winnings by the VHS can be expected.

n Exclamation

 DCS volleyball champion- Us!

 Types of Novelty
Lead

n Relating to a previous or current news

 A slight increase over last week’s figure was

noted when additional 40 influenza cases
were reported this week, Mrs. Sofia
Barrera school nurse, said this morning.
Steps in News
Gathering
 Steps in writing the
news story:
n List all your facts.

n Arrange your facts from the most important to the

least important.

n Write the lead making sure to play up the

most interesting or important points.
 Steps in writing the
news story:

n Write the next paragraph or paragraphs

presenting the other highlights or
answering questions not yet answered.

n Add the other facts, keeping in mind their

descending order of importance.
Tips for News Gathering
 Tips for writing the news
story:
n Be sure to emphasize the lead.

n Proceed from the most interesting to the

least interesting.

n Don’t cover all the major components in

the lead. Don’t pour facts into it, thus
making it overloaded and unwieldy.
 Tips for writing the news
story:
n Avoid beginning with “There is…,”
“According to…,” “A,” “An,” “The.”

n Give your source or authority when

necessary.

n Identify all persons.

 Tips for writing the
news story:
n Remember, the time element is
an important part of your story.

n Avoid editorializing. Avoid opinions,

colored words, adjectives and verbs
unless you are quoting somebody. **

n Write one-idea, one sentence paragraphs.

 Tips for writing the
news story:
n Strive for variety in sentence structure.

n Guard against misleading statements that

may unintentionally come into the story.

n Shorten your paragraphs.

n Determine the length of your story by its
value in reader interest.
 Tips for writing the news
story:
n Study constantly the construction of news
stories in good metropolitan publications to
improve your writing style and technique.

n Be careful with your grammar, spelling,

capitalizations, use of abbreviations, and
sentence construction.
 Tips for writing the news
story:

n To assure consistency of style in your

paper. Observe the rules in your style sheet.
Reporting the School
News
 The Classroom Story

n Stories of debates, new teaching techniques,

group dynamics and contests will surely enliven
school papers that are usually heavy with news
about promoted administrators, teachers and
personnel, and school plans and programs.
The Classroom Story

n Actual classroom
observation and
interviews with
teachers and students
provide plenty ideas
for classroom stories.
 Classroom story:

Fourth Year students are hoping they

will get higher NCEE grades this year.
Their teachers took time and effort to
review them on abstract reasoning,
mathematics, space relations, language
usage, verbal reasoning, science
proficiency, and other areas of learning.
The Enrolment Story

n enhanced by statistics, comparison

with previous year’s figures, and
background information such as
causes of dropouts or transfer to
other schools.
 The Enrolment Story

MHS ENROLMENT DROPS BY

FOUR PERCENT

A total of 3780 students are enrolled this

school year at Manila High School. It is four
percent lower than 3,933, the enrolment
figure last school year.
Not all of this number, however made it
to the end of the school year. A total of 346
students, either dropped out or transferred
at the middle of the year to other divisions.
MHS DROPOUT
RATES
 The Meeting Story
n Features the most important or
most interesting thing that took
place at the meeting

n Don’t begin, for example, with “The Science

Club held a meeting at the library, Feb. 4”
 Meeting Story
PROBLEMS DISCUSSED AT FACULTY MEET

Causes of and solutions to common school problems

were discussed at the faculty meeting presided over
by Miss Margarita del Rosario, principal, Feb. 13.

Problems like vandalism inside and outside the

classrooms, discipline, dropouts, and the uniform
problem were brought out for solutions.
 The Program/Party Story

n brighten up this story with

description and audience reaction.
 Program/Party
Story
VOC. DEPT. PRESENTS ‘TELL THE
TEACHERS’

A show entitled “Tell the Teachers was

presented and sponsored by the vocational
department in the professional meeting of
teachers held at the conference hall, Dec. 12.
Mrs. Socorro Cacdac, assistant principal
said that the vocational department under Mr.
Isaac Isaac sponsored a very entertaining and
informative meeting.
 The Honor Roll Story

n Present the highlights before giving

the list of honor students
 The Honor Roll Story:
REYES, IGNACIO LEAD GRADUATING
CLASSES
Three boys and three girls lead the different years in
the third grading period, according to the list submitted
by the teachers.
Erlinda Reyes has retained her place at the top of
the fourth year college preparatory classes. Fabian
Ignacio of the vocational group has inched his way from
the third place he held in the second grading period to
first place.
The complete honor roll follows:...
 The Awards Story
n Most significant facts here, of
course, are who won, what are the
contests and award all about, and
other results.
The Awards Story
VHS TEAM GETTING SET FOR TYPE II

The VHS PMT competing team garnered first

place at the annual PMT Platoon Drill
Competition, Type I, held t the Pamantasan Ng
Lungsod ng Maynila Jan. 11.
Cdt. Col. Rodolfo Roman was chosen Second
Best platoon Leader…
 School Improvement Story

n Be sure about your facts.

Attribution is valuable for this
type of story.
 School Improvement
Story
VHS UNDERGOES FACE-LIFT
So much is happening, in matters of
improvement, in VHS these days.
Come high and low water, the students
are sure to touch dry ground before they enter
VHS with the elevation of the front entrance.
Additional cement benches and flower
boxes are being built around the quadrangle
which has undergone face-lift…
 The Election Story
n Instead of just reporting that an
organization has conducted an
election and mentioning the
officer’s , focus the new officers
plan of action
 The Election Story:
VHS GIRL SCOUTS PLAN
DEVELOPMENT

The VHS girl scouts will launch

development projects and strengthen their
commitment to peace and order in the campus,
according to new president Flordeliza Illao.
Illao, II-4, was elected president for 1985-
86 at the quadrangle, June 27, under the
supervision of the new adviser, Miss Slavez
Andez, YDT.
The School Club Story

n Focuses the unusual or

give it a light treatment
 The School Club Story

ON DECK WITH
INTERACT:PRESENTATION, SALES

The VHS Interact Club will have rummage sales

and a cultural presentation for its school year’s
projects. These were discussed at the organizational
meeting held the first Saturday of the year.
The meeting also saw the election of the news
batch of officers headed by Ma. Luisa Francisco.
Miss Elvira Palayo and Mrs. Cristina Cabuhat
are the advisers of the Club.
Out-of-School Activity
n Action, being more newsworthy than
opinions and plans, could add life to the
news page.
 Out-of-School Activity

BOY SCOUTS LAUNCH “OPERATION

LUBAK”
Armed with spades and picks, VHS boy
scouts, along with scoutmaster Fernando
Paras, attacked the potholes caused by floods
in their “Operation Lubak” during the days
classes were suspended due to floods.
Mr. Paras got the idea when he fell into a
manhole along herran street (“No bones
broken, thank God”)…
 The Special Occasion Story
n Lends itself to the composite
treatment because of the unusual
number of activities.
 The Special Occasion Story:
SHOWS, PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT UN
CELEBRATION IN VHS
Film showing, literary musical programs, and
contests highlighted the VHS United Nations Week
celebration Oct. 18-24.
Students and teachers witnessed the film
showing of “Disarmament,” “Decade for Women,”
“Development Decade,” and Racism and
Discrimination” in connection with this year’s major
and conceptual themes, “Equality, Development and
Peace” and “The Role of Women In National
Development.”