Jennifer Alejandro

GSC SPED Integrated School

General Santos City ,Division
COURSE OUTLINE

•News and Its Characteristics

•The five W’s
•Distinguishing Primary Facts from
Secondary/Background Information
•Writing Basic News Leads
Three more government troops were
killed and 52 others injured in the
battle between soldiers and remnants
of Islamic State-inspired terrorists while
retaking a strategic bridge in the
Marawi City conflict zone Thursday, eve
of the feast of Eidl A dha.
* Source Manila Standard, Sept 02, 2017

HOW
BAGUIO CITY- Saying her task was not to keep a headcount
of tourist arrivals, Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo announced
the establishment of tourism media to help push the
country “into the global radar” so tourism could improve
local economies and serve as a poverty alleviation tool.

“ Since Day 1 of my appointment as secretary, I had only

one goal in mind--to rally everyone behind one simple idea,
that tourism is a shared responsibility,” Teo said in her
address to the annual Media Congress organized by the
Media Specialists of the Philippines at Camp John Hay here
last week.

Philippine Daily Inquirer,

HOW September 16, 2017
Structure of News
Lead Primary Lead
The lead is the story’s
opening sentence or two. Secondary Lead
It tells the most important
facts of the story.
Details
Inverted
Emphasizes the news feature
or the most dramatic or
Details Pyramid
arresting element of the
Details
story by placing it at the
beginning.
Distinguishing Primary Facts
from Secondary/Background
Information
Two General Kinds of News
1 Straight news. The data are presented in
direct fashion using the summary lead. It is
also called hard news.
2News feature. The data are presented
indirectly through the use of novelty lead. It
is also called soft news.
 The LEAD: Guidelines in
Writing
•The lead should be simple, brief,
compact, vigorous, attractive, and
should shoot straight as a rifle bullet
into the readers
The LEAD: Guidelines in Writing

• It should be written in a manner

appropriate to the subject matter. ( If the
story is about calamity that killed a
number, would you use a lead that is for
light story)
The LEAD: Guidelines in
Writing
• It should fix authority for
information, lest the reader
questions the authenticity.
( Facts mentioned in the story
should be attributed from your
reliable sources.
 • Be aware of buried leads.
There are times that a news reporter,
because of so many details taken from an
interview, or from an event, misses the
strongest lead or the right angle of the
story.

Instead of focusing his story on the main

issue, the confused writer mistakenly
angled his story on the secondary issue
and buried the main issue in his story.
 NEWS WRITING EXERCISE.

Details:

•The Department of Health held a press conference about “sin tax” measure
pending in the house of representatives.
•The press conference was attended by several governors, including Ilocos Sur Gov.
Luis “Chavit” Singson.
• * House Bill No. 5727 or the sin tax reform bill for tobacco and alcohol
• *LPP national president and Oriental Mindoro Governor Alonso Umali
• *Singson said he decided to support HB52 after realizing that tobacco farmers
are at the mercy of cigarette companies which are dictating prices of tobacco
products that they bought from the farmers.
• Singson was alarmed when two giant tobacco companies merged because this
means they would monopolize the industry to the detriment of the farmers and
small companies.
• “Tobacco farming is here to stay. Proof of that is when the global campaign
against smoking was launched years ago, we prepared in our province. I thought
this was a sundown.
Details: The Department of Health held a press conference about “sin tax”
measure pending in the house of representatives.
Lead 1
• The press conference was attended by several governors, including Ilocos
Governors all over the country expressed support to the sin tax
Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson.
• *reform billNo.
House Bill pending
5727 orin the
the sinHouse of Rerpresentatives.
tax reform bill for tobacco and alcohol
• *LPP national president and Oriental Mindoro Governor Alonso Umali
• *Singson said he decided to support HB52
Lead 2 after realizing that tobacco
farmers
“ Tobaccoare at the
is here to mercy
stay.” of cigarette companies which are dictating prices of
tobacco products that they bought from the farmers.
This waswas
• Singson the assurance given by
alarmed when twoIlocos Surtobacco
giant Gov. Luiscompanies
“Chavit” Singson
merged to farmers
because
in his
this province
means theyaswould
he unexpectedly
monopolize showed his support
the industry to House
to the Bill No.of5727
detriment the or
the sin tax reform bill during the press conference held at the Department of
farmers and small companies.
Health yesterday.
• “Tobacco farming is here to stay. Proof of that is when the global campaign
against smoking was launched years ago, we prepared in our province. I
Lead 3
thought this was a sundown industry will die.”- Singson
Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson yesterdat pushed unexpectedly for the
passage of the House Bill No. 5727 or the sin tax reform bill for tobacco and
alcohol as he assured tobacco farmers and legislators that the measure “will not
kill tobacco farming.
 The LEAD: Guidelines in Writing

• Use often: How, Why, What leads

• Use less than 30 words
• Avoid using articles such as a, an, the
• Don’t put unfamiliar names in the lead
unless of well-known.
• Be accurate.
• Use active voice.
• Ask, What do my readers need to know
most?”
GUIDELINES IN WRITING “ READABLE” LEADS
1. Find the essential elements of the story.
2. Decide whether a direct or delayed lead better
suits the event.
3. Use the S-V-O construction.
4. Use concrete nouns and colorful action verbs.
5. Keep the lead short, under 30-35 words.
6. Make the lead readable, but do not sacrifice
truthful and accurate reporting for readability.
 Structure of News: The BODY

• Contains the details of the lead

• Arranged from the most important to
the least important
• One sentence, one paragraph
• Sentences are generally less than 25
words
• Include quotations whenever possible
(direct and indirect)
 The new chairman of the country’ s transit agency,
Fernando Poh Aboga spoke out today on the agency’s
problem.

The new chairman of the country’s transit agency,

Fernando Poh Aboga, said today that he will clean up
the agency’s problems.
Structure of News: DIRECT QUOTES

• Should be linked to the paragraph before them. The quote should elaborate on
the previous paragraph.

DIRECT QUOTES
For example:

Because of an anonymous Php150,000 donation, students who ride a school bus to

and from school will have access to the Internet during their commute starting
March 1.

“Giving free Wi-Fi to our students will enable them to do research, read the news
or even watch educational videos each day,” Superintendent Kelli Putman said.
“This change will have a positive impact on academic productivity.”