News Angling &

In-Depth Story Writing

Discussion Outline
• Pre-writing
• Elements of News
• Skills
• Getting the News
• Writing
• Angle
• Structure
• Parts
• • Post-writing
What is news?

•North, East, South, West

• News is information that has a

meaning for a set of readers.
Pre-Writing
Elements of News
• Impact—How many people does the event
affect? How seriously does it affect them?
• Proximity—An event will be more important
if is closer to the readers.
• Timeliness—Is the event fresh? Is it new?
The news must be timely to be of use to
readers.
Elements of News

• Prominence—Names make news, and big

names make big news. Ordinary people are
intrigued by the doings of the rich and
famous.
• Novelty—This is the new in news, the
unusual. The "firsts," "lasts" and "onlys" have
been the staples of the news business for
many years.
Is it enough that you
write grammatically
sound news stories?
Elements of News

• Conflict—Conflict has been the currency of

great literature, drama and movies for all
time. Newspapers are no different.

• Audience—Who is the audience?

Important to master
these skills
• Nose for news
• Listening
• Comprehension
• Curiosity
Getting the news

• Actual coverage
• Interview
• Research
Writing
The Angle

•The main idea of a news story

or lead is called the “angle.” It
is also referred to as the
“hook” because it is used to
grab or hook the reader’s
attention.
The Inverted Pyramid Structure
from the most important to the least important
News Reporting Basics

•Contains 5Ws and 1 H

• Parts of news story
– Lead
– Body
The Lead

•Refers to the first few paragraphs

of the news article
• Presents the gist of the story
The Body
• Importance of News Reporting
– include a chronology of the issue being
reported
– provide background information or historical
context of the issue
– cite sources of information
– primary sources for crucial data
– secondary sources for background info
Post-Writing

• Review
• Revise
• Rewrite
Tips

• KISS.
• Use the active voice.
• Verify your data.
• Focus
• Revise and sharpen.
 Practical tips…
• Avoid too many details in the lead paragraph.
• Numbers 1-9 ar espelled out, 10 and higher – write in
numerics.
• Grade school – PUPILS ; High School and College –
• STUDENTS
• Avoid repeating the same word in the same paragraph.
• Leads must be, at the maximum, 35 words long.
 More tips…
• Understand the event first. Then write.
• Write when you know what you want to say.
• Keep your eye on the lead.
• Be coherent. Paragraphs must flow.
• Always assume that your reader is a first time
reader so provide definitions if there are any
needed.
• Avoid judgments and inferences. Let the facts talk.
Practical tips…

• Paragraphs must only be one or two sentences

long.
• When using a company/ institution/
department name more than once in a story,
use its acronym after the first time you use the
term in its fullness
More practical tips…

• Be especially careful to avoid phrases and

sentences that are redundant--- that
unnecessarily repeat the same idea. The
following phrases contain only two or three
words, yet at least one--- the word in
italics– is unnecessary.
More practical tips…

• Avoid long, unfamiliar words. Whenever

possible substitute simpler and shorter
words that convey the same meaning .
Content and Coverage

• The content and scope of the news stories

should include a balanced coverage of
international, national, regional, community-
based news stories.
Variety of Styles
Possible Topics
Variety of Styles
What to Avoid