How To Write News Tutorial

How to Write News Ansel Oliver, Adventist News Network http://news.adventist.org Thursday, June 18, 2009

Practice. Thursday, June 18, 2009

What Reporters Do • Our job as church reporters is to build trust with people. • We build trust by sharing accurate information. Thursday, June 18, 2009

We communicate so we can build trust. Thursday, June 18, 2009

An organization is a group of real, authentic people. Thursday, June 18, 2009

How do we report? Thursday, June 18, 2009

How do we report? • Share information quickly and in an interesting way. Thursday, June 18, 2009

share the most interesting piece of information ﬁrst. Thursday, June 18, 2009

Quickly Answer: • Who? • What? • When? • Where? • Why • How? Thursday, June 18, 2009

Quickly Answer: • Who? Jim & Jane • What? Kissing • When? Today, a few minutes ago • Where? Behind the gym • Why? You know... Thursday, June 18, 2009

“Jim and Jane were seen kissing behind the gym today, suggesting the two new freshman students are now dating.” Thursday, June 18, 2009

We’ve Answered: • Who? • What? • When? • Where? • Why • How? Thursday, June 18, 2009

Story Formula Thursday, June 18, 2009

climax body intro end how stories usually progress Thursday, June 18, 2009

climax A news story starts at climax. Thursday, June 18, 2009

rose from the dead body of the story baby born in Bethlehem gospel commission how stories usually progress Thursday, June 18, 2009

rose from the dead “A man rose from the dead after being cruciﬁed three days ago, giving strong credence to his claim of being the Messiah.” Thursday, June 18, 2009

Your Turn. Thursday, June 18, 2009

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Get used to being edited. Thursday, June 18, 2009

Your Turn (again). Thursday, June 18, 2009

A top national military ofﬁcer was cured of leprosy yesterday after washing in the Jordan River seven times upon advice from a prophet and encouragement from his own servant girl. Thursday, June 18, 2009

A top national military ofﬁcer was cured of leprosy yesterday after washing in the Jordan River seven times upon advice from a prophet and encouragement from his own servant girl. General Naman, who had been suffering from the disease for… Thursday, June 18, 2009

Your Formula: • First Paragraph: One sentence, summarizes the story • Second Paragraph: Gives main person’s name, more speciﬁc information Thursday, June 18, 2009

“?” Why a quote? A quote placed every few paragraphs moves the story along. Thursday, June 18, 2009

"I wasn't going to waver from my faith," Daniel said. "I didn't care what anyone threatened to do to me." Thursday, June 18, 2009

"I wasn't going to waver from my faith," Daniel said. "I didn't care what anyone threatened to do to me." "This just proves that his God is the most powerful God in the universe," King Darius said. Thursday, June 18, 2009

"This just proves that his God is the most powerful God in the universe," King Darius said. Thursday, June 18, 2009

Inverted Pyramid • Retains important information when trimming a story to ﬁt a certain space. Thursday, June 18, 2009

How long should a paragraph be? • 1-3 sentences • less is better Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Davis Adventist Church board last night voted to build a school that will serve 200 Adventist students currently enrolled in a troubled public school. Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Davis Adventist Church board last night voted to build a school that will serve 200 Adventist students currently enrolled in a troubled public school. Board members voted 9-2 to approve $600,000 over the next two years to fund construction of the school on church property. Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Davis Adventist Church board last night voted to build a school that will serve 200 Adventist students currently enrolled in a troubled public school. Board members voted 9-2 to approve $600,000 over the next two years to fund construction of the school on church property. "I'm glad we have the resources and vision to invest in our kids," said board chair Bob Smith. "This is something we have needed for a long time." Thursday, June 18, 2009

Nine-year-old Sally Jones has been struggling in public school for two years now. Thursday, June 18, 2009

Nine-year-old Sally Jones has been struggling in public school for two years now. She is bullied by other students, and her parents think her teachers are just giving most students good grades whether they work hard or not. Thursday, June 18, 2009

Nine-year-old Sally Jones has been struggling in public school for two years now. She is bullied by other students, and her parents think her teachers are just giving most students good grades whether they work hard or not. "My parents want to send me to another school, but there just isn't another option," Jones said. Thursday, June 18, 2009

Nine-year-old Sally Jones has been struggling in public school for two years now. She is bullied by other students, and her parents think her teachers are just giving most students good grades whether they work hard or not. "My parents want to send me to another school, but there just isn't another option," Jones said. Davis Adventist Church board members hope Jones and some 200 other Adventist students currently struggling in public schools will be served with a new Adventist school approved in last night's meeting. In a 9-2 vote, the board approved $600,000 for a school scheduled for completion in two years. Thursday, June 18, 2009

Kenya defeated Germany in yesterday's regional football championship off a last-minute goal from forward Ben Mwansa. Thursday, June 18, 2009

Ben Mwansa didn't think he would be able to walk this year without limping. An off-season foot injury kept him from practicing with the national team for three months. But his work ethic with physical therapy propelled him from the disabled list to starting forward halfway through the season. That work paid off for Mwansa and team Kenya yesterday as they defeated Germany with a kick off that once-injured foot for a last-minute goal to win the match 3-2. "My foot actually still hurts, but I don't care," Mwansa said in the locker room after the game. "I wanted to be there for my team." Thursday, June 18, 2009

Hard Lead • Inverted Pyramid Thursday, June 18, 2009

Soft Lead • Soft lead using Inverted Pyramid Thursday, June 18, 2009

An important point... Thursday, June 18, 2009

How long should your news story be? Thursday, June 18, 2009

adventistnews@gc.adventist.org Thursday, June 18, 2009

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How To Write News Tutorial

by Ansel Oliver

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