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

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

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

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

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

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