2. This session aims to enable participants to:
• Give the basic information and salient points of a
news article
• Explain the meaning of “angle” in news writing
• Discuss ways of writing effective and compelling
news story based on facts
OBJECTIVES
4. What is news?
•North, East,
South, West
•News is information
that has a meaning
for a set of readers
5. News…
“Do not limit your
writing to what you
know but expand it
to what you do not
know.”
6. 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 it is
closer to the readers.
• Timeliness—Is the event fresh? Is it new? The news
must be timely to be of use to readers.
7. • 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.
Elements of News
8. • Conflict—Conflict has been the currency of great
literature, drama and movies for all time. Newspapers
are no different.
• Audience—Who is the audience?
Elements of News
9. Is it enough that
you write
grammatically
sound news
stories?
10. Important to master these skills
•Nose for news
•Listening
•Comprehension
•Curiosity
13. 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.
21. The Lead
• Refers to the first few paragraphs of the news article
• Presents the gist of the story
22. 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
26. 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.
27. More tips…
•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.
28. Practical tips…
•Avoid too many details in the lead paragraph.
•Numbers 1-9 are spelled out, 10 and higher –
write in numerics.
•Grade school – PUPILS ;
•High School and College – STUDENTS
29. More practical tips…
•Avoid repeating the same word in the same
paragraph.
•Leads must be, at the maximum, 35 words long.
Paragraphs must only be one or two sentences
long.
30. More practical tips…
•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
31. 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:
• that particular day
for the purpose of
in the event that
32. More practical tips…
• Avoid long, unfamiliar words. Whenever possible
substitute simpler and shorter words that
convey the same meaning .
