This document provides guidelines for writing news articles, including defining news, the purpose of news, and essential qualities of good news writing. It discusses key elements like the inverted pyramid structure, leads, bodies, and headlines. Tips are provided on writing concisely using active voice and simple language while ensuring accuracy, balance and objectivity. Elements like proximity, impact and timeliness are important for making events newsworthy.

1. NEWS WRITING
SALMAN S. SAGA

2. NEWS
• ANY NEW INFORMATION ON A
CRRENT EVENT OR UNUSUAL
SITUATION THAT HAS MEANING
TO A SET OF READERS.
• MEANING means APPEAL.
CONNECT YOUR
READER/AUDIENCE TO YOUR
TOPIC.

3. • Geographic: something happened close to your
reader, his neighbor or in his locality.
• Affective: someone close to him, be it his mom or
his idol.
• Psychological: something that passions humans
(money, violence, etc.).
• Temporal: something recent.
• Cultural and social: something linked to the
interests of your reader.
• Human Interest: odd stories
• Practical: something that concerns everyday life.

4. PURPOSE/IMPORTANCE
• INFORM - TO REPORT NEWS WITH ACCURACY
AND INTEREST
• SERVE – TO PROVIDE INFORMATION SUCH AS
WEATHER, MARKETS AND SHIPPING.
• ENTERTAIN - HUMOROUS ITEMS SUCH AS
COMICS, CARTOONS, COLUMNISTS AND BIZARRE
STORIES.
• INTERPRET - BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND A
SUMMARY TO HELP READERS UNDERSTAND
EVENTS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

5. 4 ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF
NEWS
1. ACCURACY
2. COMPLETENESS and
BALANCE
3. OBJECTIVITY
4. SIMPLICITY and CLARITY

6. ELEMENTS OF NEWS
• THESE ELEMENTS OF NEWS WOLD MAKE EVENTS OR
SITUATION INTERESTING.
1. IMMEDIACY or TIMELINESS
2. PROXIMITY OR NEARNESS
3. CONSEQUENCE OR SIGNIFICANCE
4. PROMINENCE
5. ODDITY OR UNSUALNESS
6. CONFLICT
7. DRAMA
8. PROGRESS
9. NUMBER

7. STRUCTURE OF THE NEWS
INVERTED PYRAMID
allows busy people read the
summary of your news, you
can cut the least important,
busy headline writer can
prepare the headline by just
reading the lead.

8. PARTS OF THE NEWS
1. HEADLINE – catchy
2. LEAD – contains 5 W’s and 1 H
3. BODY - details

9. • LEAD - the first paragraph, but it is written to
provide a detailed preview of the entire
story. It summarizes the story and includes all
of the basic facts. the 5 W’s and 1H. However,
you do not put all the W’s otherwise it will
become crowded lead. The lead will help
readers decide if they want to read the rest
of the story, or if they are satisfied knowing
these details. For this reason, the lead may
contain a hook.

10. • CROWDED LEAD
A grade school boy, Ali Sahid, of Talayan
National
High
School
(TNHS)
in
Talayan, Maguindanao was killed yesterday
along national high way fronting TNHS when a
single motorcycle struck another passenger
vehicle where the boy was riding.
• SIMPLIFIED LEAD
A grade school boy of Talayan National High
School was killed yesterday when a passenger
vehicle he was riding was hit by a single
motorcycle along national high way fronting
TNHS.

11. BODY OF THE NEWS
• The body contains the details from LEAD to
the next important facts, less important, and
least important.
•
In writing a news story, you do not need
to write every single and little details of the
activity like color of the dress, manner of
talking, weather condition unless it’s a great
factor why such event had been postponed
(TYPHOON)

12. • EXAMPLE
Our activity today . . . you do not need to say:
The program started yesterday
with an opening program, Schools
Division Superintendent Bai Meriam
Kawit attended but she did not stay
longer for she needed to attain a
previous commitment.

13. • Tell something what was the
event, when and where it was
conducted, why there is a need
to do so, who chaired the
program…and quote some lines
from high profile individual
involved in the event.

14. Maguindanao 1 conducted Back-to-Back Festival of
Talents at Kauran Elementary School, Kauran,
Maguindanao, January 16-18, 2014. (CONTAINS
IMPORTANT FACTS)
The 3-day affair was a mixed of English Festival and
Division School Press Conference. (Contains single idea
constructed in simple sentence)
The said festival aimed to select students to
represent Maguindano 1 Division in the upcoming
Regional School Press Conference which date and
venue are still undetermined.
“This activity is a sort of evaluation of your
performance as English language teachers.” Schools
Division Superintendent Bai Meriam Kawit, Al-haja said
during the opening program.

15. • After the lead has been written, and even the whole body of
the news, YOU ARE NOW READY TO CONSTRUCT your
headline. Headline is extracted from the lead.
Schools Division Superintendent Bai
Meriam A. Kawit,Al-haja ordered yesterday
Maguindanao 1 teachers to hold summer
class for slow learners for grades 7 and 8.
• HEADLINE:
Kawit pushes summer class
Note that you may use other verb in the
HEADLINE synonymous to the one you use in
the lead (to avoid redundancy, sounds good)

16. SPECIAL HEADLINE VOCAB
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
approved – ok’d
arrested - nabbed
teacher - tutor
student – stude
investigation - prove
executive - exec
toddlers - totss
schedule - sked

17. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
police officer - cop
senator - solon
slice small part - scrap
wash out - lash
Increase - Hike
Decrease - Dip
Examination - Quiz
Announced – Bared

18. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Highlight – Cap
Disapprove- Buck
Contest/competition – Tilt
Against - Vs
Volleyball players- Spikers/netters
Syndicate - Gang
Investigation – probe
Prohibition – Ban
Participate – Attend

19. • Celebrate- Mark
• Conflagration – Fire
• Inundated-Flooded
• Arrests – Nabs
• Emphasize – Stress

20. • Avoid the use of the articles a, an and
• The headline should not state something that
is not included in the story.
• Positive heads are preferable than negative
ones.
• The active verb is preferred to passive verb,
except in the instance that the event is more
important than the doer.
• Use the present tense even for past stories,
and the infinite form for future events.

21. • Write numbers in figures or spell them out
depending upon the allotted space for
headlines.
• Use the comma (,)instead of the conjunction
and in headlines.

22. • Keep leads short. Those with 35 words or less
are preferred.
• Leads limited to one or two sentences are
preferred.
• Avoid starting leads with "when" or "where"
unless the time or place is unusual. Most
leads start with "who" or "what."
• Avoid beginning leads with "there" or "this."

23. • In leads about future events, the time, day (date)
and place usually go at the end of the paragraph.
• In leads about past events, the day (date) of the
event usually appears before or after the verb.
Sometimes the day (date) comes at the end of
the first sentence or the paragraph if it is a onesentence lead. EXAMPLE: CIVIL SERVICE
COMMISION (CSC)-AUTONOMOUS REGION IN
MUSLIM MINDANAO (ARMM) YESTERDAY
ORDERED LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT (LGU) TO
CONDUCT FLAG CEREMONY EVERY MONDAY.

24. • Use quote and question leads sparingly/
cautiously.
• Lastly, leads can exclude certain readers if they
are full of JARGON. Make sure the news
report is suitable for everyone to read.

25. Tips in making body of the news
• Keep paragraphs short. Those limited to 60 words
or less or no longer than 10 typeset lines are
preferred.
• Make sure your sentences are under 25 words
and contain only one idea. Use a simple subject
verb object form and don’t use too many
commas.
• Paragraphs limited to one to three sentences are
preferred.
• Each paragraph should contain only one idea.

26. • Remember short paragraphs encourage
readers to continue reading.
• For past events, report it happened "Friday,"
NOT "last Friday." Eliminate the word "last."
For future events, report it will happen
"Monday," NOT "next Monday." Eliminate the
word "next.“
• Eliminate the "be" verb. Write "she will
resign" instead of "she will be resigning.
"Write in future tense (will) instead of future
progressive tense (will be "ing").

27. • Eliminate words such as "when asked" and
"concluded." These are weak transitions. Just
report what was said.
• A long title should follow the name. A title
that follows the name should be lowercased
and set off in commas. Shorter titles that
precede names should be capitalized.
• Always double-check the spelling of names.

28. • DO NOT USE ADJECTIVE. IT MAKES YOUR
REPORT OPINIONATED UNLESS QUOTED
FROM A RELIABLE SOURCE.
• WRONG:
THE PROGRAM SUCCESSFULLY ENDED.
• CORRECT:
THE PROGRAM ENDED SUCCESSFULLY,
MRS. RIVERO SAID.

29. • Use active voice vs. passive voice. The passive
voice is formed by using some form of the verb
"be" with the past participle of an action verb: is
shot, was shot, has been shot, had been
shot, may be shot, will be shot. The word "by"
may also signal the sentence is written in passive
voice. Rewrite sentences to eliminate the word
"by."
• Passive voice : The city was ordered by the
judge to make the payment.
• Active voice : The judge ordered the city to make
the payment.

30. • WHEN IN DOUBT, LEAVE IT OUT. This has to do
with questionable information that may be
libelous, incomplete information and
information the writer does not have a clear
understanding of.
• End your news with number sign #.

31. • Sometimes information cannot be verified. If
doubt exists regarding a person's name, report
the person "was listed by police as John
Smith" or he "gave his name as John Smith." If
a person is dead or unconscious and there is
no identification, he or she is "unidentified,"
NOT unnamed. If there are questions about
where a person lives, report "address not
given" or "address unknown."

32. • Use simple words. Never send the reader to
the dictionary. Odds are the reader won't
bother looking up the definition.
• Words such as "thing" and "a lot" annoy some
readers, bosses and executives. Avoid using
them. (Note the correct spelling of "a lot.")

33. • Be careful how the word "held" is used. Make
sure the object can be "held" physically.
Example:
• Weak : The meeting will be held at noon
Monday in RTTC.
• Better : The meeting will be at noon Monday
in ...

34. • Avoid using the same word twice in a
sentence.
• The optimum number of words to use in a
sentence is 14 to 16. The average reader
cannot comprehend a sentence with more
than 40 words.
• When writing becomes cumbersome, turn one
long sentence into two or three shorter ones.
• If a long sentence must be used, place a short
sentence before and after it.

35. • Spell out one-ten; 11 and up you can use
numerals.
• Don’t start a sentence with a numeral.
• Spell small numbers out. Small numbers, such
as whole numbers smaller than 10, should be
spelled out.
• Two numbers next to each other. It can be
confusing if you write “7 13-year-olds”, so
write: “seven 13-year-olds”. Pick the number
that has the fewest letters.

36. • UNANG SALITA NG PANGUNGUSAP SA PAMATNUBAY O LEAD
GUMAMIT NG PANDIWA
• . 1. Hinirang 31. nakiramay2. Pinili 32. Sinimulan3. Kinondena 33.
Nanalo4. Nakamit 34. Binuksan5. Binalaan 35. Napili6. Nanumpa
36. Naragdagan7. Nagwagi 37. Nahalal8. Nanawagan 38.
Isinasaayos9. Pinangunahan 39. Natamo10. Tinutugis 40. Hindi
nasiyahan11. Muling nagkaisa 41. Bumisita12. Inilunsad 42.
Itinanghal13. Ipinagdiwang 43. Sisikapin14. Nanguna 44.
Inihayag15. Itinaguyod 45. Nangako16. Kinoronahan 46.
Pinamahalaan17. Idinaos 47. Tinaguyod18. Pinarangalan 48.
Inalayan19. Tumanggap 49. Napili20. Hiniling 50. Naisakatuparan21.
Napagwagian 51. Nagbigay22. Sinimulan 52. Inaasahan23.
Ginawaran 53. Ipinahayag24. Nasakote 54. Nagkaroon25. Nasabat
55. Naglaan26. Isiniwalat 56. Itinatag27. Nag-uwi 57. Binatikos28.
Naghandog 58. Napag-alaman29. Namahagi 59. Nagtapos30.
Binigyang-diin . pinasinaan

37. • Ang ASSaKaBa ay laging nasa pamatnubay
ng balita.
• Ano, Sino, Saan, Kailan at Bakit.
• HALIMBAWA:
Tinanghal na kampeon ang Mataas na
Paaralan ng Rizal, Pasig City laban sa 49 napangkat
mula sa 25 na paaralang pribado at publiko sa
Tagisan ng kaalaman sa Kalikasan.

38. You may write in this way.
• Ayon sa ulat, dakong alas- 12:30 ng madaling
araw
• mahigit 10,000 adults naisinailalim sa pagaaral
• ano ang nagtulak sa 12-anyos na bata

39. THE END
Thank you
for
listening!!!