This document discusses what constitutes news and provides guidance for writing news stories. It defines news as a report of recent events published in newspapers or broadcast on television. When deciding what qualifies as newsworthy, reporters should consider what is novel about the story and why readers should care. There are different types of news stories, including soft news that can wait for publication and features providing an in-depth profile. Stories are judged based on newsworthiness criteria like immediacy, prominence and human interest. Effective news writing adheres to qualities like objectivity, accuracy and fairness. Stories follow an inverted pyramid structure with the most essential details in the lead paragraph and additional context in subsequent paragraphs. Reporters are advised to use active voice, conc

1. News
Writing

2. What is
news?

3. Dictionary defines news as;
 A report of recent events
 A material reported
in a newspaper or news
periodical or on a newscast
 A matter that is news worthy

4. Reporters and editors must
think about their readers as
this will help them decide
what stories are newsworthy.

5. They should be guided by questions
like:
• What is the news here?
• Why should my readers care?
• What does this mean to them?
• What questions will the reader
have that I need to answer?

6. Major types of stories found in newspaper and
magazines are:
1. Soft news- a news story that can wait for
publication and is usually about a trend,
an on-going event or about an
interesting person.
2. Feature- an in-depth, magazine-length
story
3. Personality Profile- a story that explore a
person in the news, or an interesting but
not-so-prominent person
4. Backgrounder- a story providing
additional information on a news event
(often called “sidebars”, and it may
accompany a longer news story).

7. News values
-a criteria which enable to
determine whether a story
makes into news.

8. Common news values are:
1. Immediacy
2. Significance
3. Proximity or nearness
4. Prominence
5. Human interest
6. Negativity
7. Conflict
8. Oddity
9. Humor

9. News Qualities
- A news reporter is imbued
many powers: to inform, to
influence decisions, and to help
shape public opinion, among
others.

10. Following are the qualities that a news
story should have:
1. Accuracy
2. Clarity
3. Objectivity
4. Balance and fairness
5. Attribution
6. Style

11. Structure of a news story
-Journalist normally organize their
news stories using the so-called
inverted pyramid structure.

12. The lead
-the opening paragraph of a news
story. It is typically a one-sentence
paragraph that summarizes the
basic facts of a story and conveys to
the reader what the reporter found
out in his/her reporting. It provides
answer to the five Ws and one H of
news reporting-who, what, where,
when, why and how.

13. The angle
-The main idea of a news story
and lead is called the “angle”. It is
the main point that the rest of
the story will try to support.

14. Body of a story
-The rest of the story is called the
body. A story should proceed in a
natural and chronological order.
Sticking to a logical order will make
it easier to write the story, as well
as to allow you to keep track of your
ideas and materials.

15. The Ending
-wraps up the remaining details of
the story. One way to end is with a
“kicker”, which is often a catchy
quote.

16. Writing the news story
-all the work of crafting a news
story is pointless if the story does
not engage the reader immediately.
Basic steps in writing the news story:
1. List all your facts.
2. Arrange your facts in a descending
order, or form the most important
(or most interesting) to the least
important (or least interesting).

17. 3. Always put the news at the
beginning (lead). Write the lead
making sure to play up the most
interesting or important points.
4. Write the next paragraph or
paragraphs presenting the other
highlights or answering the
questions not answered.
5. Add other facts, keeping in mind
their descending order of
importance.

18. Pointers in writing the news
Story
1. One idea per sentence-As much as
possible, write one-idea, one-sentence
Paragraphs.
2. Limit the sentence length to not more
than 25 words-Simplify. The simplest and
clearest way of saying something is often
the shortest and most eloquent.
3. Follow the subject-verb-object format-
Good news writing starts with good sentence
structure, and that means simple construction:
Subject-verb-object. Refrain from using a lot of
commas.

19. 4. Use strong verbs and an active
voice- write most of your sentences
like this: “somebody does
something”. Note also that when a
sentence is recast into active voice,
it becomes shorter.
5. Reduce difficult words to their
simplest terms- as much as
possible, use words that are
understandable by the average
reader. When it is necessary to use
unfamiliar or technical terms,
explain them briefly. Prefer
concrete, specific words to
abstract. General ones.

20. 6. Use no more than three
prepositional phrases per sentence.
7. Choose the precise word.
8. Keep it simple- write to express
not to impress.
9. Show, don’t tell- don’t just
describe something. Reveal a piece
of the world to yourself and to your
readers.
10. Give your source when
necessary- Those people and
documents need to be cited in
attribution because that helps the

21. the reader evaluate the reliability of
information.
11. Identify all persons- write their full
names the first time they are
mentioned.
12. Keep it objective- stay completely
impartial. Do not use “I” and “me”
unless you are quoting someone.
13. Have an angle- it can help make the
purpose of the story clear and give it
focus.
14. Quote people.
15. Avoid preaching at the end of the
story.

22. 16. Be very careful- choose your
words with care. Do not assume their
meaning. Use dictionary to make sure
of word meanings. Watch your
grammar, spelling, capitalization,
punctuation, use of abbreviations
and sentence construction.
17. Read newspaper everyday- study
constantly the construction of news
stories in good national newspaper to
improve your writing style and
technique.

23. Tips in news gathering
1. See for your self
2. Find the person who knows
3. Compare all versions
4. Get both sides
5. Do not give up too easily
6. Be tactful and courteous
7. Make and keep friends
8. Get into print
9. Research
10. Observe proper attribution.