NEWS WRITING, STRUCTURE, CHARACTERISTICS

NEWS WRITING

News writing is a key skill for journalists, but it helps with other types of writing as well. That’s because news writing is about telling a story quickly and concisely. Anyone can learn to do this, with a bit of help.

NEWS WRITING STRUCTURE

News writing has its own structure. It’s called the inverted pyramid. This upside down triangle serves as a guide for how you include information in the story. Using the inverted pyramid means starting with the most important information, then putting the next most important info and so on. It can also serve as a guide for writing each paragraph in the story. Start with the most important point, then the next most important and so on.

The inverted pyramid has an interesting history. Before digital printing and desktop publishing, news was laid out manually. If a late breaking story came in and the editor needed to make room, then the editor would order another story to be cut. Having the most important information at the top meant that readers always got the essential parts of the story.

WRITING THE FACTS

Another way to think of the inverted pyramid is that you start with the facts and then add the background. So, how do you know what background to add? It’s easy. There are 5Ws and 1H.. That mnemonic reminds us to include the who, where, what, why, when and how of a story.

Why is this? Think about how you tell a story to your friends. You might say: ‘You’ll never believe WHO I just saw!’ Then you might go on to tell the story of where the person was, what they were doing, and why it’s scandalous. We all want to hear about people – and that’s what news is about? Look at any news story and you will see that all of this information is in the first two paragraphs. Anything after that is background to the story.

Example.        If I were writing about a car crash, I would say who was involved, when and where it happened, why it happened and how it happened. Those would be the main points and my story might look something like this:

REQUIREMENTS

§          It should not have been published anywhere before.

§          It should come to the readers for the first time.

§          A news must relate in one way or the other to the human activity

§          It should have an element of interest for the readers.

§          It should impart some sort of information or education to the readers.

§          It should be concise and accurate

Characteristics

Accuracy:       It is one of the pre-requisites of news writing, though it is very difficult to be accurate. At least the writer should make an effort to present a news as accurately as possible.

Balance:         The writer should try to give a balanced view of the whole situation. He should not, by any means, try to overstate but convey the correct and factual impression

Objectivity:    It is very essential. The reporter should not mould the situation according to his own desire or wish. He/she must give a factual report or an event as it took place. No personal bias or influence should affect the objectivity of the news.

Concise and Clear:   The news should not be vague or ambiguous in meaning. It should not even be too lengthy. It should be very clear and to the point.

Current:          The element of time is very essential in the selection of a news. In fact, time is the essence of the news. With the passage of time things may change or may even do not have any value. The most recent information is the most news worthy.