Writing a Newspaper Article That Captures the Editor"s Eye
Effective news writing skills Before you even pick up a pen to write, there are many steps that need to be taken in the news writing process.
What is news? News refers to unusual, interesting or dramatic events that occur in the moment.
News is determined by a combination of a number of factors with the most important facts influencing the focus of the story.
Inverted pyramid style: the critical elements must always receive prominence in a story to capture the reader's interest.
What: What has happened? Action taken Words spoken Decisions made Who Prominence: who was involved? Relevance: who has been affected? When Timeliness:news must be fresh and "new" Where Proximity: where did the action take place? Why What caused the event? Bad luck, misadventure, poor decisions, illegal activity etc How In what will objectives be achieved, affected or influenced.
5 tips to effective news writing The key to effective news writing is mastering the difference between telling a story and storytelling.
It is important to demonstrate to readers how they may be personally affected by the news News angle Get to the point immediately How is the news relevant to the reader How will they be helped or harmed by the information Sources Who are key players involved? Use two or three sources representing all sides of the story.
Give full title, position and name (double check spelling).
Writing style Use reported speech.
Inverted pyramid style.
Paraphrase key points/ arguments for all sources.
Maximum 350 to 400 words.
Attribution Every claim must be attributed to a person or organisation.
What did they say or do (fail to do?) Cite name of reports, legislation and other secondary material.
Quotes Use direct and indirect quotes to substantiate claims.
Use correct punctuation.
News writing format Lead paragraph Main point that gives rise to the newsworthy event + attribution.
Only the lead paragraph is written in present tense.
Prime Minister XXX has defended the Government's back-down on mandatory detention for repeat juvenile offenders.
Reported speech Subject + verb + object in past tense.
Opposition leader XXXX (subject) criticised (verb) the government (object) for being soft on crime.
Paraphrasing Summarising key points and events that took place.
News laws introduced in State Parliament last year meant young offenders must be jailed after receiving three separate convictions.
Attributing information
Mr XXXXX said the new laws did not apply to children who committed minor offences like shoplifting.
He claimed jailing young people would only hurt the community in the long term by exposing them to tougher criminals in detention.
Direct quotes Follow the quotation style for first, second and third quotes.
"The laws are meant to deter serious criminal activity, not penalise kids that mess up," Mr XXXX said.
"Kids deserve a second chance so we shouldn't throw out the baby with the bathwater.
"That will only cause more problems for us down the track.
"
What is news? News refers to unusual, interesting or dramatic events that occur in the moment.
News is determined by a combination of a number of factors with the most important facts influencing the focus of the story.
Inverted pyramid style: the critical elements must always receive prominence in a story to capture the reader's interest.
What: What has happened? Action taken Words spoken Decisions made Who Prominence: who was involved? Relevance: who has been affected? When Timeliness:news must be fresh and "new" Where Proximity: where did the action take place? Why What caused the event? Bad luck, misadventure, poor decisions, illegal activity etc How In what will objectives be achieved, affected or influenced.
5 tips to effective news writing The key to effective news writing is mastering the difference between telling a story and storytelling.
It is important to demonstrate to readers how they may be personally affected by the news News angle Get to the point immediately How is the news relevant to the reader How will they be helped or harmed by the information Sources Who are key players involved? Use two or three sources representing all sides of the story.
Give full title, position and name (double check spelling).
Writing style Use reported speech.
Inverted pyramid style.
Paraphrase key points/ arguments for all sources.
Maximum 350 to 400 words.
Attribution Every claim must be attributed to a person or organisation.
What did they say or do (fail to do?) Cite name of reports, legislation and other secondary material.
Quotes Use direct and indirect quotes to substantiate claims.
Use correct punctuation.
News writing format Lead paragraph Main point that gives rise to the newsworthy event + attribution.
Only the lead paragraph is written in present tense.
Prime Minister XXX has defended the Government's back-down on mandatory detention for repeat juvenile offenders.
Reported speech Subject + verb + object in past tense.
Opposition leader XXXX (subject) criticised (verb) the government (object) for being soft on crime.
Paraphrasing Summarising key points and events that took place.
News laws introduced in State Parliament last year meant young offenders must be jailed after receiving three separate convictions.
Attributing information
- Any statements or claims must be directly attributed to a specific person.
- Full name and title must be provided to lend credibility to their claims.
- Any sources must be introduced in the first instance using paraphrased form.
- At least two or three indirect quotes should precede any direct quotes.
Mr XXXXX said the new laws did not apply to children who committed minor offences like shoplifting.
He claimed jailing young people would only hurt the community in the long term by exposing them to tougher criminals in detention.
Direct quotes Follow the quotation style for first, second and third quotes.
"The laws are meant to deter serious criminal activity, not penalise kids that mess up," Mr XXXX said.
"Kids deserve a second chance so we shouldn't throw out the baby with the bathwater.
"That will only cause more problems for us down the track.
"
