JOSE MARIA DOMINIQUE G.

CORONEL

BSED-3 ENGLISH

NEWSW
HANDOUT, FOR FS3

OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the students would be able to: 1. define news; 2. identify the parts of a news story; and 3. construct a news story from a given set of information.

CONTENTS
I. II. III. Definition of News Qualities of a Good News Story Making a News Lead a. Types of Leads b. Constructing News Leads (Looking for News Angles) Constructing the Body of the News Story a. News Structure b. Types of News c. Newswriting Style Guide Definition of News

IV.

I.

With the advent of social media, we are more abreast with what is happening around us. It has been more than just a way of connecting and communicating with the ones important to us. It successfully mobilizes people to act on an issue, or at least be aware of it. With social media, news spreads faster than it was years before when news was dominantly in print. News is a way of life for people. From simple news about the school constructing a new building to a school administrator embezzling funds, we need news to update ourselves of the movements in the immediate society were in. Thats why a news writers job is very important. They are active documenters of events and a potent channel of communication towards the people that need to hear the news. Coincidentally, the word news looks like an acronym for the four cardinal directions (North, East, West and South), but its more than geographical locations. News is the presentation of relevant events in an accurate and timely manner to pertinent people. It must be accurate because a news must contain only true facts and timely because it must be delivered to the pertinent people as soon as it breaks. II. Qualities of a Good News Story

Among others, a news story must be timely, significant, proximate, prominent and odd. News must be timely insofar as the readers are concerned. It must cover the news from the time since the newspapers last publication

 News must be significant for the newspapers readers, if not then it would have no audience to cater to, making the whole presswork senseless from the beginning. News must be proximate, meaning that it must address all pertinent people. A campus paper must deal with campus-related issues, as a company newsletter must cover the companys events. News must contain prominent people and places for the readers to identify themselves with the article, provided that it is kept to a minimum to maintain a newspapers integrity. News must preferably be odd to sustain the readers interest. III. Making a News Lead

A lead is the beginning paragraph or statement in a news story. It is important that the lead must contain the most pertinent and important information in a news story. It must give off what is the most important thing that the readers must know. A lead must deal with any of the 5 Ws (What, Who Where, What and When) and 1 H (How) of the news, whichever is the most newsworthy. There are several ways on how you can write a lead, depending on what news angle are you taking the story on. a. Types of Leads There are two primary types of leads. The first one is a traditional lead. It must be brief and must contain one idea. Here is an example of a traditional lead. President Benigno Aquino III called for the resignation of Chief Justice Renato Corona on a press conference at Malacaang yesterday. The other type is the alternative lead. It is also called a delayed lead because it creatively delays the audience from the main meat of the news so as to give a different turn or perspective on the news. They are also called a novelty lead on some sources. Here is an example of a novelty lead. Its a red letter day for all war veterans. A Supreme Court ruling yesterday provided for the distribution of additional compensation for all war veterans as it was delayed for many years since the Marcos administration. The succeeding paragraph is called a nut graph. It is the supposed lead, but adding a novelty lead gives it a creative punch. Some novelty leads no longer need a nut graph, though. b. Making a News Lead (Looking for News Angles) To make a news lead with impact, remember to make it brief. You also need to look for a good news angle which stands for the news value of the whole story. A news angle is what makes an event newsworthy. A simple graduation ceremony is a commonplace event that doesnt even need to be on the campus paper. However, if the graduating class honor two valedictorians instead of the usual one, its where it becomes news at the very least. Like in a brand, a news angle is what makes news marketable and appealing to the reading audience. IV. Constructing the Body of the News Story

When writing a news story, the lead is half the challenge of writing. You also need to carefully plot where the news details go, as well as the technicalities of the newswriting style.

CLIMAX/LEAD
SECONDARY DETAILS
SUPPORTING DETAILS

a. News Structure The most common format or structure of the news is the Inverted Pyramid structure. It emphasizes that the climax of the news story must be placed in the lead first thing. All the details supporting the lead are the secondary details, and they must be put in next. Other pertinent details must be included in the bottom of the news story.

b. Types of News Basically, there are two types of news. The first and most common type, the hard news, are those that need news coverage. They are events and happenings that news writers need to be there to document the whole Fig. 1. The Inverted Pyramid Structure event, conduct interviews and a lot of field action. On the other hand, the soft news is mostly news of human interest. In the campus paper, they are seen in news features or news that are of relevance and interest to the student body. Heres a thumb rule: if it isnt covered in the field, it is soft news. c. Newswriting Style Guide In writing news, always remember the 5 Cs of newswriting: clear, concise, correct, credible and complete. It must be clear that even a ten year-old girl would understand what youre writing. Dont use difficult words. Write to express and not to impress. It must be concise. Economy of words is important in newswriting. Dont say in five words what you can in one or two words. Details in the news as well as the grammar and other technicalities in a news story must be correct. Bad cases of incorrect news details lead to libel suits. Credibility and completeness come together. They both emphasize the integrity of a news story. It must be accurate and containing all pertinent information regarding the news.

ACTIVITY 1. Cut at least three news stories on the daily newspapers. Analyze their news structure. What does the lead contain? Does it follow the Inverted Pyramid structure? Did the news observe 5 Cs of news? 2. Cover one event in your school and write a news story about it. Make sure to observe all principles that are mentioned in this handout.