EIGHT STEPS TO WRITING NEWS 1. Identify a news incident or situation.
2. Gather the facts.
3. Determine the news value.
4. Define the essential elements of the story.- don't be sidetracked
5. Apply the 5W + H Formula
6. Rank the elements of the story in order of importance
7. Write your lead.
8. Write the elaborating details in order of descending importance.Use short sentences, short words, short paragraphs. ADDITIONAL PRINCIPLES.
Attribution: Gather facts and quote the source of your information
Identification: Identify the people in your story:
i.e. age, title, occupation, address, their role in the story, etc.
WRITE A NEWS STORY Following are three simple, hypothetical newswriting exercises typical of stories a beginning reporter would write for a community newspaper. Use them to perfect the principles you have learned. In all cases strive to achieve the accepted journalism style of: short paragraphs, short sentences, short words, use of relevant information only, attribution of sources, identification of persons. Make full use of the Canadian Press Stylebook
A BURGLARY REPORT
The Westside Middle School was burglarized last night. From the following notes, write a brief story.The school is in the west end of the city. About 500 students attend there. Burglary was discovered at 6:30 this morning by school's janitor, "Hermie" Melville. Entry apparently gained through a window at the principal's office on the first floor of the three-story building. Access gained by shattering the window. Principal Lowry reports that about $18 is missing from petty cash drawer, also two stereo tape recorders missing from the music room. A locked door ws pried open to get into the music room. Tape recorders are valued at $300 each.
[Source: Police Chief Ernest J. Hudson]
SAMPLE NEWS LEAD
Two $300 stereo tape recorders and $18 cash were stolen last night form the Westside Middle School, 1700 River Ave.Police said the school's janitor, Herman Melville discovered the burglary this morning. Someone had smashed a window to the principal's office to gain entry. Police have no suspects.
WATER ACCIDENT
Write a brief story based on the following information. Remember to try to capture the essence; don't clutter your story with the over-abundance of detail here. The report is purposely made wordy and rambling to force you to seek out the essential news elements.Yesterday about 4 p.m. Deputy Sheriff John A. Markvardson was patrolling in the south end of Lincoln County near the community of Wagontire (population 550, located 30 miles south of Fairfield). A radio dispatch sent him to Zumwalt County Park about 3 miles south of Wagonfire. Upon arrival at the park, a group of people was observed, one of whom was giving mouth-to-mouth respiration to a small child. The child's mother is Dorothy Flemming of Fairfield. Child's name is Terri, age 3, female. Flemming stated in substance that she and two neighbors and their children had gone to the swimming hole a Zumwalt Park, a deep pool in Zumwalt creek which runs through the part. Terri disappeared momentarily, and several people started looking for her. About 10-15 minutes later they found the child unconscious in the creek about 100 yards downstream from the pool. Artificial respiration immediately started. At about 4:45 an ambulance arrived and attendants used a respirator to attempt to revive the child. Child and mother removed to Providence Hospital in Fairfield. Child pronounced deceased upon arrival at the hospital. Body removed to Chapel of Memories. Funeral arrangements are pending. Dorothy Flemming treated for shock at hospital and released. Child was the youngest of three children belonging to Flemming and her husband, Donald. Others are Robert, 8, and James, 5. Donald Flemming was at work driving truck at time of accident.
[Source: Lincoln County Sheriff Bud Kuykendal}
SAMPLE NEWS LEAD
A 3-year-old Fairfield girl drowned yesterday at Zumwalt County Park near Wagonfire, the Sheriff's Office reported.Terri Flemming, daughter of Donald and Dorothy Flemming, 880 Polk Ave., was pronounced dead on arrival at Providence Hospital.
A sheriff's report said the child disappeared from the swimming area at Zumwalt Park about 4 p.m. Searchers found her unconscious 10 to 15 minutes later about 100 yards downstream.
Attempts at artificial respiration failed.
Terri was the youngest of the Flemming's three children, Donald Flemming, a truck driver, was at work at the time of the accident.
THE LUMP-THUMPER
Think of possible answers to these questions and
write them down as a news report in your note pad.1. What kind of person might have invented this machine?
2. What does it do?
3. How does it work?
4. What does it need to make it work?
5. Does it make any unusual sounds as it works?
6. Where is the machine used?
7. Is it a valuable machine?
8. Does it work better in certain kinds of weather?
9. Does it work better during certain times of the day?Now imagine that you are the inventor of the Lump Thumper.
You want to sell it and you have been given one page in the paper
in which to make people buy it.1. Write a short news release, describing your machine and pointing out all its advantages.
2. Prepare an accompanying display ad for your machine.
REWRITING BAD LEADS
Each of the following leads suffers from one or more maladies, such as wordiness, passiveness, awkward construction, clutter or misplaced emphasis. Write a better version for each.1. Police Chief Ernest Hudson spoke to the North Fairfield Rotary Club yesterday. He said he had just hired three new women officers and believes that women "do an astonishingly good job in police work." He said he believes Fairfield's next police chief should be a woman.
2. Nothing stands out in the City Council meeting last night except possibly the 15 letters of protest that were read to the council last night, having to do with allegedly inadequate storm sewers serving the downtown Fairfield area, by City Manager Victor M. Allen.
3. These are indeed the times that fry men's soles. Ole Sol cut loose with the heat Sunday, proving to everyone that summer is definitely here, with sunday's high temperature hitting a record 102 degrees, and today's high may go even higher setting still another record for Fairfield, according to the National Weather Service.
4. Last night about 11 a pickup truck, northbound on McKinley Road, carrying two adults and three children in the cab and five children in the back, ran off the road and overturned, with resultant death to one of th ekids in the back and injury to six others.
5. A wise and attractive and wonderful woman died Friday night, Jane Darnell, 76, who for the last 11 years was in retirement after having worked for 50 years as a high school teacher.
PRACTICE LEAD
From the information given below write a lead. Remember to keep it short.A squirrel climbed a transformer pole yesterday. The squirrel got onto the transformer and, according to one worker, got fried "like crisp bacon" upon contact with a 7,200-volt line. As a result, about 100 homes in southwest Fairfield lost power for 17 minutes about 2 p.m. yesterday. Repair crew dispatched immediately and restored power. Affected homes were in the vicinity of West 40th Street. Transformer pole located at West 40th Street and Garfield Avenue.
[Source: Emory Pokrzywinski, community relations director, Fairfield Power & Light Comapny.]
POSSIBLE LEAD
A squirrel short-circuited a power transformer about 2 p.m. yesterday, interrupting power to about 100 homes around West 40th Street for 17 minutes.
