All about

1 News

Some potential news stories are easy to spot, even for a new trainee journalist: a freak storm, an
accident, or something happening to a celeb, anyone can see that such stories will hit the
headlines. But seeing the news in a more mundane event, and knowing how to write it so that it
will grab the reader, take some experience. The ability to spot a news story or news angle is
second nature to experienced journalists. It is hard for them to imagine NOT being able to see
what makes a good news story, and sometimes hard for them to imagine that a trainee can’t see
it. Maybe all students and trainees have to face having their ideas rejected a few times, and also
being teased for not spotting a good story to help them work out what exactly makes news.
NEWS is information about current events printed in newspapers or broadcast by the
media. – Microsoft Encarta, 2009.
It is probably easiest to identify what kind of news is needed in websites and magazines
aimed at a particular industry, these used to be known as trade magazines and are now usually
called B2B (business to business). Developments in the industry – such as takeovers or merges
big firms, news involving well-known persons in the industry, political developments which might
affect the industry are the kinds of stories that will interest readers. Readers want and need to
know
These things mainly because these events might affect them, their firms, or their jobs. This is one
of the classic ways of defining news: how it will affect the reader. Also, partly readers want to
know about the key players (the celebs) in that industry.
The news for local websites and papers might be a bit harder to analyze. It comes down
to events which happen in the area, and events which affect people within it. Local news outlets
tend to work to very strict geographical borders: a quite large news event just outside the
circulation area will not be covered at all, unless people from that area are affected.

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 Local news outside tends to have unwritten rules which it will take an inexperienced
reported a while to learn: it may be that car crashes are reported only if someone is killed, for
example, or house fires only if damage is bad enough that the family has to be evacuated.
The tradition on local papers then what was that people would buy the paper to see their
name, even if it was only as runner-up at a whist drive. This might well apply to hyperlocal
websites, but a single visit to see one name is not going to contribute much to their possible
success.
The news in national papers is the hardest to pin down, and there have been several
attempts over the years to do so.

INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY
To begin understanding how to write a news article/story, students must be able to
recognize elements of a good story and then strengthen their writing skills by shadow writing
an article in a similar voice. These activities will increase in difficulty as the semester progresses.
As it does, students will progress into bringing their information and working with it to create a
news story that reflects a good writing.
GOALS FOR UNDERSTANDING:
 Essential Questions:
1. What elements make a news story?
2. What elements are present in the sample story?
3. What is the organizational style of the sample story?
 Critical Engagement Questions:
1. How do professional writers put together news stories?
2. Oregon standards of “analysis of writing” apply
(see standards)
RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
 Projector
 3 copies of different news stories
 Worksheet
 List of newspaper facts

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ACTIVITY 1
 Teacher/Somebody will briefly review news terms and then will put an overhead of a
typical well-written news story on the overhead and go through the story and show
the students the following elements:
 Lead
 Nut graph
 Quotes
 Transitions
 Style/grammar
 Quality

ACITIVITY 2
 Teacher will give students a copy of a newspaper article that would have interest to
the students to read as partners and discuss. Students will use a highlighter to identify
each element of the story, nothing placement of elements.
 Students will then share their ideas in front.

ACTIVITY 3
 Teacher will give handout to students with a variety of information, and with that
information write a news story.

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 Timeliness Proximity

Possible
Conflict future Prominence
impact

Human Shock
interest value

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1. Timeliness: It is called a news for a reason. It’s new
information. The more recent something happened, the more it
will interesting for readers. Changes to LASA schedule were really
interesting and unbelievable two weeks ago, but now, it’s old

2. Proximity: If something is close to us, it is very likely to

matter to us. The fires in Bastrop were very newsworthy to us,
because we were less than thirty miles away AND it is a
community that we care about. Also, we could see the plumes of
smoke from some of our balconies. Our community came
together and raised money and our news stations covered the
affects this fire had on us for days. And they are still covering it.
That is what proximity means. But, there is also relative proximity.
If things are happening to teachers in the nation, I'd probably be
interested since that is my profession and the field is something
very close to me.

3 . Conflict: What happens when we see two people in the hall

start to yell at each other? There's always someone who'll yell out,
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" It is human nature to be interested in a situation
where two people don't see eye to eye. Conflicts are newsworthy
because we want to know who's winning and who said what. And
let's not forget that it is also human nature to pick sides and stand up
for one party. Find yourself a conflict and you've got a newsworthy
story...

4 . Possible Future Impact (Progress or

Consequence): If something is happening right now that means we
will either progress or suffer a consequence, it's pretty newsworthy.

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5. Prominence: One year, Matthew McConaughey came to
our school to work out with our after school fitness program as part
of an initiative to help schools realize the importance of working out
to stay healthy. It was the news of the week. Do you really think it
would have lasted beyond mention if it were someone from 24 Hour
Fitness? Hmm...What happens to important people is important to
us. If my neighbor gets a DWI over the weekend, he won't make the 5
o'clock news, but if the mayor does, that's a whole other story.

6 . Human interest: Humans like hearing about other

humans interacting, living, being, experiencing. News like this makes
us smile and really exists for the sake of telling the stories and
showing the lives of the human race, which is interesting. Seriously.
And, because we are animal lovers and pet owners, our furry friends
might make the news, too. Examples might be a story about an
unlikely student winning an award, a look inside a family's experience
in the Bastrop fires, or someone who survived an accident and is now
competing in an Olympic sport.

7 . Shock value: Is it weird? Bizarre? Shocking? You can bet

media consumers want to know more. Remember Octo-Mom? How
about Jaycee Dugard? What about the 16-pound newborn? Stories
like this have no impact on our lives, but manage to fuel our
curiousity for more extraordinary details

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Accuracy
The accuracy of news is in fact taken for granted by the news consumers. Though it is very
difficult to be accurate in news. Readers should have a feeling that whatever they are being
presented is the overcome of an honest and dedicated effort of the writer. The readers should
never be given an opportunity to say that they never believed what appeared in the papers. All
facts given in the news item should be accepted by readers without questions. What factual
accuracy really means is that every statement in news items every name and date and age,
quotation every definite word or expression or sentence must be precise and presentation of
the true facts. Accuracy means correctness not merely in general impression but also in details,
hastily accuracy is to a newspaper what virtue is to a lady.

News should be Balanced

News is to be balanced though it is not an easy task to write news which is balanced in every
respects, a severe effort must be made by a reporter to render the account of any event in the
best possible manners. The reporter has to write all the specific facts correctly, fairly and
accurately and objectively. He has to put all the facts together in a manner that his report
conveys the correct and factual impression. He has to give a fair picture of the event as it takes
place. In order to be fair both to the audience and about the gentleman about whom news is
given it is necessary that the news is balanced in content and meaning. News should be
balanced in the matter of emphasis and complements. As a reporter he must constantly strive
to give each fact its proper emphasis and to put it in proper relation to every other fact and to
give those facts the relative importance to the meaning of the story as a whole. A reporter has
to narrate every last circumstance of the story in pause taking details. A reporter has to select
and arrange facts in a manner so as to give a balanced view of the whole situation.

Objectives

News is a factual report of an event as it occurred. It is not the event as a prejudiced eye might
see it or as the reporter might wish it to be or have thought it to be on those concerned in the
event might like to present it. Facts must be reported impartially as they occurred. Objectivity
in the news is one of the most important principles of modern journalism. It means that the
news covers to the consumer intimated without any personal bias or any outside influence that
would make it appear anything but what it is. News is unavoidable. News should be presented
without a shade. A reporter should not look at events through glosses either raised colored or

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smote. News is to be presented in full light of impartial .and scrupulously honest observation.
Objectivity is essential because only pure news can give the consumer confidence since people
form their opinions on the basis of news items it is all the more necessary that it should be
objective in all manners.

News should be Concise and Clear

News must follow the news form developed over a period of many years. It must be unite,
concise, clear and simple. A story that is diffused, disorganized and ambiguous in meaning does
not have the characteristic quality of news. It should be well-paced, unified and abuse all
written so clearly that the meaning of the story is also absolutely plain.

Current (Elements of Time in News)

The definition of news remains incomplete if element of time is not given major consideration.
Time is the essence of the news. Emphasis is on the time element of news story, this is

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necessary because of the changes which may occur in the transitory period. Things are always
changing and the news consumers want the most recent information on subjects of concerns or
interest to them. In the present circumstances the news development might undergo a rapid
change. The events occurring in the morning may completely outdate or upset east might facts.
Most news are labelled "todays" or at the most distant, last night. The news media are specific
about time. They tell the readers that the news is not only recent but truly the last word on the
subject. The news media has developed great speed in news media has developed great speed
in news handling in order to able to report events while they are still new. The reader is
interested in current and new things. A newsman wins consumers and readers by rendering

TYPES OF NEWS:
Straight news/Hard news

Stories that report only the most essential information in a concise and impartial manner are
referred to as straight or hard news stories. This type of story typically follows the inverted
pyramid style, which organizes information by descending order of importance or places the
most newsworthy information at the beginning of the article. This style will be discussed in
more detail below. Examples of hard news stories include those about political topics and
crime.

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Features

The primary difference between a feature story and a straight news story is the style. A feature
article is more in-depth than a traditional hard news article and uses the types of storytelling
devices and details that you might find in novels. Feature stories are considered soft news and
do not focus merely on the basic facts.
Writers typically have more flexibility to use a wider range of formats, provide rich descriptions,
and include scene-setting anecdotes. Features often are given more space on the page and are
accompanied by pictures, illustrations, graphics, maps, and other visual components. A profile
of an athlete or a political figure is an example of a feature article. The characteristics of feature
writing will be explained further in the next chapter.

Editorial

Although journalistic ethical standards call for general news writing to be objective in content
and tone, news writers also have the opportunity to communicate personal points of view
about current events and topics. The editorial is a type of news story used to develop an
argument about an issue and even sway readers’ opinions. The essay also represents the official
view of an editorial board that determines what views to share after some kind of deliberative
process

ACTIVITY. Answer the following:

A. Fill in the blank. Write the appropriate answer for each blank.

1. _____________it is called a news for a reason if it’s new information. The more
recent something happened, the more it will interest readers.

2. _____________are newsworthy because we want to know who’s winning and who

said what.

3. _____________if something is close to us, it is very likely matter to us. If things are
happening to teachers in the nation, I’d probably be interested because I like that
profession and it is close to me.

4. _____________what happens to important people is important to us.

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 5. _____________also called progress or consequence.

6. _____________stories like this have no impact on our lives, but manage to fuel our
curiosity for more extraordinary details.

7. _____________humans like hearing about other humans interacting, living, being,

experiencing.

B. Within your groups: For each element of newsworthiness, find a news story
or feature story example. Present to the class.

TIMELINESS HUMAN INTEREST

CONFLICT PROXIMITY

PROMINENCE POSSIBLE FUTURE

IMPACT

SHOCK VALUE

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 C. Write 2-3 news stories/articles for each type of news.

Hard news

Feature

Editorial

Highlight the important details of your articles and present it to the class.

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D. List Down the 5 essential qualities of news and its description/definition in
a short way.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

E. INDIVIDUAL: Watch a News report in TV and write down the important information the
news has such as headline, etc. Present it to the class a special report. You will be
graded by the way you report and the content of your report.

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 Gathering
2 the News

News stories based on what people say arise in several ways. A newsworthy
person might speak at a public or a private event of some sort, or to a reporter in an interview,
either face-to-face or on the phone, or she might produce a document and not make it
available.
Stories also originate from documents: press releases, white papers, council
policy documents, reports from charities, memoirs and so on. There are usually ‘diary’ stories as
well in the sense that someone knew they were going to published at a specific time.
Another distinct category is stories which reporters originate. They describe
these as off diary-stories, or stories they have brought in. Reporters find these by talking to
contacts, or simply through observing what is going on around them.
Whatever the story, whether it is a mudslide or a nursery school closing, quotes
from people are what make it a good story. These are essential to all news stories, whether
they are about a major dramatic event such as a disaster, or an announcement about a council
decision. Quotes bring a story to life, highlight the tension between group of people, tell us
exactly what happened, explain its significance, paint a picture, and tell what might happen
next. The story needs to be about people in the first place. But it almost always need some
people speaking about it. Listening and/or talking to people and recording what they say, form
the backbones of a reporters job.

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The Reporter’s Notebook

Urge students always use a spiral-bond reporter’s notebook, and to rule a margin down the side
pf each page before beginning to report. Use the margin to put stars or squiggles against quotes
which you think might be important, or to make notes to check names or other facts. Put your
name on it, and date the notebook on the front with the first day it was used.
Write everything in it, the date, name, and place of an event before you go to it, or the
name of the interview beforehand. Obviously write down what happened and what was said,
but write down everything which might be important, from the name of the news editor when
you starts the job, to the name of the pub which someone recommends. Write down the
address of the office in which you are working. A new reporter on my local paper, before the
days of mobile phones, was sent out on a job on her first day, but then couldn’t get back to the
office to report it because she couldn’t remember where the office was. We suddenly saw her
from the office window wandering around the town until someone rushed down to rescue her.
When you have to used up the notebook, add to the front the last date that something
was written in it, and keep it for a couple of years. There have been plenty of cases where an
interviews, or an official has denied saying something. The more organized your notebooks are,
the more likely you will be to be able to retrieve the relevant quote. It also looks tremendously
efficient and impressive if the editor calls you in to the questions you about your notes. If there
is a dispute about your reporting, careful and well-organized notes may help you prove that you
have reported someone accurately and this might prevent you from getting the sack. Or worse:
it is possible; if a libel cannot be defended, that you and your editor could end up in jail.
Let’s look at the main sources of news in turn, and think about ways to report them
accurately. They are:

EVENTS

WRITTEN MATERIAL

IDEAS ORGANIZED BY THE

REPORTER
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 EVENTS

THEATRICAL AND
MEETINGS OTHER
PERFORMANCES

SPORTING
COURTS
EVENTS

Some aspects of all these different events make them easy to report: you know when they are
going to start, who is involved, and if you have been following what has been going on, you
probably know the likely outcome (and if something different happens, that will give you an
equally good story: SHOCK DEFEAT FOR ROVERS). But there are plenty of things which make
them difficult as well.

MEETINGS

These includes sittings of every kind of political forum, from parliament to parish councils,
meetings of other groups such as health authorities or planning inquiries; protest meetings and
other pressure group events.
National and local politicians, health authorities and similar bodies make decisions all
the time that affect people’s lives, so these decisions are bound to become news stories in the
‘relevance to me’ category. They may also provide some sort of conflict, if the politicians cannot
agree on the best way forward.

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 Since the executive system was introduced, reporting council meetings has become
much more difficult. It is much rarer nowadays to be sitting in a meeting when a dramatic
decision is taken, such as closing care home or building A new school. But there are still some
set-piece newsworthy event, such as planning inquiries and licensing committees.

COURTS

Many news providers cover fewer of these than they used to. With smaller reporting
teams, it is often not practicable to send a reporter to cover courts which might go on all day
and not produce much copy. Many news editors rely on tip-offs when an important case might
be coming up, so they can send a reporter. Courts range from magistrates’ courts and inquests,
to crown courts, appeal courts, civil courts and extradition hearings. Increasingly, local news
outlets are ignoring magistrates’ courts. You can sit for hours listening to motoring and
shoplifting cases which are not that interesting.
Criminal court cases can be newsworthy in two ways. The events which led to the case
are often newsworthy, since crime always involves some sort of conflict; and there is another
possibility of conflict and drama at the court.

SPORTING EVENTS
Research beforehand. Find out who is playing! Get team lists, find out what the teams
have been doing recently. Find out what happened when they last met. Who is expected to
win. The peculiar thing about sports reporting is that very often more potential readers have
also seen the match, so you need to keep your wits about you the whole time because if you
say X made the match-winning pass when it was actually made by Y, your readers will not
forgive you.

THEATRICAL AND OTHER PERFORMANCES

These are often rather soft in terms of news, especially if everything goes according to
plan. So again, research beforehand, find out what is different about this event. The more
preparation you can do beforehand, the better your story will be, because you will be able to
get more relevant quotes.

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 News

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Structures:
the inverted
pyramid

What's the structure of a news report?

There are four possible types of structures for a news report: inverted pyramid,
the narrative, the hourglass, and the chronological order pattern. The most commonly
used is the inverted pyramid.

(1) The Inverted Pyramid

 In this structure, the information is written in descending order, with the
most important points appearing at the top of the article, and the lesser news
written in a shorter, downward direction.
 The report leads with main ideas, and the remaining paragraphs support and
explain them – giving greater detail to the classic "who, what, where,
when, and why."

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 Most newsworthy info

Important
Details

Other info

(2) The Narrative

 The story has three elements: a beginning, middle and end. The bottom
allows the writer to tell a chronological narrative complete with detail,
dialogue, and background information.
 There is greater license to use flowery language that reaches and influences the
reader.
 It is not the proper format if you are trying to deliver information.
 It is a way to share with readers an experience or event that an individual may
have endured – with perhaps a lesson to be learned along the way.

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(3) Hourglass Structure

MAIN NEWS

THE STORY AS A NARRATIVE WITH A

BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END

 The hourglass is not as commonly used an organizational style in journalism.

 It is reserved for writing longer stories, such as feature articles for a
Sunday edition. It begins by asking a broad question, then narrows it down by
providing information, such as facts and figures and observations; then the
scope of the story broadens again by offering conclusions and then generalizing
back to the question.
 An hourglass structure actually incorporates several journalistic styles at the
same time.
o First, there is the strong lead in – typical of the inverted pyramid. But then the
story turns to a more narrative style, returning to the inverted style at the end.

(4) Chronological order pattern

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  A chronological structure has a place in journalism, but is not as popular as the
inverted pyramid.
 It is common when journalists are explaining the order in which something
occurred, such as a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or other natural weather
event.
 Chronological order can be written in reverse order, as well.

Various Types of News Structure Story:

1. Straight News Story
a. The summary lead answers the most important W’s depending on which of the W’s is the
most prominent among them.

b. The body consists of the elaboration of the W’s and the H.

The Torres Goldies ripped the Laurel Greenies last week at the High School oval because of
better team work, 65-60. (Lead)
The Torres team was composed of Antonio Oropeza, captain; Rogelio Romero, forward; Seki
Santos, and Dioscoro Reyes, guards. (Elaboration of the WHO)
The game was held in the evening of Sept.10 in connection with the celebration of Barangay
Day. The Greenies’ defeat was the first they suffered in the current invitational
games. (Elaboration of the WHEN and WHO)
The Goldies played smoothly. They did not shoot for the basket until they were near it. The
cheering squads kept the players’ morale high. (Elaboration of the HOW)
Although the final score was 65-60, there were times when the lead of the Goldies was as much
as 10 points. (Further elaboration)

B. News-Feature Story

News-Feature should not be confused with the feature articles (features) which are sometimes
called special features and printed in the features sections of the newspapers of in the
magazines.

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Human interest and news-feature stories are classified as news since both are gathered and
written daily by reporters as their regular assignments. Furthermore, both emphasize the
elements of timeliness or immediacy which distinguishes news from other types of reading’
although they differ in important respects from the straight news story.

Examples:

The Yuletide season danced into the school campus in a riot of multicolored lights and X’mas
decors hung upon everywhere and every way.

However, the Christmas celebration reached its climax when the traditional lantern parade
participated in by students, teachers, parents, community and barangay members were held.

To make the occasion more symbolic and relevant, each unit is carried its own placard for the
identification while the members carried lanterns, torches and whatever motif they wanted to
depict such as the Nativity, the visit drives were also portrayed.

a. The single-feature story

– A single-feature or one-incident story such as an account of a speech, an interview, of
an election, deals with an isolated event.

In writing a news-feature story with this kind of structure, include the one-feature in the lead.
Add in the body details which clarify and explain the lead.

See that the story breaks logically at every paragraph and that the story may be cut of
lengthened as space dictates.

b. The several-feature, multiple-angle or composite story

– in a composite story, two or more divergent aspects of a news topic are drawn
together for the sake of space and coherence. In structure, the composite story may resemble
that of a follow – up story in that both of them aim to consolidate component parts. However,
they differ in the sense that the follow – up story ends in a tie – in with a past story; whereas,
the composite story is composed of units, each one made up of fresh spot news frequently with
reference to the

In writing the several-feature or composite story, include all of the features in a comprehensive
lead in the order of their importance.

The next step is to explain and elaborate in the body each of the features in the order which
they are in the lead. In doing this, relegate less important details of each feature to less

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important positions. But remember that each chain of facts although covered separately should
be handled as a single, unified story.

Examples: Single -Feature Story

c. Fact Story
This is plain exposition of a simple situation of a series of closely related events which conform
to the inverted pyramid design more closely than any other kinds of news. The component
parts are the series of facts that may be likened to rectangles of diminishing length arranged
one after the other in order of their importance.

The key to proper arrangement consists solely in judging the relative value of the data at hand
and in grouping them in their respective order.

Examples:

Kabataan Barangay leaders in Zone 15, Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila met at Osmeňa High School
and launched “Operation Ugnayan.” The project aimed to curb community problems caused by
juvenile deliquents, and to reactivate community projects started by the City Council but which
had slacked due to lack of leadership.

Present in the youth meeting were school administrators, teachers, and adult barangay leaders
acting as advisers. (Lead facts)

Report6s reaching the KB concerning drunk outsiders, dope pushers, extortionist and vandals
molesting students spurred the youth barangay officers to meet and to offer solutions to the
problems.

School officials confirmed to the youth leaders the truth of the reports. (Secondary Facts)

Kabataang Barangay chairman Reynaldo Malonzo suggested the organization of rondas to curb
the theft, robbery, holdup, and bag snatching operationsthat have surfaced in the community.
Principal Mabini S. A. Gonzales lauded the yputh leaders. She asked them to help solve the
deteriorating peace and order condition in the community”

“You are their peers,” she said, “and you understand their problems better.” (Fact III)

Besides tackling the peace and order problems, the youth leaders also mapped out plans to
reactivate the different campaigns launched by the MMC such as the Green Revolution, food
production, and the clean and beautification drives. KB 176 chair man Carolina Zamora
suggested a house-to-house campaign to induce the residents to get involved in the various
community projects. She also batted for the holding of sports activities,” to divert the youth’s
attention from mischief.” (Fact IV)

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d. Action Story

This is a narrative involving not merely simple facts but dramatic actions – incidents, description
of persons, perhaps testimonies of witness, as well as explanatory data.

In reading this kind of story, first write a summarizing lead in any appropriate form. Relate the
most important details in narrative or chronological form. Tell the story again, giving more
details. But be careful not to begin the chronological order just after beginning. Give sufficient
attention to the elaboration of important information, background and interpretation. Each
unit must be closely interlocked.
Example:

Even before the elected officers of the supreme Hi-Y club were inducted into office, they had
rolled up their sleeves and began implementing “operation Linis”, one of the campaigns
launched by Mapa High School. (Lead incident told)

Armed with brooms, brushes, pails of water and soap, and they gave the school a fresh bath.
Because of lack of water due to electric power breakdown, the local Hi-Yers fetched water
nearby houses. (More details retold)

The work was focused on the rain-soaked rooms, the stinking toilets and the writing on the
walls. They also removed all eyesores like the broken chairs dumped in the corridors and
repaired all broken window panes and doors. (More details retold)

After the wok, the officers met in the office of he principal and decided to work for the total
development of students through a complete program of study, cultural activity, sports, and
physical development. (More details retold)

e. Speech, report, quote, and Interview stories

The arrangements of a speech report, a quote story and of an interview are to great extent
similar.

The quote story may be charted as alternating large and small rectangles of diminishing size:
summary, quote, summary, quote, summary arrangement. The quotations may be direct,
indirect, or a combination of both.

In writing this kind of story, the ff. suggestions may be helpful:

1. Write a summarizing lead in any appropriate form.

2.Write the body of the story in a summary-quote-summary arrangement.

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The lead may be a summarizing statement – the gist of the speech, statement, letter, or
interview; or it may be the most important quotation in the story written as direct quote.

Example: Quote Story

“Ignorance, not poverty causes malnutrition in the child.”

This was the contention of Mrs. Gloria Gonzales, school nurse after she had made a check up of
some sickly-looking students, July 23. She found out that 40 percent of those examined were
suffering from eye diseases caused by Vitamin A deficiency in their diet.

“The students were not poor. The way they dresses and the way they talked of their homes
proved this,” the nurse said.

“Many parents believe that when they stuff their children with any kind of food, they have
already fed them,” she said. “They have a wrong concept that food value is taken only from
ham, eggs, cheese, milk and salad. This is better procured from fish, specially dilis, legumes, and
vegetables which are relatively cheap at this time when the value of the peso has shrunk,” she
said.

The nurse also added that it was only a matter of knowing what food to eat and how much was
needed for proper nutrition.

Mrs. Gonzales lamented the fact that the diseases students suffered from were caused not by
viruses but by ignorance. She said that they could have been avoided had their mothers only
known what kind of food they should have given to their children

Example: Speech Report

“I commend your objectives in molding the youth towards a true balanced development of the
mind, body and spirit.

“But this kind of study development is of no consequence if it is not dedicated to God, humanity,
family and the self.”

This was the message of DOCS Supt. Josefina R. Navarro when she talked to the newly inducted
officers of the Hi-Y board, Sept. 5 at the YMCA Forum Hall, Youth Center, Manila.

Dr. Navarro advised the board members to exemplify their faith in the oath they had just read.

“Consider every student a potential contribution to the country. There is no such thing as stupid
student. Each one was created in the image of God. Remind them, lead them by the hand, show
them how, and guide them,” the superintendent said.

On the other hand, Dr. Navaro challenged the Hi-Y advisers present “to carry on their task with
dedication and to lean to accept the demands of society.”

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“Your responsibility to the students, to the parents, to yourself, to the country, and to God is
very important.”

Finally, Dr. Navarro, who participated in the candlelight ceremony, commended the principals
and other school officials who attended the program.

The newly inducted board member officers were Carlito Reyes, president; Cecilano Jose Cruz,
vice president; Tita Palad, secretary; Fructuosa Castro, treasurer; and Ariston Corpuz, auditor.

The lead gives the reader the sense of the story to follow. There are two basic types of leads:

 Direct: This lead tells the reader or listener the most important aspect of the story at once. It
is usually used on breaking news events.
 Delayed: This lead entices the reader or listener into the story by hinting at its contents. It
often is used with feature stories.

The lead sentence usually contains one idea and follows the subject-verb-object sentence
structure for clarity. It should not exceed 35 words.

The effective story lead meets two requirements. It captures the essence of the event, and it
cajoles the reader or listener into staying awhile.

We slept last night in the enemy's camp.

 By a correspondent for the Memphis Daily Appeal, after the first day of the Civil War Battle
of Shiloh.

Rule Breakers, but Memorable

These leads defy almost every canon decreed by those who prescribe standards of journalistic
writing. The first lead violates the rule demanding the reporter's anonymity. The UP lead is in
questionable taste. Povich's lead has four sentences and three clichés. Terry's lead is a quote
26
lead, McKelway's asks a question — both violations of the standards. Smith's weather forecast
is a little joke. Yet, the leads are memorable.
They work because they meet the requirements of lead writing: They symbolize in graphic
fashion the heart of the event, and they entice the reader to read on. Here are two leads from
New York City newspapers that appeared the morning after the mayor announced his new
budget. Which is better?

Finding the Lead

New Yorker writer John McPhee says, "The first part-the lead, the beginning-is the hardest part
of all to write. I've often heard writers say that if you have written your lead you have 90
percent of the story." Locating the lead, he says, is a struggle.
"You have tens of thousands of words to choose from, after all-and only one can start the story,
then one after that, and so forth. . . . What will you choose?" McPhee asks.
But before the words can be selected, the facts must be sorted out. How does the reporter
select the one or two facts for a lead from the abundance of material he or she has gathered?
What's the focus of the story?

The Five Lead Questions

1. What was unique or the most important or unusual thing that happened?
2. Who was involved-who did it or who said it?

3. Is a direct or a delayed lead best? (Does the theme of the story go in the
first sentence or somewhere within the first six paragraphs?)
4. Is there a colorful word or dramatic phrase I can work into the lead?
5. What is the subject, and what verb will best move the reader into the
story?

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Types of Leads

Beginning journalists often are offered lists of leads. They are told about the who, what, where,
when, why and how leads; the anecdotal, clause, contrast, direct address, staccato, gag,
shotgun and quote leads; and a score of others. This categorizing may be useful for a research
project, but the lists are of little use to the working reporter. No reporter looks at his or her
notes and thinks, "Well, this looks like a who lead here. Or maybe it's a what lead.

Direct Lead

The direct lead is the workhorse of journalism, the lead that is used on most stories. As we have
seen, the direct lead focuses on the theme of the event in the first paragraph. The surest way to
test a reporter's competence, editors say, is to see whether his or her leads on spot news
events move directly to the point and are succinct and readable.
Example:
WASHINGTON The House of Representatives voted today to impeach President
Clinton.

Lively Leads

Direct leads need not be dry and dull. Here's a direct lead by Aljean Harmetz of the New York
Times for a business story, which we usually think of as a dry subject with prose to match:
Example”
Two veteran motion picture industry executives were chosen today by the board
of Walt Disney Productions to head the troubled company a mouse built.

Delayed Lead

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The delayed lead is often used on features and news features, the kinds of stories that are not
about developing or fast-breaking events. The delayed lead usually sets a scene or evokes a
mood with an incident, anecdote or example.
Here is a delayed lead on a feature about a man who runs a demolition company. It was written
by AP News features writer Sid Moody:
Jack Loizeaux is a dentist of urban decay, a Mozart of dynamite, a guru of
gravity. Like Joshua, he blows and the walls come tumbling down.

The Combo Lead

Some reporters have mastered a technique that combines the direct and delayed leads. The
story begins with a few general sentences. Then the reporter hits the reader with a karate chop
at the end of the first paragraph. Edna Buchanan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning police reporter
for The Miami Herald, is master of this kind of lead. Here are two typical Buchanan leads:

The man she loved slapped her face. Furious, she says she told him never,
ever to do that again. "What are you going to do, kill me?" he asked, and handed
her a gun. "Here, kill me," he challenged. She did.

Momentous Lead

When an event is compellingly important, all rules and guidelines are tossed aside and the
writer is allowed to jam the facts into the first sentence. Look at this lead from The Washington
Post that runs 39 words long

The section of the news that follows the lead is referred to as the body of an article. This is the
information that the readers need to know. The reporter needs to know how to organize all of

29
the facts and write them effectively to write an effective body. What many reporters have to
think about when composing a good body is how they can get the information across to a
reader (Bender et al. 242). There are many styles and techniques for writing the body of an
article and some are more appropriate for specific articles while others are not. Reporters have
the ability to be creative and choose the style they like best.
The first style of is called the inverted pyramid. This method arranges the information by
importance in descending order. Readers often do not have to read the full article when it is
written in this method because the most

important information was said at the beginning. The emphasis of the news is very important in
this step. Also it is important to provide transitions from the lead to the rest of the article.
Finally, it is important that the second paragraph is not all background information. If a reporter
does not emphasize the news, does not use transitions, and is all background information the
story is unorganized and boring (Bender et al. 243).

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The next method of writing is the hourglass style. This style has three parts. The first part is an
inverted pyramid top, summarizing the most newsworthy information in descending order. The
second step is the turn, which transitions between the two sections. Finally, the third step is a
chronological conclusion and this is the narrative story telling piece. The hourglass style is an
effective way of writing, but it is not appropriate for all articles (Bender et al. 248).
Next is the focus style. Many articles that appear on the front pages of newspapers are written
in this format. This method incorporates storytelling and starts with a specific person or event
to illustrate a bigger issue. The first step is the focus lead. After that it is the nut graph, which
describes the central point and how the lead exemplifies the point. The third step is the body
and that elaborates the central point in detail. Finally, the last step is the kicker, which brings
the article to a conclusion (Bender et al. 249).

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The last method of writing a body for newspapers discussed in the book is the narrative. There
are two parts to a narrative the story and the storyteller. To successfully write a narrative the
reporter not only has to go through extensive interviews, but also has to take a significant
amount of time and do
observations (Bender et al. 251).

The New York Times composes dozens upon dozens of articles daily and many of them reflect
the writing styles above. The first article, Australia Heat Wave Is Tied to Climate Change, is an
example of the focus writing style. The body of the second paragraph describes a specific
situation that illustrates a larger issue. creative when writing in a narrative and they can use
storytelling techniques like flashback and dialogue to make the story more interesting.
Five groups of researchers, using distinct methods, analyzed the heat that baked Australia for
much of last year and continued into 2014, shutting down the Australian Open tennis
tournament at one point in January. All five came to the conclusion that last year’s heat waves
could not have been as severe without the long-term climatic warming caused by human
activity.

Also, the topic of this article is something that could be considered front-page material, which
often uses the focus method of writing. This article has incorporated elements of story telling
and as a result it is more creative and engaging. The facts of climate change are scary, so I
believe the story telling effect is a better way to expose the main points without making the
readers feel uncomfortable, but still remaining informed.

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ACTIVITY. Write down the parts of the following structure:

1. The Inverted pyramid

1.

2.

3.

2. The hourglass Structure

4.

5.

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4 News
Outlets

Types of News Outlets:

Tabloids
The breakdown of coverage in the tabloid press differed from the more serious press only
slightly. Whereas the serious press in March relied on named sources 28% percent of the time,
the tabloid press did so in four out of ten statements (41%).

The serious press relied on anonymous sourcing 12% of the time in March, and the tabloid
press did so 21% of the time.

The serious press and the tabloid press had the same amount of analytical reporting in March
(18%).

When it came to punditry, the tabloid and the serious press were also not far apart, (8% serious
and 11% tabloid).

What these comparisons do not capture is broad differences in tone. Because such judgments
are often subjective, we chose not to make those sorts of comparisons in this study.

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Newspapers
While most types of news outlets were moving away from analysis and punditry (punditry is
defined as opinion, speculation and judgment by reporters not attributed or supported by any
reporting) only newspapers seemed to buck the trend, perhaps because understanding the
Clinton deposition invited or even required some analysis.

The level of analysis, that is interpretation attributed to some reporting so that readers could
judge for themselves how to evaluate it, rose noticeably in every paper studied, from 12% in
January to 19% in the days studied in March.

Some news outlets appeared to change how they were covering the story more than others.
The Washington Post, which stood out for its aggressive use of unnamed sources in the first
week of the story, moved away from that approach somewhat, even while it was breaking the
Clinton deposition from an unnamed source.

Its reliance on named sources rose from one in seven statements in January (16%) to more than
one in four in March (28%).

In contrast, in January, six in ten statements (64%) in the Washington Post came from
anonymous sources.

In March, even if you add the leaked Clinton deposition and anonymous source reporting into
one category for the Washington Post (since the Post broke the deposition based on
anonymous source), anonymous sourcing dropped by a third in the Post to four in ten
statements (43%). Moreover, the leaked deposition accounted for three quarters of that.

35
The other newspapers studied relied somewhat less on named sources in March than in
January, though again this was likely because they were reacting to the leaked deposition story.

The Associated Press was added to the second round of the study because of the degree to
which its coverage appeared in radio, TV and newspaper accounts around the country.

In March, the AP relied on named sources about the same as newspapers, (34% versus 32% for
newspapers), and on anonymous sources the same amount as newspapers (both 11%). But it
engaged in less analysis than newspapers (10% versus 19%) and, at least on the two days
studied, in no punditry.

Overall, combining the AP coverage studied in both January and March, versus newspapers in
January and March, the AP relied more on named sources and less on anonymous sources than
newspapers and engaged in slightly less analysis.

Both engaged in only a negligible amount of punditry.

The News Hour

The News Hour was added to the study because it has some of the most strict rules about the
use of anonymous sources and journalists engaging in commentary.

The News Hour did not use any anonymous sourcing on the days in the study.

When it came to named sources, reporting based on such sourcing accounted for about as
much of the coverage as it did on the other evening newscasts (29% versus 31% for the others).

36
Actually, the PBS program engaged in more analysis among reporters, though this occurred in
roundtable sessions rather than taped reports (21% versus 16% for other evening newscasts).

The News Hour did engage in punditry on the nights studied, though less than other evening
newscasts (7% versus 11%).

Morning Shows
In the first study, we discovered that morning news programs (Today, GMA and CBS This
Morning) have markedly different standards for approaching hard news. They relied less on
reporting and more on commentary than the evening news.

That had changed somewhat by March. The level of commentary on the morning shows on this
story declined from 40% in January to 28% in March.

More specifically, analysis dropped from 22% to 17%. Punditry dropped from 18% of the
reportage to 11%.

Prime Time Magazines

The prime time magazines, which leaped on the story in January, had lost much of their interest
by March. Even during the extraordinary moment of the leaked Clinton deposition, the three
network prime time magazines that aired those nights did not cover the story.

Network Evening News

The nightly newscasts also shifted in the way they covered the story. In January, 44% of all the
coverage was commentary, either reporter analysis attributed to some reporting or outright
punditry. In March, even in the wake of the Clinton deposition that might have invited analysis
(and did in print), the level of commentary on the evening network newscasts dropped by more
than a third to just 27%.

Specifically, the level of analysis on the network nightly newscasts declined from 32% of all
reporting in January to 16% in the days studied in March. The level of punditry remained
roughly the same, 12% in January, 11% in March.

Comparisons between individual newscasts are unwise here because the coverage had
subsided to the point that the numbers of statements studied per newscast are relatively small.

37
Print News Magazines
Time and Newsweek also showed some shift in their coverage, at least in the way they covered
this story in their March 16 issues from the way they covered it on Feb. 10.

The level of analysis in January was 41%, the highest by far of any type of news outlet. That
subsided to 21%. But the level of un-attributed punditry rose in Time and Newsweek over the
earlier time frame, from 17% in January to 23% in March. While that increase may not seem
large, it is interesting that it is the only type of news outlet to see an increase in pundtry.

Anything that provides news information for a period of time is said to be a news source. News
sources can be a moving person or still documents. Such as people who have witnessed the
crime would come to the news source or documents found at the suicide crime spot would be
considered as a news source. There are several news sources such as official documents,
governmental officials, witnesses of the crime scene, the victim itself etc. News sources are
required for the both, the journalists and for the audiences. Here we are going to discuss the
news sources for both.

In earlier days many rulers used the technique of drum beat to convey their message through
different people or his officials and many rulers carved their messages on the walls or rocks to
deliver their message. Later in the modern world, all these news sources were eliminated and
then press took new elements of news sources. In today’s world, we can see there are totally

38
different news sources. Such as televisions, radio, press release, press conference, newspapers,
press interviews, institutions such as hospitals, schools, colleges, police stations etc.

These are the news sources which are prominent in today’s time:

1. Radio: It is an audio medium used by many in today’s time. We can see people are
relying on Radio as a source of information. Radio is prominent and seen in both rural
and urban areas. People in rural who cannot afford television rely on radio as it is cheap.
If we talk about urban areas where we do not see many using radio at their houses
instead they listen in their cars. Over decades radio has gained popularity and is said is a
good source of news.
2. Television: television telecasts their news on television through which other newspaper
takes there sources. It is said to be the most authentic source of news as it has visuals to
establish the authenticity. Television helps and provides newspapers to give detailed
information to the audience but television news just doesn’t act as the source to the
newspaper but also the audience itself.
3. Newspapers and magazines: these two also act as a good source of news.
Newspaper on both the levels national and international provides the best information in
details. The newspaper has 5W’s and 1H which gives all the significant information at the
starting of the news and further deals with the minor details and same is done in the
magazines.
4. Press release: Press Releases are generally used for the release of a particular news.
The Press Release should contain worthwhile material which has some news value. A
Press Release should be written in a journalistic style and provide facts and information
of interest to readers and should cover all aspects of a specific subject. The release
should be on current subject and a piece of clear writing without any ambiguity, color or
ornamentation but it should at the same time not be generally lengthy.
5. Press notes: The press notes are less formal in character. These are also issued on
important official matters e.g. raising or lowering of tariff rates, price fixation of food
grains, subsidy announcement of seeds, fertilizer etc. Apart from the name of
department, place and date, a press note mentions headings. Unlike the press
communiqué, the newspaper can edit or condense the press notes.
6. Handouts: The handouts are issued on a variety of subjects like the day-to-day activities
of the ministry or departments, VIP speeches, question and answers in Parliament or
legislature and the developmental programmers of government departments. It covers
the name of the PIB or information department. No official handout is issued, if the
minister or a government official has spoken in his personal capacity.
7. Press statement: the statements are usually given by known people, then he shares
his statement with media and later this becomes press statement.
8. Police station: every event which is of big concern to the police station would be firstly
found in the police station. If the reporter wants to know about a crime scene he would
get first-hand information from there.

39
 Tips &

5 Guidelines for
News Writing

When writing a News Report, it’s important to concentrate on four elements – facts, context,
Impact, and emotion. How will you combine these four elements will determine the success of
news story. Read on for a wealth of tips on writing a news report, as well as a few helpful
examples.

THE FOUR ELEMENTS:

Facts
First, you can hardly call it is a news story without the facts. Otherwise, it quickly becomes
an opinion piece or a lifestyle article. Not only does the public expect facts over opinions, they
also expect the journalist to follow sound fact-checking procedures.

Context
In news writing, context answers the question, “why should I care?” or, “why should I
read?” But, from the perspective of the news writer, context helps you decide what the audience
needs to know. The American Press Institute cites context as a nice way to gain new readers
through an entry point they can relate to. Context provides the circumstances surrounding the
facts of the news story.

40
Impact
Impact touches on the “Why we should care?” theme too. News writing is, indeed, an art
form. Once you take something off the official wire, you have to weave it into the story people
will connect with. Impact keeps readers in tune beyond the headline and the lead, or opening
sentence. What are the ramifications or potential consequences of this news story? How will this
series of events affect me and my loved ones?

Emotion
Which brings us to emotion. Lets go back to our friends at the American Press Institute.
They say emotion commands attention and fosters a communal feeling. Evoking emotion is the
magic of news reporting. Writers must walk the fine line between cold, hard facts and a tug on
emotional heart strings.
But we must let the readers decide for themselves. For examples, the American press
institute points out we must not dictate the audience’s feelings by writing. Rather, we should let
them choose to be shocked on their own.

BALANCING FACTS AND STYLES

Readers want to know the facts and who or what may be affected by them. Related stories
and background information develop context and emotion while humanizing it. Here are some
more tips on writing a compelling and gripping news report.

Facts
The facts answer the 5Ws (and H): who, what, when, where, why, and how. A journalist has a
responsibility to make sure the facts are accurate and reasonably complete. If you have to write
a report before you get all the facts then say so in the report.

Style
When writing a news report, use the active voice. The active voice is more understandable and
has more impact. Develop short, concise sentences using action verbs. Your language needs to
be simple , without any words that don’t contribute to the focus of the story.

41
TIPS FOR BETTER WRITING:
Enjoy these additional writing tips that can also apply to a wide range of writing genres:

 In news writing, always follow the inverted pyramid. That is place the most pressing facts
at the start of the article and close with least compelling elements.
 Avoid long or complicated words. A news story isn’t the place to impress people with your
intelligence or command of the English language.
 Choose short sentences over lengthy sentences that require many forms of punctuation.
 Follow a simple subject-verb-object form.
 Don’t use too many commas.
 Each paragraph should introduce a new idea and, like sentences, be short and to the
point. Consider dropping a few transition words, where appropriate.
 Never use more than two prepositional phrases. These are phrases like “according to the
national weather forecast…”
Remember that the core objective of a great news report is to convey the fact in a compelling
and easy-to-understand manner. Get to the point and use another sentences.

FINAL ACTIVITY
To test your knowledge and understanding make a News about the current
events in your place regarding the lessons tackled in this book, you may ask help for someone
but surely never copy others work. Present your news in the class.

42
Further Reading

If you want to become a good at writing news stories, read a lot of good news stories. Read lots
of different publications and try to read several versions of the same story to work out how the
reporters have treated the story differently.
Choose some of the journalist you admire, and perhaps some that you don’t and start following
them on twitter, and this will lead you to interesting stories and debates.
If you are serious about journalism, buy a printed newspapers or magazines EVERY day. This will
broaden your knowledge and outlook. You are far more likely to read stories you thought you
were not interested in (and will probably find them interesting after all) than if you just look at
websites.
For straight, clear stories the BBC website is very good. The Daily Mail is the best for the well-
written, slightly unusual treatments of news stories. There are many newspapers that are very
good for seeing how clearly stories can be written in the fewest words. There are also, has much
more reflective approach, and it is interesting to compare with other papers.

43
 Glossary of Terms

 AP – abbreviation for Associated Press, a wire service.

 Associated Press Stylebook – the standard reference source for reporters and
editors on word usage, libel, numbers, titles, capitalization and commonly used words
and phrases.
 Byline – the name of the writer printed at the top of the story.
 Carrier – a person who delivers the newspaper to subscribers.
 Copy – all materials for publication, whether written stories or pictures.
 Copy editor – person who corrects or edits copy written by a reporter and writes
headlines.
 Copyright – an author’s exclusive right of property for his works.
 Editor – a person who directs the editorial policies.
 Editorial – an article expressing the opinion of the newspaper regarding a certain
subject
 Feature – a story in which the interest lies in some factor other than the news value,
usually to entertain.
 Five W’s – who, what, when, where, why; the major questions answered in the lead of
a well-written news story.
 Hard news – factual news stories without opinion.
 Headline – an explanatory title over a newspaper article summarizing the main point
for the reader.
 Inverted pyramid – a method of writing by placing parts of the story in descending
order of importance.
 Lead – the first few sentences or the first paragraph of a news story, containing the
summary or the introduction of the story.
 Libel – publication of material unjustly injurious to someone’s reputation.
 Make-up – to position editorial, pictorial, and advertising elements on a page.
 Press – machine that prints the newspaper.
 Publisher – the chief executive and often the owner of a newspaper.
 Reporter – a person who finds out facts about a story and then writes the story for the
newspaper.
 Source – supplier of information.

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INDEX

News, 1-2
 Essential Qualities, 7-9
 Types, 9-10
 Elements of Newsworthiness,
4-6
 News outlets, 34-38
 Sources of news, 38-39
 News structure, 19-27
 Lead, 27-30
 Body, 30-33
 Gathering News, 15-18
 Tips and guidelines, 40-42

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References and Links:
Printed Materials:
Almonte L., Flandez L., et al. (2015) Celebrating Diversity through World Literature – Grade 10
(English Learner’s Material) REX Book Store, Inc. 5th floor Mabini bldg., Pasig City,
Philippines
Mckane A., (2014) News Writing - 2nd edition, SAGE publications inc. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand
oaks, California 91320.

Electronic Sources:
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules-and-tips/tips-on-writing-a-news-
report.html
http://blogs.stlawu.edu/hannahklossner/2014/09/29/the-body-of-a-news-story/
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/journalism/isaacs/client_edit/Mencher.html
https://journsociety01.wordpress.com/various-types-of-news-structure/
https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/stratcommwriting/chapter/types-of-news-stories/
http://www.journalism.org/1998/03/27/types-of-news-outlets/
http://www.sociologygroup.com/news-sources-importance-in-journalism/
http://lasaezine.weebly.com/newsworthiness.html
https://www.schooljournalism.org/practice-makes-perfect-an-exercise-in-newswriting/
http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199846412/student/chapter8/exercise/ex
ercise3/
https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/kazekage15/campus-journalism-news-writing
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/news-writing-2316089

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