Scribd
Upload
127 views2 pages

News Writing Structure and Types

This document provides information and guidelines for writing news reports. It defines news as factual, objective information published for public interest. There are different types of news stories such as straight news which uses a summary lead and news features which use a novelty lead. The location and source of the news are also considered. News reports have an inverted pyramid structure with the most important details at the top including who, what, when, where, why and how. The body provides more context and details while less important information goes in the tail. Reporters are reminded to use a catchy headline and lead paragraph answering the 5Ws and 1H to inform readers quickly.

Uploaded by

Rommel Verzosa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
127 views2 pages

News Writing Structure and Types

This document provides information and guidelines for writing news reports. It defines news as factual, objective information published for public interest. There are different types of news stories such as straight news which uses a summary lead and news features which use a novelty lead. The location and source of the news are also considered. News reports have an inverted pyramid structure with the most important details at the top including who, what, when, where, why and how. The body provides more context and details while less important information goes in the tail. Reporters are reminded to use a catchy headline and lead paragraph answering the 5Ws and 1H to inform readers quickly.

Uploaded by

Rommel Verzosa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

NEWS

N - ORTH
E - AST
W - EST
S - OUTH

● It is a type of information: published in print, online or broadcasted for public interest.


● It is considered factual, objective, unbiased, and informative making it newsworthy.

TYPES OF NEWS STORIES


A. According to style of presentation
1. Straight News – uses summary lead
2. News Feature – uses novelty lead
B. According to place of occurrence
1. Local News – the event happens within the locality of the reader.
2. Foreign News – the events take place outside of the country
C. According to sources
1. Spot News – the news writer himself is an eyewitness of the event
that happened.
2. Based on the records/documents news
3. Speech news – based from speech data
4. Based on interview – the data are gathered through interviewing persons who are
knowledgeable or in authority of the event

News Reports are found in newspapers and their purpose is to inform readers of what is
happening in the world around them. News reports have a certain structure that you need to
follow. This structure is sometimes called the Inverted Pyramid.

NEWS STRUCTURE
Primary Lead – usually a short paragraph which answers at least 4 of the 5 W’s and one H
at its most effective angle
Secondary Lead – complement the main lead by answering those of the 5 Ws and one
H, which are left unanswered.
Other Important Details – other less important data that give flesh to the story

REMINDERS:
1. News Reports begin with a catchy HEADLINE.
2. The LEAD PARAGRAPH informs the reader of the most important aspects of the story as
soon as possible. The LEAD PARAGRAPH is often the only part of the story that people read.
Use the 5 WHs rule:
• WHO (Who is involved?)
• WHAT (What took place? What happened?)
• WHEN (When did it take place?)
• WHERE (Where did it take place)
• WHY (Why did it happen?)
• HOW (did it happen) – only include this if there is a space
3. The BODY of the News Report gives more details and provides more information about the
WHY and HOW of the story.
4. The TAIL contains the less important information which is often omitted by the newspaper
editor if there is not enough space left in the newspaper.

Hints:
• Your News Report should be easy to understand; every news story should be able to
be read by a twelve-year-old.
• Try to be fair – include both sides of the story and don’t let your opinion get in the way
of reporting the “facts”.
Source: Wet Tropics Management Authority - Rainforest Explorer

You might also like