What is news?
We often say, “News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is
advertising.”
Oxford Dictionary defines it as “New information, the report of latest incident”.
News is an unpublished account of human activity, which seeks to interest, inform, or educate
the readers. Anything, which has come in print before, does not constitute news. It may be
anything but not news.
The second ingredient is human activity. News must relate in one way or the other to the human
activity. Human beings must be involved in an event embodied in news.
The Third important factor is that it should be of some interest to the readers. The interest may
be physical or emotional. The fourth important pre-requisite is that it should be designed to
impart some sort of information to the readers.
(http://studylecturenotes.com/what-is-news-meaning-definition-and-sources-of-news/ )
Characteristics of News
The important characteristics of news are:
Accuracy
Balance
Objectivity
Concise and Clear
Current and freshness
Elements of a News Report:
Headline
Subhead
Byline
Dateline
Intro (Lead)---Body----The Tail/Conclusion/Ending
Hard News and Soft News
Even though it is a tough job since all stories fall into more than one category, news stories are
mainly classified into two broad categories- Hard News and Soft News.
Hard news refers to the news stories that have a big impact at the society as a whole and need to
be reported urgently. They are factual stories with data, concerning events that are potentially
available to analysis. Examples include news on politics, crime, economics, international affairs,
natural calamities, riots etc.
Soft news on the other hand refers to the stories that provide other background information about
world events, human interest stories or entertainment news. Since these do not deal with serious
subjects, they are labelled as “soft”. Examples include sports news, celebrity news, or human
interest stories that deal with emotions.
The writing styles for both of these differ significantly, as the hard news stories are supposed to
be strictly objective- the journalist need not give his or her opinion on the story, but should
provide facts as they are. The hard news stories also ideally follow the Inverted Pyramid
structure of writing.
Soft stories can be, and are editorialised. They can be subjective, and do not follow the Inverted
Pyramid.
This distinction is not straightjacket; sometimes it becomes very difficult to distinguish between
the two. For example, where do we classify a story done on the personal lives of politicians?
Another key difference is about the deadlines provided to the journalists. A reporter covering a
hard news story is given a much tighter deadline, owing to the urgency of the coverage. Soft
news can also be a timeless feature- for example an article on “The Benefits of Chocolate”,
“Tips To Loose Weight”, etc. can be published at any given point of time. The writing style here
is much more flexible.
(https://www.vskills.in/certification/blog/news-reporting-understanding-the-difference-between-hard-
and-soft-news/)
Inverted Pyramid Style
Inverted triangle or inverted pyramid style is one of the most popular and common styles of
writing in journalism. This technique uses the formula of 5W's & 1H that is:
Who
What
When
Where
Why
How
When you write a news article in the inverted pyramid style, the news should be presented in the
descending order of its importance. It is specifically differentiated into 3 levels.
THE LEAD
The top part is called the lead and as the name suggests contains the most critical information.
The lead of a news article should contain every single bit of important information about the
incident or event that took place. It should mention when it happened, where it happened, why it
happened, what exactly happened and how it all happened. This part should basically contain the
content which makes it newsworthy. By reading just the lead part the reader should be able to
gauge what the article is about and its context. The reader can quit reading the article anytime
because he/she would have already grasped vital information from the article.
BODY
The middle part is addressed as the body. They contain subsequent paragraphs giving additional
facts related to the incident. It generally gives the information on the background of people
involved in the incident, any arguments or disputes that have occurred, any shreds of evidence
etc. They may also contain some important quotes made by some officials or people related to
the incident. This part generally builds anticipation among readers and helps readers understand
the facts that lead to the incident. In other words, it gives the causes for the incident. It drives the
audience deep into the whole scenario. Many articles also provide the source of the information
in order to prove its credibility. Photos and videos of the incident are also added in this part.
TAIL/CONCLUSION
The third and final part is known as the tail/conclusion. This section contains information
regarding events that are occurring related to the incident. They might also contain references
regarding similar incidents that had occurred. For example, refer https://www.ndtv.com/india-
news/no-need-to-talk-about-bringing-back-article-370-says-sharad-pawar-2118631
The mentioned link is of the latest article by NDTV. This article perfectly explains the inverted
pyramid format. When you analyse this article in the lead it mentions all the 5W’s and 1 H. It
answers accurately
(https://stpaulsice.com/Students/Blog/Inverted-Pyramid-Style-of-Writing-in-Journalism- )
Feature Journalism is creative journalism. It escapes the hard-news format allowing the creative writers
among us to write feature articles in an inventive and compelling way.
Unlike short and to-the-point news articles, feature articles deal with a subject in greater depth and,
usually, at greater length.
Social media
Social media refers to websites and applications that are designed to allow people to share
content quickly, efficiently, and in real-time. Many people define social media as apps on their
smartphone or tablet, but the truth is, this communication tool started with computers. This
misconception stems from the fact that most social media users access their tools via apps.
The ability to share photos, opinions, events, etc in real-time has transformed the way we live
and, also, the way we do business. Retailers who use social media as an integral part of their
marketing strategy usually see measurable results. But the key to successful social media is to
not treat it as an extra appendage but to treat it with the same care, respect, and attention you do
all of your marketing efforts.
(https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-is-social-media-2890301 )
Book / Film Review
Follow these steps to write a book or film review:
Pre writing
Remember and take notes of the plot of the story. What impression did it produce on you?
Writing
Introduction: give the title and author of the book. If you're reviewing a film mention the director
or actors.
Body:
1. Summarize the plot in a few sentences.
2. Mention the setting: the place and time of the plot.
3. Say something about the main characters.
4. Say something about the content.
Conclusion:
1. Comment on the book or film.
2. Let others know whether or not you liked the book/film.
3. Why do you like it? Why don't you like it?
4. Is the author's style good or bad, is the book / film interesting or boring etc.
5. Do you want to recommend the book/film?
Post writing
Edit your writing.
Useful Expressions:
Title, Author / Director, Actors
The film is directed by
The film is produced by..
It is starred by...
The book is written by ...
Setting
The action takes place in ... (setting)
The action of the film is set in ...
The story takes place in...
Characters and Plot
The main characters are ...
The story is about ....
The novel tells the story of ...
In the course of the novel the action develops dramatically.
The novel / film begins with...
The novel has an unexpected ending.
The end of ... is ...
Reaction
I am impressed by
I think ....
The book is terribly / beautifully written
The film is terrible / exciting.
What surprised me is ...
What I liked is...
What I didn't like is...
I liked/didn't like the film / novel because ...
(https://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/writing-film-book-review.php )
Rumor, Fake News and Propaganda:
Rumor, more specifically, rumor-mongering, is considered to be the forte of illiterate, often
associated with peasants, and is considered a part of the ‘precapitalist society’ in literature
(Guha, 1983). That is, educated people – and the argument is that it makes them rational –
consequently do not indulge in rumors. But the use of disinformation purposely either to promote
one's image or against one’s rival is commonplace even today. In fact, disinformation has been
an important part of the debate and deliberations even in most developed democracies. Prof Irfan
Ahmad postulates that ‘rumor, democracy, and media—in the “East” and the “West” alike—are
connected’ (Ahmad, 2019).
The use of available media of the time in not only myth-making that Barthes (1957) talked about,
but also for propaganda and agenda-setting is well documented. The ruling forces in every
society, and in every era, try to build a grand-narrative suited to its ideas and understanding of
history and politics to win what can be termed the ‘battle of narratives’ or more straightforward,
the ‘battle of memories’.
With the spread of social media and messaging platforms like WhatsApp, the phenomenon of
rumor has mutated to what is now commonly referred to as ‘fake news’. There are websites
dedicated to writing ‘fake news’ and whole IT cell or different groups for spreading fake news.
According to Elle Hunt (2018) and Claire Wardle (2017), the universe of fake news has a far
reaching effect than sheer false news. The deliberate spread of misinformation through the social
media for most of its users are new to the medium and neither verify the sources nor cross check
the information at other platform before sharing it in a click. It is also a result of the logical
market driven economy of short term privileges and rewards rather than the long term
destruction (Roychowdhury, 2018).
According to a BBC report (2017), which is primarily based on its research on India, Kenya and
Nigeria pointed out that the ‘motivation behind spreading fake news in India is complex’. The
report states: 1. People share fake news to verify within a network. 2. They consider sharing as a
civic duty, 3. They share because of a rising tide of nationalism within them. 4. They also share
to express one’s socio political identity. The report too mentions that the coverage of fake news
in the Indian media has also grown nearly 200% with 4, 75,437 news articles been disseminated
between January 2015 and September 2018 (Chakrabarti et al, 2017).
In May 2017, seven people were lynched as rumor of child abductions spread through WhatsApp
in Jharkhand (Indian Express, May 20, 2017). In July 2019, child trafficking rumors again
resurfaced in social media despite after more than 30 people have been killed over such rumors
in 2018 (Sidharth, 2019). In a report published in Alt News, a noted fake news debunking
website, Sidharth mentions that a noteworthy aspect of these rumors has been targeted towards
the Rohingya Muslims. In this report it is found that video of 2017 Brazil prison riot is being
shared as Rohingya Muslim kidnapping gangs are on prowl in Madhya Pradesh. The WhatsApp
video claimed that around 500 to 2000 Rohingya Muslims are involved in these child trafficking
gangs who are armed and lift kids from outside schools. Another video of a drunken woman
mistaken to be child lifter shared as Rohingya Muslim gangs on prowl (Sidharth, 2019).
Contrary to the general understanding that rumor spreads like ‘wildfire’ among gullible, illiterate
or semi-literate simpletons, current experiences reveal that even the most educated can fall for
fake news. As social media evolves and reaches new places every day, challenges of controlling
the spread of disinformation or ‘fake news’ increases significantly. The spread of fake news has
become so epidemic that political parties cutting across ideologies have warned against the
misuse of social media, and the government often bans the internet in times of any crisis.
But it has also come to light that groups or individuals across party lines and ideological divides
do not flinch from using fake news, like they used rumor or gossips earlier if that helps build or
promote the larger meta-narrative in the ‘post-truth’ era. In this post-truth age ‘circumstances in
which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and
personal belief’. In the 1950 classic Japanese film Roshomon, the commoner says, ‘I don’t care
if it is a lie as long as it is entertaining’.
The epidemic of fake news has not only affected the regular users of social media but the
traditional mainstream media as well as the politicians. They very often fall prey to these false
claims by the hoax websites and anonymous tweets that they re-tweet from their respective
Twitter handles without verifying the truth. This has happened in multiple occasions in the case
of many responsible members of parliament as well as leaders of political parties in India.
The problem of unverified content sharing leading to greater damages then ever imagined have
not received much attention in academia, especially in India.
