NEWS WRITING

Basics

Bernardo A. Ocumen, LPT

Master of Arts in Education major in English
Situation:

The clanging of the Santiago City Fire

Department trucks one night attracted a
throng of spectators, among them is
Charmaine, eight years old and a Grade 2
pupil; Richmond, 15, a Grade 9 student,
Delia, a housewife, and Ben, an editor of a
local newspaper. They were asked to write
what they have witnessed during the
incident.
Charmaine wrote…

I saw a fire. It was a big red fire. It

burned a house. There were many people
around. Some men put water into the fire.
Richmond wrote…

Fearful scarlet tongues arose to the

star-studded heavens and licked greedily at
the doomed edifice while the brave
firefighters risked their all to quench the
terrible conflagration.
Delia wrote…

I happened to see the most interesting

fire in our neighborhood last night. There
were many firetrucks called and they were
able to extinguish it, but it required much
effort. It probably cost the people who owned
the house a good deal of money.
The date was August 8. August is the
eight month. So I bet in the “jueteng” 8-8,
“Pompiang.”
Ben wrote…

A fire of undetermined origin razed to

the ground a three-storey apartment of
Christopher Salvador of 164-B Recto St. last
night.
Four fire companies subdued it within
an hour. The damage, estimated at
P100,000 was covered by insurance.
Who do you think wrote a news
story?
• Charmaine wrote with childish simplicity;
• Richmond wrote with enthusiastic
vividness and lavish phraseology;
• Delia with adult dignity;
• Ben combined simplicity, vividness and
dignity, achieved clarity and compactness,
the outstanding qualities of newspaper
style
NEWS stands for…

N – North
E – East
W – West
S - South
So, what is NEWS?

• Information about current events printed in

newspapers or broadcast by media.
-Microsoft Encarta, 2009

• Gives reader information that will have an

impact on them in some way

• Usually flows from most important to least

important
continuation…

• Recent information

• Current events

• Somebody or something interesting

• Something previously unknown

The Elements of NEWS

• Timeliness
• Proximity
• Impact
• Prominence
• Oddity
• Conflict
• Human Interest
• Progress
Essential Qualities of NEWS

• Accuracy
• Brevity
• Clarity
• Objectivity
• Factual
Where to find NEWS?

• Daily newspapers
• News magazines
• Teen magazines
• Educational journals
• Television
• Internet
• Open your eyes and ears
Qualities of a NEWS Writer

• Aware
• Alert
• Can do multitasking
• Must have a nose for NEWS
• Must not be afraid of people
• Must be able to finish the article on time
Kinds of NEWS (Structure)

• Straight NEWS – consist of facts reported

without elaboration

• NEWS Feature- based on facts; writer may

give his impressions, may describe and
narrate without resorting to biased opinion
Structure of NEWS
The inverted
Most Interesting or triangle of news
most important
suggests that
news be told in
Least Interesting or least
important
order of most
interesting or
important to least
interesting to
least important
How to write an effective NEWS
article?
You must learn how to…

K – Keep
I - It
S – Short and
S - Simple
What should be included in a
NEWS article?
• Headline
• Lead
• Secondary Lead
• Nut Graf
• Quotations
• Other Details
The LEAD

• The first paragraph: the most important

part of the article, summarizes the story.

• The hook: arouses the readers’ interest.

• Answers right away the most important

questions: 5W’s and 1H
-Who, what, where, when, why, and how
Writing the LEAD

• There are two major kinds of lead: the

straight lead and the novelty lead.

• Depending on the nature of the story and

its driving news elements, a straight lead
can focus on one or few of the six question
words.
The Summary/Conventional
LEAD
5W’s and 1H Formula
•Who
•What
•Where
•When
•Why
•How
Sample Data for a NEWS article

• Many students in NC are getting bald early

• The NC board had a meeting
• The meeting was held last night
• They ate chicharon during the meeting
• One of the causes of baldness might be the
wearing of caps
• The board passed a resolution banning the
wearing of hats in the school
• The board voted 9-1in favor of the resolution
 One STORY, Six Possible
LEAD’s
• WHO Lead – used them when the person
involved is more prominent than what he
does or what happens to him.

The school board passed a resolution last

night banning the wearing of capsin all
school buildings.
Other Example:
President Rodrigo R. Duterte addresses
April 20 PMA graduates in Baguio City.
WHAT Lead – used when the event or what
took place is more important than the person
involved in the story.

Cap wearing was banned in all school

buildings last night after the school board
passed a new resolution.
Other Example:
The NCAE will be given October 1 to
all Grade 10 students desiring to pursue
enrolling in the Senior High School for
possible educational tracks.
WHERE Lead – used when the place is
unique and no prominent person is involved.

In Northeastern College last night,

the school board passed a resolution to ban
the wearing of caps in all school buildings.
Other Example:
The Philippines will be the site of the
next Miss Universe pageant.
WHEN Lead – rarely used as the reader
presumes the story to be timely. However,
this lead is useful when speaking of
deadlines, holidays, and important dates.

Last night, the school board passed a

resolution to ban the wearing of caps in all
school buildings.
Other Example:
Today, almost to the hour, the Martial
Law in Mindanao was declared by the
President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
WHY Lead – used when the reason is more
prominent or unique than what happens.

Citing the pattern of early-onset

baldness in NC students, the school board
last night passed a resolution that restricts
cap wearing all school buildings.
Other Example:
Because of poverty, around a
hundred students dropped out from school
last year. This was learned from PNU
President Gloria Salandaan.
HOW Lead – used when the manner, the
mode, means or method of achieving the
story is the unnatural way.

By a 9-1 margin last night, the school

board passed a resolution banning cap
wearing inside the school premises.
Other Example:
By appealing to the school board,
the Regional Science High School was able
to construct a three-storey concrete building.
Guidelines in LEAD Writing

• Pack the most important information in one

sentence
• Start with the most important unusual idea
of the news event
• Go direct to the point
• Rarely use the when and where leads
• Use less than 30 words
• Avoid starting sentences with articles a, an
and the
continuation...

• Do not mention the names in the lead

unless it is well known
The Body
• The details of the lead
• Arranged from most important to least
important
• One sentence, one paragraph
• Sentences are generally less than 25
words
• Include quotations of at least two different
people
• Do not mention names in the lead unless
the person is well-known
Tips for Writers

• Make sure your facts are accurate

• Keep your sentences short
• Use the SVO formula
• Be specific
• Avoid long and complex words
• Write in the third person
• Use adjective sparingly
• Do not editorialize
The Headline

• an assemblage of words written in bigger,

bolder letters than the usual page text at
the beginning of the news
• it is not a title
Tips in Writing the Headline

• First, read the story for general meaning.

• Clues to the headline are usually in the
lead.
What happened?
Who did what?
How did if happen?
continuation…

• Use the shortest words possible.

Examples include:
cop – policeman
nab – arrest
mishap – accident
up – increase
down – decrease
thief - robber
continuation…
• Have a subject and a verb. Avoid starting
with a verb; the headline might sound as
if it were giving orders.
Wrong: Revise money mart guidelines
Correct: Central Bank revises money mart
guidelines
• Use the historical present tense if the
verb is in the active voice.
Wrong: Delgado topped editorial tilt
Correct: Delgado tops editorial tilt
continuation…
• Omit the helping verb if the verb is in the
passive voice. Only the past participle is
retained.
Wrong: Drug pushers are nabbed
Correct: Drug pushers nabbed
• Use the infinitive for future events.
Wrong: City Hall will punish anti-squatting
drive
Correct: City Hall to punish anti-squatting
drive
continuation…
• Do not use a period at the end of the
headline.
• Omit articles (a, an, the).
Wrong: A fire hits Tondo slum area
Correct: Fire hits Tondo slum area
• Use a comma instead of “and” in writing
headlines.
*Delays, confusion bug Asiad
*Lacson, Trillanes no show at SONA
continuation…

• Use only widely known abbreviations.

Wrong: JEE to play Santa this Christmas
• Just report the facts; do not editorialize.
• Wrong: Noy gives inspiring talks (The word
“inspiring” is just your opinion.)
• Be positive. Don't use negatives in
headlines. They weaken not only the
headlines but also the stories.
Thank you for
listening!
 It’s writing time 
English: Write a short news story on this
seminar-workshop held today applying what
you have learned.

Filipino: Sumulat ng isang maikling balita

tungkol sa ginaganap na seminar-workshop
ngayon gamit ang iyong mga natutunan.