Writing News—A Primer

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Writing News: a quick primer

(adapted from the MIT News office, 2006)

What are the basics of any simple news story?
• The lead (What’s the news? Apply the Fred Rule)
• Who? what? where? when? (why?) and (how?)
• Write for a reader who’s intelligent but unfamiliar with your topic
• Use the “inverted pyramid” structure
• Use direct quotations (but sparingly)
• Keep it clear and simple
• Be objective (not biased)
• Check your facts
• Keep it short

The lead
Every news story starts with a lead paragraph—the first sentence that summarizes the most interesting news. The lead should be brief, focused and factual, giving the reader an instant sense of what the article is about and making him or her want to read more. The lead paragraph should be a declarative sentence of about 30-35 words. If your lead is longer than that, you haven’t figured out what’s the most important news. Apply the Fred Rule—You see your friend Fred on campus. He asks, “What’s new?” You don’t say, “Well, I started the day when the alarm went off at 7. Actually, I hit the snooze and didn’t get up until….” No. You say, “Professor Pease’s pants fell down in class….”

Who? What? Where? When? Why? And how?
News stories always include the most basic, essential information – who did what, where, when? The why and how questions may be equally important, but sometimes are implied in the story, rather than overtly stated.
• WHO is involved? The mayor? A USU student? A businessman? A speaker? A group?
• WHAT about him/her/them? The mayor announced…. A USU student ate 75 hotdogs? A Logan businessman has donated…. Arts & lectures speaker Congressman Bob Smith told students the military draft should be revived…. (NOT Congressman Bob Smith spoke…). The USU Campus Republicans held a food drive….
• WHERE is the news or event taking place? If the place is important, include it in the first paragraph; sometimes the Where? can go lower in the story. Ex: Standing on the Utah Capitol steps, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman announced…. But not: Sitting in his office, USU President Stan Albrecht said….
• WHEN did (or will) the news take place? This is easy to insert, and important: The mayor announced Monday…. After six false starts, space shuttle Atlantis blasted off Friday….
• WHY is the story newsworthy? This may be obvious: “A U.S. congressman said Tuesday the military draft should be reinstated….” “Logan police captured a suspect after a high-speed chase…” Other stories may include information that explains the significance of the news: “Thousands gathered Monday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Towers….” or “Hundreds of poor families in Cache Valley stand to benefit from a new nutrition program outlined Monday….” Readers need to know why they should care, who will be affected by this news and how?
• HOW also may be implied or obvious: “Five people died in a three-car crash on Main Street Thursday….” or “Fire swept through a 15-unit apartment building Wednesday after lightning struck the roof….”

Write for a reader who’s intelligent but unfamiliar with your topic
Don’t assume in-depth knowledge. Avoid highly specialized or technical language/terms/jargon/slang. If you must use technical terms, or if a source uses them in a quote, explain what they mean for the non-expert.

Use the inverted pyramid structure
Rank-order the information in your story from the most important to the least important. Start with a summary and then add specifics. Chronology is usually not a good way to get the most important information across most efficiently. Apply the Fred Rule—What happened?!?! And then answer the obvious questions raised in the previous paragraphs.

Example
Lead: A fire on 200 North in Logan Tuesday night left four people injured, two seriously, and five families homeless.


2nd graf (answers lead questions): Logan fire officials said the fire at the Oak Stream Apartments complex at 315 W. 220 North apparently started in a vacant unit that was being renovated and spread rapidly through seven apartments.


3rd graf: Residents Jennifer Wilson, 23, and Bob Forsyth, 24, were injured when they tried to rescue their elderly neighbors, Mary and Maurice Anderson, fire Lt. Steve Jeppson said.


4th graf: The Andersons, both in the late 70s, were transported….

When used correctly, the inverted pyramid structure reflects the reporter’s understanding of what the reader wants to know, and gives it to him/her in small, logical, easily digestible bites.

Inexperienced reporters often make the mistake of telling the story chronologically. A chronological structure is less effective in communicating essential information, especially to readers who are pressed for time. (Research shows that most readers quit a story after the first few paragraphs, so if the news that Rocky Mountain Power will shut off electricity to wide areas of town doesn’t appear until lower in the story, many readers might not know until their lights go out.)

Example:
Lead: Rocky Mountain Power Co. officials held a press conference at the company’s downtown offices Thursday.

2nd graf: The meeting was conducted by public information officer John Sparky, joined by company executives Clarence Kilowatt, Jeanine Juice and Oliver Overcharge.

3rd graf: Sparky called the meeting to order at 11:15 a.m. There were about 15 people in attendance, including both Rocky Mountain Power customers and members of the press, representing the Logan Herald-Journal, the Utah Statesman, KVNU-AM and…..

Reader: “ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz….”

Use direct quotations (when they add to the story)
A good direct quote is a jewel. A poor direct quote can be mushy, dense, unclear. Quotes come to the reader in the voice of the newsmaker; when the source speaks in clear, colorful, evocative language that is concise and to the point, the direct quote is the most efficient and accurate way to get the news across. When the source talks like a tax form, the reporter must step in and paraphrase (translate) the information for the reader.

Usually, a reporter can paraphrase information more efficiently than it is spoken by a source. But when you get a good quote, get out of its way and let the source do the talking. What’s a good quote? You know it when you see it:

Example: Which version of this information do you think tells the story best?

Coach: “Our guys are coming on strong. If we don’t stomp ‘em by three touchdowns, I’ll do extra laps myself.”

or...

Coach Johnson expressed confidence in his team, which he said has had strong practices this week. He predicted an easy win.

Keep it clear and simple
• Write in short, simple, declarative sentences.
• Avoid using clichés, such as “cutting-edge” or "major breakthrough," by focusing on what is unique about your topic.
• Avoid jargon words that are understood only by experts in your business or academic field.
• Don’t use a long word when a short one will do. It doesn’t make the article look any “smarter” and only confuses the reader.
• When you have to introduce an unfamiliar term or idea, use smaller words, concrete examples and even similes to clarify ("fibrillation is where the heart quivers instead of pumping rhythmically, like a fist opening and closing.")
• Use the active voice (“the president announced,” rather than “it was announced by the president”).

Just the facts, m’am
News stories are factual. They are not opinion pieces. Reporters inevitably impose their perspectives on the news through the angles they take, the people they interview, the facts they include and omit. But even though these are personal (and professional) judgments, reporters must strive to make these decisions as neutral as possible. Sources may express opinions and judgments, but the reporter never should let her/his perspectives come through in the copy. Let the facts tell the story. Let readers interpret the facts themselves.

Check, confirm, double-check
Check all facts: names, spelling, addresses, ages, titles, company names, events. If you’re even a little bit uncertain, call sources back to make sure you’ve got it right. If you’re fuzzy on the facts, it’s impossible to write a story that will be clear and accurate for the reader.

Reread, edit, read aloud, edit
News stories are written on deadline, but if you have the chance, try to read your story out loud to yourself. Remember that writing/reading is an aural exercise: Readers “hear” the words and the cadence and the rhythm of the language. If you stumble over a sentence or syntax when you read your stuff aloud, so will your reader, and you might lose her/him. So fix the sentence.