Newswriting

The Weird and The Wacky Meet

Where YouBetIAm comes to write….

Newswriting Mini-Lesson

1. Capturing Your Audience – Pictures, Headlines, Leads.

a. Ask the class: “How do you read the paper? What captures your eye?” (Write down answers on the board.)

b. Talk about how people scan through the paper, and how only 12% of the time articles are read to the very end.

Define what makes a good:

· Graphic – Can be a photograph, drawing, graph, chart, or even significant info or a surprising quote pulled and enlarged from the article. Since most people are very visual, graphics are an important start to getting someone interested in the article.

· Headline – Everyone knows what a headline is, but what makes a good one is a little bit harder to define. It should be easy to understand, appropriate to the article (Funny headlines are good unless you’re writing about a serious subject), relevant to the article, and most importantly draw the audience into the story. (Give examples!)

· Lead – The lead is the first sentence or paragraph of an article. If you have a good graphic and headline, this is what people will read next. A bad lead will move them quickly to the next article, but a lead that is informative, clear, and active will move the audience into the meat of the article.

2. Qualities of a Good News Story – Timeliness, Proximity, Unusual Nature, Famous or Infamous People, Human Interest, Conflict, Impact, Helpfulness, Entertainment, Issues or Problems in the Community.

a. Ask the class about the articles they’ve read. What makes them good or bad? (Write answers on the board.)

b. Explain why an interesting story will focus on one or more of the following:

· Timeliness – A good news story happened recently, not ten years ago.

· Proximity – A good news story covers something that is close in location to its reader.

· Unusual Nature – A good news story is something that is different that the reader might not necessarily know.

· Famous or Infamous People – A good news story involves a celebrity or someone else people would like to read about.

· Human Interest – A good news story covers someone in the community who has done something worth recognizing or overcome a problem.

· Conflict – A good news story encapsulates drama and disagreements in the community.

· Impact – A good news story will cover something that affects the lives of its reader in some way. It can be significant or not.

· Helpfulness – A good news story will assist its reader in their daily life.

· Entertainment – A good news story points out different pursuits and activities for the audience to read about or enjoy.

· Issues or Problems in the Community – A good news story points out what is going on in the community of its reader.

3. Basic Elements That Should Be Covered By News – Headlines and secondary headlines, Lead, Backup for the lead, Nut graph, Lead quote, Impact sentence or paragraph, Attribution, Elaboration, Background, Ending, Graphics.

a. Ask the class what they think should be covered by a news story? If an article grabs them, and is of interest to them, what should be included in the article? (Write answers on board)

b. Even though not all stories have all these elements, they are the basics:

· Headlines and secondary headlines – Should give info on what the article will be about, but also be catchy.

· Lead – Should draw the reader into the story. Using an active voice can help achieve that goal. By active, I mean starting the sentence with the most important information. (Give Examples!)

· Backup for the lead – This is a transition in-between the lead and the main meat of the story.

· Nut graph – The meat, or the who, what, where, why, and how.

· Lead quote – Quotes are essential because they bring a story to life. It’s important to quote people relevant to the story, and to quote people from both sides of a story. Since a news story is supposed to be fair and objective, giving all sides reasonable responses is essential. Plus a good quote can be shocking and fascinating.

· Impact sentence or paragraph – This will let the reader know how it’s going to affect them, or why it’s important that they read the article.

· Attribution – Sources for articles deserve credit where credit is due. If you’re not sure if you should be giving someone credit, give them credit.

· Elaboration – This is where the details of the story should be told.

· Background – Relevant background will help the reader understand the story better.

· Ending – All news stories should have an ending, sometimes it’s a call to action, other times it’s just a place to get more info.

· Graphics – A good graphic is clear in its relevance and visually appealing.

by Amanda Evans

Date: 01/26/05