Organizing a News Story
Cronkite School of
Journalism & Mass
Communication
Arizona State University
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Now what?
Great that you can write a summary lead -- a promise
of a story.
But how do you move from a lead to a story?
How do you fulfill that promise?
Your story will need structure, some form of
organization.
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Story structures
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Inverted pyramid
Hourglass
Circle
Feature
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Inverted pyramid
Most to Least Important Facts
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Inverted pyramid
Most Popular News Structure
Facts in Descending Order of Importance
Most Important Material at Story Beginning
Succeeding Grafs Explain & Amplify Lead
Less Important Material Follows
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Inverted pyramid
The inverted pyramid is popular because it still
serves readers well. It tells them quickly what
they want to know.
It also allows reporters to focus their news
judgment, to identify and rank the most
important elements of the story.
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Inverted pyramid
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•
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Summary lead
News in descending importance
Background facts high
Quotes interspersed
Use of transitions
No editorializing
End when done, often with quote
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Example
High school eligibility
simplified for evacuees
By Jose E. Garcia
The Arizona Republic
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Summary lead
The Arizona Interscholastic Association
cleared the way Wednesday for
Hurricane Katrina evacuees in the state
to play high school sports here.
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Following up
The AIA Executive Board voted
unanimously to allow school
administrators and students and parents
to fill out an eligibility hardship two-page
waiver that the AIA drafted for this
circumstance. The students will not have
to show any identification, such as a
birth certificate, to prove eligibility.
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Background
The students were displaced this month
when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf
Coast, forcing mass evacuations from
New Orleans and other cities that were
devastated in the aftermath.
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News in descending order
Chuck Schmidt, an AIA assistant
executive director, estimates about 70
evacuees will participate in AIAsanctioned events, from athletics to
band, this school year.
Some athletes already are practicing with
local teams and may see action as soon
as Friday.
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Quotes interspersed
Troy Harris, a junior already enrolled at Chandler High,
is practicing with the varsity football team and was
waiting on the AIA's decision on whether he can play
on Friday against Mesa Westwood. The defensive
back was rescued from the roof of his parent's
suburban New Orleans home after the hurricane.
"It's not important for me to start or anything," Harris
said. "After what I've been through, I can relax and
release some of the anger and fear I have inside me. I
can just let loose on the football field. It will help take
my mind off what's happened. It eases me."
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Use transitions
Some administrators and coaches have
expressed a concern that some programs
may gain an athletic advantage with evacuees
who transfer in.
However, Schmidt said the AIA's priority is to get
the displaced students to feel somewhat at
home on Valley high school sports fields.
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Ending
"Our concern is to give these kids an
opportunity to participate," Schmidt said.
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Inverted Pyramid
Advantages
Gives the gist of the story in first few grafs.
Delivers the most important news first so that
hurried readers quickly get the story gist.
Satisfies reader curiosity in a natural way
from important to least important facts.
Facilitates copydesk headline writing.
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Makes story cutting from the bottom easier.
Hourglass Style
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Hourglass
The hourglass combines some of the best
elements of the inverted pyramid and
narrative story-telling.
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Hourglass
The hourglass consists of three parts:
• A top, which tells the news quickly
• The turn, a nimble transition
• The narrative, a chronological retelling of
events
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Hourglass
Advantages
• Readers get the news high in the story
• The writer gets to use storytelling
techniques
• It encourages a real ending
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Hourglass
The hourglass works well with police, fire
stories, meetings, courtroom dramas
and other incidents that lend themselves
to chronological narration.
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Circle Style
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Circle
A more feature-friendly approach that
brings stories “full circle” by tying the
story end to the lead.
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Circle Style Advantages
Narrative and descriptive writing can be used.
Readers can attach to a key source and feel
story is about the source as well as a broader
topic.
Based on effective storytelling techniques that
can keep readers interested to the end.
Editors cannot slash the story from the bottom.
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References
• Itule, B.D., and Anderson, D.A. News Writing
and Reporting for Today’s Media. New York:
The McGraw-Hill Companies. 2003.
• Hall, J. Beginning Reporting.
www.courses.vcu.edu/ENGjeh/BeginningReporting/
• Garcia, Jose E. “High school eligibility
simplified for evacuees.” The Arizona
Republic 15 Sept. 2005: C1.
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Features:
Writing with a heart
• There’s an infinite number of feature possibilities.
• The best way to find them is to look around you -look at the news, talk to people in class, the grocery
store, library, lunch room, home, neighborhood, at
social events and everywhere you go. Just live!
• Whatever you find around you is a
potential story.
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Types of Features
News with more relaxed time deadlines
• Personality Profiles
• Human Interest Stories
• Trend Stories
• In-Depth Stories
• Analysis Pieces
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Feature Organization
Tips
1) Choose a theme.
2) Write a lead that invites us into the story.
3) Write clear concise sentences.
4) Provide vital background information.
5) Use a thread.
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More Feature Tips
4) Use transitions.
5) Use dialogue when possible.
6) Use Voice.
7) End with a quotation or extended thread.
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Feature Idea Examples
Can you localize the ideas below to your campus?
1) Profile people who are making news or offer
human interest.
2) Explain events that are making the news.
3) Analyze school, community, nation or world
happening. Consider education,health, accidents,
census, law enforcement, data bases.
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4) Teach your audience how to do something.
Feature Ideas (cont)
Can you localize these ideas to your campus?
5) Suggest better ways to live from complicated world
to high school campus.
6) Examine trends in society.
7) Take people somewhere to see something they
haven’t seen before.
8) Entertain or humor an audience.
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