News
Writing
Prewriting
Any activity used to
generate writing ideas.
Watching the News
Bolder in CA blocks a road
after a mud slide.
Sports is always news.
Search crew
looks for missing
person after
avalanche.
Our country’s
current events are
of great interest.
Roofer goes to
Doctor with a tooth
ache only to find out
he has a nail in his
head.
Celebrity Lives are of
interest to some.
Types of News
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Natural Disasters/Emergency
Unusual or wacky
Famous People
Sporting Events
Politics
Crime/Safety
Internet
Another way of watching
the news is the Internet. I
provides an outlet for
News Sources to feature,
longer, unusual, or special
interest stories because
they are not confined by
time.
Brainstorming
Everyone
contributes ideas
on a topic.
The list is then
categorized,
prioritized and
defended.
Brainstorming Exercise
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Brainstorm ideas for news stories.
Make a list of 3 ideas.
Write the web address of the story
For each idea answer
• Why it’s a good idea
• What pictures & or graphics can be
found or made to go with it
• Your ideas on how to shoot it
The 5 W’s
When reporters start writing a news story, they
look for the answer to Five simple questions –
known as “The Five W’s”. The answers to these
questions are the basis for every story.
• Who? – Who is involved? Who did what? To
who? Who is affected?
• What? – What happened?
• When? When did it happen? In what order did
events take place?
• Where? – Where did this happen? Did the
location change?
• Why? – Why did it happen? What caused it?
“The 5 W’s”
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The reporter will often try to include
all or most of the answers in the first
line or paragraph of the news story.
That opening section is often called
“the lede” or “the lead”.
The opening lines give the viewers a
good idea of what happened as soon
a the news story starts.
2 Types of Leads
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Introductory – gives us an
“appetizer” before the story,
designed to perk our interest
Informational – summarizes the
entire story, designed to give us all
the facts in one brief statement
The Inverted Pyramid
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This is the style of writing used for television
and radio reporting as well as, for newspapers
and magazines.
The inverted pyramid means that stories
should be written with the most important
information first and the least important last.
EXAMPLE: 150,000 people are confirmed
dead, thousands missing after Tsunami hits
Asia.
Breakdown of the Story
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PART 1 – The Beginning
• In your first one or two sentences
tell most important part of who,
what, when, where, and why.
• Try to hook the viewer by beginning
with a funny, clever, or surprising
statement.
• Go for variety: try beginning your
article with a question or a
provocative statement.
Breakdown of the Story
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Part 2 – The Middle
• Give the viewer the details. Include
one or two quotes from people you
interviewed or will interview.
• Write in the third person
(he, she, it, they)
• Be objective (never state your opinion
unless it is an opinion piece)
• Use quotes to express others’
opinions!
Breakdown of the Story
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Part 3 – The End
• Wrap it up somehow (don’t leave the
viewer hanging)
• Please don’t say...”In conclusion” or “To
finish…” (yawn!)
• Try ending with a quote or a catchy phrase.
• Use active words (verbs that show what’s
really happening.)
ASSIGNMENT
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Using the information from the previous slides write a news
story that would interest a Middle School audience. Make
sure your story has factual information and contains a
beginning, middle, and end using the Inverted pyramid
format. You can search for ideas and information on the
internet but DO NOT plagiarize.
You are not allowed to work together on this assignment,
you must write this story ON YOUR OWN.
Be prepared to read your story to the class when we return
from Spring Break and use it for an upcoming project.