Weeks 3 & 4
News Writing
Week 4
http://stsmtinewswriting.weebly.com
Week 3 news quizzes wrap-up
Rewriting leads
Week 4 news quizzes (Deadline: 10
mins.)
Chapter 3 with exercises
Week 2’s Assignments
http://www.newsu.org/courses/bereporter-game
https://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0073378917/student_v
iew0/chapter2/exercise_2-1_2.html
https://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0073378917/student_v
iew0/chapter2/exercise_2-1_3.html
Week 4: Rewriting Leads
Review: basic news leads on p. 60
5 minutes
Check leads for missing 6 W’s and/or
their order





Who
What
Where
When
Maybe Why or How
Leads Exercises
Who: Lawmakers
What: rejected a 10 billion euro bailout
package for Cyprus
Where: Europe
When: Tuesday
Why: not enough money
How: sending the president back to the
drawing board to devise a plan that might
enable the country to receive a financial lifeline
while avoiding a default that could reignite the
euro crisis
Leads Exercises
Lawmakers rejected a 10 billion euro
bailout package for Cyprus on Tuesday,
sending the president back to the
drawing board to devise a plan that
might enable the country to receive a
financial lifeline while avoiding a default
that could reignite the euro crisis.
 Source: The New York Times
Leads Exercises
Who: U.S. federal authorities
What: examining Microsoft’s involvement
with companies and individuals
Where: U.S.
When: Wednesday
Why: that are accused of paying bribes to
overseas government officials in exchange
for business, according to a person briefed
on the inquiry
How: n/a
Leads Exercises
Federal authorities in the U.S. are
examining Microsoft’s involvement with
companies and individuals that are
accused of paying bribes to overseas
government officials in exchange for
business, according to a person briefed
on the inquiry.
 Source: The New York Times
Leads Exercises
Who: David Beckham
What: to begin his new role as a special
ambassador for Chinese football
Where: Beijing
When: Wednesday
Why: n/a
How: It will involve attending league
matches in China and visiting clubs to help
promote the game to children.
Leads Exercises
David Beckham is in Beijing to begin
his new role as a special ambassador
for Chinese football.
It will involve attending league
matches in China and visiting clubs
to help promote the game to
children.
Source: BBC
Leads Exercises
4 Who: U.S. Sen. Rand Paul
4 What: that the nation's illegal immigrants
should be able to become citizens
eventually
4 Where: Washington, D.C.
4 When: Tuesday
4 Why: amid a furor from conservative
activists on the explosive issue he quickly
sought to make clear that, while they
would not be sent home, they couldn't get
in line in front of anyone else
4 How: n/a
Leads Exercises
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tea party favorite
Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday that the
nation's illegal immigrants should be able to
become citizens eventually, but amid a furor
from conservative activists on the explosive
issue he quickly sought to make clear that,
while they would not be sent home, they
couldn't get in line in front of anyone else.
Leads Exercises
4
4
4
4
4
Who: Xi Jinping
What: calls for strong ties with the U.S.
Where: Beijing
When: Wednesday
Why: the first high-level meeting between
the two sides since he was confirmed as
China's president
4 How: His comments came in talks with
Jack Lew, who is in Beijing on his first
overseas trip as US Treasury Secretary.
Leads Exercises
Xi Jinping has called for strong ties
with the US, in the first high-level
meeting between the two sides since he
was confirmed as China's president.
His comments came in talks with
Jack Lew, who is in Beijing on his
first overseas trip as US Treasury
Secretary.
 Source: BBC
Every culture seeks effective constantly evolving,
dramatically. The typi
lcome to the world of
ways to spread new
reflecting and shaping its
newspaper of 1800 wa
urnalism, where
information and gossip. In
culture.
undisciplined mishma
porters have been
Others see it as an inspiringlegislative proceeding
gging dirt, raking muck, ancient times, news was
quest for free speech, an
long-winded essays a
king headlines and adlineswritten on clay tablets. In
Caesar’s age, Romans read
endless power struggle
secondhand gossip. B
for centuries
newsletters compiled by
between Authority (trying to 1900, a new breed of
w. It’s a history full of
correspondents and
control information) and the tor had emerged. Jour
bloid trash, of slimy
People (trying to learn the
had become big busin
nsationalists, of runkards, handwritten by slaves.
deadbeats and mmers” (asWandering minstrels spread truth). Which brings to mind Reporting was becom
news (and the plague) in the the words of A.J. Liefling: disciplined craft. And
a Harvard iversity
Middle Ages. Them came ink “Freedom of the press is
newspapers were bec
president once scribed
Tim Harrower
on paper. Voices on airwaves. guaranteed only to htose who more entertaining and
reporters).
own one.”
essential than ever, w
But it’s a history full of Newsreels, Web sites, And
24-hour cable news networks. In the pages ahead, we’ll most of the features w ex
roes, too: men and
Thus when scholars
take a quick tour of 600 years today: Snappy headlines,
men risking their lives
analyze the rich history of
of journalism history, from Comic Sports pages. And
tell stories of war and
agedy, risking prisonment journalism, some view it in hieroglyphics to hypertext: “inverted pyramid” sty
terms of technological
the media, the message and writing that made stori tig
to defend
progress—for example, the the politics.
and newsier.
ee speech. And as you
Technical advances and
Radio and television
n see here, reports have dramatic impact of bigger,
brilliant ideas forged a new brought an end to
come beloved characters faster printing presses.
Others see journalism as a style of journalism. It was a newspapers’ media mono
p culture, too, turning up
century of change, and
Why? Well yourself: Wh
movies, comics and TV specialized form literary
expression, one that’s
newspapers changed
did yo
ows as if guided by an
cult McGraw-Hill
hand.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Inside Reporting
3
Newswriting basics
Slide
Newswriting basics
Just the facts
The five W’s
The inverted pyramid
Beyond the basic news lead
Leads that succeed
After the lead…what next?
 (continued)
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Newswriting basics
(continued)
Story structure 
Rewriting 
Editing 
Newswriting style 
Making deadline 
66 essential tips 
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Just the facts
You must try to be objective.
Truthful. Fair.
 Good reporters
respect integrity
of facts.
 Facts tell the
story.
 Readers draw
their own
conclusions.
McGraw-Hill
Where do opinions
belong in a newspaper?
•Most newspaper stories can be
placed on a continuum.
•Ranges from rigidly objective
(breaking news) to rabidly
opinionated (movie reviews).
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Test Yourself
p.64, Exercise 2
Slide
The five W’s
Facts usually fall into
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
The five W’s
The WHO
The WHAT
 Readers love
stories that focus
on people.
 WHO keeps it real.
•
•
•
•
Who’s
Who’s
Who’s
Who’s
McGraw-Hill
involved?
affected?
going to benefit?
getting screwed?
 WHAT gives news
its substance.
• Stories become dry and
dull if they focus too much
on WHAT.
• Need WHO.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
The five W’s
The WHEN
The WHERE
 Timeliness essential
to every story.
• When events happened
or will happen.
• How long they lasted or
will last.
 The closer the
event, the more
relevant it is for
readers.
 Many stories
require
supplements.
• Map
• Diagram
• Photo
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
The five W’s
The WHY
The HOW
 Finding
explanations
difficult.
 The WHY is what
makes news
meaningful.
McGraw-Hill
 Often requires
detailed
explanation.
 Sometimes
omitted to save
space.
 Readers love
“how-to” stories.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Test Yourself
 p.64, Exercise 3
At midnight tonight, Abner Hoobler will become the
first Nebraskan to reach the age of 115.
A dog named Victor plunged over Niagara Falls on
Saturday - and emerged victorious.
A Dayton woman decided her husband spent too
much time clowning around with his froends, so she
glued a clown mask to his face while he was
sleeping.
A local minister was bitten in the leg Sunday after
leaping into the lions’ den at the Dayton Zoo.
Rev. Faith Christian, a minister at the Dayton
Zealotic Church, said she was trying to convert the
lion to Christianity by shouting “Jesus loves you.”
Slide
The inverted pyramid
Newswriting format summarizes
most important facts at story’s start
This is the lead, which summarizes the
story’s most important facts
This paragraph adds more details or
background
This paragraph adds even
more details
This adds more
details
More
details
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
The inverted pyramid
The typical news story uses the
inverted pyramid
So should you
use this format
• Explain later.
 Resolve everything in for every story?
•Gets repetitive.
the beginning.
•Doesn’t always
 Allows editors to trim organize story
stories from bottom. material logically.
 Summarize first.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
The inverted pyramid
Why writing a good lead actually
matters to readers
 If a story takes too long
to make sense…
 Readers flee like rats
from a sinking ship.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Test Yourself
p.64, Exercise 1
Slide
Writing basic news leads
How to write an effective news lead
 Collect all your
facts.
• Lead should
summarize.
• The more you
know, the easier it
is to summarize.
McGraw-Hill
 Sum it up. Boil it
down.
• List who, what, when,
where, why of story.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Writing basic news leads
How to write an effective news lead
 Prioritize the five
W’s.
• Lead contains the
most important
facts.
• Which of the key
facts deserves to
start the first
sentence?
McGraw-Hill
 Rethink. Revise.
Rewrite.
•
•
•
•
Is
Is
Is
Is
it
it
it
it
clear?
active?
wordy?
compelling?
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Writing basic news leads
How to write an effective news lead
 Writing leads often  Create different
leads using the…
a process of trial
• Who.
and error.
• Try different
approaches.
McGraw-Hill
•
•
•
•
What.
When.
Where.
Why.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Writing basic news leads
Not every story begins with a
roundup of essential facts
 Basic news leads
can be too dull
and dry.
 All good reporters
spend time
searching for the
perfect lead.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Beyond the basic news lead
Story checklist
 Be accurate.
 Remember what
day it is.
Ask “Why should I
care?”
Sell the story.
 Don’t name names. Don’t get hung up.
 Use strong verbs.
Move attributions to
the end of the
sentences.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Leads that succeed
A roundup of commonly used options
 Basic news leads
 Anecdotal/
narrative leads
 Scene-setter
leads
 Blind leads
 Roundup leads
McGraw-Hill
 Direct address leads
 The startling
statement
 Wordplay leads
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Leads that succeed
A roundup of commonly used options
Basic news leads
• Summary lead
– Combines five W’s into
one sentence.
• Delayed
identification lead
• Immediate
identification lead
– Uses a public figure or
celebrity in the sentence.
– Withholds the name of
the person in question
until the second
paragraph
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Week 4: Group News Quiz
Please write your group’s English names and
send it to me via email. Send it in the body of
the email, rather than as an attachment.
Only write in the style of a basic news lead
(the most important of the 6 W’s). Try your
hand at one or more new leads we covered.
Must be from the past week (March 13-20).
 1. International
 2. Beat
 3. China
 4. Xi’an
 5. XISU
Slide
Leads that succeed
A roundup of commonly used options
 Anecdotal/
narrative leads
 Scene-setter leads
• Lack urgency of hard• Have a beginning, news leads.
middle and end. • Borrowed from fiction.
• Will be mini-story  Blind leads
with symbolic
• Extreme delayed
resonance for
information lead.
bigger story.
– Deliberately teases reader.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Leads that succeed
A roundup of commonly used options
 Roundup leads
• Rather than focus
on one person,
place or thing,
impress reader
with longer list.
 Direct address
leads
• Use secondperson voice.
McGraw-Hill
 The startling
statement
• Also called a
“zinger” or a
“Hey, Martha.”
 Wordplay leads
• Encompass wide range of
amusing leads.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Leads that succeed
…and three lazy leads you should
usually reconsider
 Topic leads
• Convey no actual news.
 Question leads
• Are irritating stalls.
 Quote leads
• Don’t fairly summarize
the story.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Test Yourself
p.65, Exercise 4, #2
Student drinking may be to blame for
damage to campus windows, lights and
doors last weekend, a school official said.
OR
Damage to campus windows, lights and
doors last weekend may have been the
result of student drinking, a school official
said.
Slide
After the lead…what next?
Add another paragraph
 Know how long the
story should be.
Write the nut graf
 Paragraph that
condenses the story
idea into nutshell.
McGraw-Hill
Briefs and brites:
•Brief – written using
the inverted pyramid.
•Brite – written with
more personality than
a brief.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Test Yourself
p.65, Exercise 6
Some people would just take the money
and run.
But when Laura Lynn Hardy found
$300,000 lying on the street, she bicycled
20 miles through a Christmas Eve
snowstorm to return the cash to its rightful
owner.
What would you do if you found $300.000?
If you’re Laura Lynn Hardy, you’d give the
money right back.
Slide
Story structure
Giving an overall shape to writing
 No one-size-fits-all
solution.
 Every story unfolds
in a different way.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Story structure
Organizing your story
 The inverted
pyramid
Most important facts
• Use for:
– News briefs.
– Breaking news.
McGraw-Hill
Additional facts
More facts
Etc., Etc.
Etc.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Story structure
Giving an overall shape to writing
 The martini glass
• Use for:
– Crimes.
– Disasters.
– Dramatic
stories.
The lead
Key facts in invertedpyramid form
Chronology of events
Kicker
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Story structure
Giving an overall shape to writing
 The kabob
• Also called Wall Street
Journal formula or the
Circle.
• Use for:
– Trends.
– Events where you want
to show actual people.
McGraw-Hill
Anecdote
Nut graf
Meat
Meat
Meat
Anecdote
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Story structure
Keeping readers from getting bored
 Modern journalist’s  Use narratives
when you can.
job basically boils
down to
 Think like a
• Teaching.
teacher.
• Storytelling.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Story structure
Writing tips as you move from
paragraph to paragraph
 Keep paragraphs
short.
 Write one idea per
paragraph.
 Add transitions.
McGraw-Hill
Alternatives to
long, gray news
stories
•Bullet items
•Sidebars
•Subheads
•Other storytelling
alternatives
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Story structure
The big finish
 Good writers
agonize over the
kicker as much as
the lead.
•Plan ahead.
•Don’t end with a
summary.
•Avoid clichés.
•End with a bang.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Rewriting
Good story. Now make it better.
 Writing is rewriting.
• Make things a little better.
• Few stories arrive fully
formed and perfectly
phrased.
• Most require rethinking,
restructuring and
rewording.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Rewriting
5Reasons to hit the delete key
 Passive verbs
• Start sentences
with their
subjects.
• Replace to be with
stronger verbs.
• Filter out jargon and
officialese.
 Clichés
 Redundancy
• Avoid unnecessary
modifiers.
McGraw-Hill
 Wordy sentences
 Jargon &
journalese
• Lowers the IQ of your
writing.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Rewriting
The Fog Index – a readability gauge
 Find typical
example.
 Average number of
words per
sentence.
 Number of “hard”
words with 3 or
more syllables (no
proper names).
McGraw-Hill
 Add average
number of words to
number of “hard”
words.
 Multiply the sum
by 0.4.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Rewriting
The Fog Index – a readability gauge
 Most Americans
read at or about
9th-grade level.
• Aim for Fog Index
of 7 to 8.
• Bible, Mark Twain,
TV Guide have Fog
Index around 6.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Editing
The role editors play in your stories
 Before you write
• Assigning story.
• Planning angle.
• Estimating scope.
• Anticipating
packaging.
McGraw-Hill
 While you write
•
•
•
•
Adding details.
Monitoring speed.
Fine-tuning.
Layout changes.
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Editing
The role editors play in your stories
 After you write
• Editing content.
• Copy editing.
• Cutting or padding.
• Assigning follow-up
stories.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Newswriting style
Who’s right?
 Every news outlet
customizes
guidelines.
 Copy desk’s job to
standardize style.
 Know AP and your
news outlet’s style.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
AP Style Highlights - p.56-7





Numbers
Titles
Capitalization
Abbreviations
Addresses
McGraw-Hill





The Internet
Parentheses
Possessives
Prefixes
And others…
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
Making deadline
Live by the clock
 Deadlines are
mandatory.
 Pass the deadline
checklist.
• Accuracy.
• Fairness and
balance.
• Writing style.
McGraw-Hill
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide
66 newswriting tips - p.60-1
 Writing leads
 The rest of the
story
 Editing and style
 Rules of grammar
McGraw-Hill
 Word choices
• Nonsexist, nonageist,
nondiscriminatory
 Punctuation
© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Test Yourself
p.65, Exercise 7
Business
Please send all future assignments to
marissakluger@yahoo.com
Week 4 Assignments
p. 66, Exercise 8 (choose 1 of the 4 brites to
write a lead for...make sure it’s written down
or you have a viewable electrnic copy)
Review Chapter 3; make sure you’ve
previewed p. 65, Exercise 7
preview eWorkbook Ch.3 exercises
3-1 (select 5 out of the 10 questions)
3-2.3; 2.7
3-3.2
3-4.1, 4.2, 4.3 (select 5 out of the 10 or 11
questions)
3-4.4, 4.5 (select 4 out of the 8 questions)