So, I will begin with a simple question; What is news? You think you know? Well I thought I did, but after Brian's lecture yesterday morning it became quite clear that there was a lot more to news writing when regarding style, sentence structure and the world of news journalism I did not understand.
Some of the styles that come under news and would be classed as news itself are as followed;
- Crime
- Financial Crimes (although these are complicated)
- News events
- Politics
- Celebrities
- Things that are within the public interest
-Last but not least; the stuff that's in the paper
News - it's 'new' or it has a 'news peg'/angle. It might be hard news such as crime, politics, natural disasters, or soft news such as celebrities, entertainment or animal stories. Animal stories such as the many cat stories inside the Mirror whose target audience is mainly middle aged women who may have cats? Who knows?
Anyhow, now to describe what a news peg is, much like the rest of my class I had no idea so Brian explained it for us. A news peg is not what we think is relevant but it is stories such as a dog bites a child. Once an incident like this happens, all kinds of stories relating to dog biting children occurs throughout the news. However, this is not because it has all happen all of a sudden it is because it is relevant to what is happening.
It can be said that certain stories are reported because of availability. For a story to work and be successful, the journalist must have someone to interview, something to video or take a picture of and so on. Ultimately, without this, a story would not work as the availability of information was low.
As journalists we need to remember and ask a number of questions ourselves, to make sure our potential story has, well, potential. Some of the following questions should be considered;
1. Do people care about the story?
2. Is it relevant to our audience?
3. Is it fresh or exclusive?
4. Is it dramatic or simple? (clear narrative, recognisable characters) E.g. tabloid = simple
5. Does it tap into current obsessions and events?
6. What is the latest moral panic/scare? - Dangerous dogs, bird flu, road rage etc
We as journalists then should consider practical reasons for covering or not covering a particular story;
1. Is there space?
2. Has a story been covered recently?
3. Have you successfully pitched it to the editor?
HOWEVER ...
1. A story must always be true
2. All facts must be checked and are beyond reasonable doubt
3. A story must have balance - it must not address opposing views
Now for 5 of the most important words in journalism
WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY
All of these should be considered when writing a story and many of these should be included within the first paragraph. The introduction of an article must be short and sharp, it must include the latest information. The introduction can always be called the 'top line' and it must be amazinggggggg (therefore emphasis on the extra 'g's must be included), not only this, but usually it is around 20/30 words.
This triangle can portray the way a story should go.
The top of the triangle, much like the top line of a story, must be short and sharp and to the 'point' - you get it?
As the story continues and the triangle goes further down, the story gets more in-depth.
In order for the top line of a story to work, you must aggressively attack reality, therefore skirting around the edges will not cut it. If you can, quotes should be put in early and the second paragraph would be the perfect place for this.
Key elements to remember
- It's about people - make this your top line
- Don't be passive, be aggressive.
- Have an angle (lower house prices, good/bad?)
- Don't start a news report with a question - the audience want to be informed not take part in a quiz!
- Be objective - do not describe news as good/bad/shocking. HAVE NO OPINION
- Quote people
A perfect little sentence structure
- One idea per sentence
- Short sentences
- Active rather than passive verbs should be used - at it's heart, news is about doing things
- Get rid of any word that is not essential
- In news, avoid the drop intro - the drop intro is a delayed reaction, making you want to read on
- First words are vital
- Use nouns and verbs, avoid adverbs and adjectives
- Cut out gobbledgook - you are the filter as a journalist - if you don't understand it, the reader won't
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