HOW A NEWS STORY CAN BE APPROPIATELY REPORTED

By Lawrence Sunday Ogwang

News stories reported appropriately, are more straightforward. They try to address the issue quickly and objectively. An ideal news story answers six basic questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

• What happened
• Who did it
• Why it happened
• Where it happened
• When it happened
• How it happened

Writing a News Story

Now that you have asked the questions,

checked the sources, and have all of your information gathered, it is time to write the story. Journalistic writing is different from just creative writing. A journalist’s goals are to inform readers about what’s going and to adhere facts. What sets journalism apart from other forms of writing is not only the eye-catching titles and lead sentences, but also the focus on human interest that makes the reader feel close to the story. These are crucial tools to incorporate into your writing for successful journalism.

Structure of a Story

Before you begin writing your story you need make sure you organize your information. This means picking out key points and quotes from interviews, investigative notes and observation to support your story topic. Unlike an academic essay, the most important information should be in the beginning of your story and supporting facts throughout the rest of it. Matthew Speal, writer for Freelance Writing, and Jim Hall, author of “Beginning Reporting,” highlight some key points to keep in mind when writing a news story:

The Lead:

“The Lead” can be one to two sentences in the opening paragraph or a separate introduction. It is used to grab the reader’s attention and persuade them to keep reading, making it the most important part of the story.

There are two main types of leads-direct and delayed. A direct lead, also called a summary lead, immediately reveals what the story is about. It answers the questions; who, what, where, why, and how in a couple of sentences.

A delayed lead sets the mood of the story rather than answering the what, where, why, and how questions right away. This lead can be used to create anticipation and gives the reader a reason to keep reading. It applies mostly in feature stories or soft news.

Heart of the Story:

When writing your story you need to be sure you’ve answered the following questions previously mentioned. Using this structure will help you to avoid any conflict pertaining to a lack of information. You also need to make sure your story flows together and is easy for the subject to read. Using quotes, an active voice, and short sentences are important as well.

Conclusion:

Two ways to end a story are with a quote and a circle ending. A circle ending means you return to a key point or idea mentioned in the lead. Find a quote that ties your story together and draw a conclusion from it.