Journalistic Writing

Journalistic Writing

It is closely associated with the practice of reporting the news. Reporting is an art and a craft. Its skills can be taught, learned, and developed as a form of artistic expression. The modern newspaper writing style is a lead and summary form. In this form, the news item begins with a round-up of the major facts of the story, and then summarizes subordinate facts arranged in order of decreasing importance. The final item is often described as a throw-away item because it is lowest in importance and is designed to be discarded if necessary to fit the article into the news paper, magazine, or journal's physical news space.

For broadcast news, there should be a soft-lead form, that begins with a statement designed to give the listener an instant of preparation for stronger phrases that are about to be presented. Broadcast news writing is typically short, straight forward and exceedingly simple in construction. Unlike most written forms, it closely    turns out to be defective. The best way to gain journalistic facility is to practice the writing of leads.

The end is the conclusion of the news reports. From the headline and the lead one comes to the rest of the story. The reporter constructs the model news story after this pattern. He selects the most important incident or fact for his lead. Then he proceeds by selecting the next most important incident, fact or detail, the next most important after that, and so on till he reaches least important phase of all. Guided by his idea of news importance, the story assumes graphically the shape of an inverted pyramid.

The end will be at the peak of the inverted pyramid with the facts or incidents of least value. When writing a news story for an organization you should always retain the idea that your text is to be read and understood by others. Thus a story is like building blocks, which should be linked logically to each other. Therefore, there should be continuity between the intro, the lead and the end of the news story. Thus, the most popular format of news writing is the Inverted Pyramid.

All the work of producing a news story is futile if the story does not engage the reader immediately. Writing coaches have identified four key elements that should be present in the first five paragraphs of any news story (not necessarily in any particular order). They are:

News

The newest information: the basic facts of who, what, when, where, why and how... the most relevant information.

Impact

What a situation means and who is affected. Tells readers what the news changes about their lives and, maybe, what they should do.

Context

The general perspective that frames the background of the news

It addresses the relationship of things around the news. Context helps readers understand whether something is normal or surprising.

Emotion

The human dimension, takes a story from abstract to reality. Offers personal elements that help readers understand the story.

Reporters usually get assignments from their editor. But the best reporters also come up with ideas for their own stories. How? They look, think, ask lots of questions, and talk with lots of people. Topics for stories are everywhere. Do you see a new student in the halls, a new teacher in the classrooms? Has your principal introduced any new programs or schedules that will affect students directly? These are the kinds of questions to ask you when looking for a news "hook" or angle. And keep in mind the timeliness of the topic. You may have an interesting subject, but it's not a news story unless something is going on that makes your subject of interest today. Once you have a few ideas for stories you'd like to pursue, probe a little. If you want to write about new students, for example, ask a school official how many new students have enrolled this year. See if any of the students come from far away. Then try to get their names and phone numbers from the principal's office. Learn as much as you can before making calls. And think about what you'd like to ask. That way, you can prepare questions for your interviews. While conducting interviews, you may find a whole new angle for the story. Be flexible. The idea you start out with may not make a good news story at all. And the next idea you discover may be just the thing! Follow your information — and instincts — to get the best story. Always remember to ask:

Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?

These are your building blocks to getting a good story. Avoid asking questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Such questions don't tell you much, and they certainly don't give you any good quotes for your story. A good quote not only conveys information, it adds life and "color" to a story. Finally, verify your facts. You can get information from other news stories on the Web and in the paper, encyclopedias, and interviews. If you're unsure of something, find out whom you can call to get information verified. Not everything you find on the Web can be trusted. While it is a useful research tool, you still have to confirm your information from at least two or three reputable sources: i.e. encyclopedias, government agencies, and/or national newspapers. You made dozens of phone calls and read every article you could find on the Web. You tracked down experts, scholars; you even interviewed your next-door neighbor. Now it's time to sit down and write!

Whether you're writing a news story, a book review, or a novel, getting started can be the toughest part. You need to win over your readers instantly. Otherwise, you may lose them after the first paragraph. First, think about your assignment. Let's say your editor has asked you to cover a debate between the presidential candidates. That means you need to write a news story. A news story gives readers key information about a recent event. Put the information in paragraph form, adding details and quotes. This is your "nutgraph" — the reason you're telling the story. (A nutgraph can be longer than one paragraph. It's called a nutgraph because the information in it is considered the core, or nut, of the story.)
Source: Internet