news reporting
How to Structure News Stories
There are a few basic rules for writing and structuring any news story. If you’re accustomed to other types of writing – such as fiction – these rules may seem odd at first. But the format is easy to pick up, and there are very practical reasons why reporters have followed this format for decades. The Inverted Pyramid The inverted pyramid is the model for news writing. It simply means that the heaviest or most important information should be at the top – the beginning – of your story, and the least important information should go at the bottom. And as you move from top to bottom, the information presented should gradually become less important. |
Example
Let’s say you’re writing a story about a fire in which two people are killed and their house is burned down. In your reporting, you’ve gathered a lot of details including the victims’ names, the address of their home, what time the blaze broke out, etc.
Obviously the most important information is the fact that two people died in the fire. That’s what you want at the top of your story. Other details – the names of the deceased, the address of their home, when the fire occurred – should certainly be included, but they should be placed lower down in the story, not at the very top. And the least important information - things like what the weather was like at the time, or the color of the home - should be at the very bottom of the story.
The Story Follows The Lede
The other important aspect of structuring a news article is making sure the story follows logically from the lead. So if the lead of your story focuses on the fact that two people were killed in the house fire, the paragraphs that immediately follow the lede should elaborate on that fact. You wouldn't want the second or third paragraph of the story to discuss the weather at the time of the fire.
Let’s say you’re writing a story about a fire in which two people are killed and their house is burned down. In your reporting, you’ve gathered a lot of details including the victims’ names, the address of their home, what time the blaze broke out, etc.
Obviously the most important information is the fact that two people died in the fire. That’s what you want at the top of your story. Other details – the names of the deceased, the address of their home, when the fire occurred – should certainly be included, but they should be placed lower down in the story, not at the very top. And the least important information - things like what the weather was like at the time, or the color of the home - should be at the very bottom of the story.
The Story Follows The Lede
The other important aspect of structuring a news article is making sure the story follows logically from the lead. So if the lead of your story focuses on the fact that two people were killed in the house fire, the paragraphs that immediately follow the lede should elaborate on that fact. You wouldn't want the second or third paragraph of the story to discuss the weather at the time of the fire.
inverted Pyramid class practice
Organize the information in order of importance, by putting the letters in the empty Inverted Pyramid:
a. the address of the home
b. the names of the deceased
c. the weather at this time of day
d. the color of the home
e. Local Fire Captain informed the owners, "The house was a great threat to the neighborhood and a nearby park."
f. two people died in the fire
g. when the fire occurred
h. the house had no fire alarm system
i. Houses without fire alarm systems are dangerous to families and surrounding community.
ANSWER: F, G / B, A, H / I, E / D, C, recap I
a. the address of the home
b. the names of the deceased
c. the weather at this time of day
d. the color of the home
e. Local Fire Captain informed the owners, "The house was a great threat to the neighborhood and a nearby park."
f. two people died in the fire
g. when the fire occurred
h. the house had no fire alarm system
i. Houses without fire alarm systems are dangerous to families and surrounding community.
ANSWER: F, G / B, A, H / I, E / D, C, recap I
Writing a lede
What Is the Lede?
The lede (that’s how journalists spell it) is the first paragraph of any news story. It’s also the most important.
The lede must accomplish three things:
What Goes in the Lede?
Journalists use the inverted pyramid format which features the five “W’s and the H” – Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.
Example: Let’s say you’re writing a story about a man who was injured when he fell off a ladder. Here are your five W’s and H:
A man was injured yesterday when he fell off a rickety ladder that collapsed while he was painting his house.
Count: 20 words
The lede (that’s how journalists spell it) is the first paragraph of any news story. It’s also the most important.
The lede must accomplish three things:
- give readers the main points of the story
- get readers interested in reading the story
- accomplish both “a” and “b” in as few words as possible
What Goes in the Lede?
Journalists use the inverted pyramid format which features the five “W’s and the H” – Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.
Example: Let’s say you’re writing a story about a man who was injured when he fell off a ladder. Here are your five W’s and H:
- Who – the man
- What – he fell off a ladder while painting
- Where – at his house
- When – yesterday
- Why – the ladder was rickety
- How – the rickety ladder broke
A man was injured yesterday when he fell off a rickety ladder that collapsed while he was painting his house.
Count: 20 words
LEDE CLASS PRACTICE
1. Let’s say you’re writing a story about a house fire in which three people suffer smoke inhalation in a house fire. Write a lede. Here are your five W’s and H:
2. This is a story about a hostage situation. Write a lede. Here are your five W’s and H:
3. Write a lede:
Honors Ledes here!
More help here!
- Who – three people
- What – they suffered smoke inhalation and were hospitalized following a house fire
- Where – at the house
- When – yesterday
- Why – a man fell asleep smoking in bed
- How – the cigarette ignited the man's mattress
2. This is a story about a hostage situation. Write a lede. Here are your five W’s and H:
- Who – six people, one gunman
- What – the gunman held six people hostage in a restaurant for two hours before surrendering to police
- Where – at Billy Bob's Barbecue Joint
- When – last night
- Why – the gunman tried robbing the restaurant, but police arrived before he could escape
- How – he ordered the six people into the kitchen
3. Write a lede:
- Who – Barrett Bradley, the president of Centerville College
- What – he announced tuition will be raised 5 percent
- Where – at a gathering in the college's amphitheater
- When – yesterday
- Why – enrollment is dropping and the college is facing a $3 million deficit
- How – he will ask the college's Board of Trustees to approve the tuition hike
Honors Ledes here!
More help here!
how to avoid bias
A reporter’s job is to present a balanced story. As you read, listen to and watch the news, you may notice stories that you think are biased. To see if they really are biased, you need to determine if the story falls into at least one of the several forms in which bias occurs.
See the following powerpoints for the types of bias that exist in reporting and the ways you can avoid them in your own news reporting. Vance Period 1-4 How to Avoid Bias PPT Vance Period 9-12 How to Avoid Bias PPT |