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LESSON 1: NEWSWORTHINESS AND BASIC NEWS AND FEATURE WRITING
iNTRODUCTION
iNTRODUCTION
Welcome to the first lesson for the Content Writing and Production!
In order to increase the chance of gaining the target stakeholders’ attention, any forms of materials like press releases, media pitches, and publicity materials must be tailored so they would appear newsworthy. In short, the writer or content creator should ensure that their stories are interesting and relevant enough.
In this module, you will learn the two conceptual news values models that journalists use to evaluate a story’s newsworthiness. The basics of news and feature writing, including its structure and organization, will also be tackled in this module.
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the participants should be able to:
Identify Newsworthy Stories;
Differentiate the three (3) types of news stories;
Explain the inverted pyramid style in news writing; and
Explain the difference between news writing and feature writing.
Study Hour/s: 1.5 hours
Lesson Assessment: Quiz via Google forms
NEWSWORTHINESS
NEWSWORTHINESS
To determine the newsworthiness of a story, here are two conceptual news values models that most journalists use as of today.
Gatlung and Rugee (1973)
Relevance (how relevant is a news story to the audience in question?)
Timeliness (how recently did the event unfold?)
Simplification (simplified or summarized stories are likely to be featured more prominently)
Predictability (events with predictable schedules gain news value as it draws closer)
Unexpectedness (unpredictable events are worthy of covering and have significant values)
Continuity (events that tend to happen for a longer time are likely to remain in the news for a long time)
Composition (balance in news stories)
Elite People (events involving people with titles and/or popularity)
Elite Countries (ironic events in developed countries are more newsworthy than if they are happening in third-world countries)
Negativity (bad news more newsworthy than good news)
Shoemaker et al. (1987)
Timeliness (recognized as a critical news value)
Proximity (the closer an event takes place to the intended audience, the more important it is)
Importance, Impact, or Consequence (how many people will the event impact?)
Interest (does the story have any special human interest?)
Conflict or Controversy (conflict more newsworthy than peace)
Sensationalism (sensational stories tend to make the front pages more than the everyday)
Prominence (actions of prominent people are much more likely to make the news)
Novelty, Oddity, or the Unusual (strange stories are likely to find their way into the news)
Although these models are commonly used by journalists, it is still important to note that every news outlet has their protocol for news selection. The point here is the more of these news values a story satisfies, the more likely you are to see it prominently featured in mass media outlets.
News Writing
News Writing
News stories inform citizens about events in their areas and around the world, and thus play an important part in forming their perspectives and general concepts.
TYPES OF NEWS STORIES
Straight/Hard news
provide only the most important information in a short and unbiased manner
commonly used for stories written in inverted pyramid style
examples of hard news stories include those about political topics and crime
Feature
more in-depth than a standard hard news item
employs the same storytelling techniques and elements as a novel
considered soft news since they do not concentrate solely on the facts.
more freedom to employ a variety of styles, provide detailed descriptions, and insert scene-setting anecdotes.
Pictures, illustrations, graphics, maps, and other visual components are frequently used to accompany features on the page.
A profile of an athlete or a political figure is an example of a feature article.
Editorial
used to make a point about a topic and perhaps persuade readers to change their mind
also represents the official position of an editorial board
Inverted pyramid style
Inverted pyramid style
presents the information or news items in order of significance, from the most important to least important information.
It also permits easy trimming of story from the bottom
However, it's worth noting that not all news stories adhere to the inverted pyramid structure, though the lead for a hard news story always does.
After knowing the basics of news writing, let us see the parts of a news story.
SUMMARY LEAD
A summary lead tells the reader the story's key topic or expresses its news value in a simple manner.
A summary lead should address the following questions:
Who is the story about? or Who is involved?
What is the story about? or What happened?
When did the event take place?
Where did the event take place?
Why did the event take place?
How did the event happen?
Keep the sentence(s) relatively concise, with no more than 30 words.
Source: LB Times
Source: LB Times
BODY OF THE ARTICLE
Give the reader extra information in the body of the piece once you've generated the lead.
The least important elements should be included near the conclusion of the article, where an editor can omit them if needed.
Use direct and indirect quotes from sources and remember to have an objective tone.
Avoid using the pronouns I, me, you, or us, which are more appropriate for opinion pieces.
Attribution
Attribution, which often takes the form of paraphrases as well as direct and indirect quotes, should be used to identify the source(s) of the information presented in the article. It also explains how the writer obtained the material and why a particular source was used.
When initially referencing a human source, include the person’s full name. Use only the last name for subsequent references.
Include important qualifiers with the first reference to demonstrate that the source has expertise on the topic.
Qualifiers are also used to explain a source’s relevance to the topic. The following example might be used in a news article reporting on a crime.
Finally, attribution should flow well within the story. Avoid using long qualifiers or awkward phrases.
Source: LB Times
Headlines
The essential idea of the narrative is stated simply in the headline, which is then expanded upon in the lead. It should be able to clearly express a whole notion. In today's society, headlines have grown increasingly essential; people, especially online, prefer to read headlines rather than whole stories. A compelling headline entices the reader to read the rest of the article.
How to create a headline
Always remember that writing headlines requires practice. But to guide you, here are some reminders and tips in writing headlines.
Select words carefully.
Use strong writing to entice the audience to read the article.
Write the headline after you finish drafting the story.
Concentrate on how you might convey the primary idea in a way that would pique the reader's interest.
Concentrate on crucial words and avoid articles like a, an, and the.
Use present-tense verbs for headlines on recent or past events.
Use the infinitive form of the verb for future events
Example: "Local store to open new location."
Source: LB Times
To understand news writing better, click on the sample news articles published in the UPLB website.
Now that we’ve discussed the basics of news writing, let’s now proceed to feature writing!
Feature writing
Feature writing
Features are more in-depth than traditional news stories and go beyond providing the most important facts.
It is used to provide a detailed description of a place, person, idea, or organization
It uses storytelling devices to help the reader connect with the overall narrative and its central characters.
Information in a feature article should still be presented in a logical and coherent fashion that allows the reader to easily follow the narrative.
In traditional news outlets, among the most common subjects of profiles are celebrities, athletes, individuals who overcome challenges, and high-profile executives.
Feature Leads
Feature leads, unlike standard summary leads, might be several sentences long, and the writer may not expose the story's primary premise right away.
Types of Feature Leads
When starting a feature article, you can choose to open your story with an interesting story or a scene. Learn more about the types of leads below.
Anecdotal Lead
Takes time to develop
Hooks the reader with a descriptive narrative that concentrates on a minor component of the story leading to the main theme
Descriptive Leads
Describes a person, place, or event in vivid detail.
They focus on setting the scene for the piece and use language that taps into the five senses in order to paint a picture for the reader.
This type of lead can be used for both traditional news and feature stories.
Feature Writing Devices
Literary Devices
These devices include similes and metaphors, onomatopoeia (use of words that mimic a sound), imagery (figurative language), climax, and more.
Descriptive Writing
A good feature writer uses plot devices and dialogues that help move the story forward, while focusing on the central theme and providing supporting information through descriptive language and specific examples. They should be able to visualize the characters, places, and events highlighted in the feature piece.
Show versus tell
Tell: Friends describe Amariah as a generous and vibrant person who was involved in several nonprofit organizations.
Show: Tracey proudly recalls her friend’s generosity. “Amariah is usually the first person to arrive at a volunteer event, and the last to leave. She spends four hours every Saturday morning volunteering at the mentoring center. It’s rare to not catch her laughing, flashing her perfect smile. She’s just a burst of positive energy.”
Exercise
Try to read articles from established science and news magazines like National Geographic and TIME Magazine to observe how writers frame their stories. Take note of how they encourage the reader to keep going through the article.
Traditional News Writing versus Feature Writing
To summarize the lesson, click here to see the difference between traditional news writing and feature writing.
Congratulations on finishing the Lesson 1 of Content Writing and Production!
Congratulations on finishing the Lesson 1 of Content Writing and Production!
Now, let's put your knowledge to the test. For this lesson's Assessment Activity, you will be answering a short quiz. Click the button below to start your quiz. Good luck!
Do you have any questions or comments? Share them below!
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