• Most news stories are written in a very concise way in order to pack as much information into every line on the page. 

• In journalism, space is of a premium so the writing must lend itself to this medium or form. 

• The simplest and most common structure of this kind of writing is called the Inverted Pyramid.

VOCABULARIES

5W'S+1H. The essentials of any story: who, what, when, where, why, and how. 

BY-LINE. Indicates who wrote the story; often includes the writer's title. 

CAPTION. The portion of the layout which explains what is happening in a photograph. Also called cutlines. Often includes a photo credit. 

EDITOR. Has overall responsibility for the publication. 

EDITORIAL. A type of story which serves to express an opinion and encourage the reader to take some action. 

ETHICS. A standard of conduct based on moral beliefs. 

FACT. A statement that can be proven. Not an opinion. 

FEATURE. A story written with some interpretation that goes beyond just reporting the facts. 

FLAG. The name of the paper that usually appears at the top of page one. 

GRAF. A paragraph in news writing. These are often short, around 2-3 sentences. 

HAMMER. A form of headline consisting of a few very large words over a smaller sub-headline. 

HEADLINE. Large type designed to summarize a story and grab the reader's attention. 

HUMAN INTEREST. An element of news that includes people or events with which the audience can identify; stories that are just interesting. 

INVERTED PYRAMID. A style of writing most commonly applied to news stories in which the most important facts appear early in the story and less important facts later in the story. 

KICKER. A short (one or two words) statement at the beginning of a caption that serves to grab the reader's attention. 

LEAD. The beginning of the story which serves to summarize the story and/or grab the reader's attention. 

LIBEL. Written defamation; damaging false statements againts another person or institution that are writing or spoken from a written script. 

QUOTATION. A statement made by another person included in a published story. A direct quotation is exactly what the person said and appears inside quotation marks. An indirect quote is a paraphrase of what a person said and does not appear in quotes. 

REVIEW. A form of editorial written to comment on a play, movie, piece of music or some other creative work. 

SLANDER. Spoken defamation; damaging false statements against another person or institution that are spoken.

REVIEW

The topic of this meeting has introduced me to a whole new realm of knowledge. I had previously thought I understood the true meaning of "news" and its principles, but in reality, these pieces of information are entirely new to me. Concepts like the inverted pyramid and the six rules that define what makes news "news". Despite my interest in journalism, I had never come across or been taught such crucial information before.

Thanks to this meeting, I have finally acquired knowledge and comprehension regarding the definition of news, its rules, and the process of creating a well-presented news article for readers. Having read and rewritten the materials covered in this meeting, I aspire to produce informative news pieces in the future.