While we take news writing for granted in our interconnected world, news writing is surprisingly demanding of a writer. Most writers are taught to slowly hook a reader, build toward a point, and develop reasoning over time. Journalistic features and reviews work similarly to this type of writing. But news doesn't work like that.
The public demand for quick news means that news articles work differently than any other writing. Early news was transferred by expensive telegraph, so keeping everything brief was important when journalism was starting as a discipline. This challenged early news writers to grab a reader's interest without the usual flair of the creative writers. It's no wonder why so many novelists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (including Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, and Carl Hiaasen) started as journalists: it's a proving ground for testing an author's ability to sell a story. Centuries later, the quick-bite information blizzard of the internet age has made word cheap but attention short (according to the Poynter Institute's EyeTrack Studies, news readers spend an average of 78.3 seconds on a story), and the short, straight-to-the-point news articles of today are nearly identical to those of the 1800s. Here's how to write them.
The public demand for quick news means that news articles work differently than any other writing. Early news was transferred by expensive telegraph, so keeping everything brief was important when journalism was starting as a discipline. This challenged early news writers to grab a reader's interest without the usual flair of the creative writers. It's no wonder why so many novelists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (including Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, and Carl Hiaasen) started as journalists: it's a proving ground for testing an author's ability to sell a story. Centuries later, the quick-bite information blizzard of the internet age has made word cheap but attention short (according to the Poynter Institute's EyeTrack Studies, news readers spend an average of 78.3 seconds on a story), and the short, straight-to-the-point news articles of today are nearly identical to those of the 1800s. Here's how to write them.
Determining What's News
Journalists need to seek out stories from what is going on in the world, nation, state, and local community. But lots of things go on at every given moment--how does a journalist know if the story they are planning ultimately will be important and marketable news? To determine what makes good content, journalists consider the six ACTION factors: audience, consequence, timing, immediacy, oddity, and notoriety. A good news story will have 3-4 of these factors and a great news story will have 5-6.
- AUDIENCE: Who are the stakeholders—or, simply put, who cares? Say Chess Club loses a game. Not many students are chess fanatics, so the audience for that story is small. Now say the football team loses a game: football games involve several school groups (athletics, cheer, dance, band) and are very popular among students and the community.
- CONSEQUENCE: What is the outcome or effect of the event? Let’s say two events are cancelled because of weather: an NHS meeting and Homecoming. The former only affects a few people and can easily be rescheduled without disruption, while the latter has many consequences—hair appointments, tux rentals, DJs, all need to be rescheduled.
- TIMING: Is this news fresh and relevant in the moment? Time defines interest. A review on the newest Batman film isn’t news a month after the film has come out and everyone’s seen it. The quarterback breaking his arm isn’t newsworthy in February but is big news in August. Even retrospectives are only news when done at the right time.
- IMMEDIACY: How close is the event to the audience? A closure of a restaurant in Denver isn’t very newsworthy, but a restaurant closing in Frederick is news because it closely affects the community. National events can also be immediate if they affect specific people in the community, like a Farm Bill passing or drug decriminalization law.
- ODDITY: Is this something surprising that is not an everyday occurrence? A fire drill can be a surprise, but it’s not news since one happens every month. But a snow day is news because they are not regularly occurring. This idea is also key to good interviews: asking the vice principal about student SAT growth is not as interesting as asking him about his punk band.
- NOTORIETY: Has something of note been accomplished? Football may be more popular than chess, but the Chess Club winning State makes them bigger news, as State is notable. An interview with the governor is more interesting that an interview with a freshman, as they are ore well known and notable. Keep in mind that notable loss is also interesting, like the class president losing reelection.
Just the Facts
Before a journalist can write a story, they need to research the story to make sure that they have the accurate and relevant facts. This means that a journalist has to first consider the stakeholders of the story. Stakeholders include people directly involved with an incident or event, those who witnessed the incident or event, those who caused the event or incident, and those who will be effected by the incident. Let's say, for example, the high school football team loses the playoffs in overtime. The stakeholders for this event would include:
A good journalist will interview several of these stakeholders to get perspective on the event (remember, journalists have to write objectively, so it's up to the quotes from stakeholders to "color" the story with subjective and interesting points of view. A great journalist will ensure that they also have a variety of different stakeholders. Even if the writer cannot get interviews with top officials or stakeholder, large enough news usually results in major stakeholders giving a press conference or press release where quotes can be found (like a coach typically gives after a big game). A journalist should also know what stakeholders may be untrustworthy or too biased to use in an article.
However, there needs to be more than just subjective quotes from people--articles also need other objective facts. These include studies, statistics, scores, records, timelines, and historical facts. For our sample, these facts could include the score, the timeline of when each team scored points, rushing years and passing yards, and the history of when the team has gotten to the playoffs. Also don't forget definitions as facts: if the article mentions topical jargon (words that are very specific to a discipline that most people wouldn't know), the audience needs some explanation. For example, if the last play was a flea flicker, the writer may want to define that for a more general audience. When choosing what facts to include, writers must only use what is most relevant: the score at the half may be relevant, but the year the team was first incorporated is not.
General facts (like the score of a game or the last year the team made the playoffs) do not need citations, while specific statistics (such as a 43% decline in ticket sales over the past season) need a source. Unlike academic papers, facts are sourced directly in the article instead of at the end with an in-text frame:
- The players (direct involvement)
- The coaches (direct involvement)
- The fans, including members of the band and cheer squad (witnesses)
- The high school admin (as sponsors, they "cause" the season)
A good journalist will interview several of these stakeholders to get perspective on the event (remember, journalists have to write objectively, so it's up to the quotes from stakeholders to "color" the story with subjective and interesting points of view. A great journalist will ensure that they also have a variety of different stakeholders. Even if the writer cannot get interviews with top officials or stakeholder, large enough news usually results in major stakeholders giving a press conference or press release where quotes can be found (like a coach typically gives after a big game). A journalist should also know what stakeholders may be untrustworthy or too biased to use in an article.
However, there needs to be more than just subjective quotes from people--articles also need other objective facts. These include studies, statistics, scores, records, timelines, and historical facts. For our sample, these facts could include the score, the timeline of when each team scored points, rushing years and passing yards, and the history of when the team has gotten to the playoffs. Also don't forget definitions as facts: if the article mentions topical jargon (words that are very specific to a discipline that most people wouldn't know), the audience needs some explanation. For example, if the last play was a flea flicker, the writer may want to define that for a more general audience. When choosing what facts to include, writers must only use what is most relevant: the score at the half may be relevant, but the year the team was first incorporated is not.
General facts (like the score of a game or the last year the team made the playoffs) do not need citations, while specific statistics (such as a 43% decline in ticket sales over the past season) need a source. Unlike academic papers, facts are sourced directly in the article instead of at the end with an in-text frame:
- According to the [source of information],...
- A recent study by the [source of information] concluded that...
- [Source of information] revealed in [time] that...
Structuring the Article
News articles almost always follow what journalist call "the inverted pyramid." The inverted pyramid refers to how most of the key information of the article is at the top while extra interesting but ultimately superfluous details. The structure also puts the most general details on top while narrowing down to the more specific and more technical facts toward the bottom.
News articles start with a summary lede, which must answer the five W's:
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Immediately after the lede starts the body copy, or exploration of the event. News articles alternate between a paragraph of context and then a relevant quote by a stakeholder. Context, quote, context, quote, context, quote-- if it seems predictable, that's the point. News articles are comfort food and need to follow this pattern. Following the inverted pyramid, the first context paragraph should be the one that will interest readers most, moving down to more specific topics. Types of context paragraphs include:
Typically, news articles end on a final quote called a button which connects to the introduction or leaves the article on a positive note. Other types of conclusions like broadening the scope or looking to the future are unneeded, as few readers will make it that far.
- describing the BACKGROUND behind the event
- describing the RELEVANCE of the event to the reader
- describing the IMPACT of the event on the larger community
- describing the REPERCUSSIONS of the event on the stakeholders
- describing the RESPONSE to the event by others
Typically, news articles end on a final quote called a button which connects to the introduction or leaves the article on a positive note. Other types of conclusions like broadening the scope or looking to the future are unneeded, as few readers will make it that far.