bureau of international cooperation

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Bureau of International Cooperation

Writing News Story

Gong Haihua

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American professors funded by the Fulbright Scholar Program

The First Charles Wang Awards for Journalism Students, selected by the MOE

MA of International News Reporting and Writing, the China School of Journalism, affiliated to the Xinhua News Agency

Over ten-month internship in Xinhua, including the 2000 Sydney Olympics

Why me?Why me?

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Hard news, newspapers and online news

News reporter, writer and editor

News in Chinese editing into English one

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The Nature of NewsThe Nature of News

The LeadThe Lead

Story StructureStory Structure

The Writer’s ArtThe Writer’s Art

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• Accurate• Proper attributed• Complete• Balance and fair• Objective • Brief and focused• Well-written

Components of the story

To begin with the ABCsABCs- accuracy, brevity and clarity.

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“ When a dog bites a man, that is not news, because it happens so often. But if a man bites a dog, it’s news.”

– John B. Bogart, editor of the New York Sun

“News is truth that matters.”

– Gerry Goldstein, the Providence Journal

“A news sense is really a sense of what is important, what is vital, what has color and life – what people are interested in. that’s journalism.”

– Burton Rascoe, the Chicago Tribune

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• Timeliness• Impact, consequence or

importance• Proximity to the people

involved• Conflict• The unusual nature of the

event• Currency • Necessity

At least ¾ of all stories fall into the categories of impact or impact or importanceimportance and the unusualunusual.

News Values

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The LeadThe Lead

“Every journalist who has ever struggled with a lead knows why it can take so much effort. It is as important to him as to the reader. Writing it concentrates the mind wonderfully, forcing him to decide what in the story is importantimportant, what he wants to emphasizeemphasize, and can eventually give the shape to the rest of the story as he writes it.”

- Henry Fairlie, a news reporter

The hardest part of all to write. Once you have written your lead, you have 90 90 percent of the story.

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The LeadThe Lead

China's world sports champions go in for auction to help poor.

Hurdler Liu Xiang auctioned his sports shoes bearing his signature on Sunday with some other Chinese world sports champions at a grand charity party to aid the schooling of rural migrant labor's children.

China's Olympic champion Liu Xiang breaks own record at charity auction.

China's Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang's track shoes fetched 200,000 yuan (25,000 U.S. dollars) at a charity gala auction in Beijing on Sunday, breaking his own record made at a similar event two weeks ago.

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The LeadThe Lead

The lead sentence usually contains one idea and follows the subject-subject-verb-objectverb-object sentences structure for clarity. It should not exceed 3535 words.

Usually contains five W’s and an Hfive W’s and an H.

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The best lead always attracts the readers to go on with the reading while gives readers the main points of the story.

China's food safety watchdog has ordered health authorities to investigate the food poisoning of almost 400 people at a wedding in Sichuan Province at the weekend.

The LeadThe Lead

China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) Wednesday ordered health authority of southwest Sichuan Province to thoroughly investigate a food poisoning case occurred last Saturday.

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In an effort to prevent abuse of judicial power and fight corruption, China's Supreme People's Court issued a new regulation Wednesday to list a great number of restrictions against court staff, ranging from taking bribery to committing adultery with litigants. (Xinhua)

The LeadThe Lead

China has tightened its rules governing law court officials after a former senior judge received a life sentence for corruption, warning staff not to leave the country without approval or have sex with litigants. (Reuters)

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Questions to ask in search for suitable leads:

1.1. WhatWhat was unique or the most important or unusual thing that happened?

2.2. WhoWho was involved – who did it or who said it?

How Reporters Think Leads?

The LeadThe Lead

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Then, to seek words and a form that will give shape to the responses:

3. Is there a colorful word or dramatic phrase I can work into the lead?

4. What is the subject, and what verb will best move the reader into the story?

The LeadThe Lead

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• Immediate-identification leads – who, sometimes widely recognized name(s)

Mayor John Jones, or Carpenter John Jones

• Delayed-identification leads – who is less important, usually little name recognition name(s)

• but with important or interesting position, occupation, title or achievements

• when the lead is to wordy

Ways of composing a lead:

The LeadThe Lead

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Ways of composing a lead:• Summary leads – several important elements

rather than a single specific action The City Council replaced the city’s 75-year-old

municipal code with a revised version Tuesday night.

• Multiple-element leads – more than one theme of the lead (seldom used)

A flash fire that swept through a landmark downtown hotel Saturday killed at least 12 persons, injured 60 more and forced scores of residents to leap from windows and the roof in near-zero cold.

The LeadThe Lead

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The wedding guest including drug suspects, the social coordinator was a narcotics agent, the justice of the peace was police chief, and 52 officers were party crashers.

For the unsuspecting bride and groom, the ceremony Friday night was truly unforgettable – a sting operation set up by state and local police that led to 30 arrests.

Ways of composing a lead:

The LeadThe Lead

Thirty suspected drug dealers, including a couple about to be married, were arrested at a wedding Friday night.

•Leads with flair – novelty, unusual

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News StructureNews Structure

The standard and traditional structure of a news story.Important elements at the beginning, less important at the end.To meet the requirements of editing, cut the bottom without losing any key information.

The Inverted Pyramid

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Anecdote: Begin with an example

Explicit statement of theme: The lead (less than 6 para)

Statement of the significance of the theme:

Why should I be reading this?

Details: Proof, elaboration of the theme

Answer to reader’s questions: Why is this happening? What’s being done?

The Wall Street Journal Story Formula

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1. Introduce additional important information you were not able to include in the lead.

2. If possible, indicate the significance or so-what factor.3. Elaborate on the information presented in the lead.4. Continue introducing new information in the order in

which you have ranked it by importance.5. Develop the ideas in the same order in which you

have introduced them.6. Generally, use only one new idea in each paragraph.

Take yourself as the first reader of your story.

How to continue with the follow-up?

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LeadMajor theme

Explanation of lead Background information

Additional explanation of leadSupporting facts, quotes, incidents,

illustrations and anecdotes

Secondary themesFurther supporting facts

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The creator of China's largest pornographic website was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday.

Judges at the Taiyuan Intermediate People's Court handed down the sentence to Chen Hui and ordered the confiscation of 100,000 yuan (12,500 U.S. dollars).

Additional info & elaboration. Basically no quotations in this kind of elaboration.

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Thieves Get 36 BatteriesThieves who entered a Charlotte auto parts store stole 36 Delco batteries, police were today yesterday.

Crowell Erskine, 49, manager of the Piedmont Auto Exchange at 410 Atando Ave., told officers the stores was broken into between 5 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday by thieves knocking a hole in the rear wall of the one-story brick building.

Erskine said the batteries were valued at $539.18.

-- The Charlotte Observer

Further explanation

– how, when, where, and attribution

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A Case StudyA Case Study

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) – Pregnant women working at video display terminals less than 20 hours a week face no increased risk of miscarriages, according to the preliminary results of a University of Michigan survey.

More research is needed to determine whether pregnant women who work more than 20 hours have a higher rate of problem pregnancies, scientists said Tuesday.

WhoWhat

Attribution

When

Further explanation of the lead, stating the limitation of research.

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The university studied 728 state employees in Michigan, and results were released Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Las Vegas.“These findings should relieve the concern for many women who currently use VDTs at their jobs,” said Professor William J. Butler, who teamed with Professor Kelley Ann Brix, on the study paid for by the March of Dimes.

Where

Direct quote

Always Always check names

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Of 697 pregnancies reported by part-time employees, there were 145 miscarriages – about what would be expected, the study said.

But of the 120 pregnancies reported by women working more than 20 hours per week, 26 resulted in miscarriages, about 5 percent more than expected, the study showed.

The study looked at the women from the years 1980 to 1985.

Support for the first paragraph; partial answer to how research was conducted

Why is not answered

Support for the second paragraph

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A well-written story:• Makes its point clearly.

• Engages the reader with human-interest material, quotations, incidents and examples.

•Guides the reader with a pace and a style appropriate to the event or personality being described.

• Leaves the reader satisfied that the story is complete and is truthful.

AccurateAccurate

ClearClear

ConvincingConvincing

AppropriateAppropriate

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Clarity:Flame from the boilers have died away.

Three experts have been sent by the Ministry of Health to look into the outbreak in Shangcheng County of Henan Friday.

The three-day forum started Wednesday was jointly organized by (the) Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Being his second since assuming office in December last year, Chui delivered the 2011 policy address at the SAR's Legislative Assembly.

Chui delivered the 2011 policy address, his second since assuming office in December last year, at the SAR's Legislative Assembly.

GrammarGrammar

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Clarity: Sentence LengthSentence LengthAverage length

Readability

8 or less Very easy

11 words Easy

14 words Fairly easy

17 words standard

21 words Fairly difficult

25 words Difficult

29 or more Very difficult

Variety

Balance

Rhythm

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Clarity:• Pronouns

• Key words and ideas

• Transitional expressions

• Parallel structure

TransitionTransitionTransitional expressions:Transitional expressions:

AdditivesAdditives: again, also, and, finally, furthermore, in addition, next, thus, so, moreover, as well…

ContrastsContrasts: but, however, nevertheless, instead, on the other hand, otherwise, yet, nonetheless, farther…

ComparisonsComparisons: likewise, similarly…

PlacePlace: adjacent to, beyond, here, near, opposite…

TimeTime: afterwards, in the meantime, later, meanwhile, soon…

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Show, do not tell:I don’t tell; I don’t explain. I show; I let my characters talk for me. -- Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

Not only a maxim in newsrooms, but one basic rule of good writing

Good writers let the words and the actions of their subjects do the work: (A child killed by a sniper)

The grief-strickengrief-stricken parents wept during the funeral.

The parents wept quietly. Mrs Franklin leaned against her husband for support.

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More guides about “show, don’t tell”• Put good quotes and human interests up high

• Put relevant illustrations or anecdotes up high

• Use concrete nouns and colorful action verbs

• Avoid too much adjectives and adverbs

• Avoid judgments and inferences. Let the facts talk.

• Write simply, clearly, honestly and quickly

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Accuracy of language:• Use words with referents: No vague terms

e.g. progress, freedom, patriotism, big business, militant, radical

• Euphemisms: describe the real, not blunt, blur or distort it e.g. taxes – revenue enhancement unemployment – negative advancement senior citizens, sight deprived

• Always said: as neutral as possible Consult your dictionary before use affirmed, asserted, contended, declared, disclosed, pointed out, shouted, stated or whispered.

• Facts first, words second

• Spelling

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Personal SuggestionPersonal Suggestion

• Read, read while write

• Good story attracts your reader including yourself

• Check your grammar and spelling

• Sober mind

• Critical thinking

• Write to the point (words and facts)

• Practice makes perfect

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Thanks！

Tel ： 010-68597227

Email ： [email protected]

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Seasons Seasons Greetings!Greetings!

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