News Writingfor Readers

News Writing

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News Writing for Readers

The essence:Treat facts with respect.Waste no words.Engage, don’t bore.Make sense.

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Good writing is any piece of writing that makes the reader want to keep reading.

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What makes you keep reading?

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Seaside High has new extracurricular clubs to cater to the interests and educational pursuits of its students.Or this?WCHS Radio has a new and upcoming project created by Mr. Pichardo.

DOES THIS MAKE YOUWANT TO READ THE STORY?

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But what about this?

Cookie bakers, green thumbs and thrill-seekers can share their secrets through new clubs this year.

Listening to WCHS radio is about to get weird. Students created their own “sound poems” to tell stories without words, and each day, listeners will be asked to guess and tweet what they just heard.

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Be specific. ■ Don’t write generalizations.■ Ask lots of questions to get the details.■ Listen for vignettes, anecdotes, the telling details.■ Never fill in the blanks in your reporting. Ask more questions.

What’s the difference?

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Who will read this?

What will I tell them?

Think

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Don’t make your readers work to figure out what the story is about. Use the summary lead.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

Know what you are writing about. Don’t start writing until you can tell someone the basics of the story in a sentence or two.

Get to the point. Stick to the point.

■Be sure what you write is something people will read. Use the “Rule of Eight” news values.■Insist that your story reveals something new.■Surprise your reader.

Follow these basic rules for good news writing … *

News shouldn’t be boring

1.Correct2.Complete3.Consistent4.Concise5.Clear6.Coherent

*Adapted from the Missouri Group: Professors George Kennedy, Daryl Moen and Don Ranly

The 6C’s of news writing

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■Sloppiness is your enemy. ■Get people’s names right, spelled correctly.■Dates, times, places are simple, and you’ll look stupid if you’re wrong about them. ■Get events in the right order.■Say it right, too. Incorrect grammar is an embarrassment.

Be correct

THIS

Britney Spears looked like any other dedicated mother dressed in a track suit to cheer on her son Jayden during an early morning soccer game on Saturday, Nov. 2.

NOT THIS

Brittany Speers looked like any other dedicated mother dressed in sweatpants to cheer on her son Jaden during an early morning soccer game on Saturday, Nov. 1. *

For instance

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■Remember the 5W’s and H and make sure you know them all for each story.

■Cover all sides or perspectives.

■If an editor or peer reader asks you a question about your story that you can’t answer, go find out.

Be complete

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■Start and stay in third person (he, she, it, they). ■Use active voice (who did what to whom).■Match your style to the subject. Don’t be funny or informal about a serious topic and don’t be too serious about something fun.■Use AP Style.

Be consistent (tone, style, voice)

For instance …

THIS

The class president spoke. The graduates fidgeted. But finally the principal stepped up to call names and award diplomas.

NOT THIS

The class president spoke and graduates were fidgeting. But finally our names were called and the principal awarded our diplomas.

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■Wordiness is your enemy. Say it in as few words as possible.■Use short sentences. Avoid run-ons. Use the period.■Short words, too. (Use, not utilize. Buy, not purchase. School or office, not facility.)■Don’t repeat yourself.

Be concise

THIS

NowSoon

BecauseRoomsStartThey decided.

NOT THIS

At the present timeIn the immediate futureDue toAccommodationsCommenceThey reached a decision. *

For instance

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■Understanding comes first. Explain what you are writing to your mom or your best friend. You can’t write a clear news story if your thinking and understanding of the story is not crystal clear. ■Be precise. Mark Twain said: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is … the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.”

Be clear

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■Be specific. Know what kind of flower, which book, exactly what the smell is. ■Attribute quotes after the first sentence of the quote. ■Use “said,” not any of the other words that mean someone uttered some words. ■Don’t use too many numbers in a sentence. Any more than three confuses readers.

Be clear

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■Write it the way you would tell it.■Express one idea per sentence. ■Keep the subject and verb close together. ■Move logically from thought to thought, using transitions to connect.■Keep it simple.

Be coherent

THIS

People living near coal mines may see damaged land restored to forest and field if new regulations proposed on Tuesday are approved.

NOT THIS

The U.S. Department of the Interior, seeking to curb environmental damage in the nation’s coal fields, on Tuesday proposed new mining regulations designed to halt allegedly widespread misuse of a controversial exemption in a landmark mine reclamation law.

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For instance

And now A few more writing tips from the pros, compiled from many, many years ofnews writing.

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■Adverbs take the energy out of writing.■Adverbs create judgments. They introduce bias. Journalism should strive for balance, not bias.

Use a stronger verb instead.Absolutely.

Apparently …Probably …Likely …Obviously …

Evidently …Possibly …Clearly …Completely …

Find and destroy adverbs

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Chalked up. Stormy relationship.Out of the box.Sound the alarm.Wipe off the map.Level the playing field.Stumbling blockEvery parent’s worst nightmare.

‘Tis the season.Ace in the hole.Needless to say …(then don’t.)

What can you add to the list?

Make a vow: no more cliches

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■Just because you interviewed someone doesn’t mean you have to quote them. You’re the writer. You can paraphrase or use a partial quote instead. Just remember to attribute information and opinions.

■Use quotes to advance the story.

■Avoid “stutter” quotes, in which the quote repeats the transition before it.

Use quotes wisely

Catcher Jane Jones is crazy for softball.

“I just love playing softball,” she said.

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Don’t do this

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■Keep it short (about 15 words). No lead should be more than 30 words.■Use no more than two pieces of punctuation in the lead. One of them is the period at the end of the sentence.■Avoid numbers. Numbers numb. The exception: If a number is the story because it is so shocking or surprising, by all means,use it!

About the lead

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▪Using the name of your school or town. Your readers know where they are.▪ Starting with “The School Board …” or some other boring “who.”▪Adding facts for which you have no source or making things up because you think that’s correct. DO NOT DO THIS!News must be factual and accurate.

No-no for news stories

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▪ Don’t miss the news peg. Get the newest, most important and most interesting information into the first two paragraphs.▪ Don’t miss important information and people. Make sure you have covered all of the various perspectives or sides of an issue. ▪ Don’t stack quotes. Use transitions between each quote. ▪ Don’t end with your own summary. Use a kicker quote.

No-no for news stories

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■Passive uses the verb “to be” in various forms, such as: “there were,” “was taken,” “was done.”

■Find the subject and the verb. Who did what to whom?

■Good reporting is key. If you don’t know who did the action, then you can’t write an active sentence.

Banish passive sentences

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• Choose one student-written article in your paper or another school paper.

• Find and highlight every are, is, were and was in the story.

• Then rewrite one sentence from the article using a strong verb and active voice instead.

An activity

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■Brevity.■Simplicity.■Clarity.■Specificity.■Accuracy.

Remember your reader.

Last words

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