How to Write a News Story:  the lead

     The lead - that is, the first dozen or so words - carries 90 percent of the burden of the whole story.  Since your first purpose is to get the reader interested and involved, you must tell at once what is most important, most newsworthy, most unusual.  The lesser facts can follow.
     Leads are not easy to write.  You must think about all the facts you have gathered, then ask yourself:  What is the main news? What is the most important and most recent? What has just happened to make this worth writing about? How can I summarize it in as few words as possible?
     The standard news lead, then, is a quick summary of what the story is all about. It is usually only one sentence and never more than one paragraph.

I.  First things first

     The summary lead or standard news lead is still the most common type.  Decide what is the most important fact in answering the who, what, where, when, how and sometimes why, and build your lead around them so that the most important fact is first.
     In deciding which fact to put first, remember that names make news, and readers want to know 'what happened?'  Usually, therefore, the who or the what will come first.  After sorting out your facts and writing your lead sentence to emphasize the most important ones, follow at once with the others.

II.  Be short

     Some say a lead should be no longer than 29 words; others say no more than four typed lines.  If you've written more than four lines, try cutting some words.  Always write in active rather than passive voice.

III.  Other kinds of leads

• Quotation - if you start with a quote, be sure it is short and informative and that it summarizes the news adequately. 
• Question - make it brief and provocative
• Most other types of leads are generally more appropriate for features, interviews, humorous or suspended-interest stories.

How to Write a News Story:  the body

     Most news stories are written in inverted pyramid form.  The lead is at the top, the 'heaviest' part.  Then the other facts follow in descending order of importance, all the way to the least important fact, which makes the bottom point of the pyramid.  This is called writing in logical order, starting with the most essential facts, then giving supporting details to explain the lead, then continuing with additional facts or incidents, down to the most expendable, which come last.
     When you finish presenting all your facts, in logical order, stop.  News stories do not end with summaries or conclusions.
     Very occasionally you will want to use narrative style, and write the body of the story in chronological order.  Your lead should still summarize the most important, recent events; then tell the whole story in chronological order, start to finish.  This format is effective when you have a strong story line and are reporting dramatic events such as accidents, fires or sports.
     Each paragraph in the story should incorporate a complete thought and should not depend on the next paragraph to explain it.  And it should be possible for the reader to stop after any paragraph and still have an intelligible, complete story. 

How to Write a News Story:  interviewing

1. Use the phone to find your best source(s)
2. Explain at once who you are and why you want the interview
3. Read up on your subject and learn enough about it so you won't annoy the person you're interviewing by asking obvious questions
4. Write out your questions in advance.  Even if you don't refer to them during the interview this helps you organize and plan.  Don't hesitate to deviate from your list of questions if your source says something that opens up a new subject or train of thought that is pertinent to your story.
5. Take notes, as many as you can without losing track of what is being said.
6. Take as many direct quotes as you can - more than you need.
7. Take notes on your subject's appearance, mannerisms, surroundings and dress, for use in descriptive phrases or sentences in your story.
8. Your questions should be specific, not general.  Ask "why" to draw out more facts and news.
9. Save the tough questions for last
10. Read over your notes as soon as possible after the interview and amplify them to make them legible while your memory is fresh.
11. Check back with your source only if you're in doubt about the accuracy of your notes or quotes.  Otherwise you should not ask or allow the interviewee to read your draft.

How to Write a News Story:  feature stories

A feature differs from a straight news story in two main respects:  One, it need not have a news 'peg' - that is, need not report a currently newsworthy event.  It is usually interesting for other qualities, such as human interest, humor, the excitement of a true-life adventure, pathos, drama, informativeness, etc.  Two, it has no standard format, and would seldom start with a summary lead or be written in inverted pyramid form.  Format is often chronological, and there should be a neat satisfying ending - unlike the straight news story, which has no summary or conclusion or tagline.

But the feature does have two things in common with the news story - it is based on fact, and it must be personally researched by the writer - not rewritten from someone else's published story.  The overall difference is that the news story informs, the feature entertains.  Though a feature gives you more freedom than a straight news story, it does not permit you to inject your own opinions or editorialize, you are still required to stick to the facts.  Nor does it mean you can indulge in wordiness.  Good features are as tightly written as good news stories.

Pointers:

• have an overall theme
• be specific
• use action verbs
• use devices to liven it up; quotations, little stories, humorous descriptions, startling facts, suspense
• involve the reader by using 'you'
• in your conclusion, return to the theme of your lead

How to Write a News Story:  objectivity, fairness and accuracy

Traditionally American journalism has prided itself on adherence to high standards in these areas.  Lately there has been a trend toward frankly opinionated reporting, or what is known as 'advocacy' journalism.  This is fine, if the reader realizes ahead of time that an editorial point of view may be expressed or implied in what purport to be news stories.  However, in most of the country's newsrooms objectivity is still the ideal.  So is the related quality of fairness, or telling both sides.

Be objective - keep your personal opinion out of your story.  First, don't use "I" or "me" in your writing.  Similarly, avoid "you" in newswriting, since it assumes a dialogue between reporter and reader (this doesn't apply to feature stories).

"In advance" news stories about campus events and activities, it is sometimes hard to be objective you yourself wish to promote the event - or if the person you interview about it urges you to promote it. 

BAD:  The team really needs our support so everybody come out next Friday and show them we're behind them.

This implies the use of "you".  A good way to get around it is to use a quote from someone with a statement about the event, such as:

BETTER:  "There's room for 150 spectators in the bleachers," said Coach Samuels.  "Since this is the last game of the season, I sure hope they'll be filled up."

Be fair - especially in reporting controversial, emotion-charged events.  The only place where anyone connected with the paper may properly express an opinion about the right or wrong of a situation is the editorial page.

Be accurate - don't guess - at facts, quotations, spelling of names, figures, titles, etc.  If you have the slightest doubt, CHECK!    Don't report rumors as facts.  Chase down the source.  If you can't substantiate it, leave it out.  If you can, but it's not generally know or might be disputed, be sure to attribute it - tell who you source was and include a good quote.