Writing a News Story

in the Time of Tsismis and

Texting

- Gud am - Every morning, we are

bombarded by text

messages, opinions

and gossips on radio

and TV before we

ever have a chance to

read the newspaper.

Many of us don’t even

read the newspapers

anymore.

Newspaper sales are down

worldwide.

TV, radio and the Internet had taken over.

So what’s the point?

Animator at Work Computers are an important part of many people’s daily lives. Kids use computers to play games and to learn in school. Adults use them at home and in all kinds of work. Liaison Agency/C. Lepetit Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Because of……

TSISMIS (gossip)

News story writing needs to

go with the flow.

Take TSISMIS…

Kapitan (ng) Tsismis “Tsismis attracts people who are:

Famous

Rich

Powerful

If you are neither, hindi ka kakapitan ng kahit ano”

-Ambeth Ocampo

Bakit Sikat ang Tsismis sa Balita?

Impact

Timeliness

Prominence

Proximity suspense filler.wma

“Uy, meron pa”

CONFLICT: The emotional peg of the

story

UNUSUAL NATURE OF AN EVENT:

Out of the ordinary, out of norm. The

odd, the bizarre.

CURRENCY: The interest people

have in the situation or event.

At siyempre…

SHOCK VALUE

suspense filler.wma

suspense filler.wma

suspense filler.wma

NEWS vs TSISMIS Those incidentally are also the features of

a NEWS STORY. But what makes a news

story different from tsismis?

• ACCURATE: All information is verified before it

is used.

• PROPERLY ATTRIBUTED: Information used in

the story should be attributed to news sources.

* BALANCED and FAIR: All sides in a controversy

are given in one telling

So How Do We Become News

Writers Compared to

Gossipmongers

BE CLEAR

CORRECT

CONCISE

COHESIVE

COMPLETE

CONVERSATIONAL

CREDIBLE

CONSISTENT

COMFORTABLE

CAPTIVATING

But first

You should have an IDEA on WHAT to WRITE about

Information Gathering

Seeing is Believing

The Art of Interview

Research

Good writing begins with good reporting.

The writer must find the details that reveal meaning. You can’t write writing; you have to HAVE FACTS.

Structure

After gathering information,

hold off. Decide how all that info

should be put together, what sort

of order should best convey the

data and the ESSENCE to the

reader. You should make sense of

the mess, bring the reader into and

then through the subject and

provide a logical arrangement.

Structure

The traditional structure for news story is

the INVERTED PYRAMID

details

secondary /

support lead

primary lead

Inverted Pyramid

less

impor-

tant

info

next most

important

most important info

Chronological

A narrative is

chronological.

Even with

flashbacks, you

offer a series of

events or

happenings that

become

consecutive.

Hourglass

A story that begins as

an inverted pyramid or

spiral then turns into a

chronology is called the

hourglass. It gives you

the flexibility of moving

through information in

two complimentary

ways.

And now, the writing begins…

“Writing is easy. All you do is sit at the typewriter until drops of blood appear on your forehead.” - Red Smith, sportswriter

“Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don’t have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough.” - Stephen King

“A man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly to it.” - Samuel Johnson

“Doctors bury their mistakes. Lawyers hang them. But journalists put them on the front page.” - Anonymous

“In America, the president reigns for four years, but journalism governs forever.” - Oscar Wilde

Show, not Tell

• “ We saw the sea sucked away by heaving of the earth…a fearful black cloud forked with great tongues of fire lashed at the heavens and torrents of ash began to pour from the sky.”

• “Although it was daytime, we were enveloped by night – not a moonless night or one dimmed by cloud – but the darkness of a sealed room without light.”

Show, not Tell

Telling is easy, but it keeps the reader

distant from the subject.

Showing is hard, but it keeps the

reader close.

They immerse the reader.

Nouns, Verbs and Details

Write with Nouns and Verbs.

Use details but don’t overwhelm your

readers with too much material. Know

which facts are helpful and which get

in the way. A news story is not a

textbook.

Quotes

Use QUOTES to give the reader a

sense of closeness to the subject,

a feeling of being something

special. But don’t permit the strong

quotes to get lost in a sea of weak

ones.

Leads

A LEAD is like a

MINISKIRT

It should be SHORT enough to be INTERESTING, but LONG enough to COVER the ESSENTIALS.

A LEAD SHOULD:

- attract attention

- establish the subject

- set the tone

- guide or bridge into the article

Lead and Subject

The SUBJECT determines the LEAD. The lead should develop out of your growing command of the subject matter

There’s NO one way to BEGIN a STORY

Make the lead WORK for you

Leads • 5 W’s and an H

• Grammatical-beginning leads

- subject noun, causal clause, conditional clause, concessive clause, temporal clause, infinitive phrase, participial phrase, prepositional phrase, noun clause, gerund

• Unconventional / Unorthodox / Novelty

- punch, background, quotation, question, descriptive, contrast, literary, parody, atmosphere, suspended interest, direct address, staccato, etc.

Endings

Finish strong. Endings should leave the

readers satisfied, giving a sense of

completion.

A number of techniques to open your story

can be used to close them: mood setting,

description, quotation, etc.

ETHICS IN THE MEDIA

PROFESSION

RULES TO FOLLOW

FOR NEWSPAPERS, INCLUDING

CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY PAPERS,

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE RULES

TO FOLLOW IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN

ETHICAL STANDARDS IN THE

PROFESSION

1. OBSCENITY is AGAINST THE

LAW. It will not serve your

readers unless your publication is

patterned after “Playboy” or

“Oui” magazine.

2. Stick to OBJECTIVE and

UNBIASED REPORTS. The

newspaper should always remain

fair and accurate if it hopes to

gain readers’ confidence.

3. DO NOT PRINT PICTURES THAT WILL OFFEND ORDINARY READER’S TASTE OR SENSIBILITY. Examples are photos of decapitated bodies or of nude women who have been raped. If you have to report about rapes or assaults on women, use them but skip the lurid details. To protect the victim, she should not be identified nor her photo published.

4. DO NOT PLAY AROUND WITH YOUR STORIES. Stories should be serious and should not be vulgar or flippant.

5. A PERSON IS ALWAYS INNOCENT

UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY BY COURT.

Call him a SUSPECT but never a criminal

or a murderer when the case against him

is still being heard.

A JOURNALIST’S CODE OF ETHICS

I shall scrupulously report and interpret the news, taking care not to distort the truth by omission or improper emphasis. I recognize the duty to air the other side and the duty to correct substantive errors promptly.

I shall not violate confidential information on the material given me in the exercise of my calling.

I shall resort only to fair and honest

methods in my effort to obtain news,

photographs and / or documents and shall

properly identify myself as a

representative of the press when

obtaining any personal interview intended

for publication.

I shall refrain writing reports which will

adversely affect a private reputation

unless the public interest justifies it. At the

same time, I shall fight vigorously for

public access to information, as provided

for in the Constitution.

I shall not let personal motives or

interests influence me in the performance

of my duties, nor shall I accept or offer any

present, gift or other consideration of a

nature which may cast doubt on my

professional integrity.

I shall not commit any act of plagiarism.

I shall not in any manner ridicule, cast

aspersion on, or degrade any person by

reason of sex, creed, religious belief,

political conviction, cultural and ethnic

origin.

I shall presume persons accused of

crime of being innocent unless proven

otherwise. I shall exercise caution in

publishing names of minors and women

involved in criminal cases so that they may

not unjustly lose their standing in the

society.

I shall not take advantage of a fellow journalist.

I shall accept only such tasks as are compatible with the integrity and dignity of my profession, invoking the “conscience” clause when duties imposed on me conflict with the voice of my conscience.

I shall comport myself in public or while

performing my duties as a journalist in

such manner as to maintain the dignity of

my profession. When in doubt, decency

should be my watchword.

Thank You!