The Philippine Science High School Way

Prepared by

JERRY M. NOVENOSchool Paper AdviserPSHS Bicol Region Campus

NEWS WRITINGIn Pursuit of Untarnished Truth Since 1964

What is News?

WORLD EXCLUSIVES

News is any event, idea or opinion that is

timely, that interests and affects a large

number of persons in the community, and

that is capable of being understood by them.

Accuracy

It refers to the correctness of

statements, names, figures, and other

information.

Objectivity

The news does not take side and is not

impartial.

Factual

News consists of actual persons and events with nothing invented.

Balance

It gives proper emphasis on each fact in relation to another fact.

Concise

It is short enough to contain the most important facts.

Timely

It is relevant, considering immediacy

or the newest angle

Attribution

It pertains to proper acknowledgment by the news reporter of his/her sources.

Elements of News

What makes news newsworthy?

TIMELINESS

The value of the news depends upon the “newness” or immediacy of the event. Timeliness refers to news being “perishable”.

Conducting a survey on students’ opinion on the rumors on the possibility of a term extension for Pnoy.

Interviewing teachers about their inhibitions over the mother tongue based education

SIGNIFICANCE

How meaningful will the event appear to the receiver of the news? A news story is appealing to the readers, irrespective of their points of origin, if it directly concerns them or has great impact on their lives.

Survey article on students’ high school preferences and their parents’ influences on such preferences

Interview article on parents’ manner of disciplining their children

PROMINENCE

Prominent persons, places, things and situations known to the public by reason of achievement, positions or wealth possess a strong news interest enough to generate readership.

News on the top honor pupil in the batch (motivation, study habits)

News on teachers who have made breakthroughs in their career, like finishing doctorate

News on the school principal’s innovations in administration

HUMAN INTEREST

Stories that speak of accomplishment, love, hate, ambition, fear, jealousy, sympathy, anger, generosity and humor stir considerable reader interest as these appeal to emotions.

What teachers would have been doing if they were not teaching.

Canteen personnel; maintenance personnel

How a physically challenged student manages to top his or her class.

NEGATIVITY

Bad news is good news. Stories about disasters, crimes, personal tragedies and other negative occurrences—especially if unexpected and extensive—are often used as selling point of most newspapers.

CONFLICT

Stories that talk of clashes of interests, conflict among political groups, bloody combats, and even family feud also sell just as easily as stories about tragedies

News on how each batch (class) prepares for the school intramurals

News on pupil government election preparations, how pupils attempt to draw in votes or support from their peers

News on students’ differing opinion regarding educational tours

ODDITY

News reporters should always be on the lookout for extraordinary, unique or extreme occurrences, achievements or even human qualities as these readily spark curiosity among readers.

ANIMALS

Stories about animals, especially those unusual, are also newsworthy.

Realizations about certain animals being used for class discussions.

Survey article on most popular house pet (it may come with an infographic)

SEX (Gender)

Accomplishments of people not typically viewed appropriate by virtue of their gender make it to front page news.

Why there are more boys in school than girls.

Why there are more female students who make it to the honors list.

DEVELOPMENT

Any progress like putting up of schools, building of bridges, and similar signs of progress are also good news items.

The implementation of K-12 curriculum Partnership with the outside community. New policies on the use of electronic

devices in the classroom Acquisition of new equipment for

classroom use

NUMBER

Sweepstakes numbers, vital statistics, election results, stories in games, casualties, fatalities, price of goods, and ages of women make good news.

Increase in enrolment Nutritional status of studens Faculty profile (in terms of academic

degree) Students IQ levels (guidance services) Survey on the average number of hours

devoted to sleeping

How to Write a

STORY

Steps to Writing a News Story

List all your facts.• Arrange your facts in a descending order,

or from the most important (or most interesting) to the least important (or least interesting).

• During the writing process, Always put the news at the beginning (lead). Write the lead making sure to play up the most interesting or important points.

Steps to Writing a News Story

• Write the next paragraph or paragraphs presenting the other highlights or answering the questions not answered.

• Add other facts, keeping in mind their descending order of importance.

The Inverted Pyramid Format

Less Important

Facts

Next Most Important Facts

Lead: Most Important Facts

Least Important Information

Components of the inverted pyramid format

Primary or main lead – usually a single paragraph, it contains the four “Ws” (what, who, where, when)

Secondary or support lead – this portion explains or complements the main lead.

Components of the inverted pyramid format

Details or particulars – to give flesh to the story, all available facts are included here especially those that would answer “W” (why) and one “H” (how).

Background – Relevant past events are recounted and incorporated in this portion of the story. This portion may be deleted, if space in the newspaper will not allow, but still the story can stand.

Things to Remember• One idea per sentence; if it cannot be done,

it should not exceed three sentences.• Limiting sentence to not more than 25

words• Arrange paragraphs in the descending order

of importance.• Use strong verbs in active voice.• Reduce difficult words to their simplest

terms.• Choose precise words.• Keep it simple.• Give your source when necessary.

• Show, don’t tell.• Identify all persons.• Keep it objective; avoid editorializing.• Have an angle; play up the dominant

points.• Quote people.• Avoid preaching at the end of the story.• Be accurate and truthful.• Watch out for errors of fact and grammar.

SAMPLE NEWS ITEM

Considerations in Writing the Lead

The lead, or opening paragraph, is the most important part of a news story. With so many sources of information audiences simply are not willing to read beyond the first paragraph (and even sentence) of a story unless it grabs their interest. A good lead does just that. It gives readers the most important information in a clear, concise and interesting manner. It also establishes the voice and direction of an article.

Tips in Writing the Lead

The lead should be a one-sentence paragraph. The less words you use, the more catchy your lead will be.

Ipinahayag ng Bise Presidente ngayong hapon na pinag-usapan ng konseho ng Lungsod ng Makati ang patungkol sa pagtayo ng city hall ng lunsod noong sya pa ang alkalde nito.

The form of the lead sentence is straightforward declarative sentence, usually with the verb in simple past tense: subject-verb-object.

The Saint Agnes’ Academy grade school department is conducting today the annual school-based press conference.

Use the active voice rather than the passive voice; it is more forceful.

A suspension of classes in Albay was announced this morning by Governor Joey Salceda due to the heavy rains affecting most parts of the province.

Governor Joey Salceda announced today a suspension of classes in Albay due to the heavy rains affecting most parts of the province.

Do not forget about the time element. Tell the readers in the lead when the news happened.

The income classification of Goa, Camarines Sur has jumped from second class to first class, Mayor Antero Lim said.

The income classification of Goa, Camarines Sur has jumped from second class to first class, Mayor Antero Lim said on Monday.

Do not clutter up the lead with adjectives and adverbs.

Applied physics professor Rodel General finally passed and joined the Lord on that gloomy Monday morning at the age of 55, following a long, courageous battle with cancer.

Physics professor Rodel General died of cancer on Monday. He was 55.

The lead should be simple, brief, compact, vigorous, attractive, and should shoot straight into the reader’s attention.

Campus Director Elsie Ferrer has issued today a circular warning the faculty members to inhibit from PSHS National Competitive Examination (PSHS-NCE) review.

News Lead Writing Workshop

Every Monday, scholars and employees gather in front of the admin building for the flag rites.

After the flag rites on Monday, the school principal, Elsie Ferrer, made a very important announcement.

It was about the security guard’s report about students going out of the campus for lunch. The students come back to school 15 minutes late.

The announcement was that the students will no longer be allowed to go out of the campus.

The family of Cristina Mendoza was grief-stricken. She was 51 years old and died of a heart attack last week. She left a husband and four children. Because her death was so sudden and unexpected, an autopsy had to be performed before the funeral last Saturday. It was a big funeral, costing more than Php50,000. More than 100 friends and relatives were in attendance during the funeral. Today, the family received an apologetic call from the medical examiner. Mrs. Mendoza’s body is still in the morgue. The body they buried was that of a woman whose corpse had been unclaimed for a month. The error was discovered after the medical examiners office realized the month-old corpse had disappeared. Someone probably misread an identifying tag, they said. Also, the family never viewed the remains, they kept the casket closed throughout the wake. A relative said, "We went through all the pain and everything, all over the wrong body, and now we have to go through it again."

Maraming mga guro sa English sa mga junior at senior high school sa ilang private schools sa Manila ay pinagbabasa ang kanilang mga mag-aaral ng "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Ang nasabing aklat ay isinulat ni Mark Twain. Ayun sa mga kritiko ng libro, kasama na ang ibang mga magulang, ang nasabing aklat ay dapat na ipagbawal sa lahat ng paaralan dahil ito ay racist (o nagpapalaganap ng diskriminasyon. Matapos marinig ang mga reklamo, nagbigay ng anunsyo si Jose Cepcon, ang Division Superintendent ng Manila, na tanging mga mag-aaral sa ikaapat na taon lamang ang maaaring magbasa ng aklat sa kanilang klase. Sinabi rin ni G. Cepcon na may pananagutan ang mga guro na nagpapabasa ng nasabing aklat na gabayan ang mga mag-aaral sa pagbabasa lalo pa’t sensitibo ang mga nilalaman ng libro. Sinabi rin ni G. Cepcon na kahit na hindi na ituturo ang librong nasabi sa junior high school, ang libro ay maaari pa ring ilagay sa library para sa mga mag-aaral na gustong magbasa nito. Ang anunsyo ay isinagawa sa Division Office Conference Hall noong Lunes. Kasama sa pulong ang mga punong-guro ng iba’t ibang high school sa buong Manila.