Different definitions of News

1. Newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent events.

2. When a dog bites a man that is not news, but when a man bites a dog that is news.
Charles Anderson Dana, American journalist, editor of New York Tribune. 1819-1897
3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/23/nepal-man-bites-
snake_n_1824854.html

4. Well, news is anything that's interesting, that relates to what's happening in the
world, what's happening in areas of the culture that would be of interest to your
audience.
Kurt Loder, American journalist, b. 1945
5. To a journalist, good news is often not news at all.
Phil Donahue, American entertainer, b. 1935
6. No news is good news.
Ludovic Halevy, French author, 1834-1908

7. [News is] a first rough draft of history.

Philip L. Graham, American publisher, 1915-1963

8. The real news is bad news.

Marshall Mcluhan, Canadian communications theorist, 1911-1980

9. News is what a chap who doesn't care much about anything wants to read. And it's
only news until he's read it. After that it's dead.
Evelyn Waugh, British author, 1903-1966

10. A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself.

Arthur Miller, American writer, 1915-2005

11. If the newspapers of a country are filled with good news, the jails of that country
will be filled with good people.
Daniel Moynihan, American politician and diplomat, 1927-2003

12. In war, truth is the first casualty.

Aeschylus, Greek dramatist, 525 BC - 456BC
Origins for a news story

1. Naturally occurring "events" such as disasters, floods, earthquakes, fires, and airline
crashes are inherently unpredictable and journalists must respond after the fact.
News stories about disasters follow a predictable pattern: early reports, which
frequently over estimate the severity of the disaster, rely on everyday people,
because they’re frequently the only witnesses; later stories, assuming the story is
newsworthy enough to become developing news over several days, tend to rely on
officials – mayors and governors, insurance company representatives, disaster relief
agency officials. This is a way the news becomes routinized.
2. Created and "subsidized" news is more frequent than unpredicted news. It occurs
because a person, group or organization either does something public and
newsworthy and/or seeks press attention. Public relations practitioners participate
in the process of news making.
3. "Enterprise" news is made when journalists act rather than react as they do in a
disaster or tragedy. This is called enterprise news because the editor or reporter
takes the initiative on a story. These can develop from beat coverage and
investigative journalism.

Parts of a news story

News in newspaper is made up of four part.

First , Headline is the title of the story and is similar to topic in general paragraph,
but chosen word must arouse people who read it.
Second part is lead. It is the first sentence in the news story that sum up what,
when, where, who, how and why in news.
Next part is neck. This part contains anything that can't put into lead ,but it is
necessarily.
Last one is body. It contains detail but in particular way than lead. Every news
components cannot have more than one paragraph except body.
 Elements of News
Top ten elements that make a story newsworthy.

1. Timeliness
How recent a story is.
Not all of the story needs to be timely.
2. Proximity
How near to you a story is.
People are generally more interested in stories that are geographically close to
them.
3. Consequence
How many people are impacted by the story.
Examples: new laws, taxes, etc.
4. Prominence
The more famous a person is, the more likely they are to make the news.
If you and the president both went to lunch, only the president would make the
news.
5. Drama
The more movie-like a story is, the more newsworthy it is.
Whenever life and death hang in the balance, it is news
6. Oddity
Whenever strange things happen, it will make the news.
It can also occur with events that only happen once every great while.
7. Conflict
Whenever there are two opposing side to an issue.
This can also be taken literally… a fight or argument.
8. Emotions
People love reading stories that play on emotion.
“Awwwwww” factor
9. Sex
Should always be reported in a mature manner.
Deals with marriage, divorce, dating, etc.
10. Progress
Any new discovery or helpful invention can make the news.
This can also be a timely update on a long-standing project.
Don’t forget!
The more of these elements you combine, the more newsworthy a story is.
Rarely will a story just have one element if it is on the front page.
What makes a story newsworthy?

Information arrives in the newsroom from a wide range of sources minute by minute. A
news editor cannot report all this material, so he must be selective and filter out
information that is not newsworthy. Because he is in competition with other news outlets,
he highlights only those stories he considers to be of greatest interest to his readers or
audience.
Reports, which are interesting and newsworthy, are distinguished by a broadly agreed set
of characteristics called ‘’news values’’. These values provide journalists with a mechanism
to sort through quickly, process and select the news from that vast amount of information
made available to them.
In practice, when a journalist makes a judgment as to whether a story has the necessary
ingredients to interest his readers, he will decide informally on the basis of his experience
and intuition, rather than actually ticking off a checklist. Even so, many studies of news
production show that most of these factors are consistently applied across a range of print,
broadcast, and online news organisations worldwide.

News values as ethical standards

• Some news organisations use the term 'News Values' to describe a different concept:
the ethical standards expected of journalists in their work.
• These ground rules spell out the good practice journalists should apply as they
gather and process news stories. They are simply a code of ethics or canons of good
and responsible journalism. These guidelines attempt to ensure the integrity of the
journalist and guarantee the reliability of the news story. Both professional
journalism associations and individual news organisations often make these rules
freely available so that the public may know what to expect from their journalists.
• The Associated Press state their commitment to so-called news values, such as not
plagiarising, misidentifying nor misrepresenting themselves to get a story, nor
paying newsmakers for interviews, avoiding conflicts of interest that may
compromise accuracy, and maintaining their commitment to fairness.

Types of News Stories

Hard News Vs. Soft News

News stories are basically divided into two types: hard news and soft news. Hard new
generally refers to up-to-the-minute news and events that are reported immediately, while
soft news is background information or human-interest stories.
Politics, war, economics and crime used to be considered hard news, while arts,
entertainment and lifestyles were considered soft news.
But increasingly, the lines are beginning to blur. Is a story about the private life of a
politician “politics” or “entertainment”? Is an article about the importance of investing
early for retirement a “business” story or a “lifestyle” story? Judging solely on subject
matter, it can be difficult to tell.
One difference between hard and soft news is the tone of presentation. A hard news story
takes a factual approach: What happened? Who was involved? Where and when did it
happen? Why?
A soft news story tries instead to entertain or advise the reader. You may have come across
newspaper or TV stories that promise “news you can use.” Examples might be tips on how
to stretch properly before exercising, or what to look for when buying a new computer.
Knowing the difference between hard and soft news helps you develop a sense of how
news is covered, and what sorts of stories different news media tend to publish or
broadcast. This can be important when you want to write articles or influence the media
yourself.

News values as ethical standards

• Some news organisations use the term 'News Values' to describe a different concept:
the ethical standards expected of journalists in their work.
• These ground rules spell out the good practice journalists should apply as they
gather and process news stories. They are simply a code of ethics or canons of good
and responsible journalism. These guidelines attempt to ensure the integrity of the
journalist and guarantee the reliability of the news story. Both professional
journalism associations and individual news organisations often make these rules
freely available so that the public may know what to expect from their journalists.
• The Associated Press state their commitment to so-called news values, such as not
plagiarising, misidentifying nor misrepresenting themselves to get a story, nor
paying newsmakers for interviews, avoiding conflicts of interest that may
compromise accuracy, and maintaining their commitment to fairness.

The BBC lists the following values:

• Not plagiarism
• Not misrepresenting themselves to get a story
• Avoid conflicts of interest that may compromise accuracy
• Truth and accuracy
• Impartiality and diversity of opinion
• Editorial integrity and independence
• Serving the public interest
• Fairness
• Balancing the right to report with respect for privacy
• Balancing the right to report with protection of the vulnerable
• Safeguarding children
• Being accountable to the audience
Factors that modify news value
• Newspaper Policy
– Owner or publisher may decide certain items/viewpoints. censorship
• Reader Interest
– The Wall Street Journal, USA Today
• Space Limitations
– Depends on no. of pages, program duration, advertisements
• Advertiser Pressure
– Threat to withhold advertisements, e.g. pesticides, beverages, telecom
companies
• Legal Restrictions
– Libelous, obscene, invasion of privacy, violation of standards of good taste.
Needs to be carefully discussed and write prior to being printed
• Relationship to previously-published news stories
– Ongoing stories, with each development needs to be reported.
– Follow-up , promise made or action proposed
• Relationship to other news of the day
– On a slow news day, local festival
• Attitudes of reporters toward particular subjects
– It is better to write story and let the readers decide.
BASIC APPROACH TO NEWS
The 5Ws and 1H of news writing

There is a very simple formula to news writing and the secret lies in the 5Ws and 1H.

For readers or listeners to get a full and complete understanding of the news you have to
make sure your news report answers the following 5W and 1H questions:

Who or Whom is it about or has happened to

What is happening or happened

Where is it happening or did it happen

When is it happening or did it happen

Why is it happening or did it happen

How is it happening or did it happen

The 5Ws and 1H questions are the main ingredients for all news reports as they contain all
the facts that you will need for your news article. Therefore, these are the key questions you
must ask if you are gathering information for a news article or bulletin. It's easy to
understand how important these questions are to a news report if you remove one or more
of them. Think of a news item you have read, seen or heard recently. It would obviously be
lacking something quite obvious if you didn’t know where the news had happened or
when it happened, for instance. On saying that however, it isn't always possible to get all
the questions answered in the first hit, especially if it’s breaking news. An initial TV or radio
bulletin of news ‘as it happens’ might be missing quite a few of the main ingredients to give
the audience the complete story, but through on-going updates and subsequent news
reports the journalist should eventually answer all the 5Ws and 1H questions. So as a
journalist it will be your responsibility to get answers to the 5Ws and 1H questions so that
your audience gets a complete and full understanding of the news. You might be able to get
all the answers fairly quickly or it might take weeks, months or even longer, but as a good
journalist you should never forget to report news updates and the final full story, however
long after the initial news report.Applying the 5W1H framework to other types of writing
or investigation takes some interpretation. The order in which the answers to the
questions are presented may vary, but the "what" is usually addressed first.

What
In journalism, the "what" identifies an event and is often stated in the "lead (or
lede)," the first paragraph of a news story. The "what" is the primary subject, the reason the
information is being gathered and presented. Apart from journalism, it may be stated in a
title and in a purpose statement. The "what" may need to be defined, a process that may
comprise the remainder of a document.

Who
A news story identifies who an event involves. The "who" may be part of the lede,
and could be the reason the story is news worthy. In other contexts, the "who" identifies
the person(s) or group(s) the "what" concerns. It might describe the audience of a
document, or those who are affected by a policy, process or procedure.

When
A key part of a news story is describing when an event happened. Answering the "when"
indicates any time-sensitivity related to the "what." It may be part of an instruction
regarding the proper point at which an action should be taken. Sometimes it may be part of
an "If...then" scenario of conditional action.

Where
A news story reports the location at which an event took place. The "where" describes a
geographical or physical location of importance to the "what." At times, the where may be
less important than other factors.

Why
The "why" is usually the most neglected of the questions in the framework. News stories
often lack information from authoritative sources to explain the "why." In other contexts,
the "why" may be considered irrelevant, particularly when describing a policy or procedure
decreed by an organizational authority. Efforts to determine and explain the "why" may
help those affected be more accepting of any change the "what" requires.

How
For journalists, determining how an event took place may be nearly as challenging
as explaining the "why," although more effort is usually put into satisfying the
question. When describing policies, processes or procedures, the "how" may be the most
important part of the effort. A considerable appetite for understanding how to do
something can be found across audiences. Sometimes effort focuses on the "what" when
more work might be devoted to explaining the "how."

Conclusion
The 5W1H framework can be applied to any topic at any level of granularity to
gather, analyze and present information from the simplest to the most complex.
Types of Journalism

The general field of journalism has become specialized with various types of writing,
depending on the audience and motives of the writers. Distinctions are also made to
separate various journalism genres as categories of writing. Some types include:

 Advocacy journalism - writing to advocate particular viewpoints or influence

the opinions of the audience.
 Broadcast journalism - writing or speaking which is intended to be distributed
by radio or television broadcasting, rather than only in written form for readers.
 Investigative journalism - writing which seeks to add extra information to
explain, or better describe the people and events of a particular topic.
 Tabloid journalism - writing which uses opinionated or wild claims.
 Yellow journalism (or sensationalism) - writing which emphasizes exaggerated
claims or rumors.
 Fashion journalism: Fashion journalism is all about articles or reports related
to the fashion world. Journalists are also known as fashion writers or fashion
editors. The primary job is to cover the latest in the fashion business or develop
lifestyle articles. Such fashion articles can be found in magazines and
newspapers. Today, there are many television channels that cater only to
fashion, which gives ample opportunity for journalists who have a passion to
cover such topics.
 News journalism: Here, the primary aim of the journalist is to report news in a
straight-forward manner that covers all the required facts. The style is direct
with focus on the gist of the story with other necessary points. The news style
should be concise and precise. The facts must be crosschecked which makes the
news item as authentic as possible without any media bias. Here, the news story
can be for the print media, television, radio, etc. Such news pieces often cover
politics and social movements. News stories based on political suppression,
public movements or abuse of human rights have proved instrumental in
effecting many a social change, or giving voice to the oppressed. Similarly,
cultural events are also covered in news journalism.
 Celebrity journalism: As the name suggests, the journalist is connected to news
and events related to celebrities from the entertainment world and also includes
celebrities from other fields such as music, sports, dance, art, politics, etc. This
journalism is all about news that is related to their professional and personal
life. Reporting gossip is one of the angles of celebrity journalism, wherein
journalists are often accused of misconstruing news or quotes in a deliberate
fashion. This journalism is particularly popular with newspapers, magazines and
television.
 Investigative journalism: This type of journalism is about unearthing facts and
studying cases that may require more efforts, which can take months or even
years. Journalists who specialize in investigative journalism create headlines
with news that expose scandals. Sometimes, persistent follow-up of a story
proves beneficial to uncover some hitherto unsolved cases. This would require
in-depth research from the journalist along with evidence.
  Sports journalism: Here, journalists spend hours reporting on a particular
sport event. A journalist has to report the accurate facts and statistics related to
that event. Interviews with celebrity sport stars are yet one of the interesting
features of sports journalism. Although sports-lovers watch the live coverage
thanks to the media, there are many people who still enjoy reading or watching
in-depth details about the event.
 Citizen journalism: Here, it is not the professional journalists who are
responsible for the news reports. Any citizen can participate and report news to
the media. He/she collects and reports news to the media and participates
voluntarily to offer help to the media. They bring to notice issues that may have
been missed by media houses.
 Environmental journalism: There are many journalists who prefer to cover
issues related to the environment and its protection and conservation.
Environmental journalists may only report about the news while some work for
a cause.
 Business and finance journalism: Here, the journalist or reporter covers in-
depth reports about the latest in business, launch of products, stock markets etc.
There are many shows dedicated only for business news on television whereas
in newspapers, one can find a special section dedicated to this subject.
 Multimedia Journalism

This is the newest field of journalism and also the fastest-growing. Multimedia
journalism can encompass all the fields listed above because a web page can have a
written story, still photos, video, and audio. Multimedia journalists are encouraged
to have a wide set of storytelling abilities, as well as highly defined technical skills.

 Photojournalism

Photojournalists are different from traditional photographers in that they are more
interested in capturing images that tell a story than ones that just look nice.
Photojournalists are generally highly-trained photographers who may have worked
in a traditional photography medium like wedding photography before transitioning
into journalism.

 White Journalism (Not giving equal representation to minorities and not hiring
minority journalists to their capabilities in the newsroom)
 Yellow journalism, or the yellow press, is a type of journalism that presents little
or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to
sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events,
scandal-mongering, or sensationalism.
 Purple Journalism (In literary criticism, purple prose is prose text that is so
extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw excessive attention to
itself. Purple prose is characterized by the extensive use of adjectives, adverbs, and
metaphors.)
 Envelope journalism (also envelopmental journalism, is a colloquial term for the
practice of bribing corrupt journalists for favorable media coverage.
 Data journalism is a journalism specialty reflecting the increased role that
numerical data is used in the production and distribution of information in the
digital era. It reflects the increased interaction between content producers
(journalist) and several other fields such as design, computer science and statistics.
From the point of view of journalists, it represents "an overlapping set of
competencies drawn from disparate fields"
 Mobile journalism is an emerging form of new media storytelling where reporters
use portable electronic devices with network connectivity to gather, edit and
distribute news from his or her community
 Non-profit journalism (NPJ), also known as a not-for-profit journalism or think
tank journalism) is the practice of journalism as a non-profit organization instead of
a for-profit business. NPJ groups are able to operate and serve the public good
without the concern of debt, dividends and the need to make a profit. Just like all
non-profit organizations, NPJ outfits depend on private donations and or foundation
grants to pay for operational expenses. E.g. www.propublica.org,
http://www.icfj.org/, www.pildat.org, www.gallup.com.pk, reporters without
borders (RWB) or Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), Center for Investigative
Journalism (CIJ),Poynter, Associated Press, Knight Foundation, Institute of Non
Profit News.
 Backpack journalism is an emerging form of journalism that requires a journalist
to be a reporter, photographer, and videographer, as well as an editor and producer
of stories.
 Pack journalism is the characterization of news reporting in which reporters from
different news outlets collaborate to cover the same story, leaving news reporting
homogenous.
 Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of
objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first-person
narrative.
 Immersive Journalism is a form of journalism production that allows first person
experience of the events or situations described in news reports and documentary
film. Using 3D gaming and immersive technologies that create a sense of "being
there" and offer the opportunity to personally engage with a story, immersive
journalism puts an audience member directly into the event. By accessing a virtual
version of the location where the story is occurring as a witness/participant, or by
experiencing the perspective of a character depicted in the news story, the audience
could be afforded unprecedented access to the sights and sounds, and even the
feelings and emotions, which accompany the news.
 Comics journalism, or Graphic journalism, is a form of journalism that covers
news or non-fiction events using the framework of comics – a combination of words
and drawn images.
 Comedic journalism is a new form of journalism, popularized in the twenty-first
century, that incorporates a comedic tone to transmit the news to mass audiences,
using humour and/or satire to relay a point in news reports.
 Community journalism is locally-oriented, professional news coverage that
typically focuses on city neighborhoods, individual suburbs or small towns, rather
than metropolitan, state, national or world news.
 Online Journalism
Journalists today, try new tactics that are very different from the methods used by
reporters earlier. Often, journalists are accused of aggressive reporting and media
sensationalism, which is a serious issue. The Internet has also provided a medium
for people to voice their opinions online. News written for the web is updated
minute-by-minute which is referred to as online journalism. Besides, implicit faith of
people in the news items has introduced a new form of advertising, i.e. advertorials.
In this, advertisers merge their product content in the guise of an article for brand
promotion and marketing of products.

A keen news sense and creativity to present the news in an effective manner are
obviously the main ingredients in any kind of journalism. After all, it’s all about how
you put into words to create an impact that makes a journalist stand apart from
ordinary reporters!
Pitch Document

Pitch

It is an idea of a news story that a reporter presents for approval to the News Editor or Chief
Reporter of his/her organization. The story should be newsworthy and contain maximum news
elements to further investigate and cover in a specified time period.

Pitch Statement

Pitch statement of a news story describes the issue in simple words. It is an introductory paragraph
that does not necessarily has to answer 5ws and 1h. However, its word count can be similar to a
lede i.e. 20-40. It is not a headline or lede and should not be dealt in that manner.

Primary Character

The subject of the story around which the whole story revolves e.g. an acid attack victim,
murderer or victim, corrupt politician.
Primary character also depends on your treatment of the story e.g. in this particular story,
“Gen Bajwa assures Naqeebullah's father of army's support in quest for justice .” In
this story, the primary character is Gen Bajwa due to his prominent position. If the
headline treatment was different i.e. “Naqeebullah’s father demands justice from
COAS” then the primary character would be the father.

Secondary Characters

Other characters involved in the story. e.g. in the story, “FIA arrests 'fake pir' in Haripur for assaulting,
blackmailing women,” fake pir is the primary character whereas FIA and blackmailed women are
secondary characters.

Other Sources

Newsmakers, spokespeople, experts, official records, reference material, ordinary people,

eyewitnesses etc. The source belongs to the news organization. This section contains the name,
designation, and contact information of the source.

Name: ___________________

Designation: ____________________

Organization: _____________________

Contact Information: Ph.

Address.

Email.
Overview

Background of the case, references of similar cases, relevant reports/ surveys by national and
international bodies, statistics etc.

Examples of pitch story:

Press Conference Of Petrol Prices Rises by 20%.

 A laugh shattered the walls of conference room when a reporter commented “Bus stops are
in full bloom because people have locked in their Vehicles due to over whelming petrol
prices.”
 Silence broke... One of the Journalists, Mustafa outcry during press conference after hearing
20% rise in Petrol prices.
 Inflation or Motor bike took life of a teenager??? Mansoor, 18 years old committed suicide
after being scolded by his father on not to use motor bike. This happened when the press
conference was in process.
 Optimism and faith are fighting at their last stages. Immense increase in petrol prices has
adversely affected the house hold budgets. Shaukat and his wife Zubaida are these days in
thoughts of selling their car to meet their daily needs.
 Heat and Inflation causes fights on roads. Conductors and passengers had fought at different
parts of city as a result several got injured.

Governor’s Court Of Commoners: -

 On governor’s order a quick action was taken by Wapda officials and they visited house of
Mujahid Sheikh on his complaint of his electricity being stolen by some shopkeepers of his
area.
 Inspector was dismissed on indecent acts. Ghulam Rasool;father of four, complaint that
women of his house are mall treated by areas police inspector on their way to college.
 Are they for us or against us? This question is on every Pakistani’s tongue, people are afraid
of agencies. This was seen when a woman came and scene and complaint about her missing
son who was taken away by agencies 4 years ago and never returned. That scene showed
the powerlessness of the Governor.
 Every eye has a story. The walls of Governor House shivered when an elderly woman
entered the hall with her 18 year old daughter in a miserable condition. She said my
daughter’s limbs have been broken by her husband because she dint bring in dowry. I want
justice.
 Governor’s kind heartedness astounded every one present. An old man was not given his
pansion for the last 2 years. Governor took control of his all expenses, ordered to give all his
pansion to him as early as possible and discharged the culprits.
Structure of a Newspaper Organization