Module 1 Chapter 1-1.3 News and Writing The News

College of Education
ENG 116 (CAMPUS JOURNALISM)

1st Semester AY. 2023-2024
Course Facilitator: Dr. Miraluna Sabid
REPORTERS:
Faith Funtecha Allysa Jim Divine D. Berdugo
BSED ENGLISH 3B BSEd ENGLISH 3B
Accredited: Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACCUP)
Member: Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC)
Agricultural Colleges Association of the Philippines (ACAP)
Lesson 1 : News and Writing the News
1.1.News Story
News is defined as any information about an incident, unusual event, place, person or
pronouncement that is new to a certain group of people. Such information can either be
considered news. It must be unexpected or “a break from a normal flow of events.” In other
words, for any information to be called news, it must be unusual, unexpected, and even dramatic.
News writing is an essential skill for journalists. It is writing for publication in a newspaper,
often reporting current events; journalism. It is about telling a story quickly and concisely.
Anyone can learn to do this, with a bit of help.
Characteristics of Good News Story
The characteristics that are discussed below become one’s yardstick to determine whether an
issue is worth publishing or broadcasting.
1. Timeliness or Immediacy . This characteristic of a news item underscores the newest

angle of the story. Note that the more recent the event, the more appealing it is to the
reader.
2. Conflict. The physical and mental struggles of persons are also newsworthy. Example ,
oratorical contest and quiz bees ( mental conflict). Sport events during intramural
(physical conflicts).
3. Proximity or Nearness. Although proximity primarily refers to geographical location, it
likewise means the nearness of interest and appeal. Example, if the CAPSU will have the
writing contest, it is more appealing to tackle about the CAPSU rules rather than talk
about what are courses offered by Filamer.
4. Accuracy. Journalism is anchored on facts. News writing is a journalistic skill. Therefore,
the contents should be accurately reported. Accuracy primarily refers to the factualness of
news as purveyor of truth.
5. Significance. If something is important to the reader, surely he/she will read the news.
Hence, a writer should survey whatever is significant to the life of the target readers and
write about it. Example of highly significant topic in a campus setting are new rules
imposed, amendments to policies, upcoming big events, and etc.
6. Prominence and Names. Popular names can effectuate situations and their acts may be
more interesting to others. Hence, news about these persons can yield a high degree of
newsworthiness, thus becoming more readable than other news. Example, president of
the student body, the principal, and etc.
7. Drama. Since news is also anchored on public interest, writers should bank on any story
that can lead the writers to crying or to laughing. In this way, the news becomes
appealing to the readers. Example, write as story about the Student leader graduated as
Magna Cum Laude.
8. Oddity or Unusualness. A theory explains that when persons are curious about a
phenomenon deviating from a natural course, they will be interested in such a topic or
issue; hence, that topic becomes newsworthy. For example, one may write about a forty-
year-old student who has just graduated; he has just finished his fifth bachelor’s degree in
your college.
9. Romance and Adventure. Stories about love, including adventure, may ignite the taste of
the reading public. This is also me reason why showbiz news continuously booms.
10. Progress. Attaining breakthroughs and achieving scientific discoveries are given much
attention by the readers. Example, progress of the newly constructed building.
11. Numbers. For persuasion, statistics or figures have the power to shake the conviction of
the audience. This is why numbers yield a very strong impact on the reader. Example,
PTA donated 57 computer sets to the school.
Types of News Stories
News stories may fall under any of the following types according to:
1. Scope or origin
• Local news – Report of events that take place within the immediate locality.
• National news – News that takes place within the country.
• Foreign news – News that takes place outside the country.
• Dateline news – News preceded by the date and place of origin or place where it was written or
filed: Tokyo, Jan. 20(AP)
2. Chronology or sequence
• Advance or anticipated -The reporter foretells events expected to occur at a definite time
in the future.
• Spot news – News that is gathered and reporter on the spot. The reporter himself is an
eyewitness to the event that took place.
• Coverage news – News written from a given beat. Both spot news and coverage news
are good examples of first-hand reporting.
• Follow-up news – A sequel to a previous story.
3. Structure
• Straight News – News that consists of facts given straight without embellishment. Its
main aim is to inform.
• News-feature (Featurized news distinguished from a feature article) – It is also based on
facts, but it entertains more than it informs.
4. Treatment
• Fact story – This is a plain exposition setting forth a single situation or a series of
closely related facts that inform. It is written in the inverted pyramid design.
• Action story – A narrative of actions involving not mere simple facts but also of
dramatic events, description of persons and events, perhaps testimony of
witnesses, as well as explanatory data.
• Speech report – A news story usually written from a public address, talks, and
speeches.
• Quote story – Speeches, statements, and letters, and to some extent, interviews
when reported, are regarded as quote stories.
• Interview story – A news report written from an interview.
• Hard news– events, such as killings, city council meetings and speeches by
leading government officials, are timely and are reported almost automatically by
the media.
• Soft news – events, such as a lunch to honor a retiring school custodian or a boy
scouting jamboree are not usually considered immediately important or timely to
a wide audience.
5. Content
• Routine story – celebrations, enrollment, graduation, election stories reported year
in and year out.
• Police reports – accident, fire, calamity, crime stories, etc.
• Science news
• Developmental news
• Sports stories
6. Minor forms
• News brief – A short item of news interest, written like a brief telegraphic
message, giving mainly the result with details.
• News bulletin – It is similar to the lead of a straight news story. Its aim is just to
give the gist of the news.
• News-featurette – This is a short news feature usually used as filler, e.g., “Quirks
in the news.”
• Flash – A bulletin that conveys the first word of an event.
Rules of Thumb in News Gathering
A writer must not only have the nose for news, but also considers the guidelines in gathering
data. Ramirez (2009) has published some of these rules of thumb in data gathering for news
writing.
1. See for yourself. Nothing is more vivid when one sees the event right before his own
eyes.
2. Find the person who knows. The writer should go directly to the person who is
considered as the key participant of the issue.
3. Compare all versions. A writer must not rely solely on one version.
4. Be tactful and courteous. A writer is respectful of time. Hence, he should focus only on
the data needed.
5. Make and keep friends. Dependable informants are most valued especially when a writer
is assigned in a single beat throughout the academic year.
6. Print it. This rule of thumb reminds a writer or a journalist that unpublished news is
wasted. The fact that one has gathered data. The news is now considered a newsworthy
item.
How to Conduct Journalistic Interview
1. Define the purpose.

2. Conduct a background research of the topic you are assigned to.
3. Set an interview appointment.
4. Make preliminary planning by listing down questions.
5. Meet the interviewee.
6. Get down to business . Ask the first question.
7. Establish early rapport, that is from formal to less formal.
8. Tackle the more sensitive topic with respect and tactfulness.
9. Express some recovery statements.
10. Leave a thank you note.
News Story Structure
There are three basic structures of news story. These are the: Inverted Pyramid, Narrative or
Story Telling, and Hourglass .
A. Inverted Pyramid –
Considered as the
most popular
structure of a news
story.
B. Narrative Story
Telling
C. Hourglass
Parts of the News
1. Lead
2. Body
3. End
The lead- is the writer’s promise to the reader. It captures the essence of the story. It answers
what the story is all about. It encourages the readers to continue reading the news story.
TYPES OF LEADS
1. Kinds of Summary / Conventional Lead
1. What lead . This is applied if the most important angle of the news is the event per
se.
2. Who lead. This type of lead is used if the most important angle of the news is the
person involved, thus, more significant than the event.
3. Where lead. It the location where the event takes place is more significant than
the other aspects of the news, then this kind of lead is best applied.
4. When lead. This type of lead is seldom used since this is only applicable when the
time element is more important than the other angles of the story.
5. Why lead. If the cause of the event is the most effective angle of the story, this
type of lead is best suited.
6. How lead. If the process or the manner of how the event happened is most
important among the other angles of the news, the how lead is used.
2. Kinds of Grammatical-Beginning Lead
1. Prepositional Phrase Lead. A phrase is introduced by a preposition.
2. Infinitive Phrase Lead. As the name suggests, it starts with the preposition “to”
plus the main verb.
3. Participial Phrase Lead. This lead is signaled by the presence of the present or
past participle of the verb, acting as a modifier.
4. Gerundial Phrase Lead. This lead is introduced by a gerund. It is a verbal ending
in ing, which acts as a noun.
5. Clause Lead. This lead commences with a clause, which may become either an
independent or subordinate, or may transform as either a noun or an adjectival or
adverbial clause.
3. Kinds of Novelty Lead

1. Narrative lead. It draws the reader into the story by allowing him/her to relate
himself/herself with the character of the story.
2. Descriptive lead. Effective in writing personality sketches, travelogues and the
like, this lead illustrates a mental picture of the subject to the reader.
3. Quoted Statement Lead. It is a statement uttered by well-known personality or
celebrity.
4. Question Lead. It is a thought provoking question to capture the interest of the
reader and lead them to find the answer provided by the succeeding details of the
article.
5. Teaser. Generally short, crisp and witty, this is a device to deceive the reader in a
jesting manner as it arouses curiosity and gently leads him into the story.
6. Punch lead. It is short, striking one sentence lead .
7. Astonisher lead. This lead aims to give the reader a strong sense of emotional
value. Thus, it primarily uses an exclamatory sentence.
8. One word lead. It uses a very significant word to capture or arouse the mm of the
reader.
9. Parody lead. It consists of a parody of a well-known quotation, song, poem, book
or movie film title.
10. Background lead. It describes an event in which the background overshadows the
individuals who participate in it; often, it uses stories about carnivals, festivals,
dances and others.
11. Freak lead. In order to enhance its appeal and to easily catch the attention of the
reader, this kind of unique lead uses typographical effects.
12. Contrast lead. It is used to point out opposites and extremes.
13. Staccato lead. Primarily rooted from musical parlance, this term suggests a lead
that consists of a series of words and phrases, punctuated by periods, commas or
dashes.
Wrap up on preparing the lead
1. Present a summary of the story.
2. Identify persons and places involved.
3. Stress the news peg.
4. Stimulate the reader to continue reading the story.
5.Vary your lead.
The Body of the News - Story Gives the readers the detailed parts of the news. It develops and
explains the facts and data given in the lead.
Nut Graph/Graf
- The idea in a news story that answers the questions why the writer tells the story and why the
readers need to know. It is usually placed near the top of the story.
The Bridge
- A sentence or paragraph that connects the lead and the body of a news story. The bridge is of
two types:
1. Tie-Back - a device in news that allows writers to refresh the reader’s memory about the past
events related to the story being written about.
2. Tie-In - Similar to the tie-back, except it provides information concerning other events that
are currently taking place.
Attribution
- are statements of persons making them, and information about the events not witnessed by the
reporter. This information can be gleaned from authorities, government officials, documents, etc.
The End
-The ending is often what the readers remember most about the story. The ending is so important
that news writers should know how to end their stories before they start writing them.
1.2 SPORTS NEWS
Sports News- uses the principles, leads and format of news. It is written in one sentence, one
paragraph format. A sports writer is allowed to exaggerate his coverage and writing of the news.
It gives the readers who, the what, the where, the when, the why, and the how of a sports event. It
tells the readers the highlights of the games and how the games won. Sports news has developed
and has used vocabularies called sports lingos.
Sports features- is an essential aspect of sports coverage, meant to complement, add human
interest and meaning to day-to-day coverage of sporting events.
Sports column- is a collection of columnists, who want to voice their own opinions on whatever
sports topic they seem fit.
Sports features, editorial and columns are written in paragraph forms; that is, a paragraph is
consisted by a number of sentences.
Sports writers combine the news, feature, opinion in writing sports articles. That is, sport writer
usually uses the format of a news, descriptions and rhythms of a feature, the exaggerations of an
opinion.
Here are some examples of the sports lingos
BASKETBALL BASEBALL/SOFTBALL
§ quintet, zone defense, five rebound, rally, § diamond, pitcher, short stop, southpaw,
man-to-man, keyhole area, 30 second shut out, back stop, pegged at third,
clock, long tom, tip-in, press, steals, haul swatters, pitcher’s mound, hit a homerun,
rebounds, point guard, home court, fails to make a catch, deep center, fielder,
advantage, playmaker. strikeout, innings.
VOLLEYBALL GOLF
§ booming service, net ball, spikes, change § hole-in-one, birdie, bogey, par, fired a 7-
court, wallop, best attacker, receiver/ under-64, behind the green, one shot lead,
server/ blocker/ digger/ setter, block, two tee-off, four-stroke lead, sprint down the
out of three, blocked his kill, spikier. fairway, hit pivotal shots, hole clutch putts,
carded a two-under par 70.
SPORT NEWS is classified into:

1. Advanced News- give backgrounders, some unusual and exciting games the teams
have played before games. May report the records of the teams or individual players in
the current season, their physical and mental condition.
2. Coverage Story- sports writer must be punctual in covering sports events so as not
to miss the sidelights during the opening of the game. It tells the reaction of the crowds
and the cheers of many competing teams and as well the supporters. Give facts for his
in-depth sports story.
3. Follow up Story- furnish post-mortem analyses. May discuss the condition of
players injured or the psychological aspects of the game; or may take up the statistics
and their significance.
Sports articles, to be more colorful, interesting, and exciting for the readers, thrive on the
following:
1. Data on the significance of the game.
2. Backgrounds and records of players or athletes.
3. Coaches and their stints and records.
4. Countries that set records of the game.
5. Weather condition.
6. Behavior of the audience.
7. Highlights of the game.
8. Star players and athletes and their records.
9. Statements and quotations of coaches and athletes.
10. Strengths and weaknesses of teams and athletes.
11. Hosts countries and venues of the games.
12. Strategies used by the coaches, players, and teams to win the games.
Sport News Writing

- Sports writing is fun, but it also hard work. The writer must impart to the reader drama and
excitement he sees in the fields. The manner of reporting athletic events varies with the sport.
Writing the Sport News - Sports writer must be guided by the 5W’s. In writing the sport news, the
reporter uses short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs. He has freedom in his writing
style and has more pep.
Parts of the Sport News
1. LEAD- usually gives the summary of the game or event. It provides the readers results,
the scores, the star players or heroes, the venue, and the time of the sport event. The lead
answer the 5W’s and an H questions.
The classics 5W’s Lead. It answers,

Who won? Against whom? By what score? Where?
When? Why? How?
Example:
• CAPSU poured 10 baskets in the last three minutes to edge out the FCU, 65-63 at
the opponents home ground yesterday afternoon.
Key play- is observed in the lead when the key play or strategy used by the players or team is
instrumental in the victory of the team or athlete.
Example:
• The CNHS sluggers bombed the RCSPC batters with six runs in the third inning
to subdue a nerve-fizzling RCSPC rally 14-12 as they clinched the invitation
games here in connection with the celebration of Sports Week.
Key player- tells the reader the main hero of the game and his heroic exploits that brings victory
the team.
Example:
• Warner Cruz of DLSU, after almost 4 hours of battle over the chessboard copped
the most coveted YMCA trophy after outwitting ADMU chesses Christian Manuel
in 27 moves of Sicilian defense.
Analytical way- tells the perceptions, opinion, comparison, contrast, analyses, and other views of
the writer about the game, the significance of the win, and other data that make the event or game
interesting and more colorful.
Example:
• Riding high on sizzling spikes and tricky placing, the NDDU netters blasted
RMMC killers in the crucial third set to win 15-10, 11-15, and 15-17 in the Intercollegiate Meet,
September 21 at the Acharon sports Complex to celebrate the Education Month.
2. BODY- provides the readers other data of the game, like the spectacular plays, play by
play account of the game, the highlights of the event, the strategies used by players and
coaches to ensure victory and other relevant data of the game.
3. CONCLUSION- may contain significance victory of the game of the team or athlete, their
next game outings and the statements of players.
QUALITIES OF THE SPORTS WRITER

1. Must be a natural descriptive writer who can paint a quick verbal picture.
2. Must have a feeling and genuine love for the sports.
3. Training is important in this form of editorial life.
4. Must always be in struggle in finding new words, new ways to describe punches,
and new ideas for stories.
5. Must be endowed with a keen memory.
6. Must use the specialized language of the particular sports he is reporting.
7. Must be fair and unbiased.
8. Must observe accuracy in his article write-ups.
9. Must not make comments without supporting them with facts.
10. Must know the coaches and players as intimately as possible.
SPORTS WRITER’S DUTY

▪ The main objective of the sports writer is to serve the readers by writing stories,
either amateur or professional in nature. The sports stories might vary depending upon
the significance of the athletic event.
▪ Sports writer duty bound to write a complete play-by-play report of a major event.
▪ Is to write a simple story for the average readers.
▪ To give information objectively for the readers of the sport section.
SAMPLE OF SPORT NEWS Senior Metrian conquers Yellow fin bike fest
Like Father, like Daughter.
This maxim proves true in the case of Marivic Dela Pena, a senior Metrian, who just recently
ruled the ladies open category of the Yellow Fin Cross-Country Bike Challenge, August 21.
The 16-year old Dela Pena clinched the championship and receiving the top purse, went home
P2,000 richer.
Dela Pena, a 4-Rizal student, is the daughter of veteran cyclist Ernesto Dela Pena. Meanwhile,
MeryanTalip, a 13-year old prodigy who hails from Tagum City, finished second and got the
P1,000 purse.
Ruel Casalijiay of Davao City dominated the elite category and pocketed the P3,000 top purse.
Rex Camarina and Randy Maglantay of Koronadal City bagged the second and third places and
the P2,000 and P1,000 prizes respectively.
In celebration of the city’s charter anniversary and Tuna festival, the General Santos City Off-
road Bikers association sponsored the said bike challenge.
The Metrian
SAMPLE OF SPORTS FEATURES:
Soccer: Good for the body, bad for the brain
Researcher from the University of Helsinki studied the brains of 32 young male soccer and
football players. The findings were not good.
Through magnetic resonance imaging or MRI, the researchers found that one-third of the
players had spots in their brain which may represent scars of fluid-filled spaces usually seen as
broken brain tissues caused by blows to the head.
While the researchers cannot tell as yet what their effects would be, the spots have been linked
to a slight decline in mental processes, particularly among the elderly and middleaged.
The athletes, who had been training more than five times a week for many years, are especially
risky position. Their sports require them to hit the ball with their heads. There is also the greater
tendency for the athletes to hit each other’s bodies and heads in soccer and football than in other
sports.
The research showed that seven of the football players had an average of seven spot their
brains, in contrast to only five in 20 non-athletes.
The Metrian
EXAMPLE OF SPORTS COLUMN:

Excuses from a winner By Quinito Henson
WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley Jr. is in a no-win situation. He took the WBO title
away from Manny Pacquiao on a highly disputed split decision in Last Vegas last June 9. To this
day, the “Dessert Storm” has continued to make excuses for a poor performance as if to confirm
the win was undeserved.
It’s strange for a ‘winner’ to make excuses but here is Bradley’s trainer Joel Diaz, a former
lightweight contender, explaining that “we had a perfect fight plan but we could not execute if
after he hurt his foot.” Diaz claimed Bradley fractured his left foot in the second round and also
sprained his foot during the bout.
Usually, loser make excuses. But here is Badley’s case, he is explaining why he performed poorly
in spite winning. Before the verdict was announced in the ring, Bradley reportedly told the Top
Rank chairman Bob Arum he tried his best but didn’t do enough to beat Pacquiao. But after he
was declared the new champion, Bradley changed his tune and was satisfied of his victory-even
if he admitted performing below par because of his injuries.
If Bradley has conscience, he would’ve given up the throne voluntarily. But that’s too much to
expect from an unwitting beneficiary of a scandalous scam. After all, it’s not his fault that two
judges turned blind eyes to Pacquiao’s dominance in 10 of the 12 rounds, in terms of punches
landed, or so the stats indicated. Bradley is not cut out to be bastion of integrity in the fight game.
Diaz said Bradley is bittersweet because the consensus is Pacquiao should have won. The WBO
organized a review of the fight involving five independent judges and their verdict was a
unanimous decision for Pacquiao. While it appeared that Pacquiao was not his usual self that night,
he still did enough to beat Bradley—a clear indication of a disparity in the skill levels of both
fighters. That’s the reason why Bradley can’t walk proudly in the streets displaying his
championship belt. He knows he should’ve lost.
EXAMPLE OF SPORTS EDITORIAL:

Philippines fate in the next Asiad
Filipino athletes nowadays have all the abilities to bring home the glory in every country’s
participation in International Competition such as Asian Games. But unfortunately, these talents
are soon to be deprived because of few discounted sports the Asiad declared. Does that mean our
country’s fate of this issue?
The next Asiad will be held in Incheon, South Korea next year. The Philippines may have tough
fight with other leading countries and may stand to lose a handful of medals for the organizers of
the next Asiad made up their mind to drop six sports namely, chess, cue sports, dance sport, dragon
boat, roller sports, and softball and they will only cater 36 sports, offering 437 gold medals.
The Philippines might suffer from this because way back in previous 2010 Guangzhou Asian
Games, the country’s victory was astounding as we hauled three gold, four silver, and nine bronze
medals. In addition, billiards has been a perennial source of medals for the Philippines in Asiad
since 2002. But this upcoming Asiad, our country may be caught up between triumph and defeat.
Fortunately, according to the Asiad official website, these six sports have already been dropped
in favor of baseball, bowling, cricket, kabaddi, karate, sepak takraw, squash, and wushu to be
returned in the list. At least, even though the victory we are longing for is not as clear as crystal,
the Philippines still has hope with the eight new events paving the way. Our Filipino athletes do
not lack passion, neither they are short in talents. They always possess that fighting spirit and the
will to excel. The next Asiad will test all these.
The Blazing Trail
EXAMPLE OF A LETTER TO THE SPORTS EDITOR:

Dear Editor,
I want to extend my greatest appreciation to all Fatimanian athletes who brought glory to our
school. Even though sometimes they can’t focus in their academics but still they never grow tired
in attending practice sessions and training hours.
As a student, I feel proud whenever I saw balls flying in the air because I know they practiced
really hard in representing our school and I know training every day is not an easy task to do
especially when discipline is always here.
My best regards to coaches and athletes who worked hard to attain the 2 nd rank in the list of those
schools that deliver national athletes. More power guys and let the fire continue burning.
Truly Yours,
Jazz
IV-Maxwell
Sports news tells the readers the highlights of the games and how the games won. The sports writer
is the one who exaggerate his coverage and writing the news. In sports news writing, it is not also
the literal writing of news. There are aspects that should be consider in order to become an effective
and excellent sports writer.
In order for a sports article to be more colorful, interesting, and exciting for readers, the writer
should know the significance of the game, backgrounds of the players, their coaches/trainers,
strength and their weakness as well.
Sports writing is fun but hard work. Were writer deals with the physical motion and action in order
them to give excitement to the readers. Sports writer should deliver the news accurately and must
be based on real situations or facts are taken from the field you have observed. Because sports
writer duty, bound to write a complete play by play report of a major event.
Offline – Listen to a sports coverage over the radio or television and write a coverage sports news.
1.3 SCIENCE NEWS
1. Find a good paper
2. Read it
3. Vested interests
4. Get context
5. Interview the authors
6. Get other scientists' opinions
7. Find the top line
8. Remember whom you are writing for
9. Be right
10. Write well
Do …
• Speak to the authors and get independent comment from scientists in the same field.
• Get your facts straight.
Don't …
• Patronize your readers.
• Mistake fruit flies, mice or Petri dishes for people.
How to …
• interview a scientist
• write a science feature
• establish a successful science blog
• report from a science conference
• set up a science podcast • pitch your articles to editors.
Science Writing is the latest form of Philippine journalism. In this era of fast-moving discoveries,
inventions, and technical development, science reporting has become a must.
Science is not the private domain of scientists. Even the layman is interested in science because it
affects his daily life. He thirsts for scientific literature, one of course which he understands.
The science writer, therefore, should be able to communicate clearly and effectively so that he can
popularize and translate scientific reports into stories which Mr. Average Reader, or the layman,
understands.
What is science reporting? How does it differ from technical writing?

A science reporter should be an all-around man, somewhat of a botanist, a zoologist, a chemist, an
electrician, a plumber, etc., who plays a vital role in the programs of the country not only by telling
facts or information, but also by interpreting them to be of relevance to the lives of the people.
The science reporter’s mission therefore, is to know and understand science so that he can translate
what am scientists are talking about for the common man.
The science reporter, therefore, should understand science. He should equip himself with modern
science books, encyclopedia, and a dictionary. If he masters translating technical jargon into
simple terms understood by the layman, then he succeeds as a science writer. The science news
reporter, above all, should remember that the rules in writing the news story and the guidelines in
clear and effective writing should also be observed in writing science news stories.
Example of Science News:

New drugs could stymie superbugs by freezing evolution
By Nicoletta Lanese - Staff Writer March 05, 2020
Scientists aim to stay the spread of antibiotic resistance by messing with how bacteria evolve.
Scientists may have uncovered a new weapon in the fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs:
drugs that freeze bacterial evolution in its tracks.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are those microbes that somehow survive even under the onslaught
from mega drugs meant to kill them. Every year, at least 2.8 million people in the U.S. catch one
of these super strong bacteria or resistant fungi, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
One of the ways that bacteria evolve to become "antibiotic resistant" is by picking up free-floating
genetic material from their environments. They then incorporate the scavenged genes into their
own DNA. In this way, bacteria can collect genes shed from microbes that are already resistant,
and thus, gain resistance themselves. But bacteria aren't able to catch wayward bits of DNA
without the right equipment; the "bugs" must first enter a state called "competence" to build the
machinery required to scoop genetic material from their surroundings.
Bacteria become competent when placed under stress, such as when they're subjected to antibiotic
treatments. Studies suggest that several common classes of antibiotics actually drive the spread of
antibiotic resistance by pushing bacteria into a stressed-out state. But now, a new study of the
bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae has highlighted a potential solution to this paradoxical
problem: drugs that prevent bacteria from becoming competent in the first place.
For the study, published Tuesday (March 3) in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, researchers put
this strategy to the test in a mouse model and successfully blocked several strains of S. pneumoniae
from becoming competent and exchanging genes inside the mice. The bacteria, which typically
live in the human nose and throat, can trigger serious infections if they migrate into the
bloodstream, sinuses, ears, lungs, or tissues covering the brain or spinal cord, according to the
CDC.
Antibiotics stand as the only available treatment for these infections, but in more than 30% of
cases, the S. pneumoniae strains prove resistant to one or more antibiotics. If so-called "anti-
evolution" drugs prove safe in humans, perhaps the medications could help prevent more strains
from acquiring resistance, the researchers suggested.
Teaching, learning, and caring in the post-COVID era

Barnett Berry
Abstract
It is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic will have a devastating effect on students in need. Barnett
Berry calls for greater cross-sector collaboration among schools, universities, nonprofits, and
other organizations that serve children to help meet the needs that already exist and that will arise
as the pandemic continues. He describes the work of ALL4SC at the University of South Carolina,
which leverages the university’s resources to support children and teachers.
Keywords COVID-19, pandemic, whole

child, partnership, collaboration, university, nonprofit, ALL4SC
After COVID-19, we must embrace a whole-child approach to preK-12 education. As this issue
of Kappan goes to press, the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. is approaching 4 million,
including more than 145,000 deaths. Already, we have lost jobs by the millions, and every day we
get fresh updates about the grim possibilities that could lie ahead (Yong, 2020). Like 330 million
other Americans, I worry constantly about my family, friends, and neighbors. And like most
people, I keep one eye glued to the TV news, trying to stay well-informed without letting the
talking heads drive me to distraction.
But I also keep one eye on my work at the University of South Carolina, where I am part of
ALL4SC, a recently launched effort to marshal this institution’s extraordinary wealth of resources
— from our research facilities to our engineering centers to our programs and faculty in education,
medicine, music, and on and on — to support high-need public schools throughout our region,
particularly in the state’s rural areas. Our goal, with support from our university president and 12
academic and professional deans, is to build a truly comprehensive system of whole-child
education, touching on everything from prenatal care to academic tutoring and near-peer
mentoring, after-school enrichment, and workforce development, as well as innovations in teacher
leadership and a reinvented teaching profession.
If you’ve been in education as long as I have, then you know there’s nothing new about calling for
better cross-sector collaboration among schools, universities, nonprofit organizations, and others.
But ours is a particularly ambitious effort. We aim not just to emulate the most successful practices
in the field — such as the remarkable work underway at the UCLA Community School and the
Netter Center at the University of Pennsylvania — but to push the envelope and find new ways for
our university to serve as an anchor institution for our local communities, tapping any and all of
our available assets to benefit the public good.
For far too long, our country has devoted far too few resources to meeting the needs of its children.
We’ve known for years, for example, that close to half of the students in our nation’s schools have
been exposed to potentially traumatic events such as domestic or neighborhood violence,
household mental illness, abuse, or neglect. And over the last decade and a half, young people’s
levels of happiness, as measured by researchers, have dropped precipitously (Twenge, 2019).
But now that we’re in the thick of the COVID-19 crisis and we see children struggling with an
ever-growing list of needs — for food, housing, medical care, physical safety, emotional support,
mental health services, tutoring, and much more — my colleagues and I are even more convinced
that a systemic approach to whole-child education is indispensable, and not just in the short term.
To accelerate our economic recovery and address gross health disparities in the wake of the
pandemic, we will be obligated to pursue a Zero-to-Workforce strategy, from early childhood to
higher education. COVID-19 will close the door on two decades of top-down preK-12 education
policies.
Impact, response, and a silver lining
There is a lot we don’t know about COVID-19 and the long-term impact it will have on this
country. But it is clear already that it is having a particularly devastating effect on rural
communities like Fairfield County — a partner in ALL4SC’s work — where most students are
food insecure, many of its citizens are immunocompromised, and income inequality and
unemployment rates are among the highest in the state.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been racing to figure out how best to continue our
design work with local educators and community leaders and with our university faculty and
students. At the same time, our Fairfield colleagues have been consumed with the task of feeding
2,600 students, while also trying to address acute social, emotional, and academic needs, in a
county that is spread across 700 square miles. It has been remarkable to see how quickly the
district, led by Superintendent J.R. Green, has organized and delivered both meals and
instructional packets to students and their families, while also deploying Wi-Fi-equipped school
buses throughout the county (which are necessary, as J.R. reminds me, due to the digital divide
that persists across his rural community, leaving more than 50% of the district’s students with no
internet access at home). Given the need for social distancing, students cannot board the buses, of
course, and if somebody can drive them to a mobile hot spot, then they need to sit in their car while
connecting with their teachers and downloading lessons. This is not exactly conducive to tech-
enabled personalized learning.
From all parts of the country, reports keep coming in about heroic efforts by educators to meet
their students’ needs in spite of the closure of their schools. Even after so many years of being told
to focus so much of their attention on high-stakes accountability measures, teachers and
administrators everywhere understand that their first priority isn’t to keep up with the district’s
pacing guide or reschedule a practice test — the priority is to reach out to students, check in on
them and their families, and support them as whole children, not as test takers.
If there is a silver lining to be found in all of this, it is that the crisis has required educators to look
to partners who can help them address their students’ many needs. Suddenly, it’s not just the
directors of community schools who insist that the whole child matters. Given what we face today,
it goes without saying that we should all — schools, universities, local government agencies,
nonprofits, religious organizations, and others — contribute our time, talent, and treasure to the
work of teaching, learning, and caring. This is the raison d’être of ALL4SC, and I am optimistic
that it will be one of the pandemic’s lasting lessons. My hope is that:
• COVID-19 will make us more aware of the importance of integrated student
support systems (that draw on academic, social, emotional, and physical health data) to
serve the whole child.
• COVID-19 will make us see that if teachers are to provide such support, they must
have more time to work with each other and with helping professionals outside the
school.
• COVID-19 will help us better understand the proper role of online, 24/7 learning
environments, spurring innovations for more accessible, equitable, and personalized
system of education from preK to career and college (Avallone, 2020).
• COVID-19 will inspire us to reorganize people and programs in our school districts,
universities, and community organizations to work together more effectively to teach,
heal, and mentor young people.
• COVID-19 will inform policy leaders as to how government and the private sector
can fuel the kind of cross-sector collaboration, from birth to workforce, that must be in
place to educate everyone in the future.
COVID-19 will close the door on two decades of top-down preK-12 education policies, which
have focused on standardizing curriculum, intensifying test-based teacher evaluation, and forcing
public schools to compete for students through an array of charter school and voucher policies. It
had already become clear that these “blunt imperatives” have not succeeded on their own terms
(that is, academic achievement continues to lag, according to the National Assessment of
Educational Progress), and now it is also becoming painfully obvious just how blind they have
been to the broader needs of students and the educators who serve them.
Never let a crisis go to waste

The old adage, “Never let a crisis go to waste,” seems apt at the moment. In unprecedented times
like these, when things are perilous for so many, we need our policy makers, school reformers,
and educators to seek solutions outside the usual places. Students and families clearly need more
than our public institutions have been in the habit of providing.
Of course, some policy leaders and school reformers made the same point in response to the
devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.
Katrina’s silver lining, they argued, was the opportunity it created to remake the New Orleans
education system, which had long been mired in financial woes, poor test scores, and rampant
student discipline problems. What happened next has been well documented: The school district
was replaced by charter schools; experienced, older teachers from the community were fired and
replaced by inexperienced recruits from other places, and the homegrown curriculum was traded
in for lock-step instructional pacing guides and no-excuses school models.
For a while, some researchers and advocates claimed success, noting that math and reading scores
were rising faster in New Orleans than in other Louisiana parishes affected by Katrina, and that
the city’s high school graduation rates were rising sharply (Brown, 2015). However, the latest
statewide school report card gave 49% of the city’s charter schools a D or F rating (Ravitch, 2020).
Overall, New Orleans’ schools are below average in the state, which is itself one of the nation’s
lowest-performing education systems. In her poignant 2013 book Hope Against Hope, the reporter
Sarah Carr chronicles how the crisis of Hurricane Katrina served as a catalyst for school
improvement in some places but not in others. Her conclusion: The school reforms that dominated
New Orleans in the years after the storm gave too much authority to “a band of well-educated
outsiders [who stepped in] to impose their expertise” and who ignored the trauma and poverty that
affected so many children who attend the local schools.
Let’s hope we’ve learned something from New Orleans. Post-Katrina school reforms taught us
how important it is to work with those who live in the communities we aim to serve. Let’s all focus
on educational transformation from the inside, not disruption from outside. And let’s come
together to reignite the social purpose of public education.
Already, we’ve learned a lot from educators in South Carolina, too: In early June 2020, we
surveyed every teacher in the state to better understand how they interacted with students once
schools were closed, what teaching tools they used, what stresses they’ve had to cope with, and
what kinds of support they’ve received.
More than 12,000 teachers (one-fourth of the state’s total teacher workforce) responded, and we
conducted follow-up interviews with a representative group of 75 of them.
We found that while South Carolina teachers were deeply committed to making a successful shift
to remote instruction in the spring, many struggled to reach and teach their students in what became
“emergency instruction,” and those teaching the most vulnerable students struggled the most. And
yet, when they realized they no longer had to worry about pacing guides and high-stakes testing,
some teachers also saw opportunities for creativity and leadership, choosing to focus on parent and
family engagement, student-centered learning, and improvements to the curriculum.
As we think about our priorities for public schooling in the aftermath of COVID-19, these teachers’
recommendations offer a good place to start. The goal should be to pursue a new kind of
community schooling, in which:
• Internet access becomes universal for every student.
• Personalized learning is the norm.
• Universities and school districts combine their resources, people, and programs to
boost students’ college and career readiness and life chances.
• Authentic performance assessments are used at scale to remake accountability and
transform the way student and school progress is measured.
• PreK-12 teachers lead their own professional learning through affinity networks
and in collaboration with university faculty and students.
• Educators and other helping professionals work together to address the challenges
they face and the innovations they seek.
Students and families clearly need more than our public institutions have been in the habit of
providing.
I am hopeful that COVID-19 will spur us in these directions, toward the coherent and effective
system of teaching, learning, and caring that our nation needs now more than ever.

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College of Education

ENG 116 (CAMPUS JOURNALISM)

Faith Funtecha Allysa Jim Divine D. Berdugo

BSED ENGLISH 3B BSEd ENGLISH 3B

Characteristics of Good News Story

1. Timeliness or Immediacy . This characteristic of a news item underscores the newest

Types of News Stories

• National news – News that takes place within the country.

• Foreign news – News that takes place outside the country.

1. Define the purpose.

News Story Structure

Parts of the News

1. Kinds of Summary / Conventional Lead

3. Kinds of Novelty Lead

2. Identify persons and places involved.

3. Stress the news peg.

4. Stimulate the reader to continue reading the story.

5.Vary your lead.

1.2 SPORTS NEWS

Here are some examples of the sports lingos

SPORT NEWS is classified into:

Sport News Writing

Parts of the Sport News

The classics 5W’s Lead. It answers,

When? Why? How?

QUALITIES OF THE SPORTS WRITER

SPORTS WRITER’S DUTY

SAMPLE OF SPORTS FEATURES:

Soccer: Good for the body, bad for the brain

EXAMPLE OF SPORTS COLUMN:

EXAMPLE OF SPORTS EDITORIAL:

The Blazing Trail

EXAMPLE OF A LETTER TO THE SPORTS EDITOR:

1.3 SCIENCE NEWS

What is science reporting? How does it differ from technical writing?

Example of Science News:

Teaching, learning, and caring in the post-COVID era

Keywords COVID-19, pandemic, whole

Impact, response, and a silver lining

Never let a crisis go to waste

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