Understanding News

News it difficult to define because it has many variables, but one needs to determine what is newsworthy when
deciding what to write about for his or her story assignments.

News must be factual, yet not all facts are news. A news item is based on actual occurrences, situations, thoughts
and ideas, yet not all facts are news. For instance, a dog bites a typical man. This is not a news for many, but when a
typical man bites a dog, this may be newsworthy to some.

According to Soriano et al. (2012), a news is any oral or written report of an event that happened, is happening, will
happen in the North, East, West and South (NEWS) that is of interest to the reader and which should be reported.

News in School Papers

With the concept of news in mind, a student journalist should remember that anything that concerns the school, its
students, the teachers, including the parents is newsworthy.

News in school may include worthwhile or extraordinary acts of students like opening of a new college, inauguration
of the new building, stories of success, conflicts or suspense, school convocations and other programs, interview3s of
visiting personalities, merging of two colleges, increasing tuition and other fees, new grading system and the like.

Characteristics of a Good News

1. Timeliness and Immediacy
- Underscores the newest angle of the story
2. Conflict
- The physical and mental struggles of persons are also newsworthy. In campus context, competitions like
oratorical contests and quiz bees are newsworthy due to mental conflicts present. Sports events during
intramurals or foundation days are newsworthy, too, as they have physical conflicts
3. Proximity or Nearness
- Although proximity primarily refers to geographical location, it likewise means the nearness of interest
and appeal
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
- It something is important to the reader, surely he/she will read the news. When news is important to
him/her, the news bears a high degree of significance, thus, newsworthy and worth reading
6. Prominence and Names
- “The world is unfair,” so the adage goes. In this light, there are persons more popular than others.
Popular names can effectuate situations and their acts may be more interesting to others.
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. Such story is packed with color; thus subjects are moving. In this way, the news
becomes appealing to the readers.
8. Oddity and unusualness
- Sociology can explain why oddity is a good element of news. A theory explains that when persons are
curious about a phenomenon deviating form a natural course, they will be interested in such a topic or
issue; hence, that topic becomes newsworthy.
9. Romance and Adventure
- “Love makes the world go round,” so a song says. Hence, stories about love, including adventure, may
ignite the taste of the reading public. This is also why showbiz news continuously booms.
10. Progress
 - Attaining breakthroughs and achieving scientific discoveries are given much attention by the readers.
This attribute of the news gives a high degree of shock and a sense of development in the society where
the persons live.
11. Numbers
- Statistics or figures have the power to shake the conviction of the audience. This is why numbers yield a
very strong impact on the readers.

Types of News Stories

Here are the following types of news stories according to their classifications:

1. According to Chronology or Sequence

a. Spot News
o This is the news story that gathers information as it is broadcast at the same time. Hence, it is
unscheduled and demands immediate publication. In many instances, the reporter becomes the
firsthand witness to the activity or subject taking place
b. Coverage News
o Coverage news is written based on the given assignment to the reporter or news writer.
o The assignment is sometimes called beat.
c. Advance or Anticipated News
o When a writer crafts news about an upcoming event, say, meeting de avance of running student
leaders, change of opening classes for the next academic year and an announcement of new
uniforms to take effect next semester, he/she actually writes and advance news.
d. Follow-up News
o While advance news is predictive, follow-up news looks into the upshot to an event or situation

2. According to Range and Reach

a. Local News
o This is a news item. The subject of which happens in one’s own community where the paper
originates
b. National News
o Countrywide news is called national news. It is determined when the news impacts the people of
a certain country.
c. Foreign News
o All news items which trace their origin from outside the borders of the country are called foreign
news. Some foreign news articles also create impact to typical locals due to their domino effect
like the oil price hike in the world market
d. Dateline News
o An out-of-town news story. This news is introduced by a dateline which states the place from
which the story was reported, the date, and the source of the material if not written by the local
staff.

3. According to Construction

a. Straight News
o The first paragraph answers the most important W (who, what, when, where, why) depending
on which of the W’s is the most prominent among them. its body paragraphs consist of the
elaboration on the W’s and H. it is written using the inverted pyramid structure
b. News Feature
o This special type of news should not be confused with the feature articles (features). News
feature is sometimes called special features and printed in the features section of the
newspapers or in the magazine.
 c. Fact Story
o This is plain exposition of a simple situation of a series of closely related events which conform to
the inverted triangle design more closely than any other kinds of news
d. Action Story
o This is a narrative involving not merely simple facts but dramatic actions - incidents, descriptions
of persons, perhaps testimonies of witness, as well as explanatory data
e. Speech, Report, Quote, and Interview Stories

4. Minor News Forms

a. News Brief
o This is a short item of news interest, written like a brief, telegraphic message. It gives mainly the
result with few details
b. News Bulleting
o It is similar to the lead of a straight news story. Its aim is just to give the gist of the news
c. News Featurette
o This is a short news feature usually used as fillers, say, quirks in the news
d. Flash
o This is a message giving first brief news of an event. It is usually boxed.

Crafting the Lead

Parts of the News
Newspaper articles require a style of writing different from what is used when writing a story. Never delete in your
mind the image of an inverted triangle when writing a news article. For purposes of iteration, the opening statement
or paragraph bears the most important information. This one-sentence-one-paragraph is called the lead.

For you to understand better, here is a typical skeleton of a newspaper article containing the five parts:

1. Headline
o This is short, attention-getting statement about the event. It capsulizes the first paragraph.
2. Byline
o This indicates the name of the writer or writers of the news article
3. Lead Paragraph
o This contains the major who, what, when, where, why, and how in it. A writer must find answers
to the major five W’s and one H. however, he should choose the answers that bear the most
significant elements to avoid overcrowding the paragraph.
4. Major Details
o After the lead paragraph is written, the writer may now decide to weave the major details into
paragraphs. Take note, that for beginners, the use of one-sentence-one-paragraph rule should be
strictly followed. The writer should still observe coherence of ideas
5. Minor Details
o Should there be more space in the paper, the least important details may be written. This will
give the editor a wider perspective of the news, that he/she may paraphrase or inject some of
them in the major details.

The Lead

As iterated, the lead is the story’s opening sentence or two. Straight news tells the most important facts of the story.
In a feature or news feature, the lead could be a word, a phrase, a sentence or a paragraph that attracts and sustains
the reader’s interest.
It is a rule of thumb that the lead in a news story, particularly in straight news, need not be too long. As the popular
adage says, “ a lead should be like a miniskirt, short enough to be attractive, but long enough to cover the essentials.”

How long is long? How short is short? 17-35 words (The lesser the words in a sentence, the higher its
comprehensibility).

Major Classifications of Lead

1. Summary Lead
o It answers the five W’s and H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How). The story is presented
using the inverted triangle form where the most important data are in the first and the second
paragraphs. This is used in the straight news. As the nomenclature suggests, it summarizes only
the most important five W’s and H
2. The Grammatical Beginning Lead
o This classification of lead paragraphs still gives emphasis on the logical importance of the major
details; however, it is also equally concerned with its grammatical structure. There is an avenue
to break the monotony of summary or conventional lead paragraphs
3. Unorthodox lead or Novelty Lead
o It is best used to attract the reader’s attention to arouse his/her curiosity and to sustain his/her
interest. It is used in writing news feature or feature article

Kinds of Summary Lead

Again, the summary lead uses the 5W’s and H as bases for starting such a lead. The position of the W’s and H is
determined by their degree of importance.

In discussing the kinds of summary lead, the details in the box are used:

At the Commission on Higher Education Central Office yesterday, the

Board of Trustees of the Visayas State University approved the new
grading system which will take effect next semester.

1. What Lead.
o This is applied if the most important angle of the news is the event per se

Example:

The new grading system in Visayas State University will be imposed next semester after the Board of
Trustees approved the resolution at the Commission on Higher Education Central Office yesterday.

2. Who Lead
o This type of lead is used if the most important angle of the news is the person involved, thus,
more significant than the event.

Example:

The members of the Board of Trustees of the Visayas State University approved yesterday the new
grading system at the Commission on Higher Education Central office.

3. Where lead
o If 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

Example
 At the Commission on Higher Education Central Office yesterday, the Board of Trustees of the Visayas
State University approved the new grading system which will take effect next semester.

4. When Lead
o 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. Nonetheless, it suggests urgency and immediacy.

Example:

Yesterday at the Commission on Higher Education Central Office, the Board of Trustees of the Visayas
State University approved the new grading system which will take effect next semester.

5. Why Lead
o If the cause of the event is the most effective angle of the story, this type of lead is best suited
Example:
To cope with the standards of ASEAN integration, the Board of Trustees of the Visayas State
University approved yesterday the new grading system which will take effect next semester.
6. How Lead
o 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.

Example:

Through a 7-5 vote, the members of the Board of Trustees of the Visayas State University approved
the new grading system at the Commission on Higher Education Central Office yesterday.

Assignment:

1. Using the data below, write a summary lead (5W’s and H).

 Two-day Basic Journalism Seminar-Workshop

 Theme: “Eloquentia et Sapientia (eloquence and
wisdom)”
 18-hour writeshop
 Pen-pushing exercises
 The first installment of the yearlong
comprehensive training regimen of the
Greenland, the official school paper of the school
 At the MMDC Hall
 Journalism trainer is Dr. Juan Dela Cruz
 75 high school students
 September 29-30, 2023