HOW TO WRITE & READ NEWS REPORTS

LEARNING GOALS To identify the parts of a news report To identify bias To identify writing style To identify audience and purpose To write an informative news report

WHAT IS A NEWS REPORT? A news report is a special form of writing that follows a very specific structure. Today we will learn the necessary parts of a news report and look at the type of writing required.

WHY DO WE READ NEWS REPORTS? To be informed about our communicate and the world To help us make informed decisions To learn To be persuaded To be entertained

5W 1H News Reports answer the 5W 1H They are based on facts They are to be unbiased Who, What, Where, When, Why and How

THE ‘INVERTED PYRAMID’ STRUCTURE... *The most important facts -Answers all 5W’s -Is specific *Explains how the story happened -Includes quotations from speakers connected to the story *Least important facts -No new information -All questions have been answered -Concludes with one sentence about the future of this story Lead Body Conclusion

READING A NEWS REPORT Think about the following: Purpose: Why was the article written? To persuade, to entertains, to educate or to inform. Audience: Who is the intended audience? The language and purpose should help you determine a specific audience. Bias: to be in favour or against one thing, person, group or event. Not to tell all aspects of a story

BIAS Ask yourself the following questions to detect bias: 1.Whose point of view does the article focus on? 2.Who are the reporters sources? 3.Are both/all sides of the story told? 4.Is the language loaded to make the reader believe a specific point of view?

EACH NEWS REPORT MUST ALSO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING PARTS: 1)Masthead 2)Headline 3)Byline 4)Dateline 5)Photo 6)Caption 7)Quotation 8)Lead

LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT EACH PART…

1) MASTHEAD The masthead is the largest font on the page It states the name of the newspaper Capital letters are used on all words

2) HEADLINE The headline is one sentence that summarizes what the news report is about. The title Is written in present tense Ex. House Passes – CORRECT House Passed - INCORRECT Is the second largest font on the page

3) BYLINE -The byline states the reporters first and last name -The byline should be located before the actual report -Capital letters must be used for each name

4) DATELINE -States the date that the story is published in print -Is written in words not numerical form

5) PHOTO -Needs to be clearly related to your news report --Should be appealing and encourage people to read the article

6) CAPTION -Is located directly beneath the photo -Tells the reader what is seen in the photo -Is written in present or future tense CORRECT: “plans to swim…”

7) QUOTATION(S) -Are statements given by people connected to the news event For example: an eye witness, the investigating officer, a neighbour etc. -Must use double quotation marks around the words that are being spoken and the punctuation -Must include the speaker’s first and last name -Must explain who the speaker is in relation to the story

8) LEAD -The lead is the first sentence of your news report -It must include the 5 W’s and summarize the main ideas of the report -The lead must be specific -Needs to be indented

WHEN WRITING YOUR NEWS REPORT… -The tone must be factual and informative NO opinions of the reporter are allowed -Specific details must be included to make the story clear -The language must be formal NO slang or short forms, it should sound academic -Write in third person (told from someone who was not involved) NO personal pronouns : I, we, me, our -Include short paragraphs 3-4 sentences in length

After the car accident, Police Chief Joe O’Malley said “Jane is very lucky to be alive, we have never seen such a demolished vehicle before.” Quotation marks around the spoken words Explanation of who the speaker is and how they are connected to the story Speaker’s first and last name How to write a quotation:

PRACTICE: SEE IF YOU CAN IDENTIFY EACH PART OF A NEWS REPORT! Practicing reading news reports will help you later in the unit when you read some news reports!