1. Writing a news story: A quick guide

2. Basic types of news stories:
Hard is the conventional news story with the most important facts at the beginning, the least important ones at the end: the inverted pyramid. Usually short, should always contain the essential who, what, where, when why and how.
Soft is the human interest story, often witty or ironic with a light touch; usually with a dropped intro not always containing the most important facts. Can be related to any subject.
‘’Live’’ Mosaic of information drawn from different sources – staff reporters, other news sources, social media, links to other sources or fuller transcripts of statements/speeches.,

3. News feature: Normally a dropped intro with an extended style: as in “It was a dark and stormy night, somewhere, a telephone was ringing….’’ Usually containing a strong descriptive and background element, but essentially factually based, relating to a news story of the day.
News Background/Analysis: Such as courts background, analysis by specialist using inside or personal knowledge
Reportage: First person reporting from the scene – political campaigns, events of all kinds, disasters, wars.

4. Learning the language of news:
A language like no other you have to master to become a journalist. 
Where does the language of news come from?

5. The language of news:
A raft of social and cultural reason created by priorities of space, speed and clarity.
Deadlines and space impose restrictions on what can and cannot be said.
A discipline imposed by production deadlines of newspapers or the length of time of a news broadcast.
Still relevant in the online world, where space is infinite – people have short attention spans, journalists need to hold their attention

6. Fundamentally driven by the imperative to express oneself clearly and concisely, so get the news over quickly, using the concept of Who What Where When Why and How.
If you run into a room to say you have just seen aliens landing on the road outside, you don’t start telling people whether the traffic lights were on green or whether it was raining.
This is nothing like academic writing, writing essays for examinations, reviews, letters.

7. The language of news:
“Keep It Short and Simple’’ KISS (Orwell - Politics and the English Language 1946)

8. Never use a metaphor or figure of speech you are used to regularly seeing in print
Otherwise known as the need to avoid cliché (blueprint, greenlight, tip of the iceberg etc) and over used words (scandal, tragedy, classic, iconic)]
Never use a long word where a short one will do
[use, not utilise, complex not convoluted, help not facilitate]
If it is possible to cut it out, cut it out
in order to – to
at the present time – now
in view of the fact that – because
the word that – is almost always over used: “He admitted ‘that’ he was guilty.’’ Delete ‘that’ and it still makes sense.]

9. Never use the passive when you can use active
Not ‘A meeting will take place next week between David Cameron and Barack Obama’ But: David Cameron and Barack Obama will meet next week….’
Never use a foreign phrase, jargon, scientific word or phrase if there is an English version

10. But Orwell also said:
Break all these rules sooner than say something barbarous.

11. There are other rules…. Avoid complex sentences – remember KISS.
Avoid complex sentences – remember KISS.
Avoid silly use of confrontational terms – battle with cancer, battling mums, at war with etc
Avoid the first person or the personal, except where relevant or in reviews or personal comment.
Avoid stacking information before the quote:
Fred Bloggs, the Minister for Schools, Education and Other Stuff, who began the programme to reform school meals, said: “I am very…..
Write in the past tense or the active, not the present
‘He said’ not ‘He says’  

12. Be objective:
News writing is, above all, mostly objective, not subjective. Subjectivity and comment, using the first person are rare in news stories, more appropriate for features.
Avoid being judgemental or commenting – deliberately or not – on aspects of the story.
If you think a point needs making or an issue needs raising, find someone to say it for you or use indirect speech to report the views of others. 

13. Be very careful of jargon:
Every profession has it, including journalists: Intro, leaders, overnight, subs, copytaster, edit, vt, ob
Doctors say someone ‘presented with’ They had symptoms, in the real world.
Military talk in acronyms.
Police use terrible phrases like ‘white/black in colour’
Press releases from Government departments use officialese and euphemisms… ‘solutions’ ‘problem solving’ ‘challenges’ and ‘going forward.’

14. It hardly needs pointing out, but…..
Be aware of language which is discriminatory in sexual or racial terms.
Remember to use the words you would use in normal conversational speech.
Be careful to avoid gendered references: manpower, waitress, actress, forefather, chairman, policewoman, stewardess, salesgirl.
And skin tones: whiter than white, blackspot, black mark.

15. Write from a position of knowledge….
….do not write from a position of ignorance
This means:
Check facts: who what where when why how
Make sure you understand your story: if you do not, will readers?
Do not assume knowledge on the part of the reader

16. Who What Where When Why How.
Who: Get the essentials: names, ages, addresses, titles, positions, occupations, although relevance may vary.  
What: What exactly is happening. Mostly in the intro 
Where: where in the world is this happening? What road, what city, which mountain top. 
When: this is the timing: When did this happen, or when is it going to happen. 
Why: did this happen: this can give background and context.
Balance: particularly with court stories, make sure defence and prosecution are quoted. Disputes, arguments, legal matters, must have the story from both sides.  
How: did it happen, how might it happen: remember the details can be relevant. How does a car crash? How does a burglar get into a house? How does a politician resign?

17. Constructing a news story:
Remember to gather your facts: Who What Where When Why and How.
Remember to keep it short and simple: KISS

18. The Intro.
The first and most important paragraph of a story: sums it up for the reader, entices them into the story, provides headline material.  
Its your pitch to the reader, to make them want to read on.
Keep it to words
Two or three key points
Get the balance right between information and enticement to read on

19. Start crisply:
The first four or five words are key – don’t start intros with phrases like ‘Lewisham Council planning committee decided last night….’ The reader is bored by this time 
Robert Altman’s film, The Player showed it well: make your pitch in 25 words – which is the ideal intro length to start a news story.

20. Avoid narrative
Try summarising the plot of, say, Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter as a news story and think how the intro might start 
Avoid a linear narrative, start with the most important events rather than lead up to them.
Hamlet didn’t start with the bloodshed, a news story will.

21. Things to avoid:
Starting with a date or time: ‘Yesterday morning a major fire broke out…a block of shops in Lewisham yesterday.’
Should be: ‘’A major fire destroyed……’’
Starting with an organisation: ‘’Lewisham Borough Council agreed cuts of £12m at its meeting yesterday.
Should be: ‘’Cuts of £12m were agreed….’’

22. A good intro explains quickly what the story is about:
“A massive fire in a house in the Oxfordshire village of Little Scrumping, thought to have been started by a chip pan, killed two people last night, one of whom was named as the Education Secretary, Fred Bloggs, 46, and the other his wife.’’
…Er no.  

23. It should read:
“Fred Bloggs, the Education Secretary, died alongside his wife last night in a fire at their Oxfordshire home, believed to have been caused by a chip pan catching alight.’’

24. Don’t clutter intros with unimportant details:
Fred Bloggs age and length of time he had been an MP can wait to the next paragraph. Unless its relevant: if he was the first teenage member of the Cabinet it might be important.
But timing is also relevant in several ways - If your story is being published sometime after the event, you might start with ‘Tributes were paid last night to the Cabinet Minister…..’’
Or: “Just two days after the greatest political comeback of his career, Cabinet minister Fred Bloggs…..

25. Structure:
One Idea, one sentence

26. Link the paragraphs:
They should naturally flow into each other rather than appear as a disjointed list of facts. Each one should complement the rest.
It is an inverted pyramid: the important information at the top with the relevance diminishing in importance further down the story.
Keep paragraphs uniform length of two sentences at most, but style will vary according to medium

27. Inverted pyramid
How to structure your story:

28. Copy should adhere to the four C’s:
Clear –who is saying this, when, what is happening? why are we reading this?
Clutter free – keep punctuation, numbers, acronyms, titles, capitals, dates, to a minimum
Concise – keep asking yourself – can I say this with fewer words more economically.
Consistent- does it make sense all the way through, does it repeat, does it relate to what has already been published?

29. Using quotes:
Illuminate the story; but should never tell all the story. Ideally there should be a mix.
Quotes break up text, give variation in pace, provide atmosphere, personality, actuality, context and, above all, put people into stories.
Remember attribution, particularly with court stories.
Remember balance, with quotes from both sides, particularly in court stories and those involving disputes and rows.
Ensure that balance is reflected at the top of the story – its not about two halves.

30. Remember the reader:
Readers must know who is saying what and when they are saying it: was the quote to you, someone else, on television etc? Was it today, yesterday, last week?

31. Use the style guide Style gives the four C’s:
Consistent, clear, concise, clutter free.
Dates: June 1, 2015.
Times: 5pm, noon.
Places: Hither Green, Lewisham

32. News on Eastlondonlines:
Police, fire, ambulance
Local authorities, arts bodies, communinity organisations
Other local news sources: BBC London, Evening Standard, local papers
National publications – Guardian etc
Check PAMediapoint – see learn.gold
Remember - Editors checks – see learn.gold

33. Think about developing local angles from national reports
A report on cycling deaths – there have been many locally
A report on housing – it’s a big issue
A type of crime or a health issue – there will almost certainly be a local angle

34. Remember: You are trainee journalists working for a local news website
You are NOT students working for a local publication
Have confidence in approaching people and organisations