1. UNIT 2: News & Features Writing

2. NEWS WRITING

3. There are three major types of news:-
1. Straight News
2. Investigative News
3. Interpretative/in depth News

4. 1. STRAIGHT NEWS
This is the product of the usual routine reporting. There are 5 types of SN:-
Hard News
stories that deal with government, economic, social and political policies. There are stories with a lot of facts and figure.
Soft News
stories about trends, fashion, entertainment, personalities and lifestyles.
Human Interest News
They usually arouse human feelings and conjure up sentiments and emotions in the persons who read them.
Expected News
anticipated and therefore planned for. It usually flows from events that are scheduled in advance
Unexpected News
Unexpected News is not anticipated. It takes people unawares. Examples murders, natural disasters, accidents etc

5. Examples of investigate news
2. INVESTIGATIVE NEWS 1.
require the digging out of facts and REPORT 2.
reporter is not expected to inject his own biased ideas or opinions into his story 3.
He is not expected to editorialize or interpret the facts either.
Examples of investigate news
1MDB, MH17, MCC

6. Examples of interpretative news1.
require the digging out of facts and REPORT 2.
reporter is free to interpret the news the way he or she sees it 3.
require additional facts, detailed explanations and logical analysis
Examples of interpretative news
From columnist news, editorial

7. NATURE OF NEWS
Truth
the facts of the news are truthful to the best of his knowledge before publish.
Objectivity
it must be devoid of a reporter’s biases and prejudice.
Accuracy
A news story can be regarded as accurate if all names, ages, addresses and direct quotations in the story are accurate. The only way to meet this requirement is for the reporter to check, before going to the press.

8. NEWS VALUES
Proximity
Distance between the news item’s place of origin and its place of publication. The nearer an individual is to the location of a news event, the more relevant it becomes for him/her
Conflict
Conflict is a central feature of most news.
Prominence
involve well-known people or institutions are likely to be interesting even if not very important.
Impact
How many people an event or idea affects and how seriously it affects them determine its importance as news, as well as the extent to which the information may be useful.
Timeliness
the best time to tell an important story is as soon as it happens or as soon as possible.

9. B. Feature Writing
A feature story differs from a straight news story in one respect – its intent. A news story provides information about an event, idea or situation.
The feature does a bit more – it may also interpret news, add depth and color to a story, instruct or entertain.

10. Types of Feature Writing
Human Interest
discusses issues through the experiences of another.
Profiles
reveals an individual's character and lifestyle.
How-To
help people learn by telling them how to do something
Historical Features
take the reader back to revisit an event and issues surrounding it on a particular date
Seasonal Themes
Stories about holidays and the change of seasons address matters at specific times of a year.

11. LEADS (NEWS & FEATURE)

12. LEADS: Tells something about the subject of the story

13. TYPES
OF NEWS LEADS

14. A straight lead or Summary lead 1
A straight lead or Summary lead
summarizes the most important idea in the story. The main advantage of this type of lead is that it makes meaning instantly clear. Example:
Kuala Lumpur: Two children at play were killed today when a sports car jumped the curb outside Cemerlang Park and ran them down. Twelve in the group were injured.

15. 2
A scene lead
opens a story with description
BINTULU: Firemen, due to the nature of their job, are no strangers to unusual situations.

16. 3
An anecdote lead
tells a short story to illustrate the central theme of the main story
Bahau: Grief, disbelief and shock hung heavy in the air as hundreds bid farewell to C Neeramala for the very last time. Families and friends came to pay their last respect at the Sivalogam crematorium.

17. 4
A significant detail lead
opens the story by focusing on a concrete detail that symbolizes the central theme.
JOHOR BARU: It was neither an explosion from an oxygen tank nor a charging handphone that caused the fire in the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HAS) Intensive Care Unit on Tuesday.

18. 5
A direct-address lead
speaks directly to the reader, using the second person
GUA MUSANG: “We’re not fighting the Government for nothing,” asserts Jefri Berkut, a 46-year-old Temiar, pointing at photos of environmental destruction left by logging in the Balah forest reserve.

19. EXERCISE 1.
Roslan Dalili, 67, a retired attorney was injured in a three-vehicle accident Thursday afternoon around 3:20 p.m. at the intersection of Warren and Davidson avenues, suffering a broken leg and several broken ribs when the car he was driving was struck broadside by a pickup truck driven by Jerry Chew, 31, of 2245 Federal Highway., and then was pushed into the path of another vehicle.

20. ENDING FOR NEWS AND FEATURE WRITING

21. Tell the reader the story is over

22. TYPES OF ENDING FOR NEWS AND FEATURE WRITING

23. 1
An anecdote ending
tells a brief story that summarizes the content of the main story by implication and demonstration
Previously, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said that five meter-high walls will be built by Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd at Sungai Buah to block the flow of polluted water into Sungai Semenyih.
The move is to ensure that the Sungai Semenyih Water Treatment Plant can operate as usual.
Azmin noted that the pollution had interrupted water supply to 360,000 account holders in Selangor.

24. 2
A detail ending
uses a specific, concrete detail, fact, or statistic to conclude the story
Meanwhile, Dr Subramaniam said a victim of the fire on Tuesday, who suffered 80 per cent burns and compounded by her heart condition, is fighting for her life at the ICU of the HSI.
“One of the three nurses is off the ventilator now,” he said, while the remaining two still need ventilator support for their lung injuries due to smoke inhalation.

25. 3
A face ending
focuses on the unique point of view of a person central to the story.
In a statement yesterday, Batu Gajah police chief ACP Mohd Nasri Omar said the pupil’s mother, A. Sathiabama reported his disappearance on Oct 20.
He said the teenager was clad in a T-shirt and shorts.--BERNAMA

26. 4
A quote ending
uses a pithy quote from a source to conclude the story
Sales executive Nur Zalia Ismail, 24, said the shortage was probably due to the widespread panic.
“When people saw the racks empty, it created panic,” said Nur Zalia who prefers to use Canola oil which may be more expensive but is not short in supply.