Writing News: News Story Structures and Examples

News Story Structures

C M. Grazia Busà 2013News story structures News stories are written following set structures . These help reporters organize the story into a logical, well-articulated unit The type of story often determines the type of structure used Basic organization principle:

• Sorting out the urgent, the essential
• Providing a simple, clear, depersonalized, sober account of events

The Inverted Pyramid

C M. Grazia Busà 2013The Inverted Pyramid Most basic news story form Expresses the idea of urgency in news reporting:

• The most important information should come first
• Facts should be arranged in decreasing order of importance most newsworthy least newsworthy

Why the Inverted Pyramid?

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Why the Inverted Pyramid? Gets the point of the story to the reader in the fastest way possible Prioritizes relevant information Lends itself to quick editing of story length

• Sub-editors start cutting from the bottom
• Story is complete even if its last few sentences are cut to fit it into a column on a page Particularly well suited to use with mobile devices and host services

Introduction of a News Story

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Introduction of a news story A story never begins at the chronological beginning, but starts with the ending or with the latest, more interesting or dramatic thing It also introduces the Who and What (and When) of the story. Intros should be 30 words max and one-sentence long.

Paragraphs Following the Intro

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Paragraphs following the intro Expand on the points raised in the intro, provide more info Background is included to add interest and put the story in context

Final Paragraphs

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Final paragraphs Well constructed final paragraphs can be easily cut from the bottom up, leaving the remaining paragraphs to stand as a coherent and cohesive report

Drawbacks of the Inverted Pyramid

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Drawbacks of the Inverted Pyramid Does not encourage readers to read beyond the first part of the article

• Readers' interest tends to decrease as the story progresses Does not stimulate journalists to write well-written story endings
• Best writing skills are used for the beginnings

Example of an Inverted-Pyramid-style Story

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Example of an Inverted-Pyramid- style story Oscar hope for Hathaway The Daily Telegraph, November 1, 2013 Anne Hathaway, star of the film Les Miserables, which opens at cinemas around the country today, has received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. After years of bungled ceremonies and niche best picture winners, perhaps the Academy has regained its nerve ... See page 65

The Hourglass Structure

C M. Grazia Busà 2013The Hourglass Combines inverted pyramid and traditional story-telling:

• Main facts are told, in decreasing order of importance, in the first paragraphs
• Events are told in chronological order in the second part of the story
• Chronological narration is introduced by a turn Facts reported in inverted pyramid style 1 Turn Chronological narration of events

Features of the Hourglass

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Features of the Hourglass Main facts are told quickly in the first paragraphs Real ending

• Makes the story more balanced
• Motivates readers to read story to the end
• Discourages editors from cutting from the bottom Some information appearing at the top of the story may be repeated in the chronological portion, making the story longer

Example of Story Written in Hourglass Style

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Example of story written in Hourglass style Wallet Vanishes, $1,021 Charged to Credit Card Based on a story from: http://darien.patch.com/articles, January 2, 2013 A woman shopping at a local supermarket discovered her wallet had vanished from her pocketbook, and a large charge had been made to her credit card. Police gave this account: The victim was engaged in conversation by another woman, who then left the area. The wallet held $60 in cash and two credit cards. ... See page 67

Narrative Style

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Narrative style Resembles the style used in novels or plays but narrative-style news stories are based on facts Events reported in chronological order of beginning, middle and end Emphasis on emotions, dramatic components of the story Descriptions of situations and/or places People and their stories are prominent Dialogue is frequent

When is Narrative Style Used?

C M. Grazia Busà 2013When is narrative style used?

Suitable for main feature stories Also adopted for stories with a high emotional impact on the audience (e.g., crime stories) Increasingly being encouraged in online news

• Presents news that is more involving and appealing Favoured form in broadcast media

Example of a Story Written in the Narrative Style

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Example of a story written in the Narrative style Guarding the Truth By Alix Christie, Sunday, February 26, 2006. Adapted from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2006/20/21/AR2006022101413.html M.B. says that she feels guilty for her wartime role as a guard at Ravensbrueck concentration camp. That was the 'most beautiful' time of her life. The road to Ravensbrueck is buried in the outskirts of a German town. ... She recognized those houses first.

Use of Neutral Language

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Use of neutral language Detached third-person point of view

• Avoids first- and second-person pronouns (I, we, you, us, ... ) Non-emotional language
• Avoids expressions that imply evaluation or judgement (e.g., impressive, interesting, disappointing ... ) Use of quotes to create drama, add emotions, report opinions, etc.
• But selecting the best quotes is not an objective process

Example of Use of Neutral Language

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Example of use of neutral language School faculty disarms shooter USA Today, 1/11/2013 In Taft, Calif., teen with shotgun injures student before being stopped. A 16-year-old student armed with a shotgun walked into class in a rural high school Thursday and shot one student before a teacher and another staff member talked him into surrendering, officials said.

Text Coherence

C M. Grazia Busà 2013Text coherence Paragraphs are treated as independent text units Sentences and paragraphs are linked through:

• Co-ordinating conjunctions (make text easier to read)
• and, but, then, for, or, not, yet, so
• Repetition of structural patterns
• e.g., subject + verb is repeated at the beginning of paragraph or sentence:
• they directed ... , they launched ... , they hit ...
• Repetition of lexical item, ... hooks)
• e.g., same word/concept, synonym, is repeated at the beginning of paragraph or sentence:
• Pet meat ... pet NPOfazia , Bdog2fogd ... , the meat ...