Frequently Asked Questions in News Writing

Posted by journaliz in Featured Articles, SERVI-talks on October 6th, 2009 | no responses

Frequently Asked Questions in News Writing
Source: Secondary Schools Handbook in Campus Journalism
By: Dr. Lourdes D. Servito

1. What is a straight news?
Answer: A straight news story as its name implies, is an article that reports about an event, incident or happening in a straight-forward manner, without embellishments.

2. What do reporters need in order to write a news story?
Answer: Each reporter needs facts.
FACTS can be taken from a lot of sources and ways.

3. Where does one get facts?
Answer: From anywhere – North, East, West, and South.
From your beat or outside of it.
From within the campus or outside. Inside or outside the classroom.

4. How does one obtain facts?
Answer: Ask the 5 W’s and 1 H.
Interview. Read. Research. Listen. Take notes. Write. Take pictures. Compile ideas.

5. What are the 5 W’s and 1 H?
Answer: I hate it when some male lecturers would refer to the 5 W’s and 1 H as 5 wives and 1 husband. That’s polygamy!
Sometimes I want to think about the 5 W’s and 1 H as 5 walls in a house. Can you imagine that? Where is the 5th wall? Where should you put it? You may put it behind you then sit back and relax. Write your news.

The 5 W’s and 1 H are the reporter’s best friends:
a. What?
b. Who?
c. Where?
d. When?
e. Why? And How?

6. How do you call the title of a news story?
Answer: headline or head

7. What are the parts of a news story?
Answer: headline, lead, and body

8. What is the other meaning of headline?
Headline also refers to the most important and most prominent news story on the front page of a newspaper.

9. Does the news have conclusion?
Answer: The news does not end with a reporter’s conclusion, instead, the body flows naturally to a sense of finality, as in a straight news, it ends up with the least important details of the story.

10. Is it not alright to have a conclusion? Why?
Answer: If the news story would have a conclusion, it is tantamount to injecting an opinion. The news story should not be opinionated.

* photo courtesy of www.mnit.com

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