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REPORTING
Unit Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Definition of news
1.1.1 What makes for a good story?
1.1.2 Elements of a good news story
1.1.3 Types of news
1.1.4 How do you decide which story to cover?
1.1.5 Inverted Pyramid Style of Writing in News:
1.2 News values
1.2.1 Newsworthiness
1.3 News gathering
1.3.1 Methods Of Gathering News
1.3.3 E -news gathering
1.3.4 Sources of News
1.3.5 Types of sources of news
1.4 Reader interest
1.4.1 Beats in journalism
1.5 Qualifications of a reporter
1.5.1 Qualities o f a good reporter
1.5.2 Special qualities of a reporter
1.6 Types of reports
1.7 Structure of a news report
1.8 Questions
1.0 OBJECTIVES
1. To help the students understand the concepts of news and
newsgathering and its methods.
2. To train the students to recognise and classify the different types of
beats, sources, and reporting in journalism. munotes.in
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3. To equip the students to identify, categorise, and write journalistic
pieces by themselves.
1.1 DEFINITION OF NEWS
"News" typically connotes the presentation of new information. News is
information about current events. This may be provided through many
different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting,
electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and
witnesses to events.
1.1.1 What makes for a good story?
Any new, unusual, and interesting information expressed in the simplest
language is clearly understood and hence appeals to audiences. That said,
there are a few factors that help determine the newsworthiness of a story.
News v alues seem to be common across cultures. People seem to be
interested in news to the extent that it has a big impact, describes conflicts,
happens nearby, involves well -known people, and deviates from the norms
of everyday happenings.
1.1.2 Elements of a g ood news story:
1. Facts first
While writing a news story, a reporter should keep in mind the 5W1H –
What, Why, Where, Who, When, and How.
2. Significance
Your story pitch may be of utmost importance to you, but what about the
outlet’s readers, listeners or viewers? If you are not thinking of the
audience, it is likely you will strike out. Keep in mind, however, that even
if your pitch isn’t particularly news -worthy (i.e. what a newspaper would,
for example, want to run on their first page), editors still wan t ideas for
feature stories that they think their readers will care about. What you
considered a hard news item may be directed to be a soft news item by the
Editor.
3. Focus
A good story is limited and focused. For example, in public relations, we
often want a reporter to get all the details, but if you give them too much
to work with, you will be disappointed in the result. Remember what your
core story idea is and stay focused in your pitch. A PR executive
ultimately can’t control how you, a reporter, decid es to report, but they
can help you to determine the story angle or elaborate on the crux of the
subject matter. When you find a story that presents multiple facets of
information, figure out your angle and focus before you write your drafts.
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4. Context
Good news stories offer readers perspective. Your story idea might be of
great interest to your own community or interest, but does it fit into a
greater picture; or is it relevant to a larger audience? A reporter has to
provide not only the current aspect of the story in their article, but also
provide the background information relevant to the story, and connect the
dots to present a coherent piece.
5. Voice
Every reporter has their own style of writing that they develop after
producing many, many stories. They are able to structure the research
methodology, form a trustworthy network, find a niche, and give words to
things that matter to them professionally and personally, that makes for a
distinct style in their stories. This style is now their voice in the
journalistic world.
6. Clarity
The news story should always be written in clear, simple, and easily
comprehensible language. A reporter should always use simple English
and avoid ambiguous words in his news story. Also, the use of punctuation
and good grammar wi ll make the reader understand the story. Unless
writing for a niche magazine or journal, reporters should avoid jargon that
might be useless to the layman.
7. Brevity
A news story must always be brief, clear, and simple, and its aim must be
to attract the att ention of both the editors and the reader. Most readers are
in such a hurry to read an entire story in a newspaper. Therefore, it is
advisable to always present news concisely to maintain the reader’s
interest. This method requires the Inverted Pyramid sty le of writing.
8. Complete
A good reporter anticipates and answers the questions that their
readers/viewers/listeners will ask. This requires preparation and practice,
and is learnt as on -the-go when you tackle more and more news stories.
9. Balance/fairness
This is the ability to write a news story without showing any form of
evidence of bias and partiality. These criteria need to be considered as a
new writer; whenever you write a news story, do not judge anybody or
oppose them.
10. Objectivity
The reporter should be able to approach the story objectively, that is,
without emotional involvement that can lead them to present opinions
instead of facts. However close to your heart your story may be, you as a
reporter should only present facts and figures that are credi ble.
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11. Attribution
This is all about making references to the source through which you get
the information of the news story. Attribution helps place a quote in a
proper frame of reference and also validate the claims of the reporter.
12. 1.1.3 Types of news:
There are 2 types of news – hard news and soft news. Hard news generally
concerns issues, politics, economics, international relations, welfare, and
scientific developments, whereas soft news focuses on human -interest
stories and celebrity.
Hard news :
Hard news refers to the news stories that have a big impact on the society
as a whole and need to be reported urgently. They are factual stories with
data, concerning events that are potentially available to analysis. Examples
include news on politics, crime, economics, international affairs, natural
calamities, riots etc.
Hard news stories are supposed to be strictly objective - the journalist need
not give his or her opinion on the story, but should provide facts as they
are. A reporter covering a hard news s tory is given a much tighter
deadline, owing to the urgency of the coverage.
Soft news :
Soft news on the other hand refers to the stories that provide other
background information about world events, human interest stories or
entertainment news. Since thes e do not deal with serious subjects, they are
labelled as “soft”. Examples include sports news, celebrity news, or
human -interest stories that deal with emotions. The purpose of this type of
news is not to provide information at first hand, its main object ive is to
entertain the masses.
Soft stories can be, and are editorialised. They can be subjective, and can
include opinions of the reporter/journalist. Soft news does not have
timelines like that of hard news, and can even be timeless feature articles –
e.g., ‘Tips for healthy skin’, ‘Benefits of Yoga’, and so on.
1.1.4 How do you decide which story to cover?:
A good news story needs to be new, interesting and important to people.
To report the most up -to-date information about an event you will need to
know how to identify the story, then how to use words and maybe pictures
to report on it.
To determine if you should continue with a lead that you think might be a
good story, you may ask yourself – munotes.in
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Is the news story about a current local issue?
» Where did it happen?
» When did it happen?
» What new information have you found about it?
• Is the news story about an issue from the past?
» Where did it happen?
» When did it happen?
» What new information have you found about it?
• Who is affected by the issue?
• How are they affected by the issue?
• Why is it important for people to know about the issue?
• Why will people be interested in the news story?
You may have noticed that this checklist covers the 5Ws1H rule.
1.1.5 Inverted Pyramid Style of Writing in Ne ws:
In journalism, the inverted pyramid refers to a story structure where the
most important information (or what might even be considered the
conclusion) is presented first. The who, what, when, where and why
appear at the start of a story, followed by su pporting details and
background information.
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How to Write in the Inverted Pyramid Style: When you write a news
article in the inverted pyramid style, the news should be presented in the
descending order of its importance. It is specifically differentiate d into 3
levels.
1) The Lead - The top part is called the lead and as the name suggests
contains the most critical information. The lead of a news article should
contain every single bit of important information about the incident or
event that took place. It should mention when it happened, where it
happened, why it happened, what exactly happened and how it all
happened. This part should basically contain the content which makes it
newsworthy. By reading just the lead part the reader should be able to
gauge what the article is about and its context. The reader can quit reading
the article anytime because he/she would have already grasped vital
information from the article.
2) Body - The middle part is addressed as the body. They contain
subsequent paragraphs giv ing additional facts related to the incident. It
generally gives the information on the background of people involved in
the incident, any arguments or disputes that have occurred, any shreds of
evidence etc. They may also contain some important quotes mad e by some
officials or people related to the incident. This part generally builds
anticipation among readers and helps readers understand the facts that lead
to the incident. In other words, it gives the causes for the incident. It drives
the audience deep into the whole scenario. Many articles also provide the
source of the information in order to prove its credibility. Photos and
videos of the incident are also added in this part.
3) Tail / Conclusion - The third and final part is known as the
tail/conclusio n. This section contains information regarding events that are
occurring related to the incident. They might also contain references
regarding similar incidents that had occurred.
1.2 NEWS VALUES
News values are "criteria that influence the selection and presentation of
events as published news." These values help explain what makes
something "newsworthy." News values may vary between different
cultures. Methodologically and conceptually, news valu es can be
approached from four different perspectives: material (focusing on the
material reality of events), cognitive (focusing on people's beliefs and
value systems), social (focusing on journalistic practice), and discursive
(focusing on the discourse) .
1.2.1 Newsworthiness:
Newsworthiness is defined as a subject having sufficient relevance to the
public or a special audience to warrant press attention or coverage.
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Factors determining newsworthiness :
a. Impact - People want to know how a story is going to affect them.
What consequences will be suffered if they don’t take action on your
issue? What is the extent of the said consequences?
b. Timeliness - The more recent your information, the more likely people
will find it of interest. In today’s age of inter net immediacy, this is
even truer than it used to be.
c. Proximity - The reader wants to know how close they are to the news,
e.g., if it is the Iran -Iraq War, will a reader in India think of it as close
enough to affect them severely? On the other hand, if t he news is about
an issue in Pune, will a reader in Mumbai be concerned due to the
proximity? Although the internet is breaking this one down, to some
degree, we are still more likely to care about something down the
street than across the world.
d. Human int erest - This is one of the most broad categories; these are
stories that show something about the human condition. From rags to
riches stories, experiential pieces and the like are things that make us
feel very strong emotions, they make us smile or laugh, derive purpose
and meaning or want to help others.
e. Conflict - It’s in human nature to gravitate toward conflict. Just think
of how much “news” comes out of every single election —A versus B
is a simple conflict to report, and we always want to know who’s
going to come out on top. On a larger scale, wars garner a lot more
attention than most topics thus making it highly newsworthy.
f. Celebrity - Whenever something happens to someone important or
semi -famous, we tend to care more about it because these people s eem
special to us, and we feel like —to some extent —we know them. Think
of the Kardashians, Sushant Singh Rajput, or more recently, the
Johnny Depp -Amber Heard case and their media coverage.
g. The Bizarre - More prominent and accessible in the Internet Age, t his
factor is anything with shock value. Such topics seem like click bait,
but sure enough, we will keep on clicking.
h. Controversy - Controversy means a conflicting news story that adds
newsworthiness. It is also known as disagreement of the news event:
the more controversial the news, the more critical the report to the
readers. Controversy attracts the audiences to read the information,
which adds sensation to the news story. People are always eager to
identify the truth behind the conflict. So, controvers y is another crucial
news value in journalism or element of newsworthiness. For example,
the BJP minister says that the Taj Mahal was a Shiva temple long ago.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: explaining media controversy. munotes.in
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i. Genuineness - Genuine news means an authentic story collected from
a trustable source. People always want to know the fact of the news.
The audience determines the authenticity of the news through the
genuine witness and trustworthy source of the news. For example,
according to the WHO, 192 million people have been affected by the
coronavirus, and 4.13 people have died. Most people will believe this
news as the World Health Organization (WHO) disseminates the
information via press conference.
j. Negativeness - Negative news spreads faster than positive. People
discuss and share negative events more than ordinary news. Negative
news occurs for a shorter period than positive news. Netizens share
this type of news on social media excessively. Therefore, negative
news goes viral quickly. For example , news of Lady Diana’s car crash
or Bollywood actress Jiah Khan’s demise.
1.3 NEWS GATHERING :
The work of collecting news for publication or broadcast is known as
news gathering. The newsgathering process involves sourcing ideas,
planning coverage, assigni ng teams, structuring packages, monitoring the
web, and working in the field.
1.3.1 Methods Of Gathering News:
The four most commonly used methods in news gathering used by
journalists are observation, telephone conversations, research and
interviews.
a. Observation: Observation consists of your actually seeing an event
take place and then reporting what you have seen in the form of a news
story. Skilled observers use their eyes, ears, mind, notebooks and tape
recorders. They make sure they get the concret e facts, specific figures and
accurate information. They look for the colourful, the dramatic or the
unusual in any situation. Skilled observers always try to get more
information than they actually need. The key to becoming a good observer
is to look for more than you see on the surface and this takes a lot of
experience.
b. Telephone Conversations: A timesaver for a journalist, a telephone
helps the reporter do their legwork easily and it often enables them to
reach people who are ordinarily too busy to be s een in person. The
following points have to be kept in mind for phone conversations –
1. Keep writing material / note -taking material ready before you call. Do
not make the receiver wait for you to find a pen and paper.
2. Speak politely and cheerfully, but business -like, with well -modulated
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3. Reconfirm facts before you hang up, do not call repeatedly with minor
queries.
4. Speak to the concerned person directly and not through a middle man, it
can hinder clarity in conversation.
5. Repeat back th e information they gave in short to recheck your data.
6. Do not discuss classified information or record the call without
permission.
Telephone conversations may range from full -scale interviews to brief
queries to verify or amplify information.
c. Research : The process of digging out information from files and
reference works, research is used to verify or amplify facts in news
stories and to give depth to feature stories and magazine articles.
d. Interviews: About 90 percent of everything in a news story is b ased on
some form of interviewing - either in person, by telephone, or
occasionally, by correspondence. For example, a journalist cannot be
present at every newsworthy incident or occurrence, say, an accident.
In such cases, interviews are the only way to gather first -hand
information for the news article.
1.3.3 E -news gathering:
In journalism, electronic news -gathering (ENG) is when reporters and
editors make use of electronic video and audio technologies in order to
gather and present news. This term was coined during the rise of videotape
technology in the 1970s. This term was commonly used in the television
news in the 1980s and '90s, but is used less frequently now, as the
technology has become commonplace. Reporters use light handheld
equipment, someti mes just a single camera, to an entire OB van on
location.
ENG greatly reduces the delay between when the footage is captured and
when it can be broadcast, thus enabling news gathering and reporting to
become a steady cycle with little time in between when story breaks and
when a story can air. We are now familiar with live microwave and/or
satellite trucks, reporters were able to show live what was happening,
bringing the audience into news events as they happened.
Outside broadcasts (also known as "remot e broadcasts" and "field
operations") are when the editing and transmission of the news story are
done outside the station's headquarters. Use of ENG has made possible the
greater use of outside broadcasts. The vehicle on which the electronic
equipment is fitted is called DSNG (digital satellite news gathering).
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1.3.4 Sources of News:
Now that you know how to determine newsworthiness and the process of
news gathering, let us discuss where you can find stories.
a. Someone may give you a tip —information that leads you to a potential
story.
b. Often, you can get a story idea directly from a source. A source
provides reliable, truthful information on a topic.
c. Once you have found a story, you need to locate sources to give you
enough useful facts to complete your story. News can only be made of
verified facts.
Some credible sources may be:
a. Schools and colleges
b. Hospitals
c. Police stations
d. Railway station offices
e. Post offices
f. Fire department offices
g. Local community: local media (newspapers, magazines, TV and radio)
libraries, business and community organisations
h. Global community: national and international media, the Internet
1.3.5 Types of sources of news:
Primary : A primary source offers the best and most reliable information
on a topic. Example - an expert on a particular topic, someone with
firsthand information on a topic, an original document, or an official
report. Always find at least one primary source for y our story.
Secondary : A secondary source offers reliable second -hand information
on a topic. Reference books, credible websites, people with informed
opinions on a topic are all secondary sources. Anonymous sources are
generally frowned upon in journalism. Always ensure that you verify your
sources and be especially cautious with the internet because the publisher
can not always be verified. If you gather source material on the Internet,
use web sites of well -known newspapers and magazines, government
agenc ies, and high -profile public service organisations.
1.4 READER INTEREST:
Reader -interest refers to the different areas and factors that capture a
reader’s interest and keep them hooked to a story or article. It is obvious
that relevance is the main factor that captures reader -interest, that is, if the munotes.in
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reader feels that the news story is relevant to them in any way (refer to the
section above pertaining to what makes a good story), then they are more
inclined to read the news story and refer to the same publ ication again and
again. This increases readership and consequently the circulation of the
publication. Hence, it is imperative for any news house to identify and
deliver on their readers’ interests.
But, readers derive their own meaning from stories. A g iven story may be
categorised by one reader as ‘international’, by another as ‘technology’,
and another as ‘financial’. News today is a cross -media phenomenon, and
people are often sufficiently informed about major ongoing stories without
clicking on every headline. Stories which appear trivial are often valued
by readers for their civic implications. There is a natural interest in local
news regardless of the topic. The research finds readers can be grouped
into four distinct clusters based on patterns of news preferences which all
include a diverse diet of news across multiple subjects:
- People with political and civic interest in news
- People with a social -humanitarian interest in news
- People with a cultural interest in news
- People who seek (political) dept h stories
1.4.1 Beats in journalism:
Beats can be called subsets of different types of journalism. Types in
journalism mean different fields of journalism that are independent of each
other generally, they use different pedagogy and research methods, for e.g.
Investigative Journalism, Feature Writing Column Writing, etc. while a
beat in journalism means going in -depth in any type of journalism, for e.g.
Business Magazines, Politics, Finance, Weather, Entertainment, TV
Network Schedules, Sports News, Local News Resources, Government
Directories, Horoscopes, Money, Personal Health Site, PR Newswires,
Social Media and much more. The term ‘beat’ is referred to as the way or
road taken by an individual on a regular basis. In journalism, the word
‘Beat’ is also r eferred to as the niche which is appointed to the reporter.
The main beats in journalism:
1. Political reporting - Political Journalism is a very prolific and very
broad branch of journalism. This beat includes coverage of all aspects of
politics and its p olitical science. Although the term usually refers
specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power. Many
people opt for this kind of journalism, and it requires a lot of courage and
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2. Sports - This beat is the nich e for sports and sports -related events
coverage. Reporters can cover information about hockey, football as well
as cricket tournaments held all around the globe.
3. Entertainment - This beat is where the journalist tries to reveal the
juicy gossip of the g lamorous people in the world. Entertainment reporting
takes interviews, reviews of music and films and much more. Think Page3
news, and you will understand the content type and structure of the news
stories.
4. Crime - Most audiences consume crime news in one or another way,
which means the audience is widespread. That is why this segment of
reporting requires all details before getting published. All crimes are
included in this reporting, from petty crimes to robberies and so on.
5. Lifestyle - Audiences w ill always be interested in what is going on in
the latest trend and what is in fashion. This reporting includes news/stories
about the latest fashion/fitness trends and other trending stuff. Fashion,
shopping, retail, and food beats are branches of this l ifestyle beat. This
beat is generally of the soft news type.
6. Civic - It is a type of reporting which covers citizen's wellness. This
type of reporting is not just normal news but that makes the audience
think. The purpose of this type of reporting is to make a difference by
public awareness.
7. Health - In today’s generation, many individuals have started to focus
on their health. The reporter covers topics like malnutrition, disease,
healthcare, paediatric care, nutrition, fitness, growing epidemics and much
more. Reports mainly try to focus on prevention of the serious ailment or
disease and for that, he must have great knowledge about that field and
provide us with the insights.
8. Business - All news related to trade/business falls under this category.
Import/Export, Goods, Trade, Market, Stock Exchange and other news
that are related to business attracts a large set of people and that is why
this type of reporting is one of the most famous r eporting in current time.
There are many more niches/beats like finance, law, education,
infrastructure, environmental, food, and so on. Different beats fall under
different types of hard and soft news. It is upto the reporter to find the
niche they are go od at and develop their craft. This includes forming a
source network, developing a distinct writing style, and ensuring that they
are up -to-date with the ongoings of their beat. A seasoned reporter
generally has a beat that they excel in and are considere d to be experts and
consultants within the field.
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1.5 QUALIFICATIONS OF A REPORTER
A reporter is a person who gathers information on a subject and then
writes about or broadcasts it. This profession is present in a wide array of
media outlets. He/she may work for a newspaper, magazine, radio show,
TV show, or website. The possibilities within each of those mediums are
endless. Many of those media outlets are needing more and more online
coverage. A reporter must be qualified because drafting a report is a
complex and specialised task. A reporter is a person who gathers
information and writes about it. A reporter is a type of journalist who
researches and presents information in the mass media. Reporters gather
their information in a variety of ways includi ng tips, press releases and
witness events. They perform research through interviews, public records,
and other sources. The information gathering part of the job is sometimes
called “ reporting” as distinct from the production part of the job.
Reporters a re always in the midst of the real action. They face the finest as
well as the worst situation. They usually meet with the most powerful
leaders or the most famous celebrities. They face danger and death with
courage and dedication. They are always curious and adventurous. The
news report eventually lands on the news desk. The process of editing
comes into operation, through a series of steps produces a package of
information ready for mass communication.
1.5.1 Qualities of a good reporter:
A reporter has t o be -
Smart
Quick
Curious
Honest
Courageous
Adventurous
Pleasant
Punctual
Able to effectively manage stress
Communicate effectively
Disciplined
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Credible
Experienced
Efficient
Patient
…in order to perform his journalistic duties properly.
It is preferred that a journalist has quality education, that is a degree or
course training in journalism, in order to be a good reporter. Their flexible
schedules also need them to be in good health, and good at writing down
facts and figures.
1.5.2 Special qu alities of a reporter -
1. Nose for news - ‘Nose for news’ is one of the most important qualities
for professional reporters. Good reporters have good news -hunting
capacity. They must be especially aware to find out what is strange
and unique to many people. Even a small matter can be a huge
scandalous news story if a good reporter really tries to dig out the
facts. Good reporters should have the ability to disseminate the good
news.
2. Alertness and impartiality - Good reporters must be curious. They
enjoy rea ding and appreciate details. They are always alert to all
probable news, news sources and news sense. They are quick to reach
the destinations where important news can be available. They are
equally critical to inspect, and evaluate all related sides of th e news
story.
3. Intelligence and courage - Good reporters must be intelligent and
courageous. Courage helps them to develop a thick skin to deflect the
inevitable criticism. They must write something that may hurt
someone’s prestige but not harm the ethics o f journalism. Intelligence
is also the most important attribute a reporter could have. Similarly,
courage is necessary to stand corrected, courage to take criticism,
courage to grow with the experiences, courage to accept what you
don’t understand.
4. Experti se in language - Good reporters learn to communicate ideas in
correct and effective language. They should write in simple, direct
prose without using complicated sentences. A good reporter should
report in such a way that the targeted audience can understa nd.
Otherwise, their news will not make sense or feel reader -friendly. A
good student is half a journalist. They already have a sense of
journalistic presentation. So, a reporter must be a language expert. munotes.in
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5. Handling media equipment - Professional reporters must know how to
operate Dictaphones (mostly outdated instrument but necessary in a
networkless setting), digital movie camera, mobile and satellite
phones, essential computer programming like MS -Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, Pagemaker (publication -editing soft ware), Photoshop,
Dreamweaver, and so on. They must have knowledge of
English/regional language typing skills, and knowledge to operate
email and the Internet.
6. Neutrality and faithfulness - Any and all reports must be free from
biased information. The info rmation provided in the report must be
reliable and valid. False, invalid and biased information hamper the
decision -making power of the readers.
7. Knowledge of structure and presentation - A basic understanding of
how to write down all relevant and necessar y information and maintain
proper structure should be known to a good reporter. They must know
how to present facts and information in a simple but effective way.
1.6 TYPES OF REPORTS
There are three types of reporting: objective, interpretative, and
investigative. Aside from that, there's a concept known as beat reporting as
seen above.
a. Objective - The term "objective reporting" refers to the
straightforward presentation of facts as they occurred. Contextualizing,
backgrounding, analysing, and opining are not part of objective
reporting. Without any subjective inputs, the repor ter simply
reports what he has seen or observed.
The concept of objective reporting can be summarised as follows:
Accuracy and realism in reporting
Presentation of all main relevant points
Balance and evenhandedness in presenting different sides of an issu e
Minimising the influence of the writer's own opinions,
attitudes, or involvement by separating facts from opinions but
treating opinions as relevant.
Staying away from slant, malicious, or devious motives.
b. Interpretative - Facts and int erpretation are combined in
interpretative reporting. Many times, the reporter must interpret certain
events for the benefit of the audience. It entails providing background
information on a specific incident or event. Aside from the facts
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background information so that the readers can better perceive and
comprehend the news. As a result, the reporter investigates the causes and
implications of a particular event and provides information as well as
an interpretation of its significance.
It's possible that the entire event will not take place in a single day. To
comprehend the occurrence of an event, we must first understand the
preceding one, or the seq uence of events that led to the most recent one.
And it is the reporter who interprets the event by informing the readers
about the event's past history or the actions that led to its occurrence. This
provides more context for events, and the reporter mu st keep track of
all past, present, and future events, as well as forecast the future
at times. As a result, interpretative reporting elucidates anevent's hidden
significance and distinguishes fact from fiction.
c. Investigative - Investigative reporting is when a news reporter has
to dig deeper than what's stated in the hard news to find out the exact facts
of an event, or, in other words, investigates beyond what is visible to the
naked eye. Investigative reporting entails looking in to any event.
Investigative journalism is in -depth and involves extensive research and
reporting over a long period of time. It reveals information that
isn't widely known and that others want to keep hidden.
Investigations are usually conducted in the event of a major event, when a
larger public concern is involved, or when public figures or celebrities are
involved.
1.7 STRUCTURE OF A NEWS REPORT
A news report follows a particular pattern in reporting as well as editing.
Every newspaper might have its own style of writing but a general format
followed by all the newspapers at base levels is systematically divided into
several parts, namely -
a. Headline - tells what the story is about
b. Byline - shows who wrote the story
c. Lead - tells the most important facts (5 W’s)
d. Body - contains more information and details
e. Ending - gives something to think about
The 4 -part report writing structure is as follows -
1. The Lead - The first paragraph of the news story is the lead. It co vers
the 5W1H of the story. What is the most important news? How can you
write it in the clearest way and make it interesting too?
2. Elaboration of lead - Two, three, four or five paragraphs that explain
support and amplify lead. munotes.in
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3. Key background - this places a context of the event which is
information that helps readers understand more about the news they are
reading. It includes quotes from witnesses or higher authorities, a
glimpse into a past similar event or cause, and references to previous
events.
4. Furth er elaboration and conclusion - More elaboration of the news, in
descending order of importance.
1.8 MULTIPLE -CHOICE QUESTIONS: (ANSWERS ARE
MARKED IN BOLD)
1. News is information about ___________ ( current events /outdated
events/uninteresting topics/instiga ting topics).
2. While writing a news story, a reporter should keep in mind the
__________ ( 5W1H /6H4W/Backwards Triangle/comma)
3. The 2 types of news are ________________ ( hard and soft /white and
black/RGB and CMYK/primary and secondary)
4. __________ refers to th e news stories that have a big impact on the
society as a whole and need to be reported urgently. ( Hard news /soft
news/old news/advertisements)
5. ______________ refers to the stories that provide other background
information about world events, human interest stories or
entertainment news. ( Soft news /hard news/old news/advertising)
6. _______________ are criteria that influence the selection and
presentation of events as published news which help explain what
makes something newsworthy. ( News values /news
updates/newsworthiness/reporting)
7. _________________is defined as a subject having sufficient relevance
to the public or a special audience to warrant press attention or
coverage. ( Newsworthiness /newshouse/newsroom/newspad)
8. _____________, a factor of newswo rthiness, is what attracts the
audiences to read the information, which adds sensation to the news
story. ( Controversy /interest/punctuality/instigating)
9. The work of collecting news for publication or broadcast is known as
_____________ ( news gathering /news collect/discovery/source)
10. The 4 methods of newsgathering are Observation, Telephone
Conversations, Research and ____________
(Interviews /electronic/imagination/assumptions)
11. In journalism, _________________ is when reporters and editors
make use of electro nic video and audio technologies in order to gather munotes.in
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and present news. ( electronic news -gathering /exotic
newsgathering/asking/shooters)
12. _______________ (also known as "remote broadcasts" and "field
operations") are when the editing and transmission of the n ews story
are done outside the station's headquarters. ( Outside
broadcasts /shooters/out -of-home/OTT)
13. Which of these qualifies as a credible source of news - __________
(hospital /neighbour aunty/children/gossip)
14. The 2 types of news source are ______________ ____ ( primary and
secondary /first and last/hard and soft/white and grey)
15. An expert on a particular topic is an example of _________ source of
news. ( primary /secondary/tertiary/peripheral)
16. A ___________offers reliable second -hand information on a topic, eg.
Reference books. ( secondary source of news /primary source of
news/gossip girl/paan wala)
17. _________________ refers to the different areas and factors that
capture a reader’s interest and keep them hooked to a story or article.
(Reader -interest /reader -eyes/ reading/circulation)
18. When a publishing keeps track of its _____________ and caters
relevant information, it increases readership and consequently the
circulation of the publication. ( reader -interest /downfalls/boring
topics/selfies)
19. In journalism, the word ‘___________’ is also referred to as the niche
which is appointed to the reporter. (Beat/hit/road/short)
20. _______________ is a type of reporting which covers citizen's
wellness. ( civic /entertainment/finance/fashion)
21. A ______________ generally has a beat tha t they excel in and are
considered to be experts and consultants within the field. ( seasoned
reporter /newbie/doctor/intern)
22. Reporters gather their information in a variety of ways including tips,
___________and witness events. ( press releases /anonymous
notes/byline/reader -interest)
23. This is not a recommended quality for a reporter - Courageous /
Biased /Adventurous /Pleasant
24. There are three types of reporting: objective, interpretative, and
____________ ( investigative /destructive/burrowing/unobje ctive)
25. Facts and interpretation are combined in ___________ ( interpretative
reporting /investigative reporting/objective reporting/lead paragraph) munotes.in
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26. The _________of a news article shows who wrote the story.
(Byline /headline/lead/conclusion)
27. The 3rd step of th e report -writing process is _____________ (The
Lead/Elaboration of lead/ Key background /Further elaboration and
conclusion)
28. Writing a news article follows the ______________ style of writing.
(Inverted Pyramid /Upright Pyramid/sideways pyramid/inverted
squar e)
29. Most audiences consume _________ news in one or another way,
which means the audience is widespread. ( crime /tax/civic/educational)
30. Electronic news -gathering _____________the delay between when the
footage is captured and when it can be broadcast. ( great ly
reduces /greatly increases/insists on/ignores)
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2
EDITING
Unit Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Newsroom
2.1.2 Functioning of the newsroom
2.1.3 Activities in a newsroom
2.1.4 Three major departments of a newspaper
2.2 Editorial structure of a newspaper - Roles and duties of the team
2.2.1 Newsroom of Magazines
2.2.2 Newsroom in the digital age
2.3 Chief Editor as policy maker and keeper of public conscience
2.3.1 Skills required for an Editor -in-Chief
2.3.2 The Sub -editor
2.4 Editing copy with reference to the final display and layout
2.4.1 Layout
2.4.2 Processing of Copy
2.5 Questions
2.0 OBJECTIVES:
To help students understand the organisation and roles and functions
of a newsroom.
To clarify the importance of a news publication house in terms of
policy making and in keeping public conscience.
To help students understand editing of copy in accordance with design
and layout for different media.
2.1 INTRODUCTION :
The publication of a n ewspaper is a complicated activity which needs a
professionally trained and experienced team. A team consisting of
editorial and reporting staff completes various assignments, which include munotes.in
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news gathering, news selection, news editing and page making etc. under
the leadership of the editor. All these activities are known as news
processing which take place every day in a newsroom under tremendous
pressure in order to meet the deadlines. Moreover, the staff has to adhere
to the ABC of Journalism, i.e., Accur acy, Brevity, and Clarity, within
deadlines. This makes the newsroom a buzzing place.
i. Editorial desk and its setup, functions of the chief sub -editor, news
editor, sub -editors
2.1.1 Newsroom:
A newspaper is made by its editorial and reporting team. They generally
sit under one roof, known as the newsroom, for completion of their tasks.
They go through sleepless nights until the newspaper goes for publication
from the newsroom to the printing press. Even after publication, pressure
related to factual and/ or technical errors and under or over play of news,
keeps them tense.
Newsroom is where the actual news operation takes place. It is the heart of
a newspaper where information is processed into news and views. The
editorial wing (also known as Editorial De partment or Copy Desk or News
Desk) and reporting wings are parts of the newsroom.
2.1.2 Functioning of the newsroom:
The newsroom never sleeps as various activities take place in three shifts -
morning, afternoon and night. The first shift starts in the morning, when
the editor calls a meeting for analysis of news coverage and comparing it
with the rival newspapers. If everything is fine, then the efforts of
colleagues are appreciated. However, in case of factual errors and
technical mistakes, these are p ointed out and valuable inputs given for
improvement. Then planning for news coverage is made and accordingly
duties are assigned to the editorial and reporting staff. This brainstorming
session gives useful guidance to the juniors how to avoid mistakes an d
maintain consistency in news coverage and presentation. It is also a kind
of warm up session, which activates the members of a newspaper house,
particularly reporters, who after this session, proceed in search of news.
The afternoon session activates the editorial wing. All editorial staff,
particularly the Sub/Copy Editor, Senior Sub/Copy Editor and Chief
Sub/Copy Editor, starts the editing process under the guidance of the
News Editor. It may go slowly in the beginning of the work day, but in the
evenin g, news comes very fast and is processed accordingly in order to
meet deadlines. Keeping in view the news values, this wing proposes lead
news followed by other news items on various pages before the Editor.
After multi -level checking it is finalised and t he news goes on different
pages for designing and publication. munotes.in
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This entire process requires professional skills, team efforts and co -
ordination at every level. A newsroom undertakes the activities of news
gathering, selection of news, editing and Page layout and designing.
2.1.3 Activities in a newsroom:
a. News Gatheri ng: Reporters are one of the main sources of news. They
cover various beats and collect news with all the details they can using
their sources. Thereafter, news is submitted to the newsroom, where it is
processed and put up in a presentable manner. The edi ting and reporting
wings working closely together is very important in the process of news
making and presentation. Their coordination ensures news that is correct
and complete delivered in a timely manner to the audiences.
b. News Selection : The next step is the selection of news. In a newspaper
organisation, a number of gatekeepers work at various points in the editing
and reporting wings. Gatekeeping is the process where information is
filtered for publication, when a media institution or journalist will de cide
what is important enough to be broadcasted. The fact that news outlets
become gatekeepers, gives them the opportunity to select specific stories.
Their duty is to select or reject information on the basis of their news -
worthiness. A reporter may draw upon his/her sources, reach the spot and
make efforts to obtain information. However, each event and incident will
not be newsworthy and a few stories get selected for making news. Even
the reporter has to reject some events/incidents, which do not have ne ws
value.
c. News Editing : Editing is the final point of a newsroom, where a sub -
editor or copy editor examines the news value of that news story and edits
it in order to make it readable. They read all news stories carefully, edit
and fine tune the news ite ms and read it again. A sub editor follows the
editing methods such as arranging, adding, reducing and translating the
facts and gives a readable shape including a headline to the news items.
The gatekeeping process continues at the level of editing too.Th e Sub -
editor or copy editor may reject the news story, if it is not relevant for a
larger audience and does not contain news values. Editing is the soul of a
newspaper which cannot survive without excellent editing.
d. Page Designing and Layout : Presentation of a newspaper is very
important for attracting readers. That is why newspaper organisations are
doing extensive research on content presentation and implementing the
findings. The presentation includes placement of news and photos, use of
logos, illustra tions and graphics and most importantly; style sheet that
covers font, colour, box and pointers etc. In totality, page designing and
layout covers all these aspects and the same are finalised by newsroom
staff. For this part of the process, Desktop Publish ing (DTP) operators are
extremely important and are in great demand. In recent times, say, the last
5 years, and especially during the COVID -19 Pandemic, the importance of
online news has skyrocketed. In these circumstances, news publishing munotes.in
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houses are payi ng more and more attention to their online presentation.
The design and layout of their online webpages, blogs, articles, links, and
app presentation are garnering major attention of the newsroom.
2.1.4 A newspaper has 3 major departments -
a. Editorial - The editorial department forms the backbone of any
newspaper organization. As the name implies, this department is the one
responsible for content creation in any newspaper establishment. The main
responsibilities of this department is the gathering of news, selecting
which news and features get to be published in the paper, editing the news
and features that have been selected for publication and then laying them
out for print. Following chart represents the hierarchy of the department
followed by a brief d escription of the functions performed by various staff
members.
The various roles and responsibilities of different members of the
newsroom are given in the next sub -heading.
b. Advertising - As an integral mass media vehicle, newspapers are
vehicles of ad vertising meant to appeal to their readers. As such, the
advertising department is the one which is critical because it gets in the
revenue necessary to sustain the newspaper.Getting in revenue through
advertising for the newspaper happens through various means. There can
be several sections in this department, one to look after local advertising,
one for classified ads, one for general / national advertising, one for legal
advertising and yet another one for preparing copy and so on. For munotes.in
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example, there is a complete sales team in place, whose job it is to push
the newspaper as an advertising vehicle of choice to advertising and media
buying agencies acting on behalf of clients, as well as clients. The
Advertising department will accept and process orders fr om advertisers, to
book space in the newspapers, as well as create ads, give agencies
statistics and information about the circulation and readership of the
newspaper as well, as well as work with the editorial teams to createspace,
the department carries out a number of functions, including accepting and
processing orders from advertisers, creating advertisements, providing
media information to advertisers and advertising agencies, helping
businesses develop advertising plans and working with editorial tea ms to
develop features that will attract advertisers or help clients place their
products with a coordinated editorial write up.
c. Circulation - The circulation department takes care of everything after
the newspaper is printed. This includes delivering the publication to
homes through their own or third -party carriers, to the post office to be
mailed into homes, as well as to newsstands, vendin g machines, and other
places it's circulated. It is usually headed by a major executive, the
circulation manager, since the newspaper ultimately stands or falls on the
basis of the number of steady readers that can be enrolled. The circulation
manager may have any or all of the following subdivisions under his
supervision:
(i) City Circulation : It involves the maintenance of circulation records for
the city of publication; the recruitment, supervision and reimbursement of
carrier boys; the: supervision of d istrict men who oversee circulation by
subdivisions of the city, taking responsibility for moving papers to the
news -stands, relations with news -stand operators, etc.
(ii) Area Circulation : Responsibilities here include getting papers destined
for the surrounding area into the mail and operation of a fleet of
tempos/taxis to carry the papers into surrounding areas where mail service
is not rapid enough.The circulation manager is also in charge of moving
the papers into the appropriate distribution chann els as they move into the
mailing room from the press room.
(iii) Sales Promotion : It involves the direction of an office staff to keep
records, notifying subscribers when their subscriptions need renewing, the
handling of complaints, new subscriptions and renewals over the counter,
by mail, etc. Promotion is essentially the "public relations" department of
the newspaper. Where a separate promotion department exists, it usually is
responsible for initiating promotion policies, subject to the approval of the
publisher, and usually coordinates the promotional activities of other
departments.
Out of these, the Editorial department comes under expenses, the
Advertising department comes under revenue, and Circulation forms a part
of both revenue and expenses. munotes.in
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The other departments of the news publishing house include:
Printing Department - This is another department in a newspaper
establishment whose name simply tells people the job that they perform.
This department is responsible for the printing of the newspape rs. The
department is in charge of everything that has to do with the production
and printing of the papers, which includes, transforming journalists’
stories into type and maintaining the printing machines.
Administrative Department - This department is r esponsible for the
general administration of the entire establishment. The department is in
charge of certain very important duties such as planning, organising and
staffing.Thus, the department basically looks after the general
administrative work pertain ing to personnel their selection, training,
promotion, allotment of work, maintaining leave record, liaison with
government departments, general facilities and all such work that
facilitates working of other departments. In the absence of a separate legal
department the administrative department also handles the work pertaining
to legal matters. Otherwise there is a separate department for the legal
aspects.
Stores Department - This is a department that has one sole responsibility
which is to properly store newsprint and all the raw materials used for
printing. They also store all other materials that are used in the
establishment.
IT Department - This department is in charge of protecting, maintaining,
and improving the technical equipment associated with r unning a media
outlet. Engineers/technicians spend some of their time on preventive
maintenance and trying to keep equipment from breaking and much more
of their time fixing equipment that has already broken. This last job is
especially important, consider ing that the high cost of new technology
makes it difficult to replace equipment. Like the production/printing
department, this department is not a part of the news department but still
plays an important part in the newscast. This department is mostly hea ded
by the Chief Engineer. He/She is responsible for all operations and
maintenance that has to do with any and all engineering equipment used
throughout the organisation. Chief engineer has to manage and maintain
complex integrated systems with minimum su pervision and maintain and
repair all technical equipment in the organisation. This position requires
the ability to troubleshoot, diagnose and handle the tools necessary to
repair newsroom equipment and effectively present information and
respond to quest ions from managers, clients, customers and the public. A
solid working knowledge of the latest gadgets, computers, hardware, parts
and related software with practical knowledge of electrical, plumbing and
basic construction techniques is helpful. Chief Eng ineer presides over
ground -keeping technician. munotes.in
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2.2 EDITORIAL STRUCTURE OF A NEWSPAPER -
ROLES AND DUTIES OF THE TEAM :
The editorial structure of a newspaper organisation constitutes a variety of
professional staff at different levels.
Editor/Chief Editor/Editor -in-Chief - An experienced and visionary
professional who heads a newspaper organisation is known as the Editor
or Chief Editor or Editor -in-Chief. S/he supervises and controls all the
newsrooms (in multi edition newspapers) that come under hi s/her
authority across the country. The designation varies according to the size
and structure of a newsroom. In the case of single or multi -edition
newspapers, s/he decides and implements the editorial policy and looks
after its execution in consultation with the Resident and Executive Editors.
The person is actively involved in the planning and growth of the
newspaper and being the head of the news as well as views wing, s/he is
responsible for everything particularly the editorial page, which is
consider ed to be the voice of a newspaper. Despite the busy schedule, s/he
writes editorial and special comments on contemporary issues from time
to time. The content and presentation of the newspaper reflect his/her
vision.
Executive Editor - As the name suggest s, Executive Editor executes the
vision of the Editor -in-Chief or Chief Editor into reality. S/he takes part in
all initiatives taken by the Chief Editor and accordingly gives suggestions
to the junior staff. In the absence of the Editor -in-Chief, s/he loo ks after all
the activities of the newsroom. The Executive Editor also keeps oneself up
to date about the activities of multi -edition newspapers and apprises the
chief editor accordingly.
Resident Editor - In the case of multi -edition newspapers published from
different cities/towns/capitals, a person who heads that particular edition is
known as Resident Editor. For example, The Times of India originates
from Mumbai, but its other editions are from New Delhi, Kolkata, Patna
and Chandigarh etc. Similarly, The Hindustan Times originates from New
Delhi, but its editions are in Mumbai, Chandigarh, Patna, Lucknow etc.
Hindi newspapers like Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan have
more than 30 editions across the country which are led by the Resident
Editor s. Thus Resident Editor serves as extended arms of the Chief Editor,
who implements the newspaper’s policies and is responsible for the
selection and publication of news and views for the local editions. S/he
heads the local editorial and reporting wing of a newspaper.
News reporter - A news reporter gathers information about news stories in
the local area. There are generally two kinds of reporters: i) a beat
reporter, and ii) a general assignment reporter. A beat reporter covers the
same subject or locatio n all the time. The subject is generally of interest to
the reporter. Various beats include legal reporting, parliamentary
reporting, political reporting, etc. A general assignment reporter, on the munotes.in
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other hand, covers any story assigned by the city editor o r assistant city
editor.
Chief sub/copy editor - The chief copy editor is in charge of the
newspaper's copydesk. The people on the copydesk read news stories (and
sometimes stories from other sections) to make sure they are written
according to the newspape r's standards. The chief copy editor makes final
decisions about the copy and is in charge of the staffing of the desk.
Copy editor - A copy editor is specially trained to read the stories that
others have written and make sure they conform with the rules o f grammar
and style. A copy editor also writes headlines and performs other duties
that help produce the newspaper every day.
Photo editor - A photo editor is not a photographer, although it is often the
case that the photo editor is a former photographer. This editor assigns
photographers and helps select the photos that the newspaper prints.
Graphics editor - The graphics editor is the head of the graphics
department, sometimes called the "art department." This editor is in charge
of all of the graphics and illustrations produced for the newspaper.
Graphics reporter - A graphics reporter researches and designs
informational graphics that support news stories in the paper. A graphics
reporter is an expert in graphic forms and also must be able to find local
information that can be used to build graphics.
Editorial page editor - The editorial page editor is responsible for the
editorial page and the "op -ed" page of the newspaper. These pages are
where the newspaper's editorials are printed as well as letters to t he editor,
columns by syndicated columnists and guest columns by local people.
Managing editor - This is the person who is in charge of the day -to-day
production of the newspaper.
City Editor - The city editor -sometimes called the metro editor -is in
charge of the news coverage of the area in which the newspaper is located.
The city editor usually has the largest staff and assigns tasks to most of the
local news reporters.
Publisher - The publis her is responsible for all of the operations of the
newspaper, both editorial and business. The main job of the publisher is to
see that the newspaper remains financially healthy. Often in smaller
papers, the publisher and editor are the same person.
Train ee: A trainee is a newcomer who joins a newspaper just after the
completion of his/her professional degree. In order to understand the
working mechanism of a newsroom, s/he is put in association with a sub
editor, where s/he learns the basic principles of news editing and page munotes.in
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designing. S/he also seeks guidance from the senior members regarding
the functioning of a newsroom.
These designations are the basic requirements of any news publishing
house, but there are specialised designations according to News Wing,
Reporting Wing, Photography Wing, and Desktop Publishing Wing which
are similar to the ones given above, but their job description is much more
specialised/narrowed down according to the requirements of the
departments.
2.2.1 Newsroom of Magazines :
The newsroom of magazines which is totally different from a newspaper
due to the difference in their periodicity, size and content. A magazine is
published in a digest or journal form while a newspaper comes up in
broadsheet or tabloid. The periodicity of a magazine may be weekly,
fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, even half yearly etc., while a newspaper
comes up on a daily or weekly basis. Moreover, the content of a
newspaper mainly focuses on daily happenings that provide information in
inverted pyramid st yle, but the magazine covers an event for a longer
period, based on research. It may be a week or month on the basis of
periodicity, thus, it has enough time to give in -depth analysis of any
events.
2.2.2 Newsroom in the digital age :
Due to the advent of d igital technology, media is produced and consumed
on digital devices. The growing prevalence of smartphones and tablets and
the News Room Set -up & Functions: Print & Online media wireless
networks that connect them, implies that more people will view media on
a digital device.
Literacy is the primary requirement in the case of print media which is not
required for online media as there is substantial use of audio and video
components in it. Live discussions and various other formats are used in
the online m edia platforms. Any form of print media be it newspaper,
magazine, journals etc. has its limitation in terms of its reach whereas
online media with availability of internet has wider canvas. In print media
there is always a time limit for the collection of news as its publication
remains due until that time, but in online media there is no such deadline
and information can be updated anytime at regular intervals. The
newsroom setup for online media comprises a fully equipped editorial
department with online reporters and online editors. The newsroom also
consists of modern gadgets in order to facilitate and carry out the
information. Television sets, cell phones, personal computers, video
monitors, professional video cameras, microphones and foldback speaker s,
stage lighting rigs and the associated controlling equipment are few of the
essential gadgets required to be set -up in a newsroom. There are myriad
functions of online media, it reports the news, serves as an intermediary munotes.in
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between the government and the people and keeps people actively
involved in society and politics. Content reproduction and updating is
much simpler and cheaper in online media. It reaches out to the large,
scattered, heterogeneous and anonymous audience at the same time.
2.3 CHIEF EDITO R AS POLICY MAKER AND KEEPER
OF PUBLIC CONSCIENCE
Editors -in-chief serve as the leaders of their publications. As such, they
have a wide range of responsibilities to ensure the smooth operation of
their news outlet, magazine, journal, or other publication.
1. Determine publishing guidelines - The editor -in-chief is responsible for
determining the tone and scope of the publication. They instruct the
editorial staff to ensure topics are appropriate for the publication and that
the voice is consistent.
2. Crea te an editorial board - An editorial board is an outline of each issue
(or, in the case of a digital publication, the monthly schedule) of a
publication. The editor -in-chief is responsible for mapping out the content
and ensuring it is consistent with the publication’s scope (while varied
enough to not become monotonous).
3. Review content - The editor -in-chief reviews the content of each issue
and makes sure it is free of copy errors or inappropriate content (for
example, libel). For larger publications, e ditors -in-chief will determine the
editorial board and then delegate the issue to the editors and writers to
manage, finally doing a final review of the issue to ensure the content is
up to the publication’s standards. For smaller publications, the editor -in-
chief is more involved in the editing and writing process and will review
the publication multiple times, even engaging in copyediting, before their
final review.
4. Hire and lead the editorial team - As the leader for the publication, the
editor -in-chief is a key part of the team and sets the tone for the office
environment. Their team can be composed of any number of people, but is
usually a combination of senior editors, junior editors, and writers (either
in-house or freelance writers). The editor -in-chief also hires (or facilitates
the hiring) of new department editors and writers as the need arises.
5. Write editorials - The editor -in-chief will contribute written pieces to
the publication periodically —either as full articles or as introductory
editorial pieces that serve as a prologue to the issue’s content.
6. Manage the budget - The editor -in-chief manages the publication’s
budget and determines where incoming money will be best used. This
means they can choose to allocate resources to increase ma rketing efforts,
to hire new staff members, to increase pay rates to be more competitive,
and so on. munotes.in
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7. Represent the publication - The editor -in-chief’s job isn’t always behind
a desk —they are also the face of the publication, and they are responsible
for representing it at publishing conferences and social events. Public
relations is a vital part of marketing and fundraising for the publication.
Editors -in-chief don’t just need to have top -notch writing skills; they need
to know the field of their publica tion so that they can make informed
creative decisions about their audience, tone, and scope. For example, the
editor -in-chief of a fashion magazine will need to have in -depth
knowledge of the history, modern -day landscape, and potential future of
the fash ion world. This knowledge can come either from study or work
experience.
2.3.1 Skills required for an Editor -in-Chief:
Copyediting - Copyediting skills involve revising written text to improve
readability while also ensuring the information is accurate, co nsistent and
free of omissions or repetitiveness.
Strong attention to detail - Attention to detail involves the ability to
recognize both small and large details with a high level of consistent
accuracy. An editor -in-chief needs to have strong attention to detail to
ensure consistency in the style and tone of their publications.
Excellent editorial judgement - An editor -in-chief must know how to fact -
check articles and references for accuracy. They also need to identify
whether the content is appropriate fo r publishing and determine the right
time to publish the content.
Proofreading - Proofreading skills involve the ability to identify errors in
spelling, grammar, syntax, style and tone while reading written text.
Leadership skills - Leadership skills involve the ability to guide others in a
manner that results in success for the entire group. As the highest -ranking
position on the editorial staff, the editor -in-chief must motivate, encourage
and provide instruction to the other mem bers of the editorial team to lead
the publication to success.
Communication skills - These skills involve the ability to clearly and
professionally communicate information orally and in writing. Editors -in-
chief need strong communication skills to provide feedback to
copywriters, journalists and editors in a positive manner that encourages
growth and change when necessary.
Interpersonal skills - These skills involve the ability to communicate
professionally and build strong relationships with the people yo u meet in
person. An editor -in-chief has supervisory authority over their team and
represents their team at social events and gatherings, so they need to have
strong listening skills, empathy and the ability to build positive
professional relationships. munotes.in
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Organisation and time -management - An editor -in-chief needs excellent
organisation and time -management skills to ensure they can prioritise
tasks, plan and complete projects by their deadlines, remember important
details and maximise their efficiency and pro ductivity.
The best editor is the person who can take a modest story and make it big,
broad and powerful. A great editor is one who pushes a reporter to widen a
story’s scope or one who recognizes an impact in the story that the
reporter might not have see n initially. Another crucial characteristic of the
great editor is that they stand behind the reporter throughout any firestorm
that ensues. A spine of steel is imperative.
An Editor -in-Chief sets the editorial direction and policies for the
publication an d makes sure a timely publication of each issue with high -
quality articles. The criteria for articles include the originality, high
quality, and genuine interest to a wide international audience. Since the
Chief Editor is responsible for making final decis ions about which stories,
articles and photographs to publish and attends meetings with the
publisher or publication board to discuss issues and plans for the
publication as well as budget allocation, they are essentially the policy
makers for their newspa per/channel.
2.3.2 The Sub -editor:
The sub -editor plays an anonymous role, while the editor catches the
limelight. The sub -editor is the backbone of the editorial department, it is
him who drafts news items and corrects reports.
What makes a good sub-editor :
1. A good sub -editor must have a keen sense of news, to select the news
element from given details. His news sense also tells him to condense
news, without sacrificing the essence of it. He understands that
tightening of copy should be done wit hout distorting or damaging the
essence of the Story.
2. He has a sense of proportion and judgement to give a fair, balanced
report of facts.
3. He has the ability to draft an accurate report, without getting carried
away by fancy, exaggeration or dramatis ing the story.
4. A good sub -editor has common sense, a lot of information, and an
understanding of the reader's point of view. This helps him to keep
away from adding his own viewpoints or opinions while drafting the
news item.
5. A good sub -editor is con scious of the laws of libel, contempt and
copyright. He carefully guards against indecency and vulgarity of
language. He is aware of his responsibility as a journalist who munotes.in
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influences and shapes public taste and opinion, and tries to achieve a
high standard of decent reporting.
6. A sub -editor has to work with his team at the editorial desk, hence he
hasto have team spirit, sense of cooperation.
7. The sub -editor has to have the strength to stand the stress of a hectic,
heavy load of writing, which may affec t his health. He believes in the
value of his profession, he needs moral courage to pursue the truth of
events with fairness and objectivity.
Duties of the Sub -Editor :
The main function of the Sub -Editor is the job of "policing" the content of
the paper. T his consists of the following activities.
1. The Sub -Editor checks copy against errors of fact and interpretation. A
good sub approaches a story with a healthy cynicism, not only about
facts, but also the manner in which they are interpreted. He must know
when to doubt.
2. He corrects errors of punctuation and spelling and mistakes of style.
Style refers to such paints as capitalisation, abbreviations, addresses,
collective nouns, compound words, dates, figures, punctuation, titles,
etc. Rules of style are not entirely a matter of correctness. Their main
objective is consistency.
3. He cuts out necessary details and words. He must master the art of tight
writing or condensation.
4. He prevents libellous matter, questionable allusions, innuendoes
(depreciator y remarks), baseless charges, unsubstantial statements,
obscenity, salacious (lustful) reports of immoral activities of people, or
anything that is in bad taste or unsafe to be printed.
A sub -editor must particularly beware of getting his editor nicked fo r
contempt of court or defamation. A sub -editor who costs the
newspaper hard cash in libel damages is never really forgiven, at least
by the company's accountants. A sub -editor who lands his editor in
prison can consider that he has ended his own career a s a journalist.
5. He guards against propaganda in the guise of news. He must be able to
detect attempts to secure publicity through handouts, press notes, etc.
6. He avoids expressions or statements that are likely to be misconstrued.
7. He deletes gruesome and lurid details, especially of murders, suicides
and accidents, which make painful reading. He must see that the
private lives and reputations of individuals are respected. He must not
indulge in character assasination.
8. He eliminates all goss ip, hearsay reports and speculative stuff. munotes.in
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9. He keeps out all stale news from the paper and tries to avoid repetition.
He guards against duplication.
10. He bears in mind the editorial policy of the paper.
11. He sees that the reports published are object ive, fair and are not
coloured by the writer's feelings or opinions. His sense of·
responsibility to himself, to his profession, his employer and the public
all conspire to demand of him his utmost skill in making every copy
fair and objective. He must see that what is published is free from all
bias, slant or partisanship of the writer. One of the basic canons of fair
and responsible journalism is that the prejudices and preconceived
opinions of the writer should not influence his reporting or writing.
Reports of events, proceedings and controversies should be impartial
and non -partisan.
12. He sees that the reports contain all the necessary details or facts. If
they have been overlooked by the reporter, he supplies them.
13. He guards against axe -grinding. For instance, a politician having some
private ends to serve might have issued a statement on some issue. A
careful sub -editor will not allow such a statement to get into the paper.
A good sub is careful not to take any statement at face value. He keeps
a sharp ear open for the sound of axe grinding, i.e, for those reporters
or articles that have a strong personal opinion about something that
they want people to accept and that is the reason why they frame the
content in a particular way.
14. He guards aga inst absurdities and irregularities. Irregularities in
spellings of names of persons and places are common.
15. He ensures that stories are accurate in every respect. If there is one
ultimate guiding principle in editing, it is accuracy. Nowhere in the
newspaper operation is this more important than on the copy desk. The
desk provides the last check in accuracy
16. He ensures that the interests of the public, of society and of the country
are safeguarded.
2.4 EDITING COPY WITH REFERENCE TO THE
FINAL DISPLA Y AND LAYOUT
Page layout is the arrangement of visual elements on a page. It generally
involves organisational principles of composition to achieve specific
communication objectives.
High -level page layout involves deciding on the overall arrangement of
text and images, and possibly on the size or shape of the medium. It
requires intelligence, sentience, and creativity, and is informed by culture,
psychology, and what the document auth ors and editors wish to munotes.in
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communicate and emphasise. Low -level pagination and typesetting are
more mechanical processes. Given certain parameters such as boundaries
of text areas, the typeface, and font size, justification preference can be
done in a straigh tforward way. Until desktop publishing became dominant,
these processes were still done by people, but in modern publishing, they
are almost always automated.
2.4.1 Layout :
The layout of a newspaper is designed to attract readership and to optimise
the ne wspaper's effectiveness in presenting information. Rules and
conventions have evolved over the years and almost all western
newspapers share well -established layout principles.
Newspaper layout was one of the first newspaper processes automated
with the h elp of computers. The application is obvious and the market is
large. The problem is reasonably constrained; the program is given a set of
news articles and advertisements. Advertisements are placed according to
one set of rules, while news articles are pl aced in the remaining space (the
"newshole") according to another set of rules.
The traditional newspaper front page displays only the first part of the
articles and makes the reader jump to an inside page to continue the story.
This has been shown to lose one out of five readers. Ideally, the whole
story should be displayed to avoid jumps, but real estate on the front page
is expensive and there is not enough room to show articles in full unless
the number of front page stories is severely limited. This pr oblem does not
occur with online publishing, though the use of clickbait headlines does
increase considerably to attract more readership.
Given the dynamic nature of audience choices, there are a few rules to live
by in layout and presentation of news cont ent.
2.4.2 Processing of Copy :
a. Teaching Influence of the Copy Desk : Sub-Editors not only perform
their own duties but exert a subtle influence on the newsroom as a whole.
Sub-Editors can, in fact, be one of the most powerful teaching influences
in the office. Seasoned subs often show reporters why their copy was
changed. A conscientious writer can learn much about the fine points of
his trade or technique by watching closely the treatment his own copy gets
at the hands of the subs. If a conscientious sub -editor makes any change in
a report, it is not because he has any lan guage more simple and clear.
b. Heavy Responsibilities of the Sub Editor :
1. When a sub -editor is handling news of public affairs, of the sort that
deals with war and peace, labour unrest, unemployment, food shortage,
etc. he realises the heavy responsibili ty that rests on him. munotes.in
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2. Working on a front page story for a paper with a circulation of one lakh,
he knows that he has a potential leadership of three or four lakhs. He has,
therefore, to make sure that the story is written and displayed in a manner
that will be easily read and understood by all sections of that vast
readership. He must also ensure that the devices he has used to attract the
readers' attention at the top of the story or in the headline do not have the
effect of giving a totally wrong impr ession.
3. A sub -editor feels the responsibility keenly when handling important
news like war stories. To prepare and present an authentic picture of, for
instance, a war, from a welter of confusing and contradictory material, is a
very responsible job. To present such news in its proper perspective is a
very difficult job.
4. Today newspapers are mass media and as such they must be written to
reach a mass readership, not just a highly literate few.
c. Copy Preparation - Do's and Don'ts: Though rules regard ing copy
preparation are the first things one learns as a sub -editor, copy is not well -
prepared in most newsrooms and leads to a lot of confusion and delay.
Sometimes the copy is dirty, sloppy and unreadable. It is very necessary
that copy should be typed well and with proper space between the lines
and the margins. It must also be properly indicated where a paragraph
begins, where a story continues and where it ends. If these simple matters
are handled indifferently, there will be needless confusion.
Some rules to be observed in copy preparation are as follows : -
1. Copy should be slugged properly.
2. Paragraphs must be clearly marked.
3. No word should be split at the end of a line.
4. Sentences and paragraphs should always be ended on a page and not
spill over to another page.
5. If a story runs more than a take, the word 'more' is written in the lower
right hand corner or a diagonal arrow is drawn pointing in that
direction.
6. If a story ends, use an end mark
7. If material is eliminated, but you want it restored, write in the margin
the word 'stet’ and indicate the part to be restored.
8. If the name of any person or place or thing has an unusual spelling but
is right, put a light check mark above the word s o that the printer may
not be in doubt and make a mistake.
9. When you eliminate anything in a typed copy, mark the words to be
deleted very neatly by typing. munotes.in
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d. News Writing - In short, news writing is the personification of
Accuracy, clarity, good judgement, and responsibility. Flamboyance,
generalities, pretensions, high -flown phrases, wandering sentences have
no place in a modern newspaper. That does not however mean that
newspaper writing has to be dull and drab. Between the extremes of fine
and dull writing lies the newspaper style.
e. The Style Book : Does the spelling ‘grey’ sound wrong to you? Or
does ‘gray’ sound incorrect? This is an example of the difference between
the UK and US styles of writing. It is imperative that a reporter picks or
develops a writing style and sticks to it to avoid confusing the reader.
The disciplines needed to make newspaper writing conform to the house
style are listed in good newspaper offic es in what is known as the Style
Book. Most casual readers of newspapers are not aware that virtually all
publications follow style rules of one type or another. If writers did not
follow a given style consistently, the reader would subconsciously - feel
that something was wrong because of variations. Many regular readers
would note such variations as "one rupee", "1 Rupees". "Rs.1.00",
“Rs.1.00" or say "convenor" and "convener". Readers get confused if in a
single issue of a newspaper there were different s tyles. Most newspapers
therefore, set the style for everything that goes into print. Editors may set
the house style by prescribing the use of a particular dictionary, specifying
which of "the alternate spellings in that dictionary should be used, or even
by overruling a dictionary and arbitrarily prescribing their own spellings.
These standards of preference, or style, relate to the manner of dealing
with spelling, punctuation, word division, capitalisation, abbreviation, the
form of titles, and whether nu mbers will be figures or spelled, etc.
Conformity to the accepted style in the preparation and handling of copy
has to be mandatory. Any newspaper which tries to maintain its style will
win the confidence of its readers. Any changes in style will be notice d at
once by them and they will slowly begin to lose their confidence in the
paper. In the absence of any standards in writing, there will be endless
arguments between reporters and sub -editors and conditions in the
newsroom will be chaotic. A newspaper's physical appearance reflects the
thinking of the people who produce it. If it is slipshod and inconsistent,
then the reader forms that idea about its character.
f. Making the News Meaningful : The ultimate aim of all editing is to
make the news meaningful fo r all the readers. In polishing the language,
writing the headlines, selecting and fitting the news into available space,
arraying it or displaying it in the paper - in all these processes the chief
concern of the sub -editor is to present the news as attra ctively,
intelligently and effectively as possible.
g. Readable Writing : The largest single factor in meaningful writing is
readable writing. Readable writing has much to do with the style of
writing. The style of newspaper writing is different from the styl e of
writing employed by authors of books or from that of novelists.
Newspaper writing is writing for the people. While one should not munotes.in
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underrate the intelligence of the average reader, one should not overrate
his vocabulary. Some journalists have aptly des cribed a newspaper as the
schoolmaster of the people, the common masses.
The following points have to be borne in mind in relation to readable
writing
1. Simplicity and clarity are the chief characteristics of all news writing.
2. If a big word is more eas ily understood because of its frequency of
usage or currency than a shorter word which is rarely used, use the
bigger word by all means. For instance, the word 'election' is easily
understood. There is no need to change it to 'poll' every time one
comes ac ross the word.
3. At the same time, there is no justification for the use of words like
accelerate, ameliorate, beverage, bereavement. conflagration,
encomium, eradicate, espionage, espouse, extempore, inundate,
haemorrhage, jeopardise, laceration, materia lise, necessitate, paucity,
reiterate, vituperative, etc.
4. Words with affixes - that is prefixes and suffixes - must be avoided.
Examples - dissimulation (pretence, hypocrisy) , extermination,
eventuate (happen, result), attitudinise (speak, write, behav e
affectedly).
5. Sub -editors must pay attention to the sentence pattern or structure.
Long, winding sentences with too many complex clauses impedes the
smooth flow of language. Long sentences should be split up into
simple, short ones.
6. Sentences must n ot sound choppy and unpleasant in a hurry to make
them short and simple. In determining the pattern of sentences, the ear
is the best guide.
h. Art of Condensation : One of the first things that a sub -editor has to
learn is to practise the art of condensation . He must know how to write
without padding. The main problem that newspapers have to face is
that of space. Therefore, it is necessary that reports are tightly written.
All verbiage and unnecessary details must be eliminated. Newspaper
reports must be bri ef and to the point. The first attempt of wordiness is
enough to injure one's style. Long sentences and involved passages
bore the reader. Verbosity should not be permitted to destroy the
spontaneous sparkle of original writing.
Examples to show how to tr im excessive words or convoluted sentences:
1. The report stated that the annual rate of increase in the cultivable area
brought under cultivation in Maharashtra during the plan period lagged
behind most of the other states. (29 words) munotes.in
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Trimmed sentence - The report stated that the annual rate of increase in
irrigated area in Maharashtra during the plan lagged behind most other
states. (22 words).
2. It is generally expected that new buildings to house the J. J. Hospital
will have been completed by the time the next monsoon sets in. (25
words).
Trimmed sentence - The J. J. Hospital's new buildings are expected to be
completed before the next monsoon. (15 words).
3. The reason for Mr. A's resignation from the post of defence minister
was that the public clamour for his removal from the cabinet was growing
every day_ (27 words).
Trimmed sentence - The growing pressure of public opinion forced Mr. A
to resign as defence minister. (14 words).
4. It was not long before that he made a clean breast of the crime that he
had committed. (18 words).
Trimmed sentence - He soon confessed to his crime. (6 words).
i. Over -the-top Adjectives : One must avoid over -the-top adjectives and
adverbs. Adjectives should be used not as often but as seldom as possible.
2.5 QUESTIONS :
1. In a newspaper, the team consisting of editorial and reporting staff
completes various assignments, which include news gathering, news
selection, news editing and page making etc. under the leadership of
the______________. ( editor /reporter/peon/trainee)
2. The ABC of Journalism are Accuracy, Brevity, and _____________
(Clarity /Calamity/Consequences/Cowardice)
3. A newspaper’s editorial and reporting team generally sit under one
roof, known as the ___________, for completion of their tasks.
(newsroom /boardroom/ detention/cell)
4. The major departments of a newspaper publishing house are editorial,
circulation, and ___________ ( advertising /writing/painting/layout)
5. An experienced and visionary professional who heads a newspaper
organisation is known as the ___________ __ ( Chief
Editor /Reporter/MBA/Stringer)
6. Due to the advent of digital technology, media is produced and
consumed on ____________ ( digital devices /paper/OB vans/air) munotes.in
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7. The newsroom setup for ____________comprises a fully equipped
editorial department with onli ne reporters and online editors. ( online
media /offline media/radio/podcasts)
8. A __________ is a newcomer who joins a newspaper just after the
completion of his/her professional degree. ( trainee /Editor -in-chief/IT
head/Area Circulation Head)
9. The ____________ _____ is the face of the publication, and they are
responsible for representing it at publishing conferences and social
events. ( Chief Editor /IT Head/Distributor/Newspaper boy)
10. A __________gathers information about news stories in the local
area. ( news rep orter /friend/king/President)
11. It is a crucial characteristic of the great editor that they __________
the reporter throughout any firestorm that ensues. ( stand
behind /ignore/disown/wash hands off of)
12. The main function of the Sub -Editor is the job of "_____________"
the content of the paper. ( policing /privatising/condemnation/freeing)
13. A good sub -editor has common sense, a lot of information, and an
understanding of the _____________ ( reader's point of
view /writer’s point of view/ideology/rebelliousness )
14. In presentation of copy, If a story ends, the writer must use an
__________ ( end mark /comma/question mark/backstroke)
15. News writing is the personification of Accuracy,
clarity,_____________, and responsibility ( good judgement /poor
judgement/carelessness/n egligence)
16. In Copy Presentation, if writers did not_______________, the reader
would subconsciously - feel that something was wrong because of
variations. ( follow a given style consistently /fight a given
style/disregard a given style/copy -paste)
17. The ultimat e aim of all editing is to make the news ________for all
the readers which is achieved by polishing the language, writing the
headlines, selecting and fitting the news into available space, arraying
it or displaying it in the paper ( meaningful / meaningless /
funny/sorrowful)
18. For more readability of news, long sentences should be
___________________( split up into simple, short ones /left
alone/elongated/ambiguous)
19. The main problem that newspapers have to face is that of
___________ and therefore, it is necessa ry that reports are tightly
written. ( space /ink/ideas/structure) munotes.in
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20. The ______________ of a newspaper is designed to attract readership
and to optimise the newspaper's effectiveness in presenting
information. ( layout /packaging/news stand/distributor)
21. In Copy Presentation, If material is eliminated, but you want it
restored, write in the margin the word '______’ and indicate the part
to be restored. (stet/stat/suit/sweet)
22. The traditional newspaper front page displays ______________ and
makes the reader jump to an inside page to continue the story. ( only
the first part of the articles /the entire article/one word/conclusion)
23. A good sub -editor carefully __________ indecency and vulgarity of
language. ( guards against /insists on/ignores/introduces)
24. An editor -in-chief needs excellent ___________________ to ensure
they can prioritise tasks, plan and complete projects by their
deadlines, remember important details and maximise their efficiency
and productivity. ( organisation and time -management
skills /unpunctual behaviou r/slow movements/anger)
25. Any form of print media be it newspaper, magazine, journals etc. has
its limitation in terms of its ______________ whereas online media
with availability of internet has wider canvas.
(reach /beauty/news/creativity)
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3
WRITING
Unit Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Special use of language in journalistic writing
3.1.1 What is journalistic language?
3.1.2 Characteristics of Language Journalism
3.1.3 Specific features of journalistic linguistic style
3.2 Mechanics of writing
3.2.1 The Basic Rules of Writing Mechanics
3.2.2 The basic building blocks of sentences
3.3 Main types of journalistic writing: form, purpose, and style
3.3.1 Editorials
3.3.1.1 Four Types of Editorials
3.3.1.2 Writing an Editorial
3.3.2 Reports
3.3.2.1 Writing a re port
3.3.3 Features
3.3.3.1 Types of Feature Stories
3.3.3.2 Feature Story Examples
3.3.3.3 How to Write a Feature Story
3.4 Questions
3.0 OBJECTIVES
To help students recognise the characteristics of journalistic writing
To help students understand the mechanics of journalistic writing and
distinguish it from non -journalistic writing
To help students understand the types of writing in journalism,
including editorials, reports, and features, and apply them in actual
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3.1 SPECIAL USE OF LANGUAGE IN JOURNAL ISTIC
WRITING
Introduction:
Mass communication is a process in which a person, group of people, or
an organisation sends a message through a channel of communication to a
large group of anonymous and heterogeneous people and organisations.
You can think of a large group of anonymous and heterogeneous people as
either the general public or a segment of the general public. Channels of
communication include broadcast television, radio, social media, and
print. The sender of the message is usually a professiona l communicator
that often represents an organisation.
The language of journalism is a field that offers a challenging outlook on
its subtleties and power in each journalistic genre. This is especially useful
when it comes to serious beats like crime, busi ness, and finance. This type
of language helps understand how journalists create their stories or
reports, shape points of view, deliver expected news and how media
language is different from other languages we encounter.
Investigating, interviewing and fa ct-checking activities are basic
components of journalism, transmitted to media consumers, in order to
inform and persuade, but also to reinforce public beliefs, using
manipulation techniques. Whether the journalistic purpose is writing for
newspapers, mag azines or new media, all reporters have the fundamental
mission to learn and practise their language as specialists with all
linguistic nuances required in their profession.
Journalists can also use in their reports coded messages through their
carefully selected words and sentences. Self -censorship in using words is
often practised by journalists creating a provocative and uncomfortable
situation for themselves. This involves expressing sentences differently in
order to avoid threats against them and thei r writings. A comprehensive
vocabulary will bring stories and broadcasts to life, enabling journalists to
better describe the world around them. Using words correctly might
provide a shade of meaning and understanding to the journalistic lexical
level they aim to reach.
The use of language in the presentation of news and elsewhere in the
presentation of media, represents a form of interaction between language
and society which affects us all. We are interested in how media works,
how language works and part icularly how the two interact. Its contents
should be accessible to people who have interest in these issues as well as
to people who study such matters. Responsive communication among
people and between nations is worth striving for. The language of news
media is prominent in society and it is interesting to find out how it is
produced, how it is shaped by values and how it affects our perceptions.
Mass communication is an expensive process. Unlike interpersonal munotes.in
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communication, feedback for mass communicati on is usually slow and
indirect. Journalism language is perfectly reflected in mass
communication as concerns its organisation within the journalistic system.
3.1.1 What is journalistic language?
Journalistic language embodies the following features:
Simple – the main task as a journalist is to help people understand what is
happening around them. Not every reader will have your knowledge of
language, so you must simplify it for them. You should be able to examine
the most complicated issues and events then translate them into
straightforward, simple language which your audience can understand.
This means writing in short, sharp, concise sentences.
Formal – it avoids being colloquial. In order to inform as many readers,
viewers or listeners as possible, regardless of their own language skills,
formal language is used. This is the ‘proper’ English that is taught in
schools and is easily understood by everyone in the country. It means
avoiding the use of slang, and words and phrases that some readers might
not recognise.
Concise – if you’re a journalist working for a newspaper or website you
need to be able to stick to a word count. This is the number of words
required for a particular article. Word counts are needed in order for the
newspaper or website to manage space and accurately create its layout. If
you’re a journalist working in radio or television you need to be aware of
airtime – again, this restricts the length of the piece you are working on, in
order to make sure it fits into the news programme.
With a larger word count or more airtime you can cover more issues. With
a smaller word count or less airtime, you need to be able to use concise
language to fit all of the important points of your story into your news
piece.
The importance of grammar, sp elling and punctuation -
Bad grammar, spelling or punctuation can affect meaning. Get it wrong
and you can completely change the meaning of a sentence. Journalists also
need to be incredibly accurate with the facts and information they convey,
so the corre ct spelling of names and places is vital too. You don’t want to
confuse or mislead your readers, so grammar, spelling and punctuation are
very important.
3.1.2 Characteristics of Language Journalism
Style books - These are books which lay down rules for l anguage you
must follow in your particular paper or broadcasting station. You should
ask your editor or chief of staff for a copy of your organisation's style
book. Unfortunately, many small or new organisations do not have their munotes.in
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own style book. Most media outlets use AP style —the style established
and constantly updated by the Associated Press —as the foundation for
basic news and media writing. AP style provides consistency in writing
across media outlets and publications. Familiarity with the latest editi on of
the AP stylebook is essential to write messages intended for media outlets.
The stylebook is available both online and in hard copy. In general, AP
style has evolved to ensure that media writing is accurate, impartial, and
clear to the audience.
1. Short, sharp, clear sentences - Whether you write for newspapers,
broadcasting or the Internet, you should always aim for words and
sentences which provide the maximum amount of understanding with the
minimum risk of confusion. If words do not add to under standing, throw
them overboard.
2. Sentence length - There is no single rule about the length of sentences
in news writing, but you should set yourself a target for the maximum
number of words you use. We suggest that you never use more than 20
words in a ny sentence, except in special circumstances. If you follow this
rule, your sentences will be simpler, there will be less room for error and
you will make a more efficient use of words.
3. Lively language - The words you use will help to make your story e asy
to understand. Some words should be avoided, either because they are
difficult to understand or because they are fat and lazy and do not help to
push your sentence along.
4. Using new words - Many careless writers introduce new words without
thinking h ow they will be understood by ordinary people. Sometimes they
change nouns into verbs, in order to make sentences shorter. The danger
with this is that the resultant verb is often less precise than the original
phrase and is less readily understood by peop le. Avoid using verbs such
as: To author (use to write) To hospitalise (use to admit to hospital or to be
in hospital) To parent (use to be a parent or to act like a parent) You must
be very careful about introducing new words which your readers or
listene rs might not understand. Stay with familiar words.
5. Sentence structure - It is not enough to write short sentences using
simple words. You also have to construct your sentences in such a way
that the ideas are easy to understand. One of the best ways of doing this -
using the active voice. Wherever possible, write in the active voice. That
is the way most people speak. People do not say "the bus was missed by
me", they say "I missed the bus".
Eg: The correct way: Import duty on meat and vegetables will b e reduced
by ten percent. The special subsidy for rice exporters will be increased by
five percent. These changes will come into effect after the next budget.
The incorrect way: Duty on imported meat and vegetables will be reduced
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by five percent but these changes will not come into effect until after the
next budget.
6. Paired negatives - Paired or double negatives in English are not only
bad grammar, they also usually create confu sion, especially in the spoken
word. For example, the sentence "He was happy" is easy to understand. So
is the sentence "He was unhappy". But what do you understand by "He
was not unhappy". Was he happy or unhappy? Do you see the confusion?
Make it a rule: avoid paired negatives.
7. Objectivity - Your language must not only be easily understood, it must
be fair. You should not use words which give a biased view of a person,
an event or a situation. Many words develop special, biased meanings
because of the way they are commonly used in a community. In some
cases, you cannot avoid using such words. Take care that the words you
use reflect the meaning in the community and not your own opinions. In
particular, you should be careful about using words which desc ribe
disputes or conflicts. In these cases, each side to the dispute may choose to
use the words which reflect well on them and badly on their opponents. As
a journalist, you should try to steer the middle course.
8. Quotes - You are on safer ground when y ou use words in quotes. That
way the reader can judge the bias through the eyes of the person you
quote. (In radio or television, it is better to use a recording of people
speaking the actual words, called actuality.)
3.1.3 Specific features of journalistic linguistic style
Each article must be clear in concept, organization and language,
otherwise it needs to be rethought and rewritten. This rule is most
appropriate to the journalistic style than to any other style. Newspapers are
often read in crowded and noisy places by people who have other things to
do and who use to read the news in a more superficial way, so things must
be clearly presented on the paper. We must take care to include every
stage in a narrative, every event in a sequence and every step in a
reasoning.
Media communication has several particularities which distinguish it from
face-to-face communication and offer advantages to the linguist: multiple
originators, a mass simultaneous audience, a fragmented audience,
absence of fee dback and general accessibility to the public. All these
particularities have a deep effect on the shape of media language, on how
it is produced, on audience’s ability to perceive media content and on
communicators’ ability to make themselves understood. Media generates a
lot of the language that is heard in society. Media language is often
criticised and the presumed bad effects are common in the public debates
ironically conducted in the newspapers’ own columns. It is intended for
mass public consumption and offers the potential for good quality
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Note: Focus on accuracy and details
When you write for the media, you represent not only your personal brand
but also the broader organisation for wh ich you’re producing content.
Precise writing and transparency give newsrooms credibility;
misinformation can severely diminish the integrity of the media outlet.
Selecting appropriate sources and verifying information obtained from
those sources, referred to as fact checking, can help minimise inaccurate
writing. Accuracy also means using proper grammar and language
appropriate to the audience.
Ensuring accurate reporting and writing can be challenging. Fast -paced
media environments make it tremendously di fficult to thoroughly gather
information and fact check it in a short amount of time. For example, in
2013, during coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings, reports of five
additional explosives found in the area were later found to be false. In
addition, the New York Post ran a photo on its front page of two men that
it alleged were the suspects that federal investigators were searching for at
the time. The men were innocent, and while the Post apologised for the
error, the men later sued the media outlet for defamation.
Outstanding attention to detail is necessary in order to catch errors in
content, grammar, and punctuation. Taking the time to slowly review your
message will save you from the consequences of misinformation or
careless errors. Similarly, a big part of the writing process involves editing
and revising your work, either by you or by an editor. Few writers can
produce material that cannot be improved or does not need to be altered
for style or content reasons.
3.2 MECHANICS OF WRITING
Mechanics and grammar are the rules and conventions that inform
communicative practices among members of a discourse community like
journalists and reporters. Mechanics rules are for governing written
language. When writers violate conventions related to m echanics, readers
are likely to be confused.
Mechanics are also a socio -cultural -rhetorical construct. Mechanics evolve
over time as communication technologies and discourse communities/
communities of practice evolve. Mechanics evolve over time as
technol ogies empower new methods of composing.
3.2.1 The Basic Rules of Writing Mechanics :
Writing mechanics goes hand in hand with grammar. These principles
complement the basic rules of grammar, and apply them specifically to
writing, so grammar is still funda mental.
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Mechanics vs Grammar
Mechanics and grammar are interrelated concepts. For some users, they
are equivalent terms. Traditionalists make this distinction, however:
Grammars govern the language patterns of oral discourse
Mechanics govern the language patterns of oral discourse.
While this distinction between mechanics and grammar is nice and tidy, it
breaks down in practice.
Here are the most important principles of writing mechanics :
Reported speech
Journalism often involves reporting what another person has said. For this
we can use direct speech – quoting the speaker’s exact words in inverted
commas – or we can use reported (indirect) speech.
The thing to be aware of is that if the ‘said’ word (‘claimed’, ‘insisted’) is
in the past tense, the verb in the reported speech must be changed so that
the tenses always match. For example, imagine politician Alan Smith says:
‘I am resigning.’ You can write:
Present tense – Alan Smith says he is resigning
Perfect tense – Alan Smith has said he is resigning
Past tense – Alan Smith said he was resigning
Singular, plural and collective nouns
Singular and plural nouns should not be mixed. For example: ‘The jury
(singular) took fours hours to reach their (plural) verdict’ is incorrect. ‘The
jury (singular) took fo ur hours to reach its (singular) verdict’ is correct.
Collective nouns, such as governments, companies and other bodies,
should be treated as singular.
Parts of Speech
The parts of speech are the basic categories that words belong to, and they
govern how t he words relate to each other. Writers need to understand
nouns and pronouns, verbs and adverbs, and how to correctly use
prepositions and conjunctions.
In English, for example, we usually place adjectives before the noun they
modify (“black coffee” “small dog” “beautiful flower”), and adverbs
after* the verb they modify (“said angrily” “walked quickly” “hugged
gently”).
Sentence Structure
A complete sentence contains at least a subject and a verb. A typical
English sentence uses the word order subject+verb +object (“the boy munotes.in
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bounced the ball”), but there are a huge range of correct ways to put
together a sentence.
Capitalisation
Capitalization is tricky, because it has overlapping rules with grammar,
writing mechanics, and also writing conventions and style g uides. Check
your writing conventions for rules on capitalization in titles and headers,
but here are the most frequently used rules of capitalization:
Capitalise the first word of a document, the first word of a sentence,
and the first word of a direct quote within quotation marks
Capitalise proper nouns, including the names of people, places, and
companies, and capitalise their initials or acronyms
Capitalise the days of the week, months of the year, and historical eras
(“the Great Depression”)
Capitali se nicknames, and also kinship names when they are used in
place of a personal name (“he loved Mom’s cooking”)
Abbreviations
Modern language is full of TLAs (Three Letter Abbreviations), and
writers should not assume that readers know the abbreviation or acronym
in question. Always introduce an abbreviation or acronym the first time
you use it in a piece of writing.
The most common method is to first write out the abbreviation or
acronym, capitalising each letter, and introducing the acronym you will
use g oing forward. For example, “the Food and Drug Association (FDA)”
or “English as a Second Language (ESL)”.
The Three H’s: Homonyms, Homographs, and Homophones
The three H’s are a frequent source of writer mistakes, misspellings, and
misadventures. To put i t briefly:
Homonyms are two identical words with different meanings. For example,
“sentence” as a part of speech, and “sentence” as a punishment for a
crime. For clarity in writing, try to avoid homonyms unless the context
makes the meaning crystal clear.
Homographs are two words with the same spelling, but different meanings
and pronunciation. For example, “wind” as the movement of air, and
“wind” as a twisting or turning action. When writing, readers can’t hear
differences in pronunciation, so avoid homo graphs unless, again, the
context makes the meaning very clear.
Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and
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“there/their/they’re” or “two/to/too”. Spellcheck will n ot always catch and
correct homophones, and they can dramatically affect the meaning of a
sentence. When in doubt, use a dictionary to make sure you are using the
correct form of a homophone.
3.2.2 The basic building blocks of sentences are :
A clause
A clause contains a subject and verb, and can be a complete sentence.
When joined correctly with conjunctions and/or punctuation, multiple
clauses can be used to make compound sentences.
A phrase
A phrase is a collection of words without a subject or verb, used to modify
the other parts of a sentence. “Underneath the table” or “despite the
opposition” or “with a big smile” are all examples of phrases.
Some of the most common sentence construction errors are :
Fragments
A sentence fragment lacks a subject or a verb. “The red pen that the girl
had” is a fragment, while “the girl had a red pen” is a complete sentence.
Run-ons
A run -on sentence isn’t just a long sentence, and run -ons can be short. A
run-on sentence simply doesn’t use conjunctions or punctuation co rrectly,
so that the two clauses are fused and unclear. “The train jumped the track
the passengers were not injured” is a run -on sentence. It could be
corrected with “The train jumped the track. The passengers were not
injured.” or “The train jumped the tr ack, but the passengers were not
injured.”
Comma splices
A comma splice is a specific form of run -on sentence where a comma is
used incorrectly. “The train jumped the track, the passengers were not
injured” is an example of comma splice.
Dangling participl es
A dangling participle is a sentence where an adjective or participle is used
incorrectly, so it’s unclear which noun it modifies. For example, “Topped
with cheese, I ate the burger.” Because of the placement of the modifying
participle, this sentence re ads as though I was topped with cheese, instead
of the burger.
Faulty parallelism
Parallel sentence construction uses the same structure and format in all
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example, in the sentence “ the book was both fun to read and for talking
about”, the presence of the word “both” requires that “to read” be paired
with a second infinitive verb to make a parallel sentence. You might fix it
with “the book was both fun to read and to discuss” or “the book was fun
to read and also to talk about”.
Redundancy
Redundancy is unnecessary repetition, and should be avoided. “Evil
villains,” “geriatric old people,” or “we must now at this time
immediately” are all redundant phrases.
Punctuation :
Correct punctuation is essential for clarity in writing.
The most common punctuation errors are:
Misused apostrophes
The apostrophe has only three purposes:
To form possessive nouns - The apostrophe replaces the words “of
the”. For example, “the table’s leg” inste ad of “the leg of the table”
To form contractions - When you are replacing letters with an
apostrophe. For example, “don’t” instead of “do not”, or “I’m” instead
of “I am”
(Rarely) to form a plural in letters or abbreviations - The apostrophe
isn’t used to form a standard plural, but can sometimes be used to
indicate plurals in instances like “he got two B.A.’s.”
Misused quotation marks
Quotation marks are always used to distinguish exact speech, and never
for emphasis. Be cautious about the use of scare qu otes, and review how
to use them correctly.
Commas
Commas are arguably the most used and abused form of punctuation in
English. Aside from the Oxford comma debate, commas are used
incorrectly in lists, in conjunctions and splices, in quotations, in phrases …
if you’re unsure when and how to use a comma, here is a great resource.
Spelling
English spelling is difficult, but needs to be correct. Use a spellcheck, use
a dictionary, use a proofreader, but make sure you get it right.
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3.3 MAIN TYPES OF JOURNALISTIC WRITING:
FORM, PURPOSE, AND STYLES :
3.3.1 Editorials
An editorial, leading article, or leader is an article written by the senior
editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other
written document, often unsigned. Australia n and major United States
newspapers, such as The New York Times and The Boston Globe, often
classify editorials under the heading "opinion". Editorials are typically
published on a dedicated page, called the editorial page, which often
features letters to the editor from members of the public; the page opposite
this page is called the op -ed page and frequently contains opinion pieces
(hence the name think pieces) by writers not directly affiliated with the
publication. However, a newspaper may choose to pu blish an editorial on
the front page. In the English -language press, this occurs rarely and only
on topics considered especially important; it is more common, however, in
some European countries such as Denmark, Spain, Italy, and France.
An editorial is no t a reported newspaper article. While a good editorial
article may include some original reporting, the purpose of an editorial is
to convey the author's personal opinion. Editorial writers typically write in
the first person, and many pride themselves on tackling controversial
topics that grab a reader's attention. Most editorial writing is cordoned off
from the news section of the newspaper, making it clear that editorial
essays are not the same as news reporting.
Editorials have:
1. Introduction, body and conclusion like other news stories
2. An objective explanation of the issue, especially complex issues
3. A timely news angle
4. Opinions from the opposing viewpoint that refute directly the same
issues the writer addresses
5. The opinions of the write r, delivered in a professional manner. Good
editorials engage issues, not personalities and refrain from name -
calling or other petty tactics of persuasion.
6. Alternative solutions to the problem or issue being criticised. Anyone
can gripe about a problem, but a good editorial should take a proactive
approach to making the situation better by using constructive criticism
and giving solutions.
7. A solid and concise conclusion that powerfully summarises the writer's
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3.3.1.1 Four Types of Editorials:
1. Explanatory or interpretative : Editors often use these editorials to
explain the way the newspaper covered a sensitive or controversial
subject. School newspapers may explain new school rules or a
particular student -body effort like a food drive.
2. Criticism: These editorials constructively criticise actions, decisions or
situations while providing solutions to the problem identified.
Immediate purpose is to get readers to see the problem, not the
solution.
3. Persuasion: Editorials of persuasion aim to immediately see the
solution, not the problem. From the first paragraph, readers will be
encouraged to take a specific, positive action. Political endorsements
are good examples of editorials of persuasion.
4. Praise: These editorials commend people and organisations for
something done well. They are not as common as the other three.
3.3.1.2 Writing an Editorial :
1. Pick a significant topic that has a current news angle and would interest
readers.
2. Collect information and facts; incl ude objective reporting; do research
3. State your opinion briefly in the fashion of a thesis statement
4. Explain the issue objectively as a reporter would and tell why this
situation is important
5. Give opposing viewpoint first with its quotations and f acts
6. Refute (reject) the other side and develop your case using facts, details,
figures, quotations. Pick apart the other side's logic.
7. Concede a point of the opposition — they must have some good points
you can acknowledge that would make you look r ational.
8. Repeat key phrases to reinforce an idea into the reader's minds.
9. Give a realistic solution(s) to the problem that goes beyond common
knowledge. Encourage critical thinking and proactive reaction.
10. Wrap it up in a concluding punch that restates your opening remark
(thesis statement).
11. Keep it to 500 words; make every work count; never use "I"
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Example:
I. Lead with an Objective Explanation of the Issue/Controversy.
Include the five W's and the H. (Members of Congress, in effort to red uce
the budget, are looking to cut funding from public television. Hearings
were held …)
● Pull in facts and quotations from the sources which are relevant.
● Additional research may be necessary.
II. Present Your Opposition First.
As the writer you disagree with these viewpoints. Identify the people
(specifically who oppose you. (Republicans feel that these cuts are
necessary; other cable stations can pick them; only the rich watch public
television.)
● Use facts and quotations to state objectively their opinio ns.
● Give a strong position of the opposition. You gain nothing in refuting
a weak position.
III. Directly Refute The Opposition's Beliefs.
You can begin your article with transition. (Republicans believe public
televison is a "sandbox for the rich." Howeve r, statistics show most people
who watch public television make less than $40,000 per year.)
● Pull in other facts and quotations from people who support your
position.
● Concede a valid point of the opposition which will make you appear
rational, one who has considered all the options (fiscal times are tough,
and we can cut some of the funding for the arts; however, …).
IV. Give Other, Original Reasons/Analogies
In defence of your position, give reasons from strong to strongest order.
(Taking money away from p ublic television is robbing children of their
education …)
● Use a literary or cultural allusion that lends to your credibility and
perceived intelligence (We should render unto Caesar that which belongs
to him …)
V. Conclude With Some Punch.
Give solutions to the problem or challenge the reader to be informed.
(Congress should look to where real wastes exist — perhaps in defence
and entitlements — to find ways to save money. Digging into public
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● A quotation can be effective, especially if from a respected source
● A rhetorical question can be an effective concluder as well (If the
government doesn't defend the interests of children, who will?)
3.3.2 Reports
A report is a fact of a story that is currently happening or that just
happened. Writing a news report is easy if you report on the subject
clearly and write in a style that is clear, concise, and active. One should
gather answers to the 5 W’s and H questions while writing about an event
or something that happened.
Differenc es between essays and reports:
Essays Report Writing
Presents information and opinions Presents facts and information specifically,
no opinions
Written for everyone in general Written for a specific audience, a report
concerns itself to only a certain set of people
related
The structure is casually flowing in
paragraphs The structure is very crisp and clean, using
pointers and numbered headings and sub -
headings
Essays usually have room for expression of
one’s opinions, need not be supported with
graphical proofs Using tables, graphs, charts to prove a point
is very common
An essay has a logical flow of thoughts but
no need of a summary A report often needs a quick summary
addressing highlighting points
Doesn’t have an appendices Often has appendices
Both essay and report writing need formal
writing, analytical thinking, solid reasoning
behind every conclusion, careful reading
and neat presentation, but a report -writing
layout is very different from essay writing Crisp, often pre -designed l ayouts
3.3.2.1 Writing a report:
1. Gather the information
Gather the information you need to construct your story. In non -fiction,
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takes place, interviewing witnesses and people involved in the event, and
using online search engines for further research.
2. Find your angle
Every news story has an angle —the theme and focus of the piece that
makes it newsworthy. A human interest story will have a different angle
than a hard -hitting political piece. News stories reveal their angle in the
first paragraph. Find the angle of your story and present it in the first
paragraph, page, or chapter.
3. Write a strong lead
Every story needs a great opening. In news writing, this is called a lede.
This opening paragraph delivers the story’s essential information by
answering the five W’s: who, what, where, when, why. These are the
building blocks of any good story, whether it’s a fictional narrative,
technical writing, or a content marketing articl e. Lead with a strong
summary of events that hooks the reader from the top.
4. Structure your information
Good journalism presents the information of a story in order of
importance, in what is known as the inverted pyramid structure. The most
important inf ormation, the lede, is at the top. The next section is the body
of the story that contains other supporting details. The bottom section, the
point of the pyramid, contains any extra information that might be
interesting to an audience. Even in creative wri ting, it’s important to lead
with the who, what, why, where, and when of your story to let the reader
know what the story is about.
5. Use quotes
Good journalism usually includes interviews with people involved in a
story. This provides different perspecti ves and keeps the reporter in the
role of an outside observer, similar to the third -person point of view in a
short story or novel. If you’re writing a non -fiction book, quotes are
essential to create a well -rounded piece. In fiction, your characters will
provide quotations through dialogue.
6. Write simply
Journalists use short sentences to deliver a story. News writing often uses
the active voice as opposed to the passive voice —i.e. “She drove the car”
rather than “The car was driven by her.” The active voice is more direct,
uses fewer words, and has a quicker tempo. To hone this skill, think like a
copywriter. In copywriting, the main objective is to write simply with a
clear, concise message.
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7. Verify your sources
Telling true stories requires a journ alist to gather information from
numerous sources. Reporters need to verify the information from their
sources to ensure accuracy. In freelance writing, when you turn in your
story, you should always provide links to where you found information
and a phone number for each person you interviewed.
8. Edit your work
A newsroom is a fast -paced environment with a steady stream of stories
passing from writers to editors before they go to print. All writers should
do a spell check and edit their work for clarity a nd content. Take a cue
from news writing and have a professional editor refine your story before
you publish.
3.3.3 Features
A feature is a longer piece of writing than a news story. Features come in
many different types and are widely used in magazines, n ewspapers and
online. A feature will often cover an issue in greater depth than a news
story would do; or it might look at an ongoing story from a different angle.
Features generally fall under the category of soft news.
Differences between news story and feature :
The feature story definition is more about the writer's writing style than
the topic being written about. Though feature stories can be written about
various topics, they share specific characteristics, including:
Lead : The lead is how the featu re story begins. In a hard news story, the
first paragraph tells the reader the who, what, when, where, and why;
however, a feature story may begin with several paragraphs that use
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uses traditional storytelling elements such as description, scene -setting,
quotes, and background information to help the reader visualize the story.
Pace of the story : The pace of a feature story is typically more leisurely
than a hard news story, becaus e the writer is trying to tell a story.
Length : Because the writer is focused more on storytelling, they take their
time to make sure the story is complete, which means the length of a
feature story may be longer than a hard news story.
Focus on the human element : The focus of a feature story is on the human
element. Feature stories are often called people stories, because they focus
on the people in the event, whereas hard news stories focus more on a
specific event. Hard news stories may mention who was p art of the event
to explain what happened, but the focus lies more on talking about the
event than the people involved. For example, a newspaper may write an
article about a fire occurring in a building to tell the community about it.
The story may mention the tenants, but the focus would be more on the
fire. However, if the newspaper publishes a story about a specific family
in the building and how they overcame the fire, that would be a feature
story, or a news feature.
3.3.3.1 Types of Feature Stories:
The news feature story: It focuses on topics in the news; however, they are
called ''people stories,'' because they tell stories about people featured in
the news. They are also called ''behind the news'' stories, because they
focus on the people involved in the news events.
A profile feature story: It focuses on an individual such as a politician,
celebrity, athlete, or CEO. It includes information about the individual and
how they got to where they are now.
A live -in feature story: It is an in -depth story about a particular place and
the people who live there. It can also be about a company or a business
and the people who work there. It is called ''live -in,'' because the writer has
to spend a great deal of time with these people to tell their stories. It is also
known as a ''day -in-the-life'' or ''week -in-the-life'' story, because it often
focuses on the individual's daily life living or working in the featured
place. These stories can cover longer periods of time, sometimes spanning
weeks or even months. Another name for these stories is ultimate feature
story, because the writer follows the individual for days or weeks to get to
know them and tell the story in a way that immerses the reader.
A sports feature story: is the story behind an athlete. It is no t about how
the player is performing in the sport but rather who the player is and how
they got to where they are. These stories provide a more personal touch
about competing. The writer may use statistics to help tell these stories,
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David Randall, author of The Universal Journalist, defines a full -text
feature story as an article that features excerpts from books, stories, or
interviews. He also defines a how -to feature story as one in which the
writer uses research to write an article that helps the reader solve a
problem or explains what to do in different situations. In his book, Randall
also defines a color piece feature story as one that informs the reader about
a specific th eme or topic.
3.3.3.2 Feature Story Examples:
Sports feature story example :
Sky Sports posted an article that discussed the history of the WNBA
throughout the past 25 years. This article is an example of a sports feature
story, because it tells the story behind the organization.
Live-in feature story example :
The Guardian posted an article summarizing the top US feature stories of
2017. This article included a feature story titled, ''My month with
chemtrails conspiracy theorists,'' which is an example of a live-in feature
story. The writer applied to be part -time farm hand to learn about why the
people who ran the farm believe that the government shares chemtrails.
How -to feature story example :
The Guardian article in the above example also included a featu re story
titled, ''America's midlife crisis: lessons from a survivalist summit," which
is an example of both a live -in and a how -to feature story. The writer
attended the Ohio Preppers and Survivalists Summit to learn about what
survivalists do.
3.3.3.3 Ho w to Write a Feature Story
1. To write a feature story, the writer must first pick what type of feature
story they are going to write.
2. Next, they should determine the article's purpose (e.g., to instruct, to
persuade, or to entertain the reader). Knowing what type of feature
story is being written will help the writer determine their purpose.
3. The writer should consider their audience, including age, status,
attitude, culture, lifestyle, and what language they speak.
Understanding the audience will help the wri ter determine what
information to include in the article and how the article should be
written.
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To summarise :
What makes a feature story?
A feature story is defined by how the story is told and what it is about. It is
told using the circular narrative style, meaning that each event is discussed
individually, with the last event connecting to the first event in the
conclusion. People are the focus of feature stories.
How do you write a feature story?
The writer determines what kind of feature story they will write. They
then choose the topic and brainstorm and research the topic. The writer
should write the story, ensuring a beginning, middle, and end. The
following feature story elements should be included: Lede, headline, sub -
heading/deck, byline, hook, nut graph, wrap up, and kicker.
What are the types of feature stories?
There are several types of feature stories. A news feature story is about
people in the news. A profile is about a specific person. A full -text feature
story features excerpts from a b ook or an interview. A live -in feature story
is written by a writer who lives with the person or spends a lot of time
with the organisation to write the story. A sports feature story is the story
behind the athlete. A how -to feature story helps the readers with a
problem.
What is an example of a feature story?
An example of a feature story is an article about a group of children
coming together to raise money to help the community after a storm. The
damage from the storm may be featured on the news, but a feature article
would be about the children and how they helped.
3.4 QUESTIONS:
1. Channels of communication include broadcast television, radio, social
media, and ________ ( Print /Paint/Memes/Kabootars)
2. Investigating, interviewing and ___________ are activit ies that are
basic components of journalism. ( Fact -
checking/ gossiping/manipulating facts/grapevine)
3. ___________ in using words is often practised by journalists creating
a provocative and uncomfortable situation for themselves. ( Self-
censorship /self-qualit y/criticising others/hiding articles)
4. Unlike interpersonal communication, feedback for mass
communication is usually _____________ ( slow and indirect /fast and
confusing/unwilling/boring) munotes.in
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5. Journalistic language embodies the following features - Simplicity,
Formality, and ____________ ( Conciseness /confusion/long/unclear)
6. This is not a characteristic of Language Journalism - Short and clear
sentences, Sentence length, Objectivity, Negativity. ( Negativity )
7. When you write for the media, you represent not only yo ur personal
brand but also the ___________ for which you’re producing content.
(organisation /boss/friends/favourite colleague)
8. Mechanics are also a ____________ construct. Mechanics evolve over
time as communication technologies and discourse
communities/c ommunities of practice evolve. ( socio -cultural -
rhetorical /fake/useless/political)
9. _____________ are two identical words with different meanings.
(Homonyms /Homographs/Homophones/Antonyms)
10. _________________ are two words with the same spelling, but
different meanings and pronunciation.
(Homographs /Homophones/Antonyms/Homonyms)
11. ________________ are words that sound the same but are spelled
differently and have different meanings.
(Homophones /Homographs/Antonyms/Homonyms)
12. A ________ is a collection of words without a subject or verb, used to
modify the other parts of a sentence. ( Phrase /clause/half -
sentence/punctuation)
13. _____________ is unnecessary repetition, and should be avoided.
(Redundancy /Facts/Figures/Grammar)
14. An________, leading article, or leader is an article written by the
senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any
other written document, often unsigned. ( editorial /feature/report/note)
15. Editorials have introduction, body and __________ like other news
stories. ( conclusion /gossip/entertainment/emojis)
16. The Four Types of Editorials are interpretative, criticism, persuasion,
and _________ ( Praise /Put-down/Judgemental/Exploratory)
17. A _____________in journalism is a fact of a story that is currently
happening or that just happene d. (report /meme/emoji/journalism)
18. The first step of writing a report is ____________________. ( Gather
the information /finding an angle/writing a lead/verifying sources)
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19. A ___________ is a longer piece of writing than a news story.
Features come in many di fferent types and are widely used in
magazines, newspapers and online. ( feature /report/journalist/editorial)
20. The Types of Feature Stories are news feature story, profile feature
story, and _____________ ( live-in feature story /old
features/celebrities/STICK Y)
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