What You Need to Know About News Writing, news paper writing.

Find the nut graf in each story and pay attention to how much each lede varies. Notice that some stories have nutgrafs that appear well below the lede, and others begin with the nut graf.

The basics outlined above apply directly to all stories but, most obviously, to your classic news story. That said, all stories have ledes and nutgrafs, no matter what they’re about or where you find them. These elements are applied differently, and often more subtly, in long-form journalism and feature stories, but they’re still there.

A lede, which is a journalism slang term for the first sentence or two of a story (i.e. lead), is an incredibly important part of the process. You need to draw readers in with a hook while stating why the story matters.

News writing follows a basic formula. While styles can diverge more dramatically depending on the kind of story—a feature story may look and sound very different than a hard news story—all news stories are cut from the same mold. The first element of news writing is, of course, to deliver the news.

The Purpose of a Nut Graf

If, for example, you’re reporting on a drive-by shooting in a city, you’ll likely start with where the crime happened (what street or area of town for the local paper) and who was involved.

Figuring out what details to give a reader, and when, is key in constructing a story. The answer, of course, depends on the facts. If you’re working on the above story, and the murder happens to be one of a string of similar crimes, that may be the point you open the story with.

If, however, the above story revolved around someone notable being shot, that might be what you start your piece with. However, a story about a notable name being shot is a very different story than one about someone more in the private sector. The latter might speak more to ongoing local violence while the former is a story in and of itself—X person has been killed and here’s what X person was known for.

One of the best ways to see how the basic elements of news writing can be applied to very different stories is to read, back to back, three very different pieces. For a good exercise, try reading the lead story in any major paper.

Find the nut graf in each story and pay attention to how much each lede varies. Notice that some stories have nutgrafs that appear well below the lede, and others begin with the nut graf.

The basics outlined above apply directly to all stories but, most obviously, to your classic news story. That said, all stories have ledes and nutgrafs, no matter what they’re about or where you find them. These elements are applied differently, and often more subtly, in long-form journalism and feature stories, but they’re still there.

A lede, which is a journalism slang term for the first sentence or two of a story (i.e. lead), is an incredibly important part of the process. You need to draw readers in with a hook while stating why the story matters.

News writing follows a basic formula. While styles can diverge more dramatically depending on the kind of story—a feature story may look and sound very different than a hard news story—all news stories are cut from the same mold. The first element of news writing is, of course, to deliver the news.

The Purpose of a Nut Graf

If, for example, you’re reporting on a drive-by shooting in a city, you’ll likely start with where the crime happened (what street or area of town for the local paper) and who was involved.

Figuring out what details to give a reader, and when, is key in constructing a story. The answer, of course, depends on the facts. If you’re working on the above story, and the murder happens to be one of a string of similar crimes, that may be the point you open the story with.

If, however, the above story revolved around someone notable being shot, that might be what you start your piece with. However, a story about a notable name being shot is a very different story than one about someone more in the private sector. The latter might speak more to ongoing local violence while the former is a story in and of itself—X person has been killed and here’s what X person was known for.

One of the best ways to see how the basic elements of news writing can be applied to very different stories is to read, back to back, three very different pieces. For a good exercise, try reading the lead story in any major paper.

There are plenty of dos and don’ts in journalism. But, when it comes to actually crafting a story, you need to focus on the task at hand. Rather than worrying about what you might be doing wrong, you need to focus on what you should be doing right.

A newsworthy story is anything happening in your community that might interest readers. It should be unique, active, and impactful. For example, covering a business (if it isn’t new or offering any particular changes) isn’t particularly newsworthy, especially if it’s always been there. But covering a new business in the area is absolutely newsworthy, and will bring the company to the attention of your readers.

Within your first paragraph, you need to establish the “who”, “what”, “when”, and “where” of your piece. The “why” and “how” can wait until the following paragraphs. Remember, a journalism piece should look like a pyramid. The most important information goes at the top. The rest is spread throughout the remaining column space.

The hardest part about writing a news story is getting interviews with the right people. If there was a robbery at a local grocery store, you’d need to talk to the store manager and, if possible, the cashier or employee involved. You should not ask a family that shops at the store frequently (unless they were witnesses) or a random community member. These interviews are cop-outs

1. Choose a recent, newsworthy event or topic

To help you, I’ve made a list of seven steps. At the end of the day, these steps are going to lead you to writing a quality, 4.0 article.

Writing a news story can be intimidating, especially when you’re first starting out in the business of journalistic writing. Where do you begin? How do your phrase your sentences? How do you conduct interviews? How do you avoid committing the holy grail of all sins – telling a lie?

Second, we need to talk about recent events. It doesn’t do a newspaper any good to cover an event that happened a week ago. The community has already moved on. They’re talking about something else. You need to focus on the here and now, especially if you’re writing a news story. What stories can you break to the public before anyone else has the chance? Remember, you aren’t writing a feature story. You need to do something that’s happening now.

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And, finally, we need to touch on the idea of “locality”. If you’re writing for a small, community newspaper, you need to focus your coverage on that community. Of course, you can touch on countrywide or worldwide events, but those stories need to take a backseat to what’s going on in your area. If you cover statewide news, the same situation applies. You should only be covering worldwide events if they have an impact on your particular audience.

Second, we need to talk about recent events. It doesn’t do a newspaper any good to cover an event that happened a week ago. The community has already moved on. They’re talking about something else. You need to focus on the here and now, especially if you’re writing a news story. What stories can you break to the public before anyone else has the chance? Remember, you aren’t writing a feature story. You need to do something that’s happening now.

A newsworthy story is anything happening in your community that might interest readers. It should be unique, active, and impactful. For example, covering a business (if it isn’t new or offering any particular changes) isn’t particularly newsworthy, especially if it’s always been there. But covering a new business in the area is absolutely newsworthy, and will bring the company to the attention of your readers.

To help you, I’ve made a list of seven steps. At the end of the day, these steps are going to lead you to writing a quality, 4.0 article.

3. Establish the “Four Main Ws”

Writing a news story can be intimidating, especially when you’re first starting out in the business of journalistic writing. Where do you begin? How do your phrase your sentences? How do you conduct interviews? How do you avoid committing the holy grail of all sins – telling a lie?

There are plenty of dos and don’ts in journalism. But, when it comes to actually crafting a story, you need to focus on the task at hand. Rather than worrying about what you might be doing wrong, you need to focus on what you should be doing right.

There are a few points that we need to discuss when it comes to this step. The first of which is, of course, knowing when something is newsworthy and when something is not.

The hardest part about writing a news story is getting interviews with the right people. If there was a robbery at a local grocery store, you’d need to talk to the store manager and, if possible, the cashier or employee involved. You should not ask a family that shops at the store frequently (unless they were witnesses) or a random community member. These interviews are cop-outs