Introduction To News Stories

Headlines:
When writing a headline, the most important thing is to make sure it is clear and can be
read and understood in a single glance. Headlines should grab the audience’s attention to
persuade them to stay with the story.

When writing a headline, the most important thing is to make sure it is clear and can be
read and understood in a single glance.
The trick is to interest, intrigue and give a real sense of the story to the widest possible
audience - without being sensational. Headlines are often short, active sentences, such as
the improbable old journalistic favourite: MAN BITES DOG

Headlines can be creative with witty references and wordplay.

Introduction To News Stories
Three main parts of the News Stories
• 'Intro'/Lead
• Body
• The End (when they run out of the material)

Intro:
News journalists call the first sentence of a story the ‘intro’, or introduction. The first
sentence should summarise the story ‘in a nutshell’ and cover key information.

The introduction to a news article is called the 'lede' and is usually in the first paragraph as
in an essay. The 'lede' is a deliberate misspelling of 'lead' to prevent confusion in the days
when printing was done with lead type.
The Intro not only tells what the story is about, it also invites the reader to read further.
'Intro' answer the classic 5 W's and an H questions of journalism:

• What happened? What could happen?

• Who did it? Who did it happen to? Who else was involved?

• Where did it happen? Where else will be impacted?

• When did it happen? When is it going to happen?

• Why did it happen? Why will your reader care?

• How did it happen? How does it work?

Intros should attract the reader’s attention. News reporters don’t try to build suspense - they do
the opposite and give it all away in the first sentence. It can almost seem like starting at the end of
the story, rather than the beginning.

Example
Think of an incident where staff in a petrol station are robbed at gunpoint.

You wouldn’t write:

‘It had been a quiet day in Mill Road petrol station in Co. Down and the two staff members were
preparing to lock up and go home. Then, at 5.20pm, three masked men arrived and demanded the
contents of the till. One assistant ran into the back room to phone for help. The other assistant
initially refused to open the till but finally did so when one of the armed men produced a gun.’

Instead, you would write:

‘Armed robbers raided a Co. Down petrol station and stole £10,000 after threatening staff with a
gun this afternoon.’
News stories tell the reader what they need to know in the shortest possible way.
Structure : Inverted Pyramid

The most News worthy and important

Information. The Main topic. (the lead
where w's and h question are answered.)

Details added in
descending order of
news. The information
which supports main topic.
Background information.

Final details and

extension
information
Types of News Stories

• Hard News

• Soft News

• Feature Story

• Editorial

• Column
Hard News/Straight News:
• Stories that report only the most essential
information in a concise and impartial
manner are referred to as straight or hard
news stories.
• This type of story typically follows the
inverted pyramid style, which organizes
information by descending order of
importance or places the most
newsworthy information at the beginning
of the article
• This style will be discussed in more detail
below.
• Examples of hard news stories include
those about political topics and crime.
Soft News:
Soft news sometimes referred in
derogatory fashion as infotainement
and includes two concepts
• Least serious subjects
• Not timely
Example: Movie release, celebrity
news, art exhibit, etc.
Feature Story:
The primary difference between a feature story and
a straight news story is the style. A feature article is
more in-depth than a traditional hard news article
and uses the types of storytelling devices and
details that you might find in novels. Feature stories
are considered soft news and do not focus merely
on the basic facts.
Writers typically have more flexibility to use a wider
range of formats, provide rich descriptions, and
include scene-setting anecdotes. Features often are
given more space on the page and are accompanied
by pictures, illustrations, graphics, maps, and other
visual components. A profile of an athlete or a
political figure is an example of a feature article. The
characteristics of feature writing will be explained
further in the next chapter.
Editorial:
Although journalistic ethical standards call for
general news writing to be objective in content and
tone, newswriters also have the opportunity to
communicate personal points of view about current
events and topics. The editorial is a type of news
story used to develop an argument about an issue
and even sway readers’ opinions. The essay also
represents the official view of an editorial board that
determines what views to share after some kind of
deliberative process.
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zpmq9qt/revision/2
• https://spcollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=254319&p=1695313
• https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/stratcommwriting/chapter/types-of-
news-stories/
Co-ordination among varied sectors

The culture of a newsroom and the routines that CHIEF COPY

EDITOR
journalists follow often define what is news and how
PUBLISHER
news is covered. Newsroom culture exists within a
hierarchical framework. The top editors prescribe BUISNESS AND
SPORTS
the journalistic direction of their papers and make ASSITANT
the final decisions, particularly with regard to EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
EDITOR
potentially controversial images or stories, the front CITY/REGIONAL
page and special coverage. MANAGING
REPORTERS
EDITOR
GRAPHIC EDITOR
Reference:
Videos
: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5E8FRFuj9s
PHOTO EDITOR PHOTOGRAPHER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNNjzzmV0XY

DESIGN EDITOR
Opportunities and scope of work for photojournalist
Career in Photojournalism
Photo journalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for
publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer
only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism.
Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (e.g., documentary photography,
social documentary photography, street photography or celebrity photography) by complying with a rigid ethical
framework which demands that the work is both honest and impartial whilst telling the story in strictly
journalistic terms. Photojournalists create pictures that contribute to the news media.

Scope and Opportunities

There is huge scope for Photojournalism in almost every communication media such as newspaper, television,
magazines, etc

Skill Sets
• full knowledge and command over the variety of cameras, lights and props, and all kinds of photographic
techniques
• have a sense of light and shade and the magic of colours
• able to interpret a client’s needs, translating their ideas into images that work
• think and communicate in visual terms
Career prospect
• Commercial photographer
• Newspaper photographer
• Owner/photographer
• Photo editor
• Photographer
• Photojournalist
• Portrait photographer
• Special effect editor
• Sports photographer
• Studio owner
• Advertising photographer
• Video editor
Principles of photojournalism
1. Get in close.

2. Find unusual angles.

3. Get identification.

4. Burn pixels.

5. Go beyond the cliche.

6. Avoid obvious posing.

7. Add light, but don't make it obvious.

8. Focus faithfully, stay steady.

9. Throw away poorly exposed photos.

10. Have guts.

•Get in close
Photos will often be published on low quality newsprint focus on a single, frame-filling centre of interest not
more than two or three people. Not more than a few objects with a clean, contrasting background. If you
cannot get in close, crop ruthlessly which destroy the entire image.
•Find unusual angles
Good Photojournalists are always moving to take photographs so that it will cover the whole situation or
image.
•Get indents
All subjects easily identifiable must be named. Most editors will reject photos without indents. Ask and write
their in your reporter’s notebook.
•Burn pixels
Take more number of photos of the situation /function so that it is easy to pick the good pictures.
•Avoid obvious posing
Try to make the scene appear natural. Photojournalism aims to cover people doing things, not people posing.
•Add light but don’t make it obvious
Available light is ideal. In some cases, light comes from ugly angles or is so weak you cannot even get close to
stopping the action. You need to control the color balance of bright green florescent or difficult combinations
of artificial and natural light. A good Photojournalists carefully analyse the light falling on their subject and
find an angle which best enhances the scene.
• Go beyond the cliche (over used statement)
Take photographs of unusual scenes look for interesting actions which are not taken by others, but
should be eye catching to the public. Make your shot stand out from the regular and common photos.
• Focus faithfully, stay steady
The photographers should focus properly on the scene to be shot. A blurred photos or many
slight fuzziness will be enhanced by poor quality paper and fast reproduction. Most fuzzy photos can be
blamed on camera movement. Use a minitripod.
• Throw away poorly exposed photos
Expose the camera carefully and correctly. Do not use poorly exposed photos for publication.
• Have guts
Photojournalists should be more open minded daring to approach the people to take the photographs
the people and to snaps. Note down their names and should posses a press pass to take close up of
sports actions etc.
Ethics and Qualities of photojournalism

With the advent of photo editing software and the sensationalistic style of reporting,
photojournalism ethics can be hard to discern for someone new to the field. Yet this topic is
one of utmost importance, as your credibility as a photojournalist is on the line when you
submit a photo as a truthful image of newsworthy events.

The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Code of Ethics offers nine ethical
standards to member journalists. The basic premises of the NPPA's nine standards are:
• Accurately represent subjects
• Do not be manipulated by staged photos
• Avoid bias and stereotyping in work; provide complete information and context
• Show consideration for subjects
• Avoid influencing the actions of the photographic subject
• Editing should not give the wrong impression of the subjects in the photograph
• Do not compensate persons involved in photographs or in getting a photograph
• Do not accept gifts or other favors from those involved in a photo
• Do not purposely interfere with the work of other journalists
These guidelines provide a framework for not only members of the NPPA, but for other
photojournalists as well.
Ethics and Qualities of photojournalism

Photo journalists must have a

• Sense of the journalistic values-that guide all the reporters
• Truthfulness-accuracy of the news they read and see in their newspaper
• Objectivity – should not be involved politically, economically or emotionally with a
subject.
• Credibility – Journalists’ tries to show both sided of a controversial issue, photographs
proportionate to their importance, should not receive any gifts from a subjects.
• Sense of News judgment- must know what is and what not news is & to determine if a
subject is worth coverage.