*What is Print Journalism?

Print journalism generally refers to all activities of nestle egathering and dissemination that are
published in newspapers, magazines, journals and other publications meant for the general public.

Print journalism is the practice of investigating and reporting of events in newspaper or other printed
form, to a broad audience.

The major aim of print journalism is to inform and educate the public , or a specific audience.

Print journalism also covers cultural aspects of society such as Arts and Entertainment.

*Types of Journalism*

There are many types of journalism, namely:

- News Journalism

- Investigative Journalism

- Reviews Journalism

- Column Journalism

- Broadcast Journalism (radio and TV)

- Digital Journalism

*News media or news journalism *

They are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or to a target
audience. These include *print media *( newspapers and magazines), *broadcast media* ( radio and
TV), *internet *( news blogs, news video streaming).

*Investigative Journalism*

involves the activities of investigative reporting whereby the reporter undertakes a detailed
investigation of an issue, story or process. The sole aim is to present an incisive and insightful report to
the public or a target audience. Such investigative stories may be published in newspapers, magazines or
electronic media.

*Reviews Journalism*

Is based on in-depth reviews of stories, ideas, books or other publications. They may also be published
in print media or aired on electronic media.

*Column Journalism*

Involves the work of a columnist who writes weekly or monthly opinion pieces in print media.
A *columnist* is someone who is well informed about certain issues and can offer stimulating
perspectives to issues in an interesting, easy-to-follow writing style.

*Broadcast Journalism *

Involves an assemblage of professional journalists in radio and television who work in a variety of
positions. These include: reporters, newscasters, editors, script writers, interviewers, producers, among
others.

*Digital Journalism*

Involves the work of those who work in different digital media such as news blogs, online newspapers,
or dedicated social media platform for news dissemination.

*Print Media Publishing Formats*.

A newspaper is a printed medium which is usually circulated daily or weekly. It is designed to

disseminate news and other types of information to a wide audience. These are called general interest
newspapers.

There are also some newspapers which are devoted to specific audience and are published periodically,
such as Sports newspapers, Business newspapers. These are called Special Interest newspapers.

There are also general interest magazines which appeal to all ages; as well as special interest magazines
that focus on a select audience.

We shall discuss more on magazines later.

*What makes the ‘News’ in newspapers?*

*What is News?*

The simplest definition of News is contained in the word itself: North, East, West, South.

This means that the word is coined form the four points of a compass. This also implies that ‘News’
refers to the coverage or reporting of societal events from all the four corners of the earth.

*Origin of News*

The origin of News is as old as human civilization, as many writers have traced its history to as early as
321 B.C when the Athenians wandered through the streets, asking questions about what is news. In 700
B.C, the Israelites were quoted to have made the statement: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of him that bringeth good tidings”. Centuries later, Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs:” as cold
water is to a thirsty soul; so is good news from a far country”.

Contemporary history gives the credit of the first systematic attempt at News gathering to Romans who
in 69BC, posted the “Acta Diurna” for public consumption. This was a kind of public gazette which
contained public information. But the gazette did not achieve much result until the invention of printing
with movable type by John Gutenberg around 1450 AD. With the circulation of News through the
“Gazette”,came the publication of the first newspaper called “Relations” in 1609 by Johann Carolus in
Strausbourg, Germany.

‘News’ was originally spelled “Newes” It became a very important aspect of public life and could travel
far and wide. The term ‘News’ first appeared in a London newspaper called the “Weekly Newes” in
1622. In 1690, Benjamin Harns published the first issue of “Public Occurrences”. Years after, other
newspapers followed, such as those published by James Franklin and John Peter Zenger. The general
thinking about newspaper publishing in those early days was the belief that, in a democratic society, the
people have the unreserved right to know what is happening all around them, since the word ‘News’ is
coined from the four points of the world compass-North, East, West, South.

But the question still remains: ‘*what is the nature of News that we have the right to know?*

*News: Some definitions*

Most authors about print journalism seem to agree with the assertion that:

 “News is a timely report”;

 a report of events”,
 “tomorrow’s history” and;
- “literature in a hurry”

Similarly, George Hugh of the University of Georgia in the USA once described News as *both a
commodity and a state of mind*. As a commodity, News is gathered, processed, published, sold and
consumed by members of the public. As a state of mind, News interests, excites, and holds the
interest or attention of its subscribers everyday of the year.

Tom put it in a more practical way, News has been further explained as follows: It is news that ‘Man
Bites Dog’. But it is not news that ‘Dog bites Man’

News is what people do not want to publish.

It could be anything timely that interests a group of people, and the best news is that which has the
greatest interest for the greatest number of people. Charles Dana, former Editor of the New York Sun
thought of the readers of News when he defined News as: ‘anything that will make people talk’. News
can therefore be seen from various perspectives, but the bottom line remains that ‘news is the timely
reportage of daily events in any locality’

News is usually a stimulating and informative report which the ordinary human being derived
satisfaction from. It is a timely report of facts or opinion which either interests or depresses a
considerable number of people.

*Components of News*

What is considered news can be further summarized as a report of an event which involves the
following sequence:

-Situation
 -Event

-Report

- News

*Situation*:

For a situation to become an event, the normal routine must be disturbed or disrupted. E.g a daily flow
of traffic may be described as a situation. Any accident on the highway is a disturbance of the normal
daily routine, as a result of which the situation becomes an event.

*Event*

Event is the disturbance of a normal daily situation. This normal traffic flow is Routine while accident is
the Event.

*Report*

This simply means the account of an event. The *event* does not become news until it is *reported* or
made public.

*News*

News is the detailed report of an event or events; of happenings in a particular location as told, reported
or published for public consumption. News may be oral, written, or pictorial; and often a combination of
both oral and pictorial, or written and pictorial. News as a report can be in the form of writing or copying
out a release from the government, institutions, organizations or firm. Behind the news, Other personal
comments will be reserved for news commentaries, editorial, or feature writing.

Journalistic features of News:

Every piece of news must answer any or all Of 5 important questions. These are called the 5 Ws and H of
journalism

*What?*: what has happened ?

*Who?*: who are the people involved in the happening.? The more famous the people, the more
interesting the news

*Where?*: This seeks to know the location or locality of the news. The closer the location, the more
impact on the people

*When?*: This asks the question about time/ timeline/ or timeliness of the news.

*How?*: This seeks to know the circumstances of the news; the build- up of action and consequences ,
resulting in the news.
 *Elements of News*

Apart from the 5 Ws and H, which are the defining components of what is considered News, we also talk
about other critical elements of News which shed more light on the nature and significance of writing
skills in print media.

These are:

-proximity

-novelty or oddity

- personalImpact

- timeliness

-size and

- media policy

Let us now discuss these in some detail:

*1. Proximity*

Proximity is also known as Nearness.What constitutes News to a group of people must be something
that is near or close enough to affect or impact their lives. The nearness of News determines its impact
on the audience. For instance, the news of the death of Sylvester Oromoni attracted so much interest
because it is close enough to have a huge impact on many people.

A plane crash in Oklahoma,USA will thus have less impact on people in Ibadan, Nigeria, than News of
flooding in Ogunpa River in Ibadan.

*2. Novelty or Oddity*

Consider these news headlines:

“Man fights neighbour”

“Man fights dog”

Which do you think will make better news?

Of course, “Man fights dog” makes better news because of the oddity or novelty. People are always
interested in news about happenings they never heard before, things which are out of place with reality,
or events that do not happen on a daily basis. These are strong elements of news.

Consider also:

“Dead farmer sends message to son”

“Woman names favourite cat in will”

“Student slaps teacher”

*3. Personal Impact*

Personal impact refers the degree to which news affects certain people. News about police brutality in
Ikorodu naturally spurs the interest of people who reside in that area. Personal impact spurs interest.

Other examples:

“Government votes N2 Billion Unemployment benefited to fresh graduates in South South Nigeria”

“Political parties to hold rallies in markets

“Lagos residents now to pay special levy to park in shopping malls”

Generally, stories that always arouse personal interest include the following: Crime, conflict, accidents,
violence, robbery, fire, health,weather, and celebrity lifestyles.

Consider this piece of news:👇

Church Members Beat Up Pastor After He Asked Them To Pay ₦16,000 To Unlock 2022

https://franktalknow.com/church-members-beat-up-pastor-after-he-asked-them-to-pay-₦16000-to-
unlock-2022/

👆what element of news does this depict?

Looks like the news story is a combination of bit oddity/ novelty and personal impact. The oddity typifies
the story and the personal impact is the catalyst that moves the church members to action. This shows
that some news stories may be viewed from more than one perspective.

*4. Timeliness*

Events constitute News when they are fresh in the public memory. Timeliness is the newness or
freshness of News. A story that fulfills the time factor answers the question:

“When did it happen?”

Modern communication speeds up the rate of News transmission. In this regard, the electronic media
have an advantage over the print media in terms of timeliness. They tell the news faster but they also
fall short in terms of in-depth analysis high we get in print media which thrives on investigative and
interpretive journalism.

*5. Size*

Size answers the question:”What”. The scope of the news reported has a lot to do with the size of the
story or what makes a story ‘big’ or ‘small’. A news piece about the outcome of a general election is
considered a ‘big’ story because it affects the the lives of very citizen. Whereas, a story about the visit of
a traditional ruler to a state governor will be a much smaller story at that point in time. In some cases,
size does not only answer the question “What”, it also tends to answer the “Who” of the story, as in the
example above.

News about important personalities like the President, the UN Secretary-General, international figures,
etc are always big stories.
Size’ of a story may also be determined by figure, that is, the number of people or sum of money
involved. E.g.

“Flood displaces

200,000 people TV in Northern Nigeria”

“50,000 people test positive for Omicron Virus in Nigeria”

Such stories are bigger than:

“Driver laments as bus conductor makes away with N2,000 passengers’ fares”aaa

*6. Media Policy*

News policy varies from one media outfit to another. What attracts electronic media in terms of news
consideration may not be of interest to print media and vice versa. Media Policy has to do with a lot of
things, ranging from:

-Aim and Objectives of establishing the media house.

-The type of society in which the media house is being processed established. That is, whether it is a
socialist, communist, monarchical or democrtatic society.

-Goals of the media house: Some media houses are established for public service, and while others are
established as profit- making businesses.

Media policy also has a lot to do with ownership of media houses- whether government/ state -owned
or private-owned. Generally, most media houses are believed to project or propagate the policies of
their owners. This determines the kind of stories they can or cannot disseminate. No matter the policy,
every news medium is believed to have a duty to its subscribers or audience.

*Sources of News*

Sources of news are in three categories. They are:

- predictable sources, -anticipated sources, and; -unpredictable sources.

Let us examine them briefly below:

1. *Predictable Sources:*

As the name implies, these are sources that regularly provide information to the news industry.
Predictable sources include:

a) News agency reports;

b) Governmental bodies/ institutions like the executive, the judiciary and the legislature (e.g. Aso
Rock, State and federal houses of Assembly, the courts)
c) The Stock Exchange, Chambers of Commerce, Trade Exhibitions, International Conferences,
public Enquiries, etc.
d) Published reports, reports of panels of inquiry, births and death notices, letters to newspaper
editor, advertisements, prepared speeches, etc
 e) News from hotels, hospitals, fire service, schools, religious organizations, police, etc.

*2. Anticipated Sources*

Anticipated sources of news are similar to predictable sources, except for the fact that they are
restricted to planned events, or events that a reporter knows will definitely happen. Such events
include:

-Independence/National Day celebration

-Workers’ Day

-Democracy Day

- Children’s Day

- Elections etc.

-Presidential Inauguration, etc.

*Can you give other examples of anticipated sources of news?*

A good one is ‘First Baby of the Year’

Valentine's Day

Convocation program

Presidential address

Christmas Day

Graduation speech

Sunday sermon

FIFA World Cup

*3. Unpredictable Sources*

These are the ideal sources of fresh and sizzling news stories. They are unpredictable because they just
happen suddenly and become instant news. It takes a reporter with a ‘nose for news’ which is the
ability, training and experience of the reporter to quickly recognize news and report it as quickly as
possible. ‘Nosing for news’ is a journalism term for the reporter/ writer’s ability to understand the
nature and value of news, and the ability to recognize news as soon as it breaks. ‘Nosing for news’ is an
ability that is not in-born; it must be acquired, developed and improved upon with time and experience.
Good reporters/ writers can get news tips from friends, neighbors and acquaintances. They also
recognize what is called ‘cyclical news’ which are mostly repetitive events that always happen.

(Most of our examples above for in this category)

So they can anticipate such events and when they will happen. However, the knowledge of the sources
of news is not enough for the print media reporter/ writer to do their job effectively. Certain skills are
also necessary, such as listening, observing, searching, and interviewing. We have discussed these
mostly in our first lecture when we explained the role of language skills ( reading, writing, and speaking
and listening) in print media writing. However, the knowledge of the sources of news is not enough for
the print media reporter/ writer to do their job effectively.

Certain skills are also necessary, such as

-*listening*,

-*observing*,

-*searching, and -interviewing.*

We have discussed these mostly in our first lecture when we explained the role of language skills
(*reading, writing, and speaking and listening*) in print media writing. It should be quite easy to relate
these skills to different tasks of a print media writer.
24-01-2022

Lecture 4

*General Features of Print Media Writing*;

*The Newsroom*

Print media writers are expected to conform to some general norms and conventions. You may call
them the 6 As of print media writing: These are:

-Authorship

- Authenticity

-Appeal

-Action

-Authority

-Actuality or Originality

Let us take a few points on these:

*Authorship*

Authorship is the ability to create a piece of writing which will catch the interest of the reader.
Authorship involves ability to use language appropriately: good choice of words, good sentence
structure, paragraphing, etc are all necessary skills of a good writer. Ability to communicate ideas clearly
and vividly.

2. *Authenticity*

The presentation of real issues, real problems, and solutions. A sense of “truth”, credibility of characters,
plot, time and setting. Generally, it is the ability to write believable stories that the audience can relate
with.

3. *Appeal*

The ability to recognize “newsworthiness”; stories that appeal, affect and inspire the audience.

4. *Action*

Writing must stimulate and sustain reader’s interest. One way of achieving this is to portray action
vividly and convincingly. This may be achieved by using narrative technique and dialogue.

5. *Authority*

The journalist/ writer must have a good command of the subject and write authoritatively. The writer
must demonstrate evidence of mastery, familiarity and expertise. These may be achieved by a mastery
of special language or register related to the subject matter, e.g business, arts, entertainment, sports.
6. *Actuality/ Originality*

This refers to the writer’s ability to create a unique personal style that is recognizable and attributable to
the writer. This is otherwise known as originality. It also applies to the writer’s innovative approach to
the writing process. This often involves personal wit, humour, stylish twists in plot of the story, among
other skills. All these 6 writing norms point directly to the writer and how he/she uses writing skills to
build a respectable personality and professional integrity. This is why every print media writer has their
name boldly typed against their work.

This is called the writer’s *Byline*.

Later in the course, we shall be discussing the main differences between newspapers and magazines as
major examples of print media publications.

For now, we turn to the Newsroom and the Organisation of a News Story.

(Insert image)

🖕These 2 pictures present us with a view of what a typical newsroom looks like in the electronic (left)
and print media (right). Note the differences in the *tools of the trade* and the focus of the journalist’s
energy in each setting.

*The Newsroom*

Every print media organisation, whether newspaper or magazine, has what is called the *Newsroom*. It
is a department in a media organisation where news is processed, either for publication ( newspaper or
magazine) or broadcast (electronic media). This is like the engine room for preparing or processing
news, and many activities are conducted in the Newsroom. The traditional Newsroom may be likened to
a command -and control room, where all the activities of producing the news are organized and
controlled. This include assignment of reporters’ *beats* (area of reporting), editing, proof-reading, and
general administration of the newsroom staff. It is usually a large and spacious room, with various
‘desks’ headed by editors, line-editors, lead writers,etc., who direct the production of news stories.

*Organisation.*

The Newsroom is headed by two people:

-*The publisher* , who handles the busines aspect (selling ads, marketing) and ;

-*The Editor-in-Chief*, who handles the editorial aspect.

Other people who run the affairs of a newsroom are:

-*the editorial desk*

A group of experts who dictate the tone and direction of the punlication’s editorial policy. Here we have:

- section editors

- page editors

-line editors
-sub-editors

-page designers, among others

*Sub- editors* are otherwise called *writers*.

They are the ones who write the news stories as reported by the reporters / journalists. The sub editor
receives the first account of the story and basically rewrites or rebuilds the story by way of ‘finishing
touches’. Sub editors are responsible for:

-casting headlines that will attract readers.

- interpreting the news by expressing the salient components of the story in concise but vivid language.

Then there is the *STONE EDITOR*

Whose job is to fine- tune the sub-editor’s job by proof- reading, correcting errors, inserting missing
letters, words or deleting extraneous materials. The stone editor has the authority to recast headlines
or send back the original copy of the story to the sub editor for correction.

*Editors *

The Editor is the overall head of a newspaper or magazine or a radio/ tv newsroom in some cases. He/
she is responsible for what goes into the newspaper, magazine or newscast. It is the editor who has to
face the harsh realities of managing space and time for each publication on a daily basis. The Editor has
the final say on how much space may be allocated to news stories. The Editor is the time keeper, the
supervisor and the manager who oversees the process of news gathering and dissemination. He decides
when the paper ‘goes to sleep’ (goes to press) and whether or not to wait for a ‘big story’ write signing
off the publication.

*The Journalists*

The journalists or *reporters* are otherwise called the ‘Legmen’ in journalism. They are the ones who
do the ‘leg-work; going out into the streets to get the stories that sell the publication. They have the
duty to get the news and the ‘news behind the news’. Reporters attend press briefings , meetings,
conferences, scenes of events like accidents and disasters, demonstrations and other incidents which
make news. Modern day reporters go beyond the traditional duty of everyday reporting by also probing
for the news, searching for news, investigating and interviewing. Reporter who work on extraordinary
news like government oriented news special investigative stories are called *special correspondents*.
Apart from sourcing the news, the journalist must have the ability to put the *story* (news) in readable
or comprehensible form for the sub editors to do their job.

*Now, how does the journalist and the editors go about organizing the presentation of the news to
the public?*
*Organisation of the News Story*

In any type of work, be it features, novel, play, etc, writers generally work within the relevant
conventions. Unlike other types of writing, news writing is regarded as highly organized and style-
oriented. This is a function of the level of imagination, discipline, precision and vividness that is required
of a news story. But news writing is far more flexible today than it was in the 50’s and 60’s. Reporting
requires a number of techniques, which together make up the news gathering process. These
techniques are related and complementary.

*News Organisation Structure*

There are many ways of organizing a piece of news story. A news story basically consists of 3 major
parts, just like the typical essay. These are : The beginning which is called *the lead*; a middle, known as
*the body* and the ending or closing which is called *the conclusion*

*The Lead*

The conventional process of writing the lead of a news story is to make it provide answers to the 5w’s
and H which we discussed earlier. In standard journalism practice, the *lead* is supposed to tell the
story. For brevity and concise summary of the news, most publishing style books maintain that *the
lead* must not contain less than 12 words or more than 24 words. However, there are no
internationally accepted standards on the number of words in the lead. The main points are brevity and
concise statement of the 5 W’s and H. So, a good *Lead* must provide a concise summary of the story.

*The Body*

This is the part where the story is developed and the facts, highlighted in the lead are elaborated upon.
The body may be brief or lengthy, depending on the length of the story. For example, in a one -
paragraph story, the lead and the story are the same. But if the story is longer, the body may range
between two to ten paragraphs. Basically, the body of the story answers some, or all of the unanswered
questions in the lead. It also provides more details on the 5Ws and H.

*The Conclusion*

A typical news story may or may not have a Conclusion. There are no strict rules in the conclusion of a
news story. It all depends on the tradition or media policy of the Organisation. Sometimes, the
conclusion is left to the professional judgement of the reporter.

*Patterns of Organizing News Stories*

The following are some of the patterns normally used in organizing news stories:

*1. The Inverted Pyramid*

This consists of *a summary*, *the lead* and and *the details* arranged in descending order of
importance👇

(Insert image)

*2. The Chronological Order*

This pattern is used for news stories that report action, or a series of related events. This pattern has a
summary lead which is followed by a chronological account of the events. The pattern looks like this:👇

(Insert image)

Before we proceed, let us consider some examples of these two types of news Organisation patterns :

Example of Inverted Pyramid:

The Lead:

*Teachers in Ondo state are now poised for a showdown with the state government over non-payment
of their salaries for the last 6 months*

The Body: ( facts arranged in descending order)

-most important fact:

*They have warned that the state government should not blame them for anything that might happen
in the next 14 days…*

Next important fact:

*This was contained in a statement signed by the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT)
( name) in Akure*

Important fact:

*The Chairman noted that in recent months, the teachers have been under immense financial
pressures.*

Example of Chronological Order:

The Lead:

*Cabin stewards of Peace Airlines will no longer accept the Naira for payment of duty-free items on
board its international flights.*

Event 1:

*One of the female cabin staff on a London-bound flight explained that the staff were acting on
instructions from the top. A passenger on the flight retorted that the directive was as unfair and
unreasonable.*

Event 2:

*The press affairs manager of the airline explained that the rationale behind the decision was to prevent
abuse of the Naira by passengers.*

*3. Suspended Interest Story*

This is a kind of news story pattern also called *The Pyramid Pattern*. It is frequently used in telling
short, humorous stories, which journalists call “page brighteners”. In this story pattern, the writer saves
the best for the last. In this story pattern, the writer saves the best for the last:
(Insert image)

*Types of Lead*

From the above, we can see that in terms of writing, the introductory part of the news story, otherwise
called *the lead* is quite important in building a good news story. Basically, a good *lead *must be
able to answer the question: “What happened?” Again, there are no strict rules as to which types of
leads to use; it all depends on the story and the writer’s discretion. However, there is always a wide
room for creativity.

*The Summary Lead*

As the name suggested, this kind of *lead* summarizes the whole story and gives details later. It is brief
and deals with only the key points of the story.

Example:

*The people of Yewa in Ogun state have appealed to the Federal government to create an Ijebu state
out of the present Ogun state.*

* The Figurative Lead*

This makes use of extensive figures of speech, and allows the use of words in the literary rather than
literal sense. E.g *After a count down of several weeks, the minister finally pulled the plug on the water
project *

Note the use of ‘count down’ and ‘pulled the plug’ in this story lead.

*The Oddity Lead*

This is the type of *lead* that is rarely used by newspapers, because it appears more like an
advertisement than a news story. It is most commonly used in radio and television to get listeners’/
viewers’ attention.

e.g*No be another person life dey for danger o, na you; wey your house and compound dey dirty!*

*The Quotation Lead*

This often has a striking statement that could make a reader interested in the story. But this kind of lead
is used sparingly because it is generally easy to write, and will make the story look monotonous.

e.g:

“*You will walk alone” Lagosians threaten Sanwo-Olu on proposed peace walk.*

*Can you give some more examples of quotation leads you have seen in print media before.?*

“Tiwa savage is a member of the Illuminati group” Popular Mummy G.O sheds more light on her vision.

”He prayed for forgiveness before laying his hands on me” Sexual abuse victim narrates her ordeal with
Sunday school teacher

Subsidy removal: “Buhari should prepare for popular uprising”—SAN

We really should endeavour to create our own examples of these features/ patterns

The other types of Leads are :

-Question lead

-Dialogue lead

-Descriptive Lead

-Bullet Lead

-Staccato lead

*The Question Lead*

The question lead raises a question and answers it. It is commonly used in explanatory or specialized
writing such as news feature writing.

e.g.

*Where is the snake that swallowed N3 billion?*

The function of the second paragraph is to explain the reason for the question to the reader. The
question sometimes answers itself when it is rhetorical.

e.g:

Are Nigerian politicians sincere?

*The Dialogue Lead*

Journalists use the dialogue lead as a break from the normal routine of everyday leads. The question
lead is often quite effective in getting instant attention of readers. It if often catchy and dramatic in
getting the message across. It uses several paragraphs.

e.g. “Boko Haram is the major problem of the Buhara administration”, said a top member of PDP Board
of Trustees.

The spokesman for Aso Rock, Mallam Idris Yaro, attacked the PDP leader by asserting: “You are
thoroughly biased”

The dialogue may continue from here, thus giving the reader a picture of what transpired between the
two political actors.

*The Descriptive Lead*

This is mainly used when description is needed in a news story. It serves to put the reader at the scene
of the event, by presenting sight, sound, smell and taste. It is most effective for stirring up the readers’
mood, especially in sports commentaries.

e.g
“Kanu passes the ball to Okocha….. Okocha goes on the offensive…., he breezes past the two
defenders…. He’s heading for the goal post .. and here it is… it is a goal……..Oh, No!! Over the bar!”

**The Bullet Lead*

The bullet lead is the closest to the news headline. It is a short sentence that carries great impact.

e.g.

Nigerian military leader, Abacha is dead.

Donald Trump has lost the American Presidential election.

Lagos is under siege by armed bandits.

Heavy rain shut down many parts of Lagos yesterday.

Bandits kill 10 people in Kaduna over the weekend.

*The Staccato Lead*

This type of lead consists of short sentences, one after the other. It is used to establish a mood that is
most appropriate for the kind of news story being told.

For example:

*The local government elections were marred by violence and agitation. Voters were injured. Election
did not take place in many locations. There were widespread irregularities.*

*Summary of the writing process in print media communication*

The writing process encompasses all the activities of the journalist /writer in the process of news
gathering, writing and publishing to the public. We will be able to relate with these processes based on
what we have learned in the last few lectures. The writing process is summarized in the diagram below:

(Insert image)

Note the last item on the list: ‘*Be sure of the necessary facts”*

In journalism, it is often said that: ” Facts are sacred, comments are free”

So, the entire process of processing the news is hinged on the writer’s ability to bring the best of his/ her
traiing and talent to bear on the proper presentation of ‘the facts’.