Before writing a newspaper article, one must have an
understanding of the different types of articles
contained in a newspaper. Most news articles are news stories and focus only on the facts but editorials and columns are not considered real news stories and usually reflect the opinion of their writer. There are several types of news articles*: A local news article focuses on what's going on in your neighbourhood. An eample of a local news story would be an article on a city council meeting. A national news article focuses on what's happening in the country. An eample of a national news article would be an article on the !anadian government passing a new bill. An international news article focuses on news that's happening outside the country. A story on an influen"a outbrea# in !hina would be considered an international news story. A feature article is an article that is about $softer$ news. A feature may be a profile of a person who does a lot of volunteer wor# in the community or a movie preview. %eature articles are not considered news stories.
An editorial is an article that contains the writer's opinion. &ditorials are usually run all together on a specific page of the paper and focus on current events. &ditorials are not considered news stories. A column is an article written by the same person on a regular basis. A columnist 'the writer of the column( writes about sub)ects of interest to him*her, current events or community happenings. !olumns are not considered news stories '+,o author(. written by same man under same caption on regular intervals There are certain aspects that characteri"e a newspaper article. These distinguishing features need to be considered before writing about a topic in order to have a well structured article. -eadline and Byline All newspaper articles should be set off with a headline. The headline shouldn.t be a summari"ation of the article/ instead it should serve the purpose of getting the reader.s attention. The byline should usually follow the headline. This states the author.s full name. 0n some cases the byline can occur and the end of the article. 1emember to not use the first person point of view in your article '+Mass(. *The proper visual format for each type of article is shown on the 2,ewspaper Articles3 poster. 4ead 5aragraph The lead paragraph is the first one in a news story. 6sually, the lead is one sentence long and summari"es the facts of the news story in order of most newsworthy to least news+ worthy '+7no(. The lead paragraph should not tease at the beginning or summari"e at the end, as you sometimes see on television news. 0nstead, the author should lay all his*her cards out on the table, so to spea#. The lead paragraph should include the 2who, what, when, where, why, and how3 of the story '+!igels#e(. 8epending on the elements of news value, the summary news lead emphasi"es and includes some or all of these components: 9ho names the sub)ect's( of the story. The 2who3, a noun, can refer to a person, a group, a building, an institution, a concept ++ anything about which a story can be written. 9hat is the action ta#ing place. 0t is a verb that tells what the who is doing. 1eporters should always use active voices and action verbs for the what because they ma#e the wording direct and lively. 9hen tells the time the action is happening. 0t is an adverb or an adverb phrase. 9here is the place the action is happening. Again, it is an adverb or adverb or adverb phrase. 9hy, another adverb, eplains the action in the lead. -ow usually describes the manner in which action occurs. :ne eample of a lead is: Bargainers from ;eneral Motors and 6A9 4ocal <=> will resume tal#s in 9arren this morning see#ing to end a day+old stri#e over the transfer of )obs from unioni"ed employees to less costly contract wor#ers. The 2who3 in the lead above are the bargainers from ;eneral Motors and the 6A9. 9hat are the bargainers doing? The lead says they will resume tal#s. 9hen will the bargainers resume tal#s? The bargain are meeting this morning 0n our story, the 2where3 is 9arren. 9hy are the bargainers meeting? The bargainers are meeting to discuss the transfer of )obs '+7no(. The reader should #now this information at first glance so they are aware what the story is about and what the emphasis is on. The lead sets the structure for the rest of the story. 0f the lead is good, the rest of the story comes together easily. Many reporters spend half their writing time on the lead alone. :ne guiding principle behind story organi"ation is: the structure of the story can help the reader understand what the author is writing about. The structure should lead the reader from idea to idea simply and clearly. The ob)ect is to give readers information, and wow them with convoluted style. Transitions 9ith one+sentence paragraphs consisting of only one idea ++ bloc# paragraphs ++ it would be easy for a story to appear as a series of statements without any smooth flow from one idea to the net. Bloc# paragraphing ma#es the use of effective transitions important. Transitions are words or phrases that lin# two ideas, ma#ing the movement from one idea to the other clear and easy. :bvious transitional phrases are: thus, therefore, on the other hand, net, then, and so on. Transitions in news stories are generally made by repeating a word or phrase or using a synonym for a #ey word in the preceding paragraph. Thin# of bloc# graphs as islands tied together with transition bridges of repeated words or phrases '+7no(. &planation and Amplification %ollowing the lead paragraph comes the eplanation and amplification, which deals with illuminating details. The author should use discretion in choosing details to include in this part of the story. @ome details may not be as important as others and they should be presented in order of importance from greatest to least. The author should not feel the need to include everything he*she #nows, but include everything he*she feels is important '+!igels#e(. 0n addition, a direct Auote should be used after the summary statement to provide amplification or verification, for eample '+7no(. Bac#ground 0nformation At a high reading level, the average reader will become confused reading the story. Therefore, the author should fill in the gaps with bac#ground information. 9hen in doubt about whether information should be included, the author should put it in. %or eample, almost every piece on the :.B. @impson case included in the eplanation and amplification section the basic information on what he was on trial for even though it was basically common #nowledge '+!igels#e(. Biases ,ewspaper articles should be written without bias. 5ersonal pre)udices should not find their way into the article. The use of an op+ed or column forum is recommended for personal opinions '+!igels#e(. 8irect and 0ndirect Cuotes 9hen possible, the author should use direct or indirect Auotes to enrich the article. -owever, Auotations should not be included )ust for the sa#e of using them: ma#e sure they are relevant '+!igels#e(. 8irect Auotes can be used in the following situations: if a source's language is particularly colourful or picturesAue when it is important for written information ++ especially official information ++ to come from an obviously authoritative voice to answer the Auestions 2why, how, who, or what?3 1emember, a direct Auote repeats eactly what the interviewee said. 0f a person's eact words aren.t #nown, the author can paraphrase, but never change the meaning of a person's words. 9hen paraphrasing, Auotation mar#s aren.t reAuired but the indivudal.s name should be included after the paraphrased sentence. Bibliography The article must always contain a Bibliography or 29or#s !ited3 list that includes at least two sources. All sources must be documented in the correct format* '+ @ebran#(. The basic format of a newspaper article can be condensed into a simplified eplanation: -eadlineDAn attention getting phrase at the top of the article. Byline D By, your name. 4ead 5aragraph D @tart with a strong, interesting sentence to get the reader engaged. 0nclude the 2who, what, when, where, why, and how3 as appropriate. &planation and AmplificationDThis section will include several brief paragraphs eplaining the details surrounding your photograph. Bac#ground 0nformationDThis section will include several brief paragraphs eplaining events leading up to the picture, related national stories, etc. '+@ebran#(. NEWSPAPER COLUMN (noun) The noun NEWSPAPER COLUMN has 1 sense: 1. an artice !i"in! o#inions or #ers#ecti"es $a%iiarit& in'or%ation: NEWSPAPER 'our t&#es o' cou%ns %e(ica e!a rei!ious hu%orous a)o"e cassi*cation is )& (r. A)(us saa% +hurshi( !enera& cou%ns (i"i(e( into three cate!ories hu%orous cou%n roun( a)out to,n cou%n e(itoria cou%n or #ersona e(itoria cou%n