NEWS UNIT IV WHAT IS NEWS? current events/recent events material reported in a news paper or news periodical or on a news cast.
News is an oral or written report of a past
,present ,future event. It should be factual ,truthful ,accurate ,unbiased, and interesting. Elements of News 1. Conflict This may involve physical or mental conflict man versus man, man vs. nature or man vs. himself. 2. Immediacy or timeliness This element emphasizes the newest angle of the story. The more recent the event, the more interesting it is to the reader. 3. Proximity or nearness This may refer to geographical nearness as well as to nearness of kinship or interest. 4. Prominence Some people are more prominent than others by reasons of wealth, social position or achievements. 5. Significance whatever is significant to the life of an individual is interesting to him. 6. Names Important names make important news. Also, the more names there are in the story, the better. 7. Drama This adds color to the story. The more picturesque the background and the more dramatic the actions are , the more the story appealing. 8. Oddity or unusualness This refers to the strange or unnatural events, objects, persons, and places. 9. Romance and adventure The romance may be experience with other things. 10.Sex Since the dawn of history, sex has always interested man. Stories of sex are usually related to stories of romance, marriage, divorce. 11. Progress The onward and forward march of civilization or the progress of a country is chronicled step by step in the newspaper.
12. Animals Stories of animals, especially those which
talents are good reading matter because of their human interest value.
13.Number Sweeptakes numbers, vital statistics,
election results, scores in games, casualties, fatalities, price of goods,, and ages of women make good news.
14.Emotion All the other elements of news mentioned
above appeal to the emotion. But the term emotion here includes the various human responses. TYPES OF NEWS STORIES 1. Scope or Origin
a. Local news Report of events that takes
place within the immediate locality. b. National news News that takes place within the country. c. Foreign news News that takes place outside the country. d. Dateline news News preceded by the date and place of origin or place where it was written or filed : Tokyo, Jan 20 (AP) 2. Chronology or sequence
a. Advance or anticipated News published before
its occurrence, sometimes called dope or prognostication. The reporter foretells events expected to occur at a definite time in the future.
b. Spot news News that gathered and reported on
the spot.
c. Coverage news News written from a given beat.
d. Follow-up news It is a sequel to a previous
story. Having a new lead of its own. 3. Structure a. Straight news News that consists of facts given straight without embellishment. Its main aim is to inform. b. News feature It is also based on facts, but it entertains more thanit informs.
* Single feature or one - incident story The
story deals with isolated events. A single fact is featured in the lead and is explained further in the succeeding paragraphs. * Several feature, multiple angled, or composite story Several facts are included in the lead in their order of importance. 4. TREATMENT a. Fact story this is a plain exposition setting forth a single situation or a series of closely related facts that inform. b. Action story A narrative of actions involving not mere simple facts but also of dramatic events, description of persons and events, perhaps testimony of witnesses as well as explanatory data. c. Speech report a news story usually written from a public a public address, talks, and speeches. d. Quote story Speeches, statements, and letters, and to some extent, interviews when reported, are regarded as quote stories. ( its either written or spoken) e. Interview story A news report written from an interview. 5. Content
a. Routine story Celebrations, enorllment,
graduation, election stories reported year in and year out.
b. Police reports accident, fire, calamity, crime
stories, kidnapping, terrorism, murder and robbery.
c. Science news (see Science writing)
d. Developmental news (see Development
communication)
e. Sports stories - (see Sportswriting)
6. Minor Forms
a. News brief a short item of news interest,
written like a brief telegraphic message, giving mainly the result with details.
b. News bulletin It is similar to the lead of a
straight news story. Its aim is just to give the gist of the news.
c. News featurette This is a short news
feature usually used as fillers, e.g., Quirks in the news.
d. Flash A bulletin that conveys the first word of
an event. UNIT V WRITING THE LEAD Lead this may be a single word, a phrase, a clause, a brief sentence, an entire paragraph, or a series of paragraphs. KINDS OF LEAD 1. Conventional or Summary Lead This kind of lead used in straight news answers right away all or any of the 5 Ws and/or the H. It may be one of the following:
a.WHO lead Used when the person involved is more
prominent than what he does or what happens to him. b. WHAT lead used when the event or what took place is more important than the person involved in the story. c. WHERE lead Used when the place is unique and no prominent erson is involved. d. WHEN lead Rarely used as the reader presumes the story to be timely. However, this lead is useful when speaking of deadlines, holidays and important dates. e. WHY lead Used when the reason is more prominent or unique than what happens. f. HOW lead Used when the manner,mode,means, or method of achieving the story is the unnatural way. 2. Grammatical Beginning Lead There are times when the lead is introduced by a kind of grammatical form which is usually a phrase or a clause used to emphasize a feature. Examples of grammatical beginning leads are :
a. Prepositional phrase lead the phrase is introduced
by a preposition.
b. Infinitive phrase lead It begins with the sign of the
infinitive to plus the main verb.
c. Participial phrase lead It is introduced by the
present or past participle form of the verb. d. Gerundial phrase lead It is introduced by a gerund (a verbal noun ending in ing).
e. Clause lead The lead begins with a clause
which may either be independent or subordinate, or may either be a noun or an adjectival or adverbial clause. 3. Novelty lead They are written in such a way that they attract attention or carry out a definite purpose KINDS OF NOVELTY LEADS a. Astonisher lead Uses an interjection or an exclamatory sentence. b. Contrast lead Describes two extremes or opposites for emphasis. The sharper the contrast, the more effective the lead will be. c. Epigram lead Opens by quoting a common expression, verse, or epigram, at least familiar in the locality. d. Picture lead Describes a person, place or an event, at the same time, creating a mental picture of the subject matter in the mind of the reader. e. Background lead Similar to the picture lead, except that it describes the setting which may be more prominent than the characters and the events. f. Descriptive lead used when comparatively few descriptive words can vividly formulate an imagery.
g. Parody lead Consists of a parody of a well-known
song,poem, or lines.
h. Punch lead A short, forceful word or expression. It is
rarely used.
i. One word lead (Self explanatory)
j. Quotation lead Consists of the speakers direct words
which are very striking and which are usually quoted from a speech, a public address, or an interview.
k. Question lead An answer to a question which is the