Writing News Stories and Headlines Chapter 7

Most Important Skill: Writing Be a reader Understand the fundamentals: spelling, grammar, and punctuation Be comfortable with words Know the difference between good and bad sentences

Building on the Lead 1. Grab interest 2. Keep interest - Use Quotes - Use Transitions p. 154 in text 3. The Body of the Story -Retell Story in next few paragraphs -Most important to least important information

Other Organizational Patters Inverted pyramid Most important to least important Storytelling Style Narrative (setting, characters, etc.) Use anecdotes Combination Style Summarize 1 st paragraph and the remaining- tell a story

Appropriate Newspaper Style: Do’s and Don’ts 1. Avoid Offensive Language p Be politically correct - Words worth considering p Choose words carefully to avoid confusion - Edit sentences

Cont. 3. Use clear, simple words - Write to communicate - P. 165 list - Jargon- inside language of groups - “spike that story” = “don’t publish that story” 4. Write straightforward sentences - Make easier to read

Cont. 5. Avoid Other Common Hazards - Redundancy “2 A.M. in the morning” - Clichés- overworked, overused, trite expressions - “free as a bird” - P common clichés - Fear of repetition - Passive voice (weak)

Headlines Job is to lure reader into the story Must be honest Lively, interesting, sparkling verbs

Headlines Cont. 1. Headline Styles - Centered - Flush-left/ Ragged-right - Hammerhead (big on top, small on bottom) - Other p Making Headlines - More important the story, the larger the headline (and often longer)

Cont. 3. Headline Writing Do’s and Dont’s - Telegraphic Style (extra words and trimmed) - Verb Tense- usually present - Punctuation- comma, quotation marks, and semicolon - Stylistic Consideration p Pun use - Little use of alliteration

Copyediting Prepare for publication Last chance to catch mistakes

The word of the copy editor Master of stylebook Rules of English Good memory Good organization P. 177 Spelling demons P Symbols Accuracy Watch for mistakes Spell check Editing Logical read Flow well Attribution Providing the source of facts in a story