1. Reporting the News: Part I
People+Action+Reader Interest=News

2. News Interest
Integrating some or all of the following elements into stories can increase interest
Nearness
Timeliness
Importance
Names
Drama or Conflict
Variety
Human Interest
Humor

3. Nearness
Readers want to hear about their community, city, school, etc.
Which of the following would be of greater interest to a citizen of Bowie?
“A young man shot and killed his journalism teacher in Des Moines, Iowa, today.”
“The Bowie Jackrabbits were defeated by Brock last Friday.”

4. Timeliness
Readers want reports of recent or ongoing events, not outdated news.
They would prefer a story that happened two days ago over an event from two weeks ago.

5. Importance Readers want information that has some importance
They don’t want trivial news reports
Consider the following news leads:
“A student at Bowie Jr High recently won $50 in the Texas lottery.”
“A student at Bowie Jr High recently won $5,000,000 in the Texas lottery.”

6. Names
Including names in news reports raises reader interest because readers want to read about people they know.
People connect, emotionally, if they recognize names in a story

7. Drama or Conflict
News stories that contain drama or conflict are more interesting because of the potential for disagreement, discord, and violence or, in some cases, death.
It seems everyone wants to see the bodies.
What news stories have you heard of recently that fall in this category?

8. Variety Use descriptive language to capture your reader’s interest.
Examples:
“President Bill Clinton said he was sorry for the pain he caused his family.”
“President Bill Clinton, leaning heavily on his podium and seeming tired and exhausted, expressed deep regret for the pain his family has suffered in the turbulent wake of his admission of an affair with Monica Lewinsky, who once served as an intern at the White House.”

9. Human Interest
Readers want to read about stories that are interesting or entertaining.
A famous (or infamous) yellow journalist once told a staff writer that a dog bites a man every day, but a man rarely bites a dog – and that’s news.
Examples:
“A man sailed a small sailing ship across the Atlantic Ocean last week.”
“Burt Johnson, an 85 year old former science teacher, built the 25-foot sloop that carried him for 15 days in his crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Exhausted but excited with his success, Johnson landed in Le Havre, France yesterday.”

10. Humor Everyone loves a good joke
Humor must be tasteful, not crude or insensitive