1. News Writing Inverted Pyramid Beginning Journalism Kathy Habiger

2. Inverted Pyramid Used to organize a news story Helps you organize the information from most important to least important Helps hurried readers get main information quickly Makes it easy to “cut” a story to fit in the design if it’s too long

3. Inverted Pryamid The broad top of the pyramid contains the main and most important facts As they pyramid narrows, facts become less essential Natural way to tell a story

4. Inverted Pryamid Lead: 5 Ws and H Gets less important

5. How do I organize the pyramid? Before you write, arrange the facts and quotes in descending order of importance Make an outline or an actual pyramid of your information in descending order Use news judgment to determine which facts should come early and later

6. News Writing Reminders has short, concise sentences. has simple, understandable words. uses short paragraphs, often one or two sentences.

7. Remember the Sources Primary sources, like interviews with: Experts Spokespersons Newsmakers ‘People on the street’ Secondary sources include: Official records Reference materials Other media

8. Remember the Attribution Media writing works attribution into the context: “The result is dangerous,” Mayor Fred Norton said. According to the Health Commission’s survey, 27 percent of the participants lost weight. This is also necessary when using secondary sources the reporter didn’t interview: “The result is dangerous,” Mayor Fred Norton told the Greenville Times.

9. Remember Facts not Opinion While all readers would agree, it’s not a “tragic fire.” Without a survey or other way to show this, it’s not accurate to say, “everyone owns an iPod.” Who is the source? Who researched this? Even if “Greenville High School is better off because she won the award,” the reporter shouldn’t be the one to say it.

10. Using quotations Strive for balance and depth in your choice of quotations. If you don’t have solid, interesting quotes, do more interviewing. Don’t just string your quotes together without something separating them with TRANSITIONS.

11. Using quotations A TRANSITION should summarize or paraphrase the quote that follows it. A TRANSITION could also introduce the person who will be quoted. ALL QUOTES need transitions!

12. Using quotations EXAMPLE: According to junior Sally McFatty, the food in the vending machines needs improvement. “There should be more choices,” McFatty said. “There’s nothing wrong with eating a candy bar once in awhile.”

13. Using quotations Don’t follow a transition with a quote that says the same thing. It’s called a stutter quote. EXAMPLE: According to junior Sara Stutter, the H1N1 flu really hit her hard. “It really hit me hard,” Stutter said. “I have tons of homework to make up. I’m drowning in work.”