News article structure

You can get acquainted with one more way of organizing information in a news story. It is a beginner's guide to writing news stories where writers will learn the basic and somewhat flexible format of news article writing.

Structure of a News Article:

The Headline

The headline of a news article can be written in two different ways. The traditional way is to write the headline in a purely factual manner. This way of writing a headline conveys what the article is actually about.

The second option is to write a clever, sometimes cute headline. This works for newspapers like the Boston Herald, which runs the gamut between being newsy and being tabloid-ish. A clever headline may catch more eyes.

The headline does not have to be written first, it can be written last.

The Lead

The lead is the most important part of the news story. The lead should not tease the reader. The lead needs to relay the facts of the story right up front.

State the who and the what in the lead, or the first sentence of the news article. If the when, where and how are important, include those as well. After reading the lead, the reader should know exactly what the article will cover. There should be no surprises.

If the facts themselves are completely uninteresting, or not compelling enough, you may not have a real news story on your hands.

3. Second Paragraph: Why

The second paragraph of the article expounds upon the lead. The writer includes the significance of the event, or the "why" this event is newsworthy. Why should the reader read this? Why should they care?

4. Third Paragraph: Who

Depending on the news story, the second and third paragraphs could switch places. If the event is about a famous person, the significance may be because of who they are, which would bump this paragraph up.

If the who is not as important as the why, this paragraph could also find its way further down in the article.

Include a more in-depth paragraph about the person in question. Why is this person important? Consider this one of the background paragraphs. For example, "Director John Smith is currently working on a science fiction thriller. Smith is best known for films The Moon Glow and The Earthquake that Ended the World. "

5. Fourth Paragraph and Beyond: In-Depth

After establishing what happened, who did it, why it's important, and why the person or people are important, go into further detail about the event.

6. Fifth Paragraph and Beyond: Background

Include any deeper background information paragraphs further down in the article. These paragraphs could include a quick biographical sketch of the newsworthy event, historical information, or other background information relevant to the news event.

Published by Pam Gaulin, Featured Contributor in Arts and Entertainment and Lifestyle

coolschool.k12.or.us/courses/190200/lessons/lesson8/storystructure.htm

Text 4

BEYOND QUESTION: LEARNING THE ART OF THE INTERVIEW

The following passage is excerpted from the New York Times article “For Education Chief, Stimulus Means Power, Money and Risk” written by Sam Dillon just after Mr. Duncan was confirmed Education Secretary of the USA.

Identify the direct and indirect quotes, including partial quotes, from Mr. Duncan that appear in the passage.

Think about a list of questions you imagine the reporter asked to get these quotes. How do you think the reporter got Mr. Duncan talking? How did Mr. Dillon get Mr. Duncan to provide the information and quotations?

The $100 billion in emergency aid for public schools and colleges in the economic stimulus bill could transform Arne Duncan into an exceptional figure in the history of federal education policy: a secretary of education loaded with money and the power to spend large chunks of it as he sees fit. […]

“There’s going to be this extraordinary influx of resources,” he said in an interview. “So people say, ‘You’re going to be the most powerful secretary ever,’ but I have no interest in that. Power has never motivated me. What I love is opportunity, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something special, to drive change, to make our schools better.”

Mr. Duncan said he intended to reward school districts, charter schools and nonprofit organizations that had demonstrated success at raising student achievement — “islands of excellence,” he called them. Programs that tie teacher pay to classroom performance will most likely receive money, as will other approaches intended to raise teacher quality, including training efforts that pair novice instructors with veteran mentors, and after-school and weekend tutoring programs.

The positions of deputy secretary, under secretary and chief of staff and dozens of other senior posts at the Education Department remain unfilled, so Mr. Duncan is relying on help from career officers and consultants. He has appointed teams to develop procedures for distributing the stimulus billions quickly, and many aides, he said, have been working evenings and weekends to begin organizing the effort.

“I want all of us to work hard enough and smart enough to take full advantage of this, because it’ll never happen again,” Mr. Duncan said last month in his first speech to hundreds of civil servants at department headquarters, as the outlines of the huge stimulus package were taking shape in Congress.

Urging department employees not to be deferential, he described the reception he got on his first visit to his headquarters.

“It was like, ‘Hello, Mr. Secretary-designate-nominee,’ and it didn’t feel right,” Mr. Duncan said. “My name is Arne. It’s not Mr. Secretary. Please just call me Arne.” That line drew a standing ovation.

Study the following interview“The School of Hard Drives,” published by Deborah Solomon (September 16, 2010). She talks to Education Secretary Duncan about the need for computers in the classroom and his views on the state of American education. Pay special attention to the questions asked and discuss them with your groupmates.How do you think this interview was conducted?

This interview is for a special issue on education and technology, so let me start by asking you about computers in classrooms. As the secretary of education, do you think every kid in America needs a computer?

I think every student needs access to technology, and I think technology can be a hugely important vehicle to help level the playing field. Whether it’s in an inner-city school or a rural community, I want those students to have a chance to take A.P. biology and A.P. physics and marine biology.

What does that have to do with having a computer?

We have thousands of students today taking online classes. We actually have virtual schools today.

How horrible. How can you compare the experience of acquiring knowledge from a beloved high-school teacher to acquiring information from a machine?

There are schools that don’t have a beloved high-school teacher to teach A.P. physics. That’s what I’m talking about.

Did you see the study that showed that the only category in which American students remain No. 1 is self-esteem? We have great confidence in ourselves, even if our competence has declined.

As a country, we have dropped. The brutal truth is that we have fallen from first to ninth in the world in the percentage of college graduates in a generation.

Which country has the highest percentage of college graduates?

South Korea is one that I watch very closely. South Korea, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and Norway are the top five.

Have you seen the new film “Waiting for Superman,” a documentary opening this week that makes public education in this country seems totally dysfunctional?

I did. I think it’s going to help the country to understand the tremendous sense of urgency that I feel. We have parents who know their child is getting a subpar education. That is devastating to them and ultimately it’s devastating to our country.

The film blames teachers’ unions for the failure of public schools because the unions have made it almost impossible to fire lazy teachers. Are you against teachers’ unions?

Of course not. I’m a big fan of Randi’s.

Randi Weingarten, of the American Federation of Teachers? The film depicts her as a villain.

I think Randi is providing some courageous leadership and is actually taking some heat internally in the union because she said publicly that the union shouldn’t be protecting bad teachers.

Are there that many bad teachers in American public schools?

Are there some? Absolutely. The bigger issue for me going forward is we have a baby-boomer generation that’s getting ready to retire. This country is going to need a million new teachers. You can’t fire your way to the top.

You’re a former professional basketball player who knew President Obama when you were head of the Chicago school system. How often do you talk to him?

It varies. We have a great working relationship, and we have some fun playing ball together as well.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14