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HOW TO GENERATESTORIES
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1. REACTION STORY
Usually based on an interview with a
news source.
The interviewee may or may not be
directly involved in the previous newsstory, his views are perceived to have
news value
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3 KINDS OF RECTION
STORY
REACTION TO A MEDIA REPORT
REACTION TO A PROPOSAL
REACTION TO AN EVENT
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2. FOLLOW- UP STORY
A story which continues tobe published by the papers
due to sustained public
interest.
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3. CALENDAR STORY
A story of predictableevent or occurrence
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4. JAZZED- UP STORY
In local journalism lingo, this is
called as salsal or just plain ss
This is writing about an old topic
which is given a new slant or angleto make it look fresh.
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5. AN ADVANCER
A story written in advance by an enterprising
journalist or someone who has access to sources.
But the reporter must always watch out for
unexpected developments.
He should not assume that all things will turn out
the way he wants them.
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A report of an expected eventIt aims to arouse in an event
Apublicity series is made up of
advance stories on the same event
published in successive issues.
Reporter uses both the straight newsand feature style.
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MUST OBSERVE THE
FOLLOWING:
Maintain a complete and up-to-date futurebook.
At the earliest possible moment, plan aseries of advance stories to cover from allpossible angles any important comingactivity.
Begin the series early but in small items- asthe activity nears, stories should grow insize and importance
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Each story should present a fresh
approach.
Reserve enough material or a new
angle fro the climax of the series. The
publicity series is better adapted to the
weekly or fortnightly paper, than to the
monthly or quarterly
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COVERAGE STORY
It is an article reporting an event
which is taking place or has
already taken place
A series of coverage stories makeup a running story.
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ROUTINE STORY
- a story that is anticipated , such as regular
meetings, etc..
SPOT STORY
- a story that breaks out unexpectedly.
FOLLOW-UP STORY
- a report of more decent developments of a storyalready published.
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SPECIAL TYPES OF NEWS
STORIES
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NEWS BRIEF
- it is a news item, usually no more than 2paragraphs. It may be grouped into a news round-up.
BULLETIN
- It is an important but last- minute news in arunning story. It is printed on the first page in
boldface type and may be boxed.
FLASH- It presents the basic facts of a fresh story that
comes in too late to be run as a full blown news
item.
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THE MEETING STORY
- includes purpose, time and place, name of
organization, participants, background,information about speakers, kind ofmeeting, feature angle, what happened (forthe coverage story)
SPEECH STORY
- It includes the speaker and hisbackground, theme of the speech, occasion,
time and place, quotations, description ofaudience, including unusual reaction.
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BOX STORY
It is a news enclosed in a box (printed in blacklies usually rectangular)
Common types of copy:
1. Short, important news item2. Summaries of large news items
3. Lists of related or similar events in connection
with news story
4. Short feature stories, often connected with a news
article
5. Special announcements
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6. Game schedules or records of previouscontests
7. Reports on fund- raising
- Box story is used for emphasis as well as
variety and attractiveness in make-up.- It must present a strong, single idea in clear,
simple language.
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6. CANNED STORY
A press release or a handout, usually self
serving given by an agency.
A journalist worth his salt is not supposed
to reproduce the press release and present it
as his own story.
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THE NEWS STRUCTURE
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HARD NEWS
Also called as straight news is the standard
fare of most newspapers all over the world.
It is objective, direct and factual
Deals with concrete and fast breaking
events
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HARD NEWS
LEAD PARAGRAPH
- primary or more important facts
SUCCEEDING PARAGRAPH
- facts become less important
ENDING PARAGRAPH
- least important facts that can be stricken out
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SOFT NEWS
Featurized and subjective
Abstract developments usually associated with
human interest.LEAD PARAGRAPH
- lest important facts
SUCCEEDING PARAGRAPH- facts become more interesting
ENDING PARAGRAPH
- Primary or most interesting facts
F k L h M (Th i A i 1592)
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Frank Luther Mott (The news in America, 1592)
hard news is interesting to human beings whereassoft news is interesting because it deals with the life
of human beings.
Gay Tuchman (Making News: A Study in
Construction and Reality, 1978)
hard news concerns important matters and soft
news, interesting matters.
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THE INVERTED PYRAMID
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All straight news are written in the invertedpyramid form
The traditional form of news writingThe important facts are placed at the
beginning.
The details and the back ground are woveninto the succeeding paragraphs, indescending importance.
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COMPONENTS:
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A. PRIMARY OR MAIN LEAD
- Usually a single paragraph
- It contains the four Ws (what,who, where, and when)
- This may take from three to fivelines
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B. SECONDARY OR SUPPORT
LEAD
Explains or complements the
main lead
Its length is twice the main lead
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C. DETAILS OR PARTICULARS
To give flesh to the story, all
available facts are included herespecially those that would
answer the other W (why) and
one H (how).
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E. BACKGROUND
Relevant past events are recounted
and incorporated in this portion of
the story
This portion may be deleted ifspace in the newspaper will not
allow, but still the story can stand.
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F. ILLUSTRATION
The incorporation of all thedetails in the story
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Advantages of the Inverted Pyramid
1. It facilitates readingreaders wants to know the
facts or news at once.
2. It facilitates makeup- editors may shorten the story
for lack of space
3. It facilitates headline writing- by just reading the
lead paragraphs, a busy editor can prepare the
headline of a story.
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OTHER TYPES OF NEWS
STORIES
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HUMAN INTEREST STORY
News that appeals to the
emotion ad attempts togain a response from the
reader.
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Interpretive/ Interpretative News
News that helps the reader understand the
significance of the facts of the story.
It includes:A. Why the incident occurred
B. Background
C. Personalities of principal persons involved
D. Significance
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NEWS FEATURE
Called as news articleAn informative discussion of news events or
technical subjects in expository form
Like the news story, it I based entirely on facts. Unlike the news story which is based on current
events obtained mostly from personal sources, thenews feature is based on facts of general interest
obtained partly from printed sources.
Like the editorial, the news article is expository inform.
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SIDE- BAR STORY
A brief news item on some
lighter aspects of an eventrun side by side a significant
news item.
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THE LEAD
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The lead or firs paragraph tells the most
important facts of the news story.
Sometimes called asslantorangle.
It should attract the readers attention and
sustain his interest to read on.
It is like a miniskirt : it must be short
enough to be interesting and long enough to
cover the essentials
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TIPS IN WRITING A GOOD
LEAD
Use short, simple declarative sentencesinstead of complex and compound- complexones.
Dont try to say everything in one sentence.Break up long sentences
Never use twice or unusual word twice in
the same sentence
Avoid repetition of phrases, clause andsimilar grammatical constructions
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TYPES OF LEADS
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CARTRIDGE LEAD
Short, abrupt, and definite.
It tells the gist of news with the use of the
fewest words possible
President Marcos, who ruled the country
for two decades, is dead.
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PUNCH LEAD
Somewhat similar to cartridge lead but it
surprises and intrigues the reader.
All private cars will now have to be
grounded on Sundays.
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PICTURE LEAD
This device attempts a pictorial account ofthe event.
Clutching her baby girl, Mrs. LourdesArquiza could not control her tears whenshe heard that her husband, Capt. Oscar
Arquiza, was sentenced yesterday to die bylethal injection.
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Contrast Lead
This emphasizes the contrast.
Four years ago, she was just a plain
housewife. Today, Corazon Cojuangco
Aquino is the President of the Republic, themost powerful woman in the land.
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Question Lead
This raise the query in the hope of inducing
the reader to read on.
Will former President Estrada be acquitted
of plunder?
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FREAK LEAD
This lead throws caution to the air by tryingto be different.
For sale: a baby
Mrs. Carol Conag, a Tondo resident, saidyesterday that since she could no longerfeed her baby, she might as well sell it.There were no immediate takers.
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SEQUENCE LEAD
A series of paragraphs, usually arrangedchronologically but with a single effect.
By five in the morning, she had already dressed hertwo daughters, Cynthia 4, Miriam 2, for a Sundaymass. At seven, the three of them were seenattending the mass in the chapel. At nine,when they
returned to their shanty at Dagat- Dagatan, MariaDorado, 46, despondent after having beenabandoned by her husband, strangled her twodaughters. She herself committed suicide.
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SUSPENDED INTEREST LEAD
With this lead, the writer strings along
the reader to the very end before giving him
the news peg on which the story is based.
Jaime Cardinal Sin refused to be
interviewed yesterday, but I still got thestory.
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STACCATO LEAD
This emphasizes the time element , and usuallyconsists of a series of phrases, punctuated by
commas or dashes.
Twenty years ago- back in the seventies- he wasmarching in the streets shouting anti- American
slogans. After seven years of incarceration and four
years in the hills fighting for his cause. JuliusNeptuna is now a changed man; today he is a
staunch defender of democracy and a strong
opponent of communism.
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FIGURATIVE LEAD
Triteness is the main danger of this kind of
lead. Common sense should dictate when to
use it.
The fox is finally at home at 66.
(This was about the death of the basketballstar Lauro Mumar)
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EPIGRAM LEAD
The tone of the moral of the story is
stressed.
Crime does not pay. But Romy Corrales
learned this only after he had been collared
by the police for being a fake immigrationagent.
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QUOTATION LEAD
When a popular quotation is used to
emphasize the gist of the story.
What are we in power for? This question
must be on the minds of some officials of the
Ramos government when they tried tocorner big government contracts.
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SUMMARY LEAD
It gives a summary of the whole story.
The Manila Accord, that embodies the newtrade relations among members of the Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC),
was signed yesterday by the heads of thestate of the 18 APEC members.
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WHO- WHAT- WHEN- WHERE-
WHY- HOW LEADS
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This classification of leads is the oldest known to
journalists, and has come to be known as the 5 Ws
and an H.Emphasizing their importance, Kipling once wrote:
I have six honest serving men
They thought me all I knowTheir names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who
WHO LEAD ( NAME
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WHO LEAD (NAME
FEATURE)
Names make news, especially prominent ones. A
person may be featured because he is famous or
because the facts of the story distinguish him.
The who may be one person, several persons, or
an organization.
The lead should avoid featuring more than three
personal names.
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President Benigno Aquino III signed on
Wednesday a sweeping and controversialland reform program aimed at
redistributing large tracts of farm acreage
to millions of landless peasants.
WHAT LEAD (EVENT
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WHAT LEAD (EVENT
FEATURE)
Most straight- news leads play up what thestory is about.
A naval convoy of three U.S. warships andtwo reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankerssteamed through the Strait of Hormuz on
Wednesday and entered the war- plaguedPersian Gulf without interference fromIran.
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WHY LEAD
To provide land to millions of landless
peasants, President Benigno Aquino IIIsigned sweeping and controversial land
reform program.
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HOW LEAD
Often used for unusual happenings andaction stories.
Staging at 48- hour walkout beginningtoday, nearly 1000 South Koreanjournalists at a government- controlled
television station demanded thatgovernment stop dictating how they coverthe news.
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WHEN LEAD
Used if an event takes place at an
unconventional hour, or in making an
announcement where the time is importantto the reader.
Tomorrow, March 15, is the last day offiling individual tax returns.
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WHERE LEAD
Used if an event takes place at an unusuallocation
Convalescent homes in Solano have beenthe sites for beauty contests to chooserepresentatives to the fifth annual My Fair
Lady Pageant. Contestants are mostly intheir 70s, 80s and 90s.
RULES ON PARAGRAPH
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RULES ON PARAGRAPH
CONSTRUCTION
A paragraph should not exceed 75 words.
Put important ideas at the beginning of the
paragraphAvoid using similar words or phrases at the
beginning of successive paragraphs.
Do not use direct quotations and summaryin the same paragraph
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The one- paragraph sentence is preferred bymany editors but if it is expanded, dont gobeyond three sentences in a paragraph.
Arrange paragraphs in the order ofdescending importance so that the makeup
editor can strike out the last ones withoutimpairing the substance of the story.