Let’s talk about …

News Writing

By Jeanne Acton, UIL & ILPC Journalism Director

and Vicki McCash Brennan, MA, CJE
 News Writing …
gives the reader factual information that will
affect them or interests them in some way.

• Informative
• Interesting
• Factual
 News Writing
• News provides readers with all of the five W’s
and H, usually in the lead or near the top of
the story.
• Leads should begin most often with the what,
why or who (if interesting or well-known),
NOT with when or where, which are usually
the least interesting elements.
• But where do you go from there?
Let’s talk about
news writing
structure.
 Disadvantages:
Advantage:
It can get
It condenses
repetitive.
information
It might
efficiently,
discourage you
letting readers
from a more
understand the
creative lead.
basics of what
It can get
happened
bogged down
quickly and
with facts and
easily.
details.
 News Writing
A better way ….
The next structure is a modification of the
inverted pyramid that allows for more flexibility
and is easy for beginning journalists to use.

Use the Transition - Quote (L-Q-T-Q) model for

most of your work in journalism.
 Another model: Modified Inverted
Pyramid
• Also called “the hourglass” or “the martini glass.”
• Starts with a summary of the event and key
facts.
• Transitions to a narrative or chronological
format.
• Works best for crime or disaster stories when
you need to tell what happened from beginning
to end.
 Another model: The Wall Street
Journal format
• Also called “the kabob” or “the circle”
• Starts with an anecdote about someone who is
affected by a trend, issue or event.
• Uses a “nut graph” or summary paragraph right
after the anecdote to tell the five W’s and H.
• Continues with details and quotes.
• Ends with a closing anecdote about the same
person who is in the lead.
• Best used for feature writing or follow-up news
stories.
For beginning newswriting,
it’s best to master the
L-Q-T-Q formula first.
So let’s explore that one …
 Let’s talk about

Direct
Quotes
Direct Quotes
➢ Quotes should be linked to the paragraph before
them. The quote should elaborate on the previous
paragraph.

For example:
After long-time school nurse Emma Stilten died in a car
accident in December, part-time teacher aide Betty Figgs covered
Stilten’s responsibilities. Impressed with Figgs’ competence, Principal
Stella Reeves proposed keeping Figgs instead of hiring a new nurse.
With the savings, Reeves wants to hire a new teacher — a move
supported by teachers.
“I thought the parents would jump on board with this proposal,”
Reeves said. “It will decrease our class sizes and benefit students
directly.”
 What comes next?
A transition paragraph, adding
details.

Parent Raquel Simones said the school should not

compromise student safety simply to give teachers a few
less papers to grade.
What comes next?
From whom?
 Another direct quote
elaborates on previous transition
Parent Raquel Simones said the school should not
compromise student safety simply to give teachers a few
less papers to grade.
“I have a special needs child who is quite fragile,”
Simones said. “If he suffers a seizure at school, I want a
certified nurse to help him.”

The writer continued with the

same speaker. That helps with What follows this?
organization.
More transitions and quotes
(Each quote is linked with a transition above
and below it.)
Junior GiGi Smith said she also believes the school
needs a full-time, certified nurse. Her brother, who
will be a freshman next year, has a severe peanut
allergy.
“A nurse is trained to deal with this medical
condition,” Smith said. “A teacher’s aide isn’t. I like
Ms. Figgs, but she could panic. That would be very bad
for my brother.”
Direct Quotes
➢ Should not repeat the transition
before them.
For example:
Figgs said most of her job is distributing
prescribed medicine to students.
“Most of what I do is distribute medicine to
students,” she said.
This is called a “stutter
quote.” AVOID THIS!
Direct Quotes
➢ Quotes can be longer than one sentence.
➢ Put the attribution after the first sentence of the
quote. (In other words, break the quote in half with
the attribution in the middle.)
➢ Attribution should be: Noun then verb.
For example:
Correct - senior Bob Rodriguez said.
Incorrect - said senior Bob Rodriguez.
(unless you have an unusually long title)

➢ Do not place two people’s direct quotes next to

each other without a transition.
Direct Quotes
➢ Add emotion, opinions and life to your story.

➢Listen for quotes that tell you how

people feel or think about the subject.

➢Don’t quote people on dry, basic facts or

description that you can observe with your
own eyes. Use facts and description in
your transitions.
 Let’s talk about

Transitions
Transitions …
➢ ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
➢Hold the story together.
➢Link the paragraphs, building bridges of
understanding for your readers.
➢Provide organization and flow.
➢Help create voice.
➢And in news writing, they’re really not
too difficult!
 Hierarchy of Transitions
1. Basic transition words (Good)
First, next, then

1. Transitional phrases (Better)

For one thing
For instance

1. Internal transitions (Best. Go for these!)

Seamless wording embedded within text
Use facts, partial quotes and indirect quotes to
create these.
Transitions in news writing
➢Can be fact, indirect quote or a partial quote.

For example: FACT TRANSITION

After long-time school nurse Ema Stilten died in a car
accident in December, part-time teacher aide Betty
Figgs covered Stilten’s responsibilities. Impressed
with Figgs’ competence, Reeves proposed keeping
Figgs to avoid hiring a new nurse. With the savings,
Reeves wants to hire a new teacher — a move
supported by teachers.
 Transitions
➢ Can be fact, indirect quote or a partial quote.

For example: INDIRECT QUOTE TRANSITION

Parent Raquel Simones said the school

should not compromise student safety
simply to give teachers fewer papers to
grade.
 Transitions
➢ Can be fact, indirect quote or a partial quote.

For example: PARTIAL QUOTE TRANSITION

Reeves said Figgs has done “an
outstanding job” since she took over in
the nurse’s office.
Transitions
➢Use transitional words to help with the flow as
needed. Transitional words include after all, also,
finally, in addition, however, otherwise, then.

For example:
In addition to cutting the
nursing position, Reeves suggested
decreasing the number of bus
routes.
Transitions
Can show:
– Time
– Place
– Reasons
– Surprise (a twist)
– Contrasts
– Other connections

To find a transition, look for a connection.

Transitions
• Time transitions
– Afterwards, beforehand, later, soon, meanwhile
• Place transitions
– In the room, at the beach, down the hall
• Contrasts
– Nevertheless, even though, although
• Reasons
– Because of, instead of
• Connections
– Repeat a key word, concept or phrase from the previous
sentence or paragraph. This is what using partial
quotes or indirect quotes can do for you.
Transitions
The transitions are in your notebook! Quotes
and facts are good for more than just stringing
together and calling it a day …
➢Use parts of the direct quotes to create the
transition. And then use the rest of the quote
as the direct quote.
For example
“I never imagined this would become a permanent solution, but Betty Figgs
is doing an excellent job balancing both the classroom and nurse’s office,”
Reeves said. “She is very organized and handles all issues professionally and
efficiently. We have not received a single complaint about the change.
“It actually wasn’t my idea to continue with this plan. It was Ms. Figgs. She
loves the additional duties and feels more than competent to continue next
year. Ms. Figgs raised six children, so she knows a little about sick teenagers.
Plus, she agreed to seek additional training this summer.”

The school has not received a single complaint

The about Figgs since she took over the nurse’s job,
Transition Reeves said.
“She is very organized and handles all issues
professionally and efficiently,” Reeves said. “Plus,
Direct
she agreed to additional training this summer.”
Quote
 ENDINGS
➢Save a summary quote or a well-said phrase to
end with. This is called a “kicker quote.”
➢DO NOT, under any circumstances, fall back
on your essay training and write your own
summary conclusion. This is editorializing
and it has no place in news writing.
➢Avoid ending with a cliché, such as “That’s all,
folks.”
➢End with a bang. Save the powerful quote or
phrase for last.
Let’s Review … Following a
transition, what
What types of leads should a direct
should you use more? quote do?

Where should
you place the What can a
attribution for a transition be?
direct quote?

What is the purpose

How many of the transition?
sentences can a
direct quote be?
What can you use to
create transitions?
No-Nos for News Stories
▪ Using the name of your school or town. Your readers
know where they are.
▪ Starting with “The School Board …” or some other
boring “who.”
▪Adding facts for which you have no source or making
things up because you think that’s right.
▪ Putting attribution before the quote.
▪ Missing the news peg.
▪ Missing important information and people.
▪ Stacking quotes. Use transitions between each quote!
▪ Forgetting to use student quotes.
▪ Ending with your own summary.
Checklist for News Stories
✓ Are the most important and recent facts first?
✓ Is the story accurate? Are the sources identified fully?
✓ Are the paragraphs short?
✓ Is the sentence structure varied in the story?
✓ Is the story neat and double-spaced so that it is easy to
read?
✓Does your story flow? Did you use the transition/quote
(L-Q-T-Q) formula?
✓ Did you use active voice?
 Pitfalls to Avoid **
➢ Editorializing. Keep your opinion out of the story
➢ Using first and second person. Keep yourself out of
the story. Common error: “our school.” No personal
pronouns!
➢Messy handwriting, poor grammar and spelling.
➢ Paragraphs too long. Use only one thought or idea per
paragraph. New paragraph for each transition and each
speaker.
➢ Misspelling names.
➢Trying to use all of the information and quotes you
have. Be judicious.
** How to get an D/F or lose a
competition …
What will make
the difference? **
▪ Get the news peg in the lead.
▪ Use the L-Q-T-Q formula.
▪ Use the right sources and strong
quotes.

** How to get an A or win a

competition …
Presentation can end here.
Next slide provides critique
practice.
What went wrong with this?
At Leaguetown High School about 35 students skipped at least one period each
school day. The assistant principals said many of the skippers hide in bathrooms,
outside the school or in their cars.
To reduce truancy, all students will receive new school IDs with built-in tracking
devices on April 2, but one parent is working with the American Civil Liberties Union
to stop the use of such devices.
“This is a blatant violation of my son’s privacy rights,” said parent Don Cantrell.
“He doesn’t want someone watching him at all times. No child in the United States
should be tagged or tracked.”
But Strobinski, who proposed the new IDs, doesn’t understand the concerns.
She said, “We will never use the tracking device on them [students] unless they
are skipping class or there is an emergency of some type. Plus, the tracking only
works at the school.”
With the new IDs, administrators will be able to track our students for a range of
200 yards from the principal’s office.
“Students will be less likely to skip if they know we can find them quite easily,”
Strubinski said. “Students should not have any concerns if they don’t skip class.”
“Students who have never skipped should not have to wear such an ID,”
sophmore Johnny Rains said.