Reporting and Writing IWeek TwoStory structure

Story structure

Introduction• Story structure• Finding an angle• Writing intros• First assignments

The inverted pyramid

Structure The most important or eye-catching facts come firstRemember: Who, What, Where and WhenHow and Why are often left to later paragraphsQuotes from attributed sources are used to back up the facts or add opinion – but don’t use them to state the obviousThe most disposable details come at the bottom, and can be cut off if necessary.

The inverted pyramid

Most important facts

Supporting details and

quotesLoose ends

The inverted pyramid

“News writing always starts with the most important fact. When you report on a football game, you do not start with the kick-off, you begin with the final score.”Lynette Sheridan Burns

Understanding Journalism

Why?

Historical Increased emphasis on sticking to the facts and direct,objective reporting after First World War.

Practical Stories are written long before a space is allocated for them on a page – if all the least important details are at the bottom of a story, it can be quickly cut to fit a hole.

Online Search engines rank text on a web page by its position - text in headlines and intros has a higher score. Using the most relevant details, people’s names and places high in the story makes your article easier to find.

Finding the angle

Medway Council carries out a survey of 144 shoppers to find out what they think of Gillingham market. The results will be used to inform a plan to modernise the twice-weekly event. Survey results included:

90 per cent Thought the town should have a market

63 per cent Knew there was a market52 per cent Said they would visit it in future41 per cent Said they would never visit (mostly

high-earning men)Older people were concerned about the distance of the market from the town centre.

Finding the angle

This was a story in Maidstone in 2007.I was struck that 37 per cent did not know the 800-year-old market even existed.Fears of older people would also be a valid angle, as they are its most likely users.The high-earning men stat is not a surprise – it would make for a boring intro.

Turning an angle into an intro

Intros are short: max 25 words, but try to get below 20.Use active language and lively verbs – in this case, “quizzed” is better than “asked” or “questioned”.An intro should be one idea, in one sentence.

Writing the rest of it...

Out of order News stories are rarely chronological. Put the most important details first, answer who, what, where etc. then go back and fill in missing elements.

Keep it simple Split the story into paragraphs, usually one for each new sentence. Sentences should be about 30 words long. Keep your language simple and jargon-free.

Back it up Make sure facts and opinions are attributed. Saying where they’re from helps the reader to trust that yourstory is true.

The final cut Make sure the least important details come last – and keep the important ones a safe distance from the delete keys of stressed subs.

Now write it…

120 – 140 words with a strong angle and a clear structure.Follow CfJ style.

Write your name at the top of the story and give it the catchline MARKET

Email it to:

R.Bailey@kent.ac.uk

Vox pops

Our survey Young reporters are often sent to survey readers about said… trending topics – known as vox pops.

They are a quick way of summing up a range of opinions (and getting people’s names and faces into the newspaper)

A barometer They also provide a good measure of what people arethinking and can even provide a direction for futurestories on a particular issue.

Interview basics

“Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining.”

Sonny Liston, boxer

Avoid asking questions that can be answered “yes” or “no”Our “dumb questions” are sometimes just an attempt to get a clammed-up source to put their thoughts into a good sentence!Never put words in someone’s mouth (“would you say that…”)Always take notes.Make sure when using direct quotes, it is exactly what they said and in the context of how they said it.

Never forget…

Name Age

Address Check spellings

Writing them up

Sometimes the opinions will be used in a column, with a photo of the speaker and a single soundbite quote like this:

“I think cake is amazing. I secretly eat lots of it after lectures.”Rob Bailey, 34, Maidstone

“Cheesecake is the best kind of cake. Yum.”Rob Bailey, 34, Maidstone

Writing them up

Lecturers at the Centre for Journalism secretly gorge themselves on cake when they’re not in the newsroom.According to a survey, their favourite secret treat is cheesecake.But some admitted eating Chelsea buns and even cupcakes when students aren’t looking.“Cheesecake is the best kind of cake. Yum,” said Rob Bailey, lecturer in Reporting and Writing.…

But I want you to write a story based on what you’ve found – taking the most popular or most interesting quote as your angle .

Think about…

• How many people do you need to talk to before you can draw a definitive conclusion? If the first 5 people you talk to in Medway say they think climate change is made up, does that mean everyone in Medway believes it?

• Have a clear idea about what you want to ask, and plan some follow-up questions.

• Listen out for unexpected responses and follow up on them.• Try to spot emerging patterns in the answers – they’re your angle.• Be chatty and persistent but not forceful or rude! Make it feel like a

friendly chat rather than a terrifying interview: it will make people open up.

Your first vox pop

Click icon to add pictureA poll revealed Manchester is the music file-sharing capital of the UK, and the most shared album is Ed Sheeran’s +According to the survey, the album is shared 50 times a week in Gillingham.Your story: Do Medway students think music sharing is theft?Work in groups of 3 or 4Everyone should write their own 200 word story, and email it to me by 5pm on Wednesday.