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Unit 2: Writing For Print Media. In any newspaper company, the department responsible for determining the contents of the newspaper is the Editorial Department.
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In any newspaper company, the department responsible for determining the contents of the newspaper is the Editorial Department. The life span of a daily newspaper is 24 hours a day. Because of that, the two main and important roles of journalist are writing and editing of news stories.
The key elements of a News Report are: 1. Headline 2. Byline 3. Placeline 4. Lead 5. Body 6. Ending
1. Headline - Catches your attention - Sums up the story 2. Byline - Writer’s name - Writer’s Specialty, e.g. sports, food, crime, current events Example: Hospital director stabbed By Saifulizam Mohamad dan Amran Mulup
3. Placeline& Date Where the story begins and reported Examples: Utusan Malaysia: KUALA LUMPUR 3 May – Kosmo. KOTA BHARU- The Sun. PETALING JAYA (May 16, 2013)
4. Leads The most important structural element of a story is the leador "intro" — (the story's first, or leading). Charnley (2010)states that "an effective lead is a 'brief, sharp statement of the story's essential facts.'“
The news reporter must master the lead. The lead is the first paragraph of a news story. In fact, the lead is the most important part of a news story because:- 1. it contains the most important facts of such a news story. 2. summarizes the facts of a news story and it must be attractive, interesting and readable
The lead could extend to the second paragraph of the story but under normal circumstances, it should not go into the third paragraph. Mencher (2010) says a lead should not exceed 35 words. According to Mansor (2010) is ideally 20-25 words in length.
According to Mencher (2010) “The lead sentence usually contains one idea and follows the subject-verb-object sentence structure for clarity.” This means the lead should begin with the subject, followed by an active verb and conclude with the object of the verb. This structure also makes the reporter to write simple and short sentences.
IMPORTANCE OF THE LEAD 1. The Lead Summarizes The News: It gives the reader the sense of the story to follow and takes him or her to the supporting facts or claims presented in the opening statements. 2. The Lead Answers The Questions Raised By The 5Ws And H: However, not all the answers provided by the 5Ws and H must be present in every lead to make it acceptable but no important one should be left out or omitted.
3. The Lead Must Emphasize The News Feature: The lead is expected to play up the most interesting or significant aspect of the story. The news feature must be played up in the lead. 4. The Lead Must Attract Readers To The Story: As the window of the story, the lead must get the attention of the reader and sustain this till he or she gets into the story. 5. The Lead Should Suggest The Headline: From the lead it becomes easy for the sub-editor or editor to cast the headline for the story. The lead should help suggest this.
Example of Lead:- KUALA LUMPUR 24 Marc - Clark Barr, 45, Leah Tard, 42, and Eileen Dover, 17 were injured when a bolt of lightning struck their private plane, a Cessna 812, at 9:12 p.m. Friday. Barr suffered a fractured leg, Tardcracked several of her ribs, and Dover, who remains in intensive care at SerdangHospital, broke both her wrists and ankles after nearly drowning in the river after the plane crashed..
5. News Body The rest of the follow-up story should follow the same balancing act of combining the latest news with background information. Generally, the newer developments should be placed higher in the story, while the older information should be lower down.
Your article body should consist of supporting data and quotes from those people that you have interviewed. You can also insert statistics and images depending on the kind of story that you're covering. As your audience are pressed for time, find ways on how you can make your whole article relatively short but meaty. You can do this by using only the most effective words and by eliminating irrelevant details from your content.
Example of News Body: Lead: KUALA LUMPUR- 3 May Police yesterday arrested a man who they say set the fire last week that killed two people in a house. News Body: Police said Larson Jenkins, 23, used rags soaked with gasoline to set the fire at the house that killed his girlfriend, Lorena Halbert, 22, and her mother, Mary Halbert, 57. Detective Jerry Groenig said Jenkins was apparently angry because Halbert had recently broken up with him. The fire started around 3 a.m. last Tuesday and quickly swept through the house. Lorena and Mary Halbert were pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
3. Ending Placing a less important information. Only to support the body and-lead. Closing is the least important thing in the news but pity if omitted.
Example of Ending: Lead: KUALA LUMPUR- 3 May. Police yesterday arrested a man who they say set the fire last week that killed two people in a house. News Body: Police said Larson Jenkins, 23, used rags soaked with gasoline to set the fire at the house that killed his girlfriend, Lorena Halbert, 22, and her mother, Mary Halbert, 57. Detective Jerry Groenig said Jenkins was apparently angry because Halbert had recently broken up with him. Ending: The fire started around 3 a.m. last Tuesday and quickly swept through the house. Lorena and Mary Halbert were pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
