How to Write a Story

Hard news (+/- 600 words)
This is how journalists refer to news of the day. It is a chronicle of current events/incidents and is the most common news style on the front page of your typical newspaper.
It starts with a summary lead. What happened? Where? When? To/by whom? Why? (The journalist's 5 W's). It must be kept brief and simple, because the purpose of the rest of the story will be to elaborate on this lead.
Keep the writing clean and uncluttered. Most important, give the readers the information they need. If the federal government announced a new major youth initiative yesterday, that's today's hard news.

Soft news (+/-600 words):
news that isn't time-sensitive.Soft news includes profiles of people, programs or organizations. As we discussed earlier, the "lead" is more literary. Most of YPP's news content is soft news

Feature (+/-1500 words):
A news feature takes one step back from the headlines. It explores an issue. News features are less time-sensitive than hard news but no less newsworthy.

Editorial:
The editorial expresses an opinion. The editorial page of the newspaper lets the writer comment on issues in the news. All editorials are personal but the topics must still be relevant to the reader


Structure for your article

The lead
One of the most important elements of news writing is the opening paragraph or two of the story.
In a hard news story, the lead should be a full summary of what is to follow. It should incorporate as many of the 5 "W's" of journalism as possible
In a soft news story, the lead should present the subject of the story by allusion. This type of opening is somewhat literary. Like a novelist, the role of the writer is to grab the attention of the reader.

The body
The body of the story involves combining the opinions of the people you interview, some factual data, and a narrative which helps the story flow. A word of caution, however. In this style of writing, you are not allowed to "editorialize" (state your own opinion) in any way.
The role of a reporter is to find out what people are thinking of an issue and to report the opinions of different stakeholders of an issue
As a reporter, you are the eyes and ears for the readers. You should try to provide some visual details to bring the story to life (this is difficult if you have conducted only phone interviews, which is why face-to-face is best).

Further tips for news writing

Finding story ideas
Keep your eyes and ears open; listen to what your friends are talking about.

Read everything you can get your hands on; get story ideas from other newspapers and magazines.

Think of a youth angle to a current news story.

Research a subject that interests you ask yourself what you would like to know more about.

Talk to people in a specific field to find out what is important to them.

Newsgathering
Begin collecting articles on your subject.

Talk to friends and associates about the subject.

Contact any agencies or associations with interest or professional knowledge in the area.

Create a list of people you want to interview; cover both sides of the story by interviewing people on both sides of the issue.

Collect government statistics and reports on the subject get old press releases or reports to use as background.

Interviewing do's and don'ts
Be polite.

Explain the ground rules of the interview to people unfamiliar with how the media works - this means that you tell them the information they give you can and will be published. If they do not want any part of what they say published, they need to tell you it is "off the record."

Tape the interview (so if anyone comes back at you, you have the proof of what was said).

Build a relationship with the person being interviewed.

Start with easy questions; end with difficult questions.

Read the body language of the person you're interviewing and if they get defensive, back away from the question you are asking and return later.

Don't attack the source.

Keep control of the interview; don't let the subject ramble or stray from the subject.

On the other hand, don't let your "opinion" of what the story should be colour the interview. Always remember that the person you are talking with knows more about the subject than you do.

Organizing the information
Gather your notes, interviews and research into a file.

Review your notes.

Look for a common theme.

Search your notes for good quotes or interesting facts.

Develop a focus.

Write the focus of the article down in two or three sentences.

Writing and editing
Remember you are the narrator, the story teller.

Don't be afraid to rewrite.

Be as clear and concise in the writing as possible.

Avoid run-on sentences.

Be direct.

Tell a good story.

Tell the reader what you think they want to know.

Always ask yourself what the story is about.

Read the story out loud; listen carefully.



1. Find a Topic
2. Find an Angle
3. Collect Data
4. Conduct Interviews
5. Organize and Write
6. Revise and Edit