ALLIED 1: Campus Journalism Week 9

ALLIED 1: Campus Journalism
WEEK 9
Learning Outcome : At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Identify the different parts of the news.

2. Define what lead is.
3. Determine the functions of lead.
Topic:
V. Getting Started: Crafting the Good Lead
 Parts of the News
 The Lead
PARTS OF THE NEWS
When you're reading or listening to the news, are you able to describe the different parts of every news story?
1. Masthead
When you're talking about the news, a masthead refers to the banner with the newspaper’s name and logo,
found at the top of the newspaper’s front page.
"The media company decided to change its masthead after it was renamed."
2. Headline
This refers to a short phrase at the top of an online or printed article. A headline summarises or draws attention
to a story to encourage people to read it.
People often choose to read a few headlines, rather than full articles, to get a quick sense of what's going on in
the world when they're busy.
"I usually read the headlines on the way to work."
3. Byline
The byline is the name of the reporter or writer of the article, usually found at the beginning or end of the story.
"He searched for the byline as he read the report to make sure it was written by a person and not a robot!"
4. Lede
A lede or lead is the first sentence or paragraph of a news story. It summarises the point of the story and
encourages people to keep reading. Usually the most important part of the story is mentioned here.
"The lede got us all hooked to the story."

You might hear the phrase "bury the lede". That means to not emphasise the most important part of the story.
"You need to listen to the speaker carefully. She may bury the lede."
5. Caption
If you're talking about a caption in an article, it refers to the text placed below or beside a picture in an article
to describe it and identify its source.
But when it comes to video, a caption refers to text superimposed over video describing the content.
"You can watch the video without sound. Just follow the captions."
6. Subtitles
Subtitles also refer to text superimposed over video that translate the dialogue in a video.
"I need to watch foreign films with subtitles. If not, I cannot follow the story."
7. Quote
A quote refers to exact words of a person that are reported in a story. Quotation marks are used to show what
was said hasn’t been paraphrased by the reporter.
"The minister was quoted in the news report last night."
8. Vox pops
Vox pops are short video interviews with members of the public, shot in real-world settings. Vox pop is short
for vox populi, which means “voice of the people” in Latin.
"The news team did some vox pops this morning to capture reactions to the appointment of the new prime
minister."
9. Advertorial
An advertorial is word that combines “advertisement” and “editorial”. Advertorials are ads that have been
written to look like articles.
I read a story about how a particular brand of cough medicine cured the writer's cough. Then I realised it was
an advertorial when I read the disclaimer at the bottom of the story."
10. Sponsored content

A story that’s explicitly sponsored by a company in order to advertise is known as sponsored content. The
company can benefit from having its name at the top of a popular story.
"Bloggers and social media influencers often make money by accepting sponsored content."
https://www.abc.net.au/education/learn-english/describing-different-parts-of-a-news-story/10183910
The Basic Components of a News Story
All well-written new stories have most of the parts listed below.
Most basic news stories should have:
- A headline
- A lead (sometimes written lede)
- A backup quote
- Attribution
- Reaction
- A "nut graph"
- Background
- An ending
1. The Headline. The headline is a one or two line summary of the contents of the news story, in larger
type, that tells readers what the story is about . Headlines act as an index of the contents of the newspaper,
and a summary of the information in its stories.
2. The Lead. The lead is usually defined as the first sentence of a news story, sometimes as the first few
sentences. The lead is the beginning of a story. The lead on a hard news story is often called a summary
lead. Lead should contain the most important facts of the story - at least some of the Five Ws. Most agree
that the ideal lead is short - no more than 25 or 30 words. Leads should be "tight" - that is, written with
economy. A news story with a strong lead is more likely to be read.
Ironic leads, Great-quote leads, Person-centred leads, Contrast leads, Play-on-word
leads, Situational leads , Nightmare leads -
3.The Backup Quote. Most news stories, except the briefest of briefs, should have a backup quote placed
soon after the lead. Ideally, the backup quote - attributed to comprehensible and entertaining way.
Attribution. All news stories require attribution . Attribution is the explanation of the source of the
information in the news story. Attribution allows the reader to judge for herself whether the facts set out
in the story have merit. The best stories contain lots of quotes - and all quotes have attribution. A news
story without attribution is worthless.
Reaction. All news stories that contain controversial statements, should have reaction - the comments of
someone who is familiar with the situation, or of someone with an alternative view of the main thesis of the
story. A representative of the government should have the opportunity to respond. Fairness requires
reaction.
The Nut Graph. A nut graph informs readers of the focus of the story. The lead will serve the same
purpose as the nut graph. A nut graph is essential to set out for the reader what is going on.
Background. Most stories need some background for the reader to understand what's going on.. The more
complicated the story, the more pressing the need for background. Background helps explain the action.
The Ending. Sometimes writers end a story with a reference to future action that is expected.
Active Voice Versus Passive Voice

Most journalists, and most journalism textbooks, say that news stories should be written in the active
voice.The active voice describes the action. The passive voice describes the recipient of the action.The
active voice delivers a clear, strong statement of what happened. The passive voice can make an exciting
event dull.
.
Summary
- Journalists are usually encouraged to write in the active voice.
- The active voice describes the action, the passive voice describes the recipient of the action.
- A simple way to remember how to write in the active voice is to memorize the order of subject, verb and object -
SVO.
- Sometimes, however, the passive voice is better because it doesn't indicate who was the author of an action.
https://wecommunication.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-basic-components-of-news-story.html
1. Writing a News Story

2. Parts of a News Story • Headline – tells what the story is about • Byline – shows who wrote the
story • Lead – tells the most important facts (5 W’s) • Body – contains more information and details,
written in inverted pyramid style • Ending – gives something to think about
3. Headline Parts of a News Story Train accident forces evacuation Note that headlines contain a
subject & verb Written by an editor after the story is written
4. Headline Byline Parts of a News Story Train accident forces evacuation By Scott Freed The byline is
the author’s name; sometimes a group will take credit such as Leader-Post staff or Star Phoenix Staff
5. Headline Byline Lead Parts of a News Story Train accident forces evacuation By Scott Freed A
freight train carrying dangerous chemicals collided with a semi-trailer in southwestern Manitoba on
Thursday, sending a towering plume of toxic black smoke into the air and forcing the evacuation of more
than 100 area residents.
6. Your Story, Your Leads First, you must identify the main point of your story before you write it! A
good journalist always asks “So what?” or “What’s this about?” or “What’s my point?” when considering
gathered information The lead is what opens any piece of journalism. Other than the headline, the lead is
the only chance to “catch” your reader’s attention!”
7. Writing Your Lead Readers spend only 3 seconds deciding whether to read your story based on
your lead! There are many types of leads; however, we will work with the most popular: a direct news
lead. This consists of a single sentence opening paragraph that contains the most important elements of
the story. It should tell what happened, who was involved, where and when it happened as concisely as
possible. A good lead sentence is between 20 - 25 words in length.
8. Leads The following 2 examples are direct news leads that accurately tell the reader the most
important information about the story! Local police captured two juvenile thieves Wednesday after the
robbery of Rob’s Mini-Mart. The Student Council has made plans to donate 100% of all its proceeds from
Friday night’s social event. The group plans to split the money between two local charities.
9. Inverted Pyramid LEAD • Most interesting news stories use this style for many reasons; it benefits:
• Hurried readers • Beginning journalists • Headline writers • Page layout editors Most Important Details
Less important details Least important details This style is beneficial to many different people because
less time will be spent on the parts of the story that aren’t as important! If the story is edited from the
bottom, important details won’t be left out.
10. Headline Byline Lead Body Parts of a News Story An area five to eight kilometres wide was being
evacuated, although Manitoba RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Steve Saunders indicated the region was sparsely
populated. “The number of people that will be evacuated will be determined by the weather,” said
Giesbrecht. “Right now it (the wind) is blowing in a direction where there is not a high population so it’s
OK. Among the evacuees were 60 members of the Pine Creek Hutterite colony who live two kilometres
from the crash site. Colony manager Lawrence Maendel was at the crash site shortly after the accident
happened. “My tongue was tingling, but we should be OK,” said Maendel, who was frustrated at being …
Fifteen of 20 derailed cars at an uncontrolled crossing along CN Rail’s mail line were ablaze, including
cars carrying benzene and plastic pellets. At least one of the derailed cars was carrying hexane, although
that car was not on fire, said CN spokesperson Jim Feeny. Emergency measures officials decided it was
too dangerous to send in firefighters to try to douse the flames, said Edward Geirsbrecht, the reeve of
Norfolk municipality. “At this point they’re just letting it burn,”he said. “The way it looks it could take a
couple of days.” Feeny said neither the truck driver nor the train’s driver were killed in the 4:15 p.m.
accident.
11. Headline Byline Lead Body Ending Parts of a News Story … “This is a dangerous toxin – it could
get you any time,” Roy said. “One of the guys came tearing down the road. He said a ball of flame was
going over his house.”
12. Objective point of view 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.
13. Objective Point of View • The writer must do his best to remain objective and report in a neutral
manner. The languagethatis used must reflect this. Note how articles will report “alcohol may have been a
factor” NOT “he was blind drunk and couldn’t see where he was going” ”
14. Quoted material • Any quoted material should be accurate and should not be taken out of context
https://www.slideserve.com/anneke/writing-a-news-story

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ALLIED 1: Campus Journalism

1. Identify the different parts of the news.

PARTS OF THE NEWS

"The media company decided to change its masthead after it was renamed."

"I usually read the headlines on the way to work."

"The lede got us all hooked to the story."

"The minister was quoted in the news report last night."

an advertorial when I read the disclaimer at the bottom of the story."

10. Sponsored content

Active Voice Versus Passive Voice

1. Writing a News Story

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