5Ws and H
Lead Writing
Parts of a Story
Elements of News
News Standards
100
Tom DeLay is headed to trial on money laundering charges, his lawyer conceded Tuesday, after the conclusion of the first full day of a pre-trial hearing, including several hours behind closed doors.
What is who, what and when?
100
Who: Austin ISD school board What: Voted to require all students K-12 to wear uniforms When: Sept. 18 Where: meeting held at central office Why: The number of district-wide dress code violations rose 67 percent over last year. How: A unanimous vote
What is "All students grades K-12 will be required to wear uniforms, the Austin ISD school board decided in a unanimous vote in a meeting held at central office on September 18. The district reported that the number of dictrict-wide dress code violations rose 67 percent over last year."
100
The lead
What is the first sentence of a story?
100
Conflict
What is any news story that has two sides engaged in a battle of some kind? (example: stories about elections, sporting events, war)
100
The words that are used when something is written in 1st or 3rd person
What is I for 1st person and he, she, they or a person's name for 3rd person?
200
Thousands of people on Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula fled to high ground Monday after a strong earthquake prompted a tsunami warning, but only a small sea wave materialized.
What is why, what, where and when?
200
Who: Junior Stephen Smith What: donated one of his kidneys to his cousin When: last Tuesday Where: Seton Medical Center, Austin Why: Smith’s cousin needed a transplant because of kidney failure How: Doctors removed one of Smith’s healthy kidneys and now his cousin can have a healthy life
What is "Junior Stephen Smith donated one of his kidneys to his cousin last Tuesday at Seton Medical Center in Austin. Doctors removed one of Smith's healthy kidneys in hopes of providing a healthy life for Smith's cousin, who needed the transplant due to kidney failure."
200
Date
What is when the article was published?
200
Human Interest
What is a news story that is about people, usually they are in an emotional struggle or did something great?
200
Inverted pyramid
What is when news stories are written so that the most important information is at the top of the story (the 5Ws and H), with details next and then background information at the end?
300
A scuba diver attacked by a blue shark he was videotaping said Monday, "I didn't feel him bite. I just looked over and his mouth was around my arm."

What is who and what?
300
Who: 3 vandals What: broke into school and glued every door shut When: last night Where: LBJ high school Why: police have not identified a motive How: the vandals snuck in through an unlocked back door and used extra-strength super glue to secure each door
What is "3 vandals used extra-strength glue to secure every door in LBJ high school shut last night. Police have no motive and reported that the vandals snuck in through an unlocked back door."
300
Headline
What is a few words which give the reader an idea of what the article will be about- it should make the reader want to read more about it.
300
Impact
What is a news story that will change the life of the audience in some way?
300
Credibility
What is the belief that what someone says is true?
400
After a marathon journey of 12 years and more than 4 billion miles, the remarkable Voyager II space probe is finally approaching its final port of call. Having made historic fly-bys of Jupiter in 1979, Saturn in 1981, and Uranus in 1986, it is poised for an Aug. 24 rendezvous with Neptune, the most distant of the giant planets.
What is who, what and when?
400
Who: theater students What: performed “Annie” When: April 29, 3 p.m. Where: Performing Arts Center Why: annual performance How: rehearsed daily for two months to prepare for the musical
What is "Theater students performed the annual production of 'Annie' on April 29 at 3 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center. The students rehearsed daily for two months to prepare for the musical."
400
Byline
What is who wrote the article? (will often start with By!)
400
Prominence
What is any story about someone who is famous and people know their name? (example: the President, actors and actresses, the mayor Austin would have local prominence)
400
The LBJ/LASA newspaper
What is The Liberator?
500
In haste to get to the bedside of his dying mother this morning, Walter Davis, a truck driver with Southern Gas Company, was critically injured when his sedan crashed into a parked car at Fourth Street and Flowers Ave.

What is who, when, where and why?
500
Who: Garcia’s Mexican restaurant What: burned to the ground, and it took firefighters 10 hours to stop the blaze When: Oct. 13 Where: Cedar Park Why: electrical fire How: the oven was left on all night
What is "Firefighters battled for 10 hours on Oct. 13 to stop a blaze at Garcia's Mexican restaurant in Cedar Park which was an electrical fire caused by the oven being left on all night. The restaurant burned to the ground."
500
Dateline
What is the place where the story happened (our dateline would be AUSTIN, Tex.)?
500
Timeliness and Proximity
What is a news story with an event that is reported as soon as it happens? And what is a news story with an event that happens close to home? (for us it would be Austin/Texas)
500
Objectivity
What is when the person writing the news (the reporter) tries to keep all personal feelings or opinions out of the news story?
M
e
n
u