News Articles
These essential questions should be answered within the first paragraph.
What are the 5 W's and H? Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How?
This is an Opinion article for the Newspaper.
What is an Editorial?
An article focusing on the "slice of life" of one particular individual, or an upcoming special event.
What is a Feature Story?
Beginning in the late 1800's, newspapers began to take on two different sizes. When unfolded, one was longer, and contained more serious news, while the other type of newspaper was not only smaller, but tended to contain sensationalism, and lacked respect.
What are the broadsheet and tabloid newspapers?
At a Newspaper, this person, is the one with the RED PEN. He/she checks to make sure the article is accurate and error-free before it goes to print.
Who is the copyeditor?
This method states that the writer should start the article with the guts, move to the details, and end with extra information.
What is the Inverted Pyramid?
Editorials are articles that are often written by senior writers at the newspaper, but since they represent the entire Newspaper, they should not be written using this voice.
What is First Person?
A typed News Article is typically 1 and 1/4 pages. A typed Editorial is typically 1 full page. A typed Feature Story is typically this.
What is 1 and 1/2 pages?
Nellie Bly, a pioneer in Investigative Journalism, spent ten days in one of these in the late 1800s to get an inside scoop on how poorly things were operating.
What is a Mental Asylum, Mental Institution, or Psychiatric Ward/Hospital?
Second only to the Publisher, this person is head of the entire newsroom at a Newspaper.
Who is the Editor-in-Chief?
This is the first paragraph in your news article, and where you find the juiciest information.
What is the Lead?
Since Editorials represent the opinion of the Newspaper, they should not include outside information, especially these.
What are quotes?
This is the paragraph that comes after the Lead in a Feature Story. It contains answers to some of the essential questions.
What is the Nut Graph?
The name of this type of journalism is found in the present-day tabloids. It got its name from two competing publishers in the late 1800s over a certain comic strip.
What is yellow journalism?
These are professional agencies who represent various clients trying to obtain publicity, without paying for advertising. Representatives will call journalists and pitch them story ideas that include their clients.
What is public relations?
This is the expression or phrase used to signify that the juiciest information should be in your Lead.
What is, "If it bleeds, it leads"?
In an Editorial you should let the reader know this by the end of the second paragraph.
What is the side of the issue you are on?
If the Feature Story is about one individual person, then you must do this prior to writing the article.
What is, Interview that person?
Journalists will refer to these for future local government/civic events.
What are civic calendars?
No matter what type of article you are writing, in journalism you should always write in this voice.
What is Active Voice?
This is the standard structural order of paragraphs when it comes to writing news articles.
What is L, AI, Q, T, Q, T, Q, T, Q?
An Editorial should present the counter-argument, but it should also do this to the counter-argument.
What is Refute it, or Rebuke it, or tear it down?
This is often the best type of Lead to use for a Feature Story. It is a mini story, often with humor or a moral tale.
What is an anecdote?
In the late 1800s and much of the 20th Century, this was a popular way of getting in-depth, large feature stories, often of governments, businesses or other organizations where there was suspicion of foul play.
What is investigative journalism?
Passive Voice always has some form of this conjugated verb before another verb.
What is "To be"?