Ana Marie Contreras-Calapit
anamariecalapit@[Link]
N EWS
W RITING
WHAT IS NEWS?
News is…
a plain narration of facts as they
happened
no place for the writer’s opinion,
analysis or interpretation
something new
is something that is of interest to
somebody somewhere
Quezon City hotel fire kills 74
A budget hotel in Quezon City, with allegedly
locked fire escapes and barred windows, turned
Saturday for at least 70 people when a predawn
fire swept through it, authorities said.
Fire officials said at least 20 people were
injured, but witnesses claimed the number could
be higher in the fire that swept through the Manor
Hotel. Most of those who died did not suffer burns
but died from the thick smoke that covered most of
the rooms in the five-story budget hotel.
Many of the victims were participants in a
born again Christian convention sponsored by the
Texas based don Clowers Ministry.
WHAT IS NEWS?
News is…
an idea or opinion of somebody
that will interest a large number of
people
intended to interest, inform or
entertain
Dogs fight terrorism in Manila
By Evelyn Z. Macarain
Dogs have been enlisted in the fight terrorism in Metro
Manila following bomb blasts and bomb scares. The National
Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has started to deploy
K-9 units in different malls and police stations in Metro
Manila.
More of these dogs will get field assignments once
NCRPO gets them from other agencies like the Army and the
special Action Force, Chief Supt. Edgar Aglipay, NCRPO
director said. Among these are the K-9 units in Clark,
Pampanga. The dogs are in addition to the 1,000 cadets
undergoing police training in Bicutan and Canlubang, Laguna
and 220 Air Force men assigned to Metro Manila to beef up
the drive against terrorism.
The inverted pyramid
examples of straight news story
follows the oldest structure
acceptable for straight news
stories—the inverted pyramid.
“meat of the story”
invented because daily newspapers
compete with hourly updates in
radio and television as sources of
information.
Advantages
ofocus on the more important parts of
the story.
owill not waste the readers’ time.
oassists the deskman in making
headlines.
ohelps the layout editor cut the story
instantly from bottom up to fit the
layout of the newspaper.
The Lead
ois the beginning paragraph for a story.
osets the tone and introduces the reader to the
rest of the story
opaints a vivid picture of the story with a few
words.
omust be accurate, short and crisp.
oshould reflect the mood of the story.
The Lead
oNot many reporters can produce sharp,
original leads.
oWriters of little talent and scant judgment
load their leads with official sources, official
titles, official phrases, even official quotes, and
produce long-winding, cumbersome and dull
leads.
Look at the work of a traditional reporter :
Police Chief J.W. Carmichael
announced today that two children
were killed outside Prospect Park, at
Jackson Ave. and 16th St., N.W., when
a ``recklessly driven'' automobile
jumped the curb near where they were
playing at 2 p.m. and ran them down.
Kinds of Lead
STRAIGHT LEAD
incorporates the inverted pyramid style
with the most important facts first
Journalists often resort to summary
leads pressed for time.
Two children at play were killed today when
a sports car jumped the curb outside Prospect Park
and ran them down. Twelve in the group were
injured.
Police Chief J.W. Carmichael attributed the
tragedy to reckless driving. The driver, slightly
injured, was . .
Punch Lead
a variation of summary lead
attention is attracted by concentrating
with a brief, to-the-point lead sentence
and developing details later in the story.
An attractive 35-year-old woman
executive was arrested today on
charges of being the "queen" ruling a
multi-million-dollar narcotics ring.
Unfolding a bizarre story, police
said . . .
Descriptive Lead
A descriptive lead describes how an
event happened rather than simply
telling what the event is about.
BRIGHTON, England (UPI) -- Mrs.
Pamela Bransden slowly counted five,
snapped into a hypnotic trance, and
gave birth to an eight-pound baby. It
was as easy as that.
Today she relaxed at her home,
delighted that she has become Britain's
first self-hypnosis mother.
EXAMPLE OF DESCRIPTIVE LEAD:
Eyewitness accounts can provide the
background for writing lucid descriptions
which help the reader to visualize a news
situation.
An ominous silence, broken only by
the call of a faraway bird, hung over the
battle-scarred hills when suddenly an
explosion followed by the yells of charging
troops smashed the stillness.
The loyalist offensive, launched to
clear roving guerrillas . . .
Quotation Lead
•used immediately after a paraphrase that
summarizes them
paraphrasing the verbatim quotation
permits the removal of unnecessary
words.
adds an element of interest such as
drama, humour, astonishment, or some
other factor that will reach out to the
reader.
EXAMPLE OF QUOTATION LEAD:
Here goes a report on the increase in
juvenile crime:
"I'd like to jail parents themselves
who are so lax their kids are
boosting the crime rate!"
This statement came from Juvenile
Court Judge Warren Jones, in releasing
a report on the rapid rise in juvenile
crime rate in this city.
EXAMPLE OF QUOTATION LEAD:
When a fellow engineering student was
murdered by John David in his hostel
room in a ragging rage, the lead for a
follow-up story was a Biblical quotation
found on the door of the culprit.
"Peace unto those who enter here."
Theseare the words seen on the door of
John David's room. The irony is that
David gave eternal peace to
Navukarasu, a fresher.
EXAMPLE OF QUOTATION LEAD:
When Neil Armstrong landed on the
moon, most newspapers led with the
first words he spoke:
"A small step for man, but a
giant leap for mankind."
Contrast Lead
To vary monotony, a saga can be split into two
sentences -- the first of which refers to the
humble beginning and the second to the hero's
latest triumph.
When Van Cliburn, the pianist, returned from
a musical triumph in Moscow, one reporter
wrote:
Harvey Lavan (Van) Cilburn Jr. of Kilgore,
Tex., came home from Russia today with 17
pieces of luggage. They bespoke his triumph
as pianist in Moscow. He had three when he
went over.
EXAMPLE OF CONTRAST LEAD:
Richard Roe, who started 47 years ago as a
$10-a-week janitor for Consolidated
Corporation, today took office as the firm's
$2,63,000-a-year chairman and chief executive
officer.
IDENTIFY THE WS AND H IN THE
FOLLOWING LEADS:
Intramuros Administration head
Dominator Ferrer will be arraigned on
Wednesday at the Sandiganbayan in
connection with the graft case filed
against him by heritage conservationists.
A Visayas congressman urged the medical
profession yesterday to help lawmakers
rid ranks of “rogues and scalawags”.
IDENTIFY THE WS AND H IN THE
FOLLOWING LEADS:
Children these days surf the Internet as
easily as they surf television channels, but
recent studies showed that if left unchecked,
the Internet exposes children to move harm
than good.
The Quezon City government and the
Philippine National Oil Company have
embarked on a joint project to conduct gas
production tests at the collapsed Payatas
dumpsite to determine the viability of putting
up a commercial natural gas production plant
there.
EXERCISES ON LEAD WRITING:
Put your pens to work and try to compose a one-paragraph, less
than 25- word lead. Use the K9 story:
Who: _____________________________________
What: _____________________________________
When: _____________________________________
Why: _____________________________________
_____________________________________
How: _____________________________________
GUMAWA NG BALITA
10 KARAGDAGANG Computer Access Mentorship Programs sa mga guro ng
elementary ay bubuksan ng Department of Education at ang Sa Aklat Sisikat
(SAS) Foundation.
Sinabi ni DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro na ito ay mahalaga para mapataas
ang antas ng pagtuturo ng pagbabasa sa mga pampublikong paaralan sa
bansa.
Ang SAS ay binuo sa computer laboratories o CAMP sites ng Boy Scouts
Council Offices sa buong bansa na nagsanay sa mga guro ng elementary ng
mga bagong paraan ng pagtuturo ng pagbabasa on-line.
Gusto ni Luistro said ang inisyatiba na mula sa p[ribadong sektor dahil ito ay
karagdagang kasanayan at kagamitan na pupuno sa mga kakulangan ng
pampublikong paaralan ng bansa.
Nagpapasalamat si Luistro sa pribadong sektor dahil pinili nila ang sector ng
edukasyon bilang benipisaryo ng kanilang corporate social responsibility.
Ang CAMP ay unang inilunsad noong 2010 at ngayon ay meron ng 15 CAMP
sites sa Central, Northern at Southern Luzon.
Ang CAMP ay nagbibigay ng oportunidad sa mga guro para kumpletuhin ang
on-line CAMP course kung saan binibigyan sila ng service credits katulad ng
kabuuang araw nila sa pagtatapos ng kursong regular.
Libre ang SAS on-line course pati na ang computer at internet access.
Ang SAS ay non-profit professional Philippine organization na nagtutulak para
mahalin at maging gawi ang pagbabasa sa mga batang Filipino.
WRITE A NEWS ARTICLE BASED ON THE FF:
Congress to pass a new legislation that seeks to create
separate detention centers for youth offenders
Tessie Aquino-Oreta, an opposition senator
October
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
disclosed that seven minors are now languishing on death row
By prodding Congress to pass a new legislation
Oreta:
“It’s the state’s duty to pursue rehabilitation of juvenile
offenders instead of subjecting them to harsh punishment
imposed on hardened criminals.’’
“Instead of dumping youth offenders along with hardened
adult convicts, they should be detained either in agricultural
campuses supervised by officials of the Bureau of Corrections
or in youth homes under the care of the DSWD.’’
WRITE A NEWS ARTICLE BASED ON THE FF:
Concrete floors of 608 housing units in government-built resettlement
site in Pampanga have cracked and sunk. Monsoon rains have
battered Central Luzon since July.
608 families have abandoned the P450-million San Isidro
resettlement site. Some have sought shelter in relative’s homes, or
stayed in undamaged dwellings at the resettlement site
The 2,000 housing units with a floor area of 26 sqm were constructed
late last year by the Philippine Army’s 51st Engineering Brigade,
headed by Brig. Gen. Francisco Bravo.
Engr. Wilson Musngi, of the Pinatubo Project Management Office:
---” The walls have also started to lean because they were not founded
on the tie beam.”
--- Cracked concrete floors were only two inches thick when the design
specified three inches
---houses were constructed on top of 1 ½ meter –thick earth filling
---‘’When the rains came, the materials compacted underneath the
flooring.”
