NEWS WRITING

Mrs. Mary Grace D. Padura

Master Teacher I
Abundio Torre Memorial ES
December 4, 2023
NEWS
I. Definition
II. What makes news a ‘News’
III. Basic Elements of News
IV. News Sources
V. Structure of News
VI. How to write News Articles
What is
NEWS
 NEWS
➢ Information about current events
printed in newspapers or broadcast
by media
➢ gives the reader information that will
have an impact on them in some way
➢ flows from most important to least
important
 NEWS
An information that has
meaning for a set of readers, a
timely and factual narration of
past, present and future events.
 NEWS
➢ recent information
➢ current events
➢ somebody or something
interesting
➢ something previously unknown
 What makes news a ‘NEWS’?
1. It is new.
2. It has numbers.
3. It has conflict.
4. It has impact.
5. It’s about popular people.
6. It’s near.
7. It’s odd.
 TIMELINESS

PROXIMITY PROGRESS

Basic
IMPACT HUMAN INTEREST
Elements of
News
PROMINENCE CONFLICT

ODDITY
tIMELINESS
A news writer usually places emphasis on the
latest angles of an event. The words ‘today’ and
‘tomorrow’ are related in most of the news
stories. Occasionally a story may concern
events that happened in the past. In this case,
news writer discusses some present aspect of a
past events.
PROXIMITY
Location. If an event is happening nearby, it
will impact the audience more than if it were
happening somewhere else that doesn’t affect
them as much.
 IMPACT

The more people affected, the greater the

news interest.
prominence

A well-known person, place or

event has stronger news angle than
something that the audience isn’t
familiar with.
 oddity

If something is unusual, shocking

or bizarre, the strangeness alone
could make it newsworthy.
 conflict

Audiences are always interested in

disagreements, arguments and rivalries. If an
event has conflict attached to it, many
consumers will be interested on that basis alone.
Let’s not forget that it’s human nature to choose
sides and stand up for that choice.
human interest

The stories that speak to our shared

experience, emphasizing uniquely
human elements such as growth or an
unexpected act of kindness.
 PROGRESS

The onward and forward march of

civilization or the progress of a country
is chronicled step by step in the
newspaper.
MGA BAGAY NA DAPAT
MONG MALAMAN PARA
MAGING MABANGIS NA
NEWS WRITER
 #RealTalk

news writer ka kung…

#NewsWriterRealTalk1

Detalyado ka
Dapat alam mo kung ano, saan, kailan, paano at bakit
nangyayari ang mahahalagang kaganapan sa paligid mo
#NewsWriterRealTalk2

Third Party ka
Hindi ka kasali o involved directly sa bagay o
pangyayari na ibinabalita mo
#NewsWriterRealTalk3

Eksena ka
Dapat lagi kang nakatutok sa mga pangyayari.
Ikaw mismo,.. Hindi ibang tao.
#NewsWriterRealTalk4

Hirap kang magtiwala

Lagi kang naghahanap ng mga reliable source para
kumpirmahin na totoo ang binabalita mong detalye o
impormasyon
#NewsWriterRealTalk5

Mahilig kang manimbang

Hindi isang panig lang ang pinakikinggan mo. Para
sa iyo, may tatlong side ang isang istorya.
#NewsWriterRealTalk6

Mausisa ka
Hindi ka tumitigil na magtanong hangga’t hindi mo
nakukuha ang impormasyong gusto mo
#NewsWriterRealTalk7

Feeling ‘Panday’
Sikat man o hindi, hindi ka natatakot humarap kahit kanino para
makakuha ng ibabalita kasama ang iyong sandata- ang iyong
panulat.
#NewsWriterRealTalk8

Can do multitasking
#NewsWriterRealTalk9

Must finish article on

time
Where can we get details for
news article?
 News Gathering
News sources
1. Actual coverage of events
2. Interviewing an expert or persons in
authority
3. Use of documents, such as
speeches, policy statements,
research reports, press releases, and
other important papers
How do we write news
articles?
 A news story is made or broken by its angle.

•To choose an angle, we should ask what is

the most striking thing about this story?
•Identify specific angle of an event as
highlight of your story (news within a news)
•Once you find that, the story will write itself.
So here we go…
When we write news, we place the
most essentials in the beginning,
then we write the facts in
decreasing order of importance.
Hence, the term INVERTED TRIANGLE
is applied.
Structure of
a news story
Structure of a news story

Headline
Primary Lead
Secondary Lead
Supporting
facts
Writing the
headline
 Headline
Subject - verb - object
Bangsamoro govt condemns deadly Marawi blast
NBI nagbabala sa mga fundraiser scam
Quoted headline
Over 135 Chinese vessels monitored in Julian Felipe
reef – Coast Guard
Spotify: BTS, Blackpink, NewsJeans dominate K-pop
streaming in 2023

Headline
Writing
 Writing the headline
who or what/ present tense of the verb/ direct object/ receiver
PBBM admin digitalizes PH’s prison system through whole-of-
government approach to address jail congestion

Marcos gov’t provides skills to inmates through whole-of-

government approach for their full transformation, rehab
 Writing the headline
who or what/ past tense of the verb/ direct object/ receiver
Mekaniko na isang PWD nakapagtayo ng sariling
motorshop

Mag-anak na nakakuha ng gov’t cash aid, timbog sa

pagsusugal
Writing the headline
MYTH: all headlines in the school paper must be written in present tense

FACT: you can write majority of your headlines in

present tense.

However, you can also write some headlines in past tense

for variation.
Writing the headline
Use comma instead of
“and”
BTS, Blackpink, NewsJeans dominate
K-pop streaming in 2023 – Spotify
Lead
THE FIRST PARAGRAPH
MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE ARTICLE
A one-sentence narration of the whole news article
Answers who, what, where, when, why, how, so what
Lead (for past events)
Who/ what/ when/ verb/ so what
Pres. Bongbong Marcos on Nov. 5 addressed all overseas
Filipinos in China as part of his state visit.

Who/ what/ verb/ When/ so what

Pres. Bongbong Marcos addressed on Nov. 5 all overseas
Filipinos in China as part of his state visit.
 Common error
Putting the ‘when’ at the end of the lead
Pres. Bongbong Marcos addressed all overseas Filipinos in China as
part of his state visit, Nov. 5.

*for past events, The only exception in putting the date at the end of the lead is that if
the publication is released weekly or fortnightly (every 14 days)
Lead (for past events)
Past tense of the verb/ Who/ what/ so what

Tiniyak ni Pang. Bongbong Marcos na hindi ibinebenta ng

Pilipinas ang mga teritoryo nito sa Tsina sa kabila ng pagtanggap
ng bansa ng sunud-sunod na ayudang pinansyal.
STRONG LEAD
Who/What/So, what?
SAMPLE SCHOOL NEWS LEAD.

The administration on Monday

announced in a flag raising ceremony that
new scheme in monitoring orderliness will be
implemented in Tanay National High School
(TNHS) in an attempt to curb the rising cases of
illegal drug use inside the campus.
Lead (for future events)
Who/ what/ verb/ so what/ when
Pres. Bongbong Marcos will address all overseas Filipinos in China
as part of his state visit on Apr. 5

Main verb/ who or what/ so what/ when

Itatalaga ang bagong punongguro ng Abundio Torre Memorial
Elementary School sa Enero 4.
What to remember
1. Leads limited to one or two sentences are preferred.
2. Most leads start with "who" or "what.“
In Filipino, verb ang umpisa.
3. In leads about future events, the time, day (date) and place
usually go at the end of the paragraph.
4. In leads about past events, the day (date) of the event
usually appears before or after the verb.
5. Use quote and question leads in moderation.
6. "What happened" makes a better story than the fact it did.
 Writing the
secondary or
support lead
STRONG LEAD
Who/What/So, what?
SAMPLE SCHOOL NEWS LEAD.

The administration on Monday

announced in a flag raising ceremony that
new scheme in monitoring orderliness will be
implemented in Tanay National High School
(TNHS) in an attempt to curb the rising cases of
illegal drug use inside the campus.
 Secondary/support lead (2 or more
paragraphs): elaboration of prominent
W

Dr. Josephine B. Cobilla, Principal IV made the

announcement after several reports from the
guidance office confirmed that cases of illegal drug
use have been rising since the last quarter of the
previous school year.
Supporting
Facts
 Building the nut graph
IN THIS PARAGRAPH give the main source, background of
the event (3rd paragraph)

Initial reports from grade nine guidance office

said that there were 167 cases of marijuana users
recorded in January; 260 in February; and 310 in
March.
 Direct quotes (4th,5th paragraphs)

“We have to implement stiff policies this time

and make students realize their self-responsibility,”
the principal said.
“Students with two consecutive violations will
be subjected for first offense, then for disciplinary
measures if they continue doing so,” she added.
6th to the last paragraphs -
NEXT SEGUE: (it may take several
paragraphs)
Continuation of the DETAILS:
• provisions of the new rules and
regulations;
start of implementation;
• punishment to be given to the
offenders)
Frame these matters in news-material sentences
following the inverted triangle structure)
▪police intervention in helpless cases
 …

NEXT SEGUE: (it may take several

paragraphs)

• Attribution of sources (what

DepEd memo supports provisions
on illegal drug use)
• Other important details
 A news story is made or broken
by its angle.

•To choose an angle, we should ask

what is the most striking thing about
this story?
•Identify specific angle of an event
as highlight of your story (news
within a news)
•Once you find that, the story will
write itself.
Legit or Lie
Some myths and truths about news
writing
Kailangan puro school events ang
balitang nakalagay sa dyaryo.
 Kailangan puro school events ang
balitang nakalagay sa dyaryo.

LIE: news can be about national or community issues

as long as it is connected to the school or it has a
direct impact in the lives of students
Issue:
Nationwide jeepney phase out

News potential:
Fifty percent of the students
Come from families living on jeepney transit as a major
or only source of income
Sa school events, dapat sabihin
kung ano ang mga nangyari sa
program
 Sa school events, dapat sabihin
kung ano ang mga nangyari sa
program

LIE: news must not focus on the program,

but the purpose and the impact of the event
Topic:
Nutrition month celebration

News potential:
Rampancy of malnutrition in the school and community

Lgu allocates millions for nutrition programs but cases of

malnutrition remains high
Sa news writing, puwedeng
gumamit ng adjective
 Sa news writing, puwedeng
gumamit ng adjective

LEGIT: Adjectives can be used for two exceptions-

first, if it is a general or universal truth; or second, if it
is justifiable
A new 40-storey technohub center with state-of-the-art facilities and
equipment will be built in Lipa City. This grandscale project will cost P
500 M, and will take five years to complete.

A survey conducted by the social weather station revealed that 40

percent of Filipino women aspire to win the Miss Universe, dubbed as
the most prestigious beauty pageant in the world.

A high school principal from Lipa City won the prestigious Carlos Palanca
Memorial Award for Literature.
Ang news, dapat puro positive
 Ang news, dapat puro positive

lies: Give the news a negative angle, but also include positive news.
Topic:
Lipa City to build New covered court

News potential:
Weather disturbances, budget deficit
Hamper new covered court construction
Key #3: Basic news format
Here’s the suggestion:
 1st paragraph: the lead (usually the WHO, WHAT, SO WHAT elements of the news)
 2nd paragraph: secondary/support lead. Elaboration of the most important W.
(bring the other w’s: where, when, why, how).
 3rd paragraph: Give the background of the event. Start building the nut graph.
 4TH paragraph: quote from the key person involved.
 5th to last paragraphs: reverse chronology of details (from the most to the least
important details), narrative of action, citing the sources from reported interviews,
canned action (optional).
 NOTE: Cluster your details to achieve coherence.
Approaches in writing news

Heirarchy of facts (clustering)

issue-based approach
comparative approach
hard news vs soft news
Sample line-up of contents for news page

National issue Student profiling Survey news Budget news Update on shs
connected to the graduates
school or looking for a job
community

COMMUNITY NEWS Consolidated NEWS ON SCHOOLS POLICIES NEWS ON

OR EXPOSE news of students RENOVATION/ THAT ARE NEWLY- CURRICULUM
winning contests DEVELOPMENT/ IMPLEMENTED/ NO
PROGRESS LONGER
APPLICABLE
Remember…
 Keep paragraphs short. Those limited to 60 words, less is better.
 Paragraphs limited to one to two sentences are preferred.
 Each paragraph should contain only one idea.
 Remember short paragraphs encourage readers to continue reading.
 Interview does matter.
 Additional tips

0-9 is written in words while ten

above is written in figures, except
for addresses, measurements and
dates which are always written in
numbers.
Additional tips

 Titles are better written before the name.

(Example: Former Lipa City Mayor Meynard Sabili, not

Meynard Sabili, former Lipa City mayor)
Additional tips

 ‘According to’ is written in reference to documents or

tangible evidence.

(Incorrect: According to Pres. Bongbong Marcos; Correct:

According to the manifesto)
 Thank You!
NEWS WRITING:

Mrs. Mary Grace D. Padura

Speaker