How to Write Newsworthy Stories
News is information about events that are important to your readers, listeners and viewers. It is an integral part of a free press and is intended to teach, inform and entertain. If you want to produce a good piece of news, you should have a clear idea of what constitutes newsworthiness and then write the story with those elements in mind. News should be written concisely and clearly, with the main facts presented in the first paragraph. The rest of the article should provide more details in descending order of importance. This is called the inverted pyramid approach and it is a standard format for news writing.
The key to understanding what makes for newsworthiness is knowing your audience. This will dictate the tone and style of your article. It will also help you decide which events to include and which to ignore. If you are unsure who your audience is, conduct some market research to find out more about them. This can be done by conducting a survey, or simply asking people who they think should be reading your newspaper or listening to the radio.
People are interested in things that affect them or their families directly. For example, weather patterns may be of interest to people who are planning trips, and crop diseases or harvest sizes are of concern to farmers. People are also interested in things that affect society as a whole, such as changes to laws or policies and the views of leaders on important issues.
Stories about entertainment and sports are of interest to many people. These include things like music and drama shows on the radio or TV and sports results in newspapers and magazines. Often, these types of stories contain a certain level of humour that adds to their appeal.
A key element of a good news story is its ability to make your reader or listener say “Gee Whiz!” This is an expression that means the story is interesting and that it has caught them by surprise.
It is a good idea to have another person read your news report before you submit it for publication. This will not only ensure that there are no spelling or grammatical errors, but they can also offer advice on how to improve the content and flow of your article. For example, they may suggest cutting down long sentences or putting in a few more quotes to add a sense of personality and interest to the story. This will help your reader feel more involved with the topic and encourage them to continue reading. Also, they will be able to highlight any areas of the article which might need further clarification or explanation. For example, they might suggest explaining technical terms or concepts in simpler language to non-experts. This will help to avoid any misinterpretations or misunderstandings which could cause confusion. The article should then be ready for publication.