Comment by
Lets Go Pens
25 Dec 2009


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A well-written news article must convey the facts succinctly while maintaining the reader’s interest. It starts with a lead sentence that hooks the reader, then the rest of the facts follow in descending importance. Having the least important facts at the end aids editing– they can just cut where they need to.

Feature articles (like in magazines) are more like essays. The author has much more freedom to elaborate and is not constrained by the “just the facts” mentality.



Comment by
DrooBey
28 Dec 2009


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Abraham Lincoln once wrote in a correspondence with a friend that he apologized for writing a two-page letter because he didn’t have time to write a one-page letter.
I would contend that the best writing, in any form, is clear and concise. It is more difficult to convey a message in fewer words, but newspapers demand shorter stories because there is a finite amount of space available.
The main difference between newspaper articles and other forms is the content. A lot of newspaper stories are just going to be eight to 10 paragraphs because that’s all the information there is. Longer news stories of quality, and especially feature articles, should read either like a narrative or a conversation.
Journalism is at its best when the writer lets other people tell as much of the story as possible. “According to,” “a source says,” “as stated in a press release,” are all the types of phrases one sees in a news story.
Prose or an essay is what the writer is saying, even if they quote other people to support the message of the piece.



Comment by
Brent
30 Dec 2009


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The lead is the most important thing. If you don’t hook your reader quickly, he’s not going to keep reading. Short and punchy works best.

Keep your paragraphs short — 2 sentences on average. That creates smaller blocks on the page, which is more appealing to the eye.

Shorter articles tend to get read more, but sometimes it’s necessary to go long, like on an enterprise or investigative story.

Feature stories can be longer and can have longer leads. Photos help engage the reader.

Keep in mind that some people don’t read much of the article, so you want to have enough information in your first several paragraphs to satisfy them.

If you need to, you can break up a long story with subheads. That helps a reader jump around, skip parts and digest a story.

As the writer, you’re basically the traffic cop telling the reader when to slow down and when to speed up. Excessive commas will get in the way. Semi-colons should be used rarely and exclamation points should almost never be used.

Don’t underestimate your reader’s intelligence, but don’t over estimate their vocabulary. Don’t try to impress them with big words that only you know the meaning of.

But tricks like alliteration can move a reader along at a faster pace. Try to write like you talk but a little less informally.

A good news story should read like poetry. It has a rhythm. Avoid overuse of conjunctions, stringing too many thoughts together, repetition of words.

Be concise, what we call writing it tight. If a word can be left out, leave it out. Avoid cliches.

There are many types of writing within newspaper writing, and they’re all fairly different from the many types of non-newspaper writing.

Remember these basics: Be accurate, be thorough and be done.

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