News style (also journalistic style or news writing) is the particular prose style used for news reporting (ie. Journalism is the profession of writing or communicating formally employed by publications and broadcasters for the benefit of a particular Community of people Professional journalism is a form of news reporting which developed in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century along with formal schools of journalism News is any new information or information on Current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or Word of mouth Reportage sometimes refers to the total body of media coverage of a particular topic or event including news reporting and analysis " the extensive reportage of recent News style (also journalistic style or news writing) is the particular Prose style used for News reporting (ie Journalism ethics and standards comprise principles of Ethics and of good practice as applicable to the specific challenges faced by professional Journalists Historically Objectivity is a significant principle of Journalistic professionalism. News values, sometimes called "news criteria" determine how much prominence a news story is given by a media outlet and the attention it is given by the audience In Journalism, a source is a person publication or other record or document that gives information Editorial independence is the freedom of editors to make decisions without interference from the owners of a publication A journalism school is a School or department usually part of an established University, where Journalists are trained List of Journalism topics This page aims to list all topics related to the field of Journalism. Arts journalism is a branch of Journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of the arts Business journalism is the branch of journalism that tracks records analyses and interprets the economic changes that take place in a society Entertainment journalism is an umbrella term used to describe all forms of Journalism that focus on the Entertainment business and its products Environmental journalism is the collection verification production distribution and exhibition of information regarding current events trends issues and people that are associated Fashion journalism is an umbrella term used to describe all aspects of published Fashion media Political journalism is a broad branch of Journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of Politics and Political science, although the term usually Science journalism is a relatively new branch of Journalism, which uses the art of Reporting to convey information about Science topics to a public forum Sports journalism is a form of Journalism that reports on Sports topics and events While the sports department within some Newspapers has been Tech journalism is a relatively new branch of Journalism, which uses the art of Reporting to convey information about Tech topics to a public forum Trade journalism reports on the movements and developments of the Business world by way of articles or analysis A traffic report is an element of a Radio program or TV news broadcast that informs listeners about general traffic conditions Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location Advocacy journalism is a Genre of Journalism that intentionally and transparently adopts a non-objective viewpoint usually for some social Citizen journalism, also known as public or participatory journalism or democratic journalism, is the act of citizens "playing an active role in the The civic journalism movement (also known as public journalism is according to professor David K Community journalism is locally oriented coverage that typically focuses on city neighborhoods or individual suburbs rather than metropolitan state national or world news "Gonzo" redirects here For other uses see Gonzo (disambiguation Gonzo journalism is a style of Journalism which is written Investigative journalism is a type of reporting in which reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest often involving crime Political corruption, or some other Scandal Docufiction (often understood as Docudrama) is a Neologism which refers to a cinematographic work in a Genre mixing Fiction and Narrative journalism is the interpretation of a story and the way in which the journalist portrays it be it fictional or non-fictional New Journalism was a style of 1960s and 1970s News writing and Journalism which used literary techniques deemed unconventional at the time Opinion journalism is Journalism that makes no claim of objectivity. Visual journalism is the practice of strategically combining words and images to convey information Watchdog journalism refers to forms of Activist journalism aimed at holding accountable public personalities and institutions whose functions impact social and political life The term Fourth Estate refers to the press, both in its explicit capacity of advocacy and in its implicit ability to frame political issues Fifth Estate is any class or group in society other than the Clergy ( First Estate) the Nobility ( Second Estate) the Commoners ( Freedom Constitutional or statutory protections pertaining to freedom of the press Infotainment (a Portmanteau of information and entertainment refers to a general type of media broadcast program which provides a combination of current Media bias in the United States News propaganda is Covert Propaganda packaged as credible News without transparency as to source and motivation Public relations (PR is the practice of managing the flow of Information between an Organization and its Publics Public relations - often referred Yellow journalism is Journalism that downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more newspapers The news media refers to the section of the Mass media that focuses on presenting current News to the public A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally News agency (alternative A news agency is an organization of Journalists established to supply News reports to organizations in the News trade Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast" that is published by electrical methods instead of the older methods such as printed newspapers Online journalism is defined as the Reporting of facts produced and distributed via the Internet. Photojournalism is a particular form of Journalism (the collecting editing and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast that creates images in order to tell Alternative media are media (newspapers radio television movies Internet etc Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging is a form of Blogging for which the medium is Video. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends A reporter is a type of Journalist who Researches and presents information in certain types of Mass media. Editing Language, Images or Sound through correction condensation organization and other modifications in various media A columnist is a Journalist who writes material on a regular basis for publication in a series A photographer is a person who takes a Photograph using a Camera. Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary For the Wikipedia guideline regarding editing articles see WikipediaManual of Style. News is any new information or information on Current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or Word of mouth in newspapers) as well as in news items that air on radio and television. A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. News is any new information or information on Current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or Word of mouth Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic News style encompasses not only vocabulary and sentence structure, but also the way in which stories present the information in terms of relative importance, tone, and intended audience. Information as a concept has a diversity of meanings from everyday usage to technical settings
News writing attempts to answer all the basic questions about any particular event in the first two or three paragraphs: Who? What? When? Where? and Why? and occasionally How? (ie. In Journalism, the Five Ws (also known as the Five Ws (and one H or simply the Six Ws) is a concept in News style, Research, and "5 W's"). This form of structure is sometimes called the "inverted pyramid," to refer to decreased importance of information as it progresses. The inverted pyramid is a Metaphor used to illustrate how information should be arranged or presented within a text in particular within a news story.
News stories also contain at least one of the following important characteristics: proximity, prominence, timeliness, human interest, oddity, or consequence.
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Overview
While newspapers, like encyclopedias, generally adhere to an expository writing mode and style, this has changed over time as journalism ethics and standards have (debatably) increased to become more objective and less sensationalistic. Expository writing is a rhetorical mode of Writing in which the purpose of the author is to inform explain describe or define his or her subject to the reader Journalism ethics and standards comprise principles of Ethics and of good practice as applicable to the specific challenges faced by professional Journalists Historically Objectivity is a significant principle of Journalistic professionalism. Sensationalism is a manner of being extremely Controversial, loud or attention grabbing There are debated degrees of professionalism among particular news agencies, and their reputability or public value, according to professional standards of idealism and depending on what the reader wants from a news story, may be tied to their ability to be objective. The term profession is applied to those persons who have specialized and technical skill or knowledge which they apply for a fee to certain tasks that ordinary and unqualified people cannot News agency (alternative A news agency is an organization of Journalists established to supply News reports to organizations in the News trade In its most ideal form, news writing strives to be intelligible to the vast majority of potential readers, as well as to be engaging and succinct. Within the limits created by these goals, news stories also aim for a kind of comprehensiveness. However other factors are involved, some of which are practical and derived from the media form, and others stylistic.
Among the larger and more respected newspapers, fairness and balance is a major factor for the presentation of information. Commentary is usually confined to a separate section, though each paper may have a different overall slant. Editorial policy dictates the use of adjectives, euphemisms, and idioms. Papers with an international audience for example, usually use a more formal style of writing.
The specific choices made by a news outlet's editor or editorial board are often collected in a style guide or stylebook; common commercial stylebooks are the "AP Style Manual" and the "US News Style Book". A style guide or style manual is a set of standards for design and writing of documents either for general use or for a specific publication or organization The main goals of news writing can be summarized by the ABCs of journalism: accuracy, brevity, and clarity. [1]
Terms and structure
Journalistic prose is explicit and precise, and tries not to rely on jargon. As a rule, journalists will not use a long word when a short one will do. They use subject-verb-object construction and vivid, active prose. They offer anecdotes, examples and metaphors, and they rarely depend on colorless generalizations or abstract ideas. News writers try to avoid using the same word more than once in a paragraph (sometimes called an "echo" or "word mirror").
The most important structural element of a story is the lede or lead—the story's first, or leading, sentence. [2] Although some would spell the word as lede others maintain that the beginning text should be described with the word lead. Charnley (1966) stated that "an effective lead is a "brief, sharp statement of the story's essential facts" (p. 166. ). The lede/lead is usually the first sentence, or in some cases the first two sentences, and is ideally 20-25 words in length. The top-loading principle applies especially to ledes, but the unreadability of long sentences constrains its size. This makes writing a lede an optimization problem, in which the goal is to articulate the most encompassing and interesting statement that a writer can make in one sentence, given the material with which he or she has to work. While a rule of thumb says the lede should answer most or all of the 5 Ws, few ledes can fit all of these. In Journalism, the Five Ws (also known as the Five Ws (and one H or simply the Six Ws) is a concept in News style, Research, and
Article ledes are sometimes categorized into hard ledes and soft ledes. A hard lede aims to provide a comprehensive thesis which tells the reader what the article will cover. A soft lede introduces the topic in a more creative, attention-seeking fashion, and is usually followed by a nut graf (a brief summary of facts). See also News style In Journalism, a nut graf (sometimes spelled nut graph or nut 'graph, and also called a billboard) is one [3]
Media critics often note that the lede can be the most polarizing subject in the article. It can be said that often critics find bias based on an editor's choice in headline and lede.
Example Lede-and-Summary Design
Humans will be going to the moon again. The NASA announcement came as the agency requested ten gazillion dollars of appropriations for the project. . . .
Example Soft-Lede Design
NASA is proposing another space project. The agency's budget request, announced today, included a plan to send another person to the moon. This time the agency hopes to establish a long-term facility as a jumping-off point for other space adventures. The budget requests approximately ten gazillion dollars for the project. . . .
Two other terms common in editing are hed and dek or deck. Hed is used to denote an article's headline or heading. Dek refers to a quick blurb or article teaser. [4]
Inverted pyramid
Journalism instructors usually describe the organization or structure of a news story as an inverted pyramid. The inverted pyramid is a Metaphor used to illustrate how information should be arranged or presented within a text in particular within a news story. The journalist top-loads the essential and most interesting elements of his or her story, with supporting information following in order of diminishing importance.
This structure enables readers to quit reading at any point and still come away with the essence of a story. It allows people to enter a topic to the depth that their curiosity takes them, and without the imposition of details or nuances that they would consider irrelevant.
Newsroom practicalities represent another rationale. The inverted pyramid structure enables sub-editors and other news staff to quickly create space for ads and late-breaking news simply by cutting items ("throw-aways") from the bottom ("cutting", literally, at the papers that still use traditional paste up techniques). Paste up refers to a method of creating or laying out publication pages that predates the use of the now-standard computerized page design Desktop publishing programs The structure frees sub-editors to truncate stories at almost any length that suits their needs for space.
Poor structure typically begins with a faulty lede. Steeped in the raw material of their interviews and research, apprentice news writers often fail to anticipate what readers will find most interesting or to sum up the information quickly. These elements of their story they present only after their lede and in an article's later paragraphs. This is the reason for the popular newsroom admonition: "Don't bury the lede!"
Some writers start their stories with the "1-2-3 lede". In News style writing burying the lede is beginning a piece with details of secondary importance to the reader while postponing more essential points of fact or narration This format invariably starts with a 5W opening paragraph (as described above), followed by an indirect quote that serves to support a major element of the first paragraph, and then a direct quote to support the indirect quote. .
Feature style
News stories aren't the only type of material that appear in newspapers and magazines. Longer articles, such as magazine cover articles and the pieces that lead the inside sections of a newspaper, are known as features. A feature story (also known as a feature article is an article in a Newspaper, a Magazine, or a news website that is not meant to report Breaking Feature stories differ from straight news in several ways. Foremost is the absence of a straight-news lede, most of the time. Instead of offering the essence of a story up front, feature writers may attempt to lure readers in.
While straight news stories always stay in third person point of view, it's not uncommon for a feature magazine article to slip into first person. The journalist will often detail his or her interactions with interview subjects, making the piece more personal.
A feature's first paragraphs often relate an intriguing moment or event, as in an "anecdotal lede". From the particulars of a person or episode, its view quickly broadens to generalities about the story's subject.
The section that signals what a feature is about is called the nut graf or billboard. See also News style In Journalism, a nut graf (sometimes spelled nut graph or nut 'graph, and also called a billboard) is one Billboards appear as the third or fourth paragraph from the top, and may be up to two paragraphs long. Unlike a lede, a billboard rarely gives everything away. This reflects the fact that feature writers aim to hold their readers' attention to the end, which requires engendering curiosity and offering a "payoff. " Feature paragraphs tend to be longer than those of news stories, with smoother transitions between them. Feature writers use the active-verb construction and concrete explanations of straight news, but often put more personality in their prose.
Feature stories often close with a "kicker" rather than simply petering out.
See also
References
- ^ Page Moved - Bill Parks, Journalism Instructor - Ohlone College
- ^ Lede (pronounced /ˈliːd/) is a traditional spelling, from the archaic English, used to avoid confusion with the printing press type formerly made from lead or the typographical term "leading". An article is a stand-alone section of a larger written work These nonfictional Prose compositions appear in Magazines Newspapers Academic journals A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth thereby transferring an image Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly In Typography, leading (ˈlɛdɪŋ rhymes with heading) refers to the amount of added vertical Spacing between lines of type [1][2]
- ^ Unzipped! Newswriting by Chris Kensler
- ^ What the Heck Is a Hed/Dek? Learning the Lingo in Periodical Publishing By Janene Mascarella
Charnley, M. V. (1966). Reporting (2nd. Ed. ). New York, NY: Holt.
Further reading
- Ellis, Barbara G. The Copy Editing and Headline Handbook (2007)
- Walter Fox. Writing the News: A Guide for Print Journalists (2001)
- Linda Jorgensen. Real-World Newsletters (1999)
- Mark Levin. The Reporter's Notebook : Writing Tools for Student Journalists (2000)
- Buck Ryan and Michael O'Donnell. The Editor's Toolbox: A Reference Guide for Beginners and Professionals, (2001)
- Allan M. Siegal and William G. Connolly. The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage: The Official Style Guide Used by the Writers and Editors of the World's Most Authoritative Newspaper, (2002)
- M. L. Stein, Susan Paterno, and R. Christopher Burnett, The Newswriter's Handbook Introduction to Journalism (2006)
- Bryan A. Garner. The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Court (1999)
- Philip Gerard, Creative Nonfiction: Researching and Crafting Stories of Real Life (1998)
- Steve Peha and Margot Carmichael Lester, Be a Writer: Your Guide to the Writing Life (2006)
- Andrea Sutcliffe. New York Public Library Writer's Guide to Style and Usage, (1994)
- Bill Walsh, The Elephants of Style: A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English (2004)
External links
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