THE INVERTED PYRAMID: News reports structure
Structure and scope of News Reports
‘Always grab the reader by the throat in the first paragraph, sink your thumbs into his windpipe in the second and hold him against the wall until the tag line.’- Paul O’Neill. News report writing always starts with the most important fact. When you report on a football game, you do not start with the kick-off; you begin with the final score. A news report has a beginning, middle and an end. News stories in contrast to this will blurt out something and then explain themselves. News reports are mostly active rather than in passive voice and are written in concise language. Paragraphs are short so as to set in newspaper columns. Shorter paragraphs are more likely to keep the attention of readers. Attribution meaning ‘somebody saying something’ is used in the news- reports to present a range of views over which the reporters can appear to remain neutral. Most news reports follow the ‘Kiss and tell’ formula- Kiss standing either for ‘keep it short and simple’ or ‘keep it simple, stupid.’ Complexity, abstract notions, ambiguity and unanswered questions tend to be frowned upon and deleted out of news copy.
News reports structure should have-
- Stories should have the main idea given to the journalist for covering of an incident.
- Content of the news report should be comprehensive and balanced.
- The intro should contain the main point of the story and should be clearly developed with the most important information coming early in the story, followed by a coherent, logical and readable structure.
- Personal comments should be avoided.
- Facts should be presented logically.
- The style, context and facts should be accurate. The news reports aim is to meet the requirements of everyday life as lived by everyday readers.
- So it largely depends on elements like directness, pace, variety and information. It aims to state the facts quickly and clearly.
A news report has three parts:
- 1. The headline:
- a Byline. In design, a byline is a short phrase that indicates the name of the author of an article in a publication. Used in newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other publications, the byline tells the reader who wrote the piece.
- 2. The first paragraph -Lead
- 3. The remainder of the news story
1. The headline:
The Headline first attracts us. It stands out in bold black type. It message is abrupt and often startling. It makes us stop and look. It tells us quickly what the story covers. Its function is to attract our attention. Though, the headline writing belongs to the copyreader’s province and not to the reporter’s.
The first paragraph -Lead
The Lead One of the most important elements of news writing is the opening paragraph or two of the story. Journalists refer to this as the "lead," and its function is to summarize the story and/or to draw the reader in depending on whether it is a "hard" or "soft" news story .
The opening paragraph of the introduction paragraph of the news story is called the ‘lead’. Though in journalistic practice we also use this word for biggest headline on the front page of newspaper, calling it the ‘lead story’. The main purpose of the intro or the lead is to make the reader want to read on, motivate them to move further into the news story and state the important facts first. Lead to a story "grabs the reader, informs the reader, and teaches the reader how to read the rest of the story."
The lead remains the primary concern of the news writer. As the present day reader is the man who both runs and reads, present day newspapers seek to facilitate his getting the information quickly. The convention has developed of telling the main facts of a news story in its first lead paragraph. Writing this lead also involves answering the questions, which would occur to any normal person when confronted with the announcement of a news story.
These questions, called the five W’s are: Where? Who? What? When? Why?
Suppose the news story concerns a fire. In writing the lead-the reporter would answer the questions, ‘What?’ “Fire broke out,” he would write. He would answer the question, ‘Who?’ and ‘Where?’ by telling whose premises were burnt and giving their location. He would answer “When” by telling the time the fire broke out and how long it lasted. ‘Why?’-in this case the cause the usual carelessly tossed cigarette butt. The reporter can also answer the ‘How’ in this story in several ways by describing the type of fire, or by answering ‘How much’? Here, he would estimate the probable lost and find out if premises had been covered by insurance and if so by what amount.
The Body
The Body The body of the story involves combining the opinions of the people you interview, some factual data, and a narrative, which helps the story flow.
The role of a reporter is to find out what people are thinking of an issue and to report the opinions of different stakeholders of an issue. As a reporter, you are the eyes and ears for the readers. You should try to provide some visual details to bring the story to life this is difficult if you have conducted only phone interviews, which is why face-to-face is best. You should also try to get a feel for the story.
Keep your eyes and ears open; listen to what your friends are talking about.
Read everything you can get your hands on; get story ideas from other newspapers and magazines.
Think of a youth angle to a current news story.
3The remainder of the news story=Conclusion
The end is the conclusion of the news reports. From the headline and the lead one comes to the rest of the story. He selects the most important incident or fact for his lead. Then he proceeds by selecting the next most important incident, fact or detail, the next most important after that, and so on till he reaches least important phase of all. Guided by his idea of news importance, the story assumes graphically the shape inverted pyramid
The end will be at the peak of the inverted pyramid with the facts or incidents of least value. When writing a news story for an organization you should always retain the idea that your text is to be read and understood by others. Thus a story is like building blocks, which should be linked logically to each other.
Therefore, there should be continuity between the intro, the lead and the end of the news story. Thus, the most popular format of news writing is the Inverted Pyramid This is the most widely used approach in news writing. The information is given in the descending order of importance.
Multiple Choice Quiz
- The primary advantage of the inverted-pyramid organization is that it
- a. is a natural way of telling any story.
b. rarely contains any surprises for the reader.
c. allows the reader to stop after reading only one or two paragraphs and still get the most important information.
d. locks reporters into a formula and discourages innovation. - The second paragraph of an inverted-pyramid story should
- a. continue with the most newsworthy point, adding details and color.
b. start an entirely new topic.
c. name people, without further clarification, who are referred to in the lead.
d. provide background information. - Stories that include many important subtopics often deal with these by
- a. summarizing the most important topic or two in the lead and then mentioning others in the second paragraph.
b. summarizing all subtopics in the lead.
c. providing a vague lead that can could apply to any of the subtopics and then developing each in the story.
d. summarizing the most important topic and ignoring the rest. - Which of the following is NOT one of the errors beginning news writers commonly make in the second paragraphs of inverted-pyramid stories?
- a. They emphasize the names of sources for and subjects of the news story.
b. They put lots of background information in the paragraph.
c. They name, without elaboration, a person referred to in the lead.
d. They continue with additional newsworthy information about the topic summarized in the lead. - The three parts of an hourglass story are
- a. the inverted-pyramid top, the funnel and the base.
b. the inverted-pyramid top, the turn and the chronological conclusion.
c. the lead, the funnel and the chronological conclusion.
d. the chronological lead, the turn and the pyramid base. - The advantages of the hourglass story structure are that it
- a. puts the most newsworthy information at the end of the story where it will be best remembered.
b. Forces the writer to stick to the facts and not use complicated narrative devices.
c. puts the most newsworthy information highest but allows the writer to develop the story as a narrative.
d. Allows the writer to invent scenes and dialogue. - The focus style story includes a nut graph, which
- a. states the central point of the story and explains how the lead illustrates that point.
b. is always the first paragraph of the story.
c. is never more than one paragraph in length.
d. takes the reader in a wholly new direction from the lead. - A focus story lead is often
- a. a funny story to entice the reader to a story that may not be that interesting.
b. 10 or 15 paragraphs long.
c. a one-sentence paragraph that states the story’s central point.
d. a description or anecdote that may not be newsworthy in itself but which illustrates a larger problem. - A news reporter writing a narrative style story writes as a playwright or a novelist would by
- a. making up a story to suit the writer’s purpose.
b. creating dialogue and attributing it to people.
c. describing how people interact with each other and their surroundings.
d. creating characters, events and places. - Writers can use words or short phrases to move a story from one topic to another. Five common types of transitional words are
- a. time, addition, causation, comparison and contrast.
b. time, place, purpose, goal and manner.
c. location, causation, meditation, regimentation and deviation.
d. addition, subtraction, comparison, contrast and location. - Descriptions help readers visualize people and places. The best descriptions use
- a. trite phrases and generalities.
b. lots of adjectives and adverbs.
c. exaggeration and hyperbole.
d. concrete, factual details - If there is humor in a news story, it should be apparent
- a. because the writer says something is funny or humorous.
b. from the facts of the story.
c. because the writer has worked hard to inject humor into it.
d. from the way in which the writer exaggerated the facts. - If a news story reports on a controversy in which one person has made accusations against another, the reporter should
- a. include the response of the accused party in the same story.
b. write a separate story for the same day’s paper on the accused person’s response.
c. write a separate story for the next day on the accused person’s response.
d. identify the accused person in only the most general terms to avoid a libel suit.
- A lead written for so as to be easily understood by as many people as possible should be
- a. 18-20 words.
b. 20-35 words.
c. 35-30 words.
d. 30-45 words. - Which of the following should a summary news lead NOT try to do
- a. Provide the most important information.
b. Stress what is unusual or interesting.
c. Convey the most recent information.
d. Lure readers in to reading a story they are not interested in. - A blind lead is one that
- a. withholds some facts so the reporter can focus on the most important ones.
b. was written by a visually impaired reporter.
c. blindly includes facts about the story.
d. obscures interesting information as a duck blind obscures hunters. - Leads often omit the names of the people involved in news stories because
- a. no one will care who is involved.
b. their identities are less important than what happened to them.
c. ethical journalists always omit the names of people involved in news events.
d. the names are best left to the last paragraph of the story. - Good news leads are usually structured so as to use
- a. passive-voice verbs.
b. subject-verb-object word order.
c. long introductory clauses.
d. multiple prepositional phrases. - The best verbs for leads are
- a. some form of the verb “to be.”
b. passive-voice verbs.
c. compound verbs.
d. active-voice verbs. - Summary news leads often stress the unusual aspects of a story because
- a. “news” is, by definition, something that deviates from the usual.
b. editors find it easier to write headlines for such stories.
c. editors find it easier to sensationalize such stories.
d. none of the other choices. - One generally accepted way reporters keep a news lead objective is to
- a. attribute opinions stated by others.
b. avoid covering controversial stories.
c. include as many adjectives and adverbs as possible.
d. make sure the reader knows what their opinion is. - Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons news leads generally should not start with the attribution
- a. Names and titles are dull.
b. Always starting with the attribution makes all leads sound the same.
c. Readers are not going to care who said what.
d. The source of the statement is usually not the most important information. - A lead that emphasizes the time or place at which a story occurred is called
- a. a summary news lead.
b. a basic news lead.
c. a label lead.
d. an agenda lead. - A lead that mentions a topic but fails to reveal what was said or done about is called
- a. a summary news lead.
b. a label lead.
c. an alternative news lead.
d. an agenda lead. - Which of the following is NOT among the things lead writers should avoid doing?
- a. State the news as concisely as possible.
b. Include facts that are obvious or routine.
c. Emphasize what did not happen.
d. Exaggerate the facts to make them more interesting. - Which of the following is among the things lead writers should avoid doing?
- a. Omit facts that are obvious or emphasizing what is routine.
b. Stress what is unusual about an event or situation.
c. Exaggerate the facts to make them more interesting.
d. State the news as succinctly as possible. - What is the problem with the following lead? “The school board adopted new regulations Tuesday that will affect all students and parents.”
- a. It is too specific and should be more general.
b. It lacks attribution.
c. It is too general and lacks specific details.
d. It should use present tense verbs.
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