Reporting and Writing: News Writing, Leads, Structure, Features and Interviews
News writing
News writing is plain, precise and front-loaded. Use short sentences, active voice, one idea per paragraph, attribution verbs such as said, told and stated, and the past tense for reported events. Answer the reader's who, what, when, where, why and how high in the story.
Leads
The lead is the opening paragraph and carries the story's most newsworthy element.
- Summary lead: the 5W1H in one or two sentences, standard for hard news.
- Delayed or narrative lead: withholds the point for effect, used in features.
- Question, quote, contrast, staccato and blind leads are alternatives, but each must still contain news rather than atmosphere.
Structure
The inverted pyramid puts the most important material first and descends in importance, so the story can be cut from the bottom. The nut graf, usually the third to fifth paragraph, tells the reader why the story matters now. Features may use the hourglass or a narrative arc but still need a peg, the reason the story is timely.
Features and interviews
Features go beyond the event: profiles, colour pieces, human-interest stories, explainers, opinion. Interviews need preparation, a stated purpose, a mix of open and closed questions, listening, follow-up questions, and a check of names, designations and technical terms. Record only with consent.
Worked example
A school wins a state science award. Weak lead: a function was held at the school on Monday. Repaired lead: Class XI students of Government HSS, Thrissur, won the state science award on Monday for a low-cost rainwater filter, beating 84 schools. Reasoning: the weak version opens with process; the repaired one leads with the result, the achievers and the differentiator.
Traps
Burying the lead under protocol, as in the President said. Editorialising inside a news story. Present tense for a past event outside headlines. Using claimed when said is the neutral verb.