I have been giving lectures on news writing and have had a number of presentations. This one, I worked on last month, when I was invited to speak on the same topic to Allen National High School students in Northern Samar. This presentation contains the basics of news writing and article ideas for the news page of the school paper. Through this, I hope to help fellow school paper advisers across the Philippines and maybe even beyond borders. Please feel free to contact me through gurugeri@yahoo.com for any journalism training you may want to invite me to. Thanks very much!

1. NEWS WRITING
In Pursuit of Untarnished Truth Since 1964
The Philippine Science High School Way
Prepared by
JERRY M. NOVENO
School Paper Adviser
PSHS Bicol Region Campus

3. What is News?
News is any event, idea
or opinion that is
timely, that interests
WORLD EXCLUSIVES
and affects a large
number of persons in
the community, and
that is capable of being
understood by them.

4. Accuracy
It refers to the
correctness of
statements, names,
figures, and other
information.

5. Objectivity
The news does not
take side and is not
impartial.

6. Factual
News consists of
actual persons and
events with nothing
invented.

7. Balance
It gives proper
emphasis on each
fact in relation to
another fact.

8. Concise
It is short
enough to
contain the most
important facts.

9. Timely
It is relevant,
considering
immediacy
or the
newest angle

10. Attribution
It pertains to proper
acknowledgment by the news
reporter of his/her sources.

11. Elements of News
What makes news newsworthy?

12.  TIMELINESS
The value of the news depends upon
the “newness” or immediacy of the
event. Timeliness refers to news
being “perishable”.

13.  Conducting a survey on students’ opinion
on the rumors on the possibility of a term
extension for Pnoy.
 Interviewing teachers about their
inhibitions over the mother tongue based
education

14.  SIGNIFICANCE
How meaningful will the event
appear to the receiver of the news?
A news story is appealing to the
readers, irrespective of their points
of origin, if it directly concerns them
or has great impact on their lives.

15.  Survey article on students’ high school
preferences and their parents’ influences
on such preferences
 Interview article on parents’ manner of
disciplining their children

16.  PROMINENCE
Prominent persons, places, things
and situations known to the public
by reason of achievement, positions
or wealth possess a strong news
interest enough to generate
readership.

17.  News on the top honor pupil in the batch
(motivation, study habits)
 News on teachers who have made
breakthroughs in their career, like
finishing doctorate
 News on the school principal’s
innovations in administration

18.  HUMAN INTEREST
Stories that speak of accomplishment,
love, hate, ambition, fear, jealousy,
sympathy, anger, generosity and
humor stir considerable reader
interest as these appeal to emotions.

19.  What teachers would have been
doing if they were not teaching.
 Canteen personnel; maintenance
personnel
 How a physically challenged
student manages to top his or her
class.

20.  NEGATIVITY
Bad news is good news. Stories about
disasters, crimes, personal tragedies
and other negative occurrences—
especially if unexpected and
extensive—are often used as selling
point of most newspapers.

21.  CONFLICT
Stories that talk of clashes of
interests, conflict among political
groups, bloody combats, and even
family feud also sell just as easily as
stories about tragedies

22.  News on how each batch (class) prepares
for the school intramurals
 News on pupil government election
preparations, how pupils attempt to draw
in votes or support from their peers
 News on students’ differing opinion
regarding educational tours

23.  ODDITY
News reporters should always be on
the lookout for extraordinary, unique
or extreme occurrences,
achievements or even human
qualities as these readily spark
curiosity among readers.

24.  ANIMALS
Stories about animals, especially
those unusual, are also newsworthy.

25.  Realizations about certain animals being
used for class discussions.
 Survey article on most popular house pet
(it may come with an infographic)

26.  SEX (Gender)
Accomplishments of people not
typically viewed appropriate by
virtue of their gender make it to front
page news.

27.  Why there are more boys in school than
girls.
 Why there are more female students who
make it to the honors list.

28.  DEVELOPMENT
Any progress like putting up of
schools, building of bridges, and
similar signs of progress are also
good news items.

29.  The implementation of K-12 curriculum
 Partnership with the outside community.
 New policies on the use of electronic
devices in the classroom
 Acquisition of new equipment for
classroom use

30.  NUMBER
Sweepstakes numbers, vital statistics,
election results, stories in games,
casualties, fatalities, price of goods,
and ages of women make good news.

31.  Increase in enrolment
 Nutritional status of studens
 Faculty profile (in terms of academic
degree)
 Students IQ levels (guidance services)
 Survey on the average number of hours
devoted to sleeping

32. How to Write a
STORY

33. Steps to Writing a News Story
List all your facts.
• Arrange your facts in a descending order,
or from the most important (or most
interesting) to the least important (or least
interesting).
• During the writing process, Always put the
news at the beginning (lead). Write the
lead making sure to play up the most
interesting or important points.

34. Steps to Writing a News Story
• Write the next paragraph or paragraphs
presenting the other highlights or
answering the questions not answered.
• Add other facts, keeping in mind their
descending order of importance.

35. The Inverted Pyramid Format
Lead: Most Important Facts
Next Most Important
Facts
Less
Important
Facts
Least Important
Information

36. Components of the
inverted pyramid format
Primary or main lead – usually a
single paragraph, it contains the
four “Ws” (what, who, where,
when)
Secondary or support lead – this
portion explains or complements
the main lead.

37. Components of the
inverted pyramid format
Details or particulars – to give flesh to the
story, all available facts are included here
especially those that would answer “W”
(why) and one “H” (how).
Background – Relevant past events are
recounted and incorporated in this portion
of the story. This portion may be deleted, if
space in the newspaper will not allow, but
still the story can stand.

38. Things to Remember
• One idea per sentence; if it cannot be done,
it should not exceed three sentences.
• Limiting sentence to not more than 25
words
• Arrange paragraphs in the descending
order of importance.
• Use strong verbs in active voice.
• Reduce difficult words to their simplest
terms.
• Choose precise words.
• Keep it simple.
• Give your source when necessary.

39. • Show, don’t tell.
• Identify all persons.
• Keep it objective; avoid editorializing.
• Have an angle; play up the dominant
points.
• Quote people.
• Avoid preaching at the end of the story.
• Be accurate and truthful.
• Watch out for errors of fact and grammar.

40. SAMPLE NEWS ITEM

41. Considerations in
Writing the Lead
The lead, or opening paragraph, is the most
important part of a news story. With so many
sources of information audiences simply are
not willing to read beyond the first
paragraph (and even sentence) of a story
unless it grabs their interest. A good lead
does just that. It gives readers the most
important information in a clear, concise
and interesting manner. It also establishes
the voice and direction of an article.

42. Tips in Writing the Lead
The lead should be a one-sentence
paragraph. The less words you use,
the more catchy your lead will be.
Ipinahayag ng Bise Presidente ngayong
hapon na pinag-usapan ng konseho ng
Lungsod ng Makati ang patungkol sa
pagtayo ng city hall ng lunsod noong
sya pa ang alkalde nito.

43. The form of the lead sentence is
straightforward declarative sentence,
usually with the verb in simple past
tense: subject-verb-object.
The Saint Agnes’ Academy grade
school department is conducting
today the annual school-based
press conference.

44. Use the active voice rather than the
passive voice; it is more forceful.
A suspension of classes in Albay was
announced this morning by Governor
Joey Salceda due to the heavy rains
affecting most parts of the province.
Governor Joey Salceda announced today a
suspension of classes in Albay due to the
heavy rains affecting most parts of the
province.

45. Do not forget about the time element. Tell
the readers in the lead when the news
happened.
The income classification of Goa,
Camarines Sur has jumped from second
class to first class, Mayor Antero Lim said.
The income classification of Goa,
Camarines Sur has jumped from second
class to first class, Mayor Antero Lim said on
Monday.

46. Do not clutter up the lead with adjectives
and adverbs.
Applied physics professor Rodel General
finally passed and joined the Lord on that
gloomy Monday morning at the age of 55,
following a long, courageous battle with
cancer.
Physics professor Rodel General died of
cancer on Monday. He was 55.

47. The lead should be simple, brief, compact,
vigorous, attractive, and should shoot
straight into the reader’s attention.
Campus Director Elsie Ferrer has issued
today a circular warning the faculty
members to inhibit from PSHS National
Competitive Examination (PSHS-NCE)
review.

48. News Lead Writing Workshop
Every Monday, scholars and employees gather in
front of the admin building for the flag rites.
After the flag rites on Monday, the school principal,
Elsie Ferrer, made a very important
announcement.
It was about the security guard’s report about
students going out of the campus for lunch. The
students come back to school 15 minutes late.
The announcement was that the students will no
longer be allowed to go out of the campus.

49. The family of Cristina Mendoza was grief-stricken. She was 51
years old and died of a heart attack last week. She left a
husband and four children. Because her death was so sudden
and unexpected, an autopsy had to be performed before the
funeral last Saturday. It was a big funeral, costing more than
Php50,000. More than 100 friends and relatives were in
attendance during the funeral. Today, the family received an
apologetic call from the medical examiner. Mrs. Mendoza’s
body is still in the morgue. The body they buried was that of a
woman whose corpse had been unclaimed for a month. The
error was discovered after the medical examiners office
realized the month-old corpse had disappeared. Someone
probably misread an identifying tag, they said. Also, the family
never viewed the remains, they kept the casket closed
throughout the wake. A relative said, "We went through all the
pain and everything, all over the wrong body, and now we
have to go through it again."

50. Maraming mga guro sa English sa mga junior at senior high school
sa ilang private schools sa Manila ay pinagbabasa ang kanilang mga
mag-aaral ng "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Ang nasabing
aklat ay isinulat ni Mark Twain. Ayun sa mga kritiko ng libro, kasama
na ang ibang mga magulang, ang nasabing aklat ay dapat na
ipagbawal sa lahat ng paaralan dahil ito ay racist (o nagpapalaganap
ng diskriminasyon. Matapos marinig ang mga reklamo, nagbigay ng
anunsyo si Jose Cepcon, ang Division Superintendent ng Manila, na
tanging mga mag-aaral sa ikaapat na taon lamang ang maaaring
magbasa ng aklat sa kanilang klase. Sinabi rin ni G. Cepcon na may
pananagutan ang mga guro na nagpapabasa ng nasabing aklat na
gabayan ang mga mag-aaral sa pagbabasa lalo pa’t sensitibo ang
mga nilalaman ng libro. Sinabi rin ni G. Cepcon na kahit na hindi na
ituturo ang librong nasabi sa junior high school, ang libro ay maaari
pa ring ilagay sa library para sa mga mag-aaral na gustong magbasa
nito. Ang anunsyo ay isinagawa sa Division Office Conference Hall
noong Lunes. Kasama sa pulong ang mga punong-guro ng iba’t
ibang high school sa buong Manila.