The Art Of Writing News

News writing is a key skill for journalists, but it helps with other types of writing as well. That’s because news writing is about telling a story quickly and concisely. Anyone can learn to do this, with a bit of help. Here’s how you can write the news and get your story across. The technique also works well for writing press releases.

News Writing Structure

News writing has its own structure. It’s called the inverted pyramid. This upside down triangle serves as a guide for how you include information in the story. Using the inverted pyramid means starting with the most important information, then putting the next most important info and so on. It can also serve as a guide for writing each paragraph in the story. Start with the most important point, then the next most important and so on.

The inverted pyramid has an interesting history. Before digital printing and desktop publishing, news was laid out manually. If a late breaking story came in and the editor needed to make room, then the editor would order another story to be cut. Having the most important information at the top meant that readers always got the essential parts of the story.

Writing The Facts

Another way to think of the inverted pyramid is that you start with the facts and then add the background. So, how do you know what background to add? It’s easy. You can use the 6Ws. Strictly speaking, there aren’t six Ws, there are actually 5Ws and 1H, but the formula seems to work. That mnemonic reminds us to include the who, where, what, why, when and how of a story.

Why is this? Think about how you tell a story to your friends. You might say: ‘You’ll never believe WHO I just saw!’ Then you might go on to tell the story of where the person was, what they were doing, and why it’s scandalous. We all want to hear about people – and that’s what news is about? Look at any news story and you will see that all of this information is in the first two paragraphs. Anything after that is background to the story.

Let me give another example. If I were writing about a car crash, I would say who was involved, when and where it happened, why it happened and how it happened. Those would be the main points and my story might look something like this:

Two people sustained serious injuries in a car crash at Hill Road at 6am today. The collision happened when Mr. Smith swerved into the opposite lane to avoid a dog in the road. Ms Jones, who was in that lane, was unable to stop in time. Both Mr. Smith and Ms Jones have been taken to the local hospital.

This is not a perfect example, but you get the idea – and now you can write the news too.

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Sharon on September 27, 2007 | Filed Under Freelance Writing

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24 Responses to “The Art Of Writing News”

Jay on September 29th, 2007 6:22 am

I was taught that the origin of the inverted pyramid structure was different: That battlefield reporters used it to get the most important parts of the story over the telegraph wires before they were damaged or cut by the combatants. Either way makes sense, though.
Daniel on September 29th, 2007 8:57 am

Jay, yeah that is the origin in fact. We have covered that on the “Inverted Pyramid” article that you can find on the right sidebar.

I guess Sharon was just sharing another anecdote related to it.
Sharon on September 29th, 2007 12:06 pm

Hi Jay, thanks for adding that information. I guess the inverted pyramid makes sense both for both news reporting and news editing.
wannabe writer on September 29th, 2007 12:06 pm

Thanks for this post - please write more about news writing and other non-fiction styles.
Sharon on September 29th, 2007 2:53 pm

Will do, wannabe writer. I’ve got a few more ideas for posts on non fiction writing.
Gary on September 30th, 2007 3:42 am

Sharon you got my attention that is for certain, I was told that I didn’t tell my story correctly, some said I wrote too much others said I didn’t tell a clear and concise story. I realized that many background details were needed to be understood and when I finally thought I was on my way I found out that I was only a pawn being abused over and over again. On one hand I didn’t give enough detail and on the other hand I was told I said too much.

I will link you up as a teacher in ‘how to’ write.

Thanks for sharing this, inverted pyramid, the art of writing news paper articles, indeed we learn as carriers you happen to read a few articles.
Sharon on September 30th, 2007 12:05 pm

Thanks, Gary. I think that once you know the basics it’s easy to write news stories - and it’s a good exercise for seeing that you’ve covered the basics in other stories as well.
Marx on September 30th, 2007 6:51 pm

Thanks for this entry. I just starting working at my college newspaper and am thinking of going the journalism route for a career. Any help I find is stellar.

Great website btw, especially for a person like me just starting to get their writing bearings.
Sharon on October 1st, 2007 5:42 pm

Hi Marx

Good luck with journalism. It’s a great career!
Jay on October 3rd, 2007 11:44 pm

Thanks all! Sorry I missed the sidebar. Great subject!
hughes.chen on April 15th, 2008 7:38 am

the art of news writing skills,basic ,but classic !i’m from mainland China,i’m a MAC student,one more colleage year to go,the article is great!