How to Write Newsworthy Stories
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News is information about important events that affect people, places and things. It has been passed down orally for centuries, but the development of writing has allowed it to spread more quickly and widely. In modern times, radio, television and the internet have played a large part in news dissemination. News stories are generally based on facts, but may contain opinions and perspectives. It is important for writers of news articles to remain unbiased and to provide factual information only.
A good starting point for a story is to identify what makes it interesting or significant. This can be a dramatic anecdote, a surprising fact or an event that is causing concern or anxiety in society. There are six key factors that help determine a story’s newsworthiness: timeliness, originality, impact, significance, interest and relevance.
When deciding whether to publish a news story, journalists will consider how many of these criteria it meets. Timeliness is an obvious factor, with major world events or breaking news being the most newsworthy. However, other criteria such as the impact of a story on the lives of people can be just as important. It is often said that “if it bleeds, it leads.”
People are interested in stories about themselves and their family and friends. This can include celebrity news, but also everyday stories such as weddings, births or job promotions. People are also interested in news about the environment, health, education, sport and business.
In a country with a strong culture of freedom of expression, it is possible for writers to produce news that goes beyond the’sunny side of life’ and explore more serious or controversial issues. It is, of course, necessary for these stories to be accurate and fair, but there can be a degree of flexibility.
A writer of a news article should aim to include all the key information in the lead and first paragraphs. This is often referred to as the nut graph, and it answers the questions: “What, when, who, where and why?” Having all this in the beginning of the article means that if readers do not read the rest of the piece they have at least been exposed to the most important points.