The News Article
Plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts, organising, expanding and developing ideas through experimenting with text structures, language features, literary devices and multimodal features for specific purposes and audiences.
A news article is built upside down. The most important information goes first, so an editor can cut from the bottom and lose nothing. That single rule shapes everything else.
Builds onYr 8 · The Review
Method
The inverted pyramid
Most important first, least important last. Never save the best fact for a big finish — that is essay structure.
The five W's in the first two sentences
Who, what, where, when, why. If a reader stops after the opening, they should still have the story.
Report, do not argue
A news article carries no opinion of its own. Views belong to named people, in quotation marks.
Attribute every claim
Residents are angry is an assertion. “We are furious,” said resident Dana Cole is reporting.
Worked example
e.g. Write a news article for a local paper about the closure of the town's only public swimming pool.
- Headline — present tense, active, under eight words.Council closes town's only public pool
- By-line, and place if the paper uses one.By Aisha Nkomo, Ashgrove
- The lead paragraph. All five W's, one or two sentences, no build-up.The Ashgrove public pool closed on Friday after the council found structural damage in the main tank, ending forty years of use.
- Second paragraph — the next most important fact, usually the consequence.More than 300 children enrolled in term swimming lessons are affected.
- First quotation. Name and role, then what they said.“We were given four days' notice,” said swimming coach Dana Cole.
- Background — how it came to this. Only now, not before.The pool was last resurfaced in 2009 and has failed two of the past three inspections.
- A second quotation, ideally from the other side.A council spokesperson said repairs would cost “in the region of two million dollars”.
- Close with the least essential detail — what happens next, or where to find more.A public meeting is scheduled for 14 August.
Practice
Each of these tests whether you are reporting or writing an essay.
1
A learner opens: Swimming is an important part of any community. For many years, the people of Ashgrove have enjoyed… What is wrong?
AnswerIt is an essay introduction. A news lead states the news in sentence one — the pool closed on Friday, and why. Background comes later, if at all.
2
Rewrite as reporting: The council has made a terrible decision that will hurt local families.
Answer“This decision will hurt local families,” said parent representative Dana Cole. The judgement is now attributed to a named person rather than asserted by the writer.
3
Why does the inverted pyramid exist?
AnswerSo an editor short of space can cut paragraphs from the bottom without losing the story. It also means a reader who stops early still has the essential facts.
4
Which of these belongs in the lead: the cost of repairs, the closure date, the history of the pool?
AnswerThe closure date. It is the news. Cost belongs in the middle, history near the end.