Course No.: 15 [Mass Communication and Media Studies]
Batch:
2014-16
Name: Vanita Tadha
Roll No.: 30
Qualification: MA Part–2 [Sem-4]
Enrollment No.: Pg14101029
Submitted to: Department of English [Maharaja
Krishnakumarsihji Bhavnagar University, Gujarat, India.]
How to write? (News, articles, stories)
“A minute observer and listener can do better journalism”
First thing require is to gather information and for this
several activities a journalist have to do. You have interviewed all the people
involved and observe everything and then you have to write. Now you have pages
of your note book in which you have written and highlighted fact and
information. You may have something which can help you like internal thought,
media, and some from experts.
When should start writing?
“A best building is that which created out of plan”
Do not start until you have plan. Read your note twice and
thrice try to understand. First differentiate the information like most
important piece and less important. Note down the quotes you want to use. This
gathered information is not only important but you have to decide what is more
important and what is less important, to establish a hierarchy of pieces of
information. And this is the part wher you must think about you audience. “Put
yourself under the shoes of your audience” It is not necessarily what interest
you most, but what will interest them. It may not be the same thing, like
feeling, emotion understanding etc. but it is more important. You could imagine
as you are reading and what things audience give joy or entertainment or
information.
“A minute observer
and listener can do better journalism”
It also depends on the situation, issue, area, and course
for whom you are writing. You can assume more knowledge if you are writing for
a specialist publication, or a specialist selection of newspaper, magazine or
anything.
For examples:
1. A cricket,
football or any game can assume knowledge of the rules of that game.
2. Any magazine or
newspaper assumes the reader knows what a super is.
3. In educated
field it considers the level of the student.
But some specialist publication set out things for education
computer and magazine are good example of this. Through the interest of the
reader you can assume how to use specific piece of software cannot. So
understand the intention of the publication you write for or if you are a
freelance you seek to sell it.
What can be background of news?
The background of the area like in which sector and how it
is relevant is also suggesting how to write. The vocabulary and phrase should
be related with that point for example if you want to write political things
than there must be the vocabularies which are contextual because otherwise it
may create problem among people. An article writer must have bunch of
vocabulary of hybridity life so all can get equal favor to understand or
explain.
As a writer with large vocabulary is not giving the sense of
impression or attractive because some may misinterpret it or ordinary man can’t
get it so it may be the reason of losing audience’s attention. Sometimes
familiar words also help to understand in better way. One thing is they do not use it in regular
speech but it damage or insult the reader and may they feel inadequate and that
turns them off.
The best writing for popular journalism is hard to do. It is
readily understandable, instantly readable and, if it is done well, makes you
want to read on. Space is always the most precious commodity in a newspaper.
Long words and sentences take up more space. Self-indulgent writing pleases
nobody except perhaps the writer.
What are the messages for writing?
Stephen King, who has sold more novels than most, reflected
on his craft in On Writing, and drew a similar message: "One of the really
bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking
for long words because you're maybe a little bit ashamed of your short ones.
This is like dressing up a household pet in evening clothes. The pet is
embarrassed and the person who committed this act of premeditated cuteness
should be even more embarrassed."
So the attractive message in journalistic writing is: Keep
it simple and short because of speedy era people do not like to go for hard.
One of the greatest editors and journalists is Harold Evans,
who has written one of the best books on journalistic writing, Essential
English for Journalists, Editors and Writers. He summed it up thus: "It is
not enough to get the news. We must be able to put it across. Meaning must be
unmistakable, and it must also be succinct. Readers have not the time and
newspapers have not the space for elaborate reiteration. This imposes decisive
requirements. In protecting the reader from incomprehension and boredom, the
text editor has to insist on language which is specific, emphatic and concise.
Every word must be understood by the ordinary reader, every sentence must be
clear at one glance, and every story must say something about people. There
must never be a doubt about its relevance to our daily life. There must be no
abstractions."
Tips for use of language and encouraging reader
The intro
This is about the staring or the opening paragraph. The
traditional form of beginning paragraph is still dominant.
There are two related purposes:
1) To engage the
reader instantly and
2) To summarize
This structure is known as “inverted pyramid”
It was always easier and faster to cut a story from wherever
we want to make it short. The best way to cut is from bottom. News article
always have to be cut because reporters write them too long and it could not
find apace in newspaper.
An article must give the answer of few question:
Why story is being published?
What is the newest, most interesting, most important, most
significant, most attention-grabbing aspect of the story?
Its not just the summary of everything but there should
contain two or three facts in it. The best intro of anything is to demand for
more reading that you read more. The worst will make it likely that you will
move on.
As Tony Harcup puts it in his Journalism, Principles and
Practice: "The intro is crucial because it sets the tone for what follows.
A poorly written intro might confuse, mislead or simply bore the reader - a
well-written intro will encourage the reader to stay with you on the strength
of the information and angle you have started with."
How to finish rest of the story or article?
Now you got the intro so after this there will be second
important paragraph that you are going to write. Reader got key ideas and
passing through it they will hold your story until the end. You have already
planned structure, hierarchy of information.
After the intro you can add subordinate information, detail
and quotes. And doing this entire thing story reads smoothly. News stories are
providing information, and there is nothing more frustrating for the reader
than finishing a story with unanswered questions still hanging.
Journalism students are taught about the five Ws:
1. Who
2. What
3. When
4. Where and
5. Why
These are a useful
tool to check you have covered all the bases or not. This question method all
will always apply. It is difficult to depersonalize the self when you read or
write but there must look according to mass.
There is always a
problem over how much knowledge to assume, particularly with a running story of
which today's is another episode. You cannot always start from the beginning
for the benefit of reader recently arrived from Mars, but you can include
sufficient to ensure it is not meaningless. It is a matter of judgment.
Be Active not passive
Always use active tense in news writing, and particularly in
intros. The active tense is immediate react to reader.
Be Positive even if it is negative
If it is negative yet use positive sense otherwise It will
gives negative impact to reader. News is more engaging if it describes
something that is happening, rather than something that is not.
Foe Example:
Not: "The government has decided not to introduce the
planned tax increase on petrol and diesel this autumn." But: "The
government has abandoned plans to raise fuel taxes this autumn."
Which type of quotes should use?
Long quotes make story hard to understand so the quotes
should be direct, short, and simple. Journalists paraphrase speeches and
reports to focus on the main points, and to make them shorter and more
comprehensible. It is also there like people uses indirect quotes to understand
in better way. Quotes can add different tone, voice, emotion and feelings.
Quotes can make from the event or the sentence used by
people or the natural or current languages. Never use past word like “said”.
Officials
Rough or the particular regional language may trouble to
reader because words and meanings are contextual or relational. If the letter
is from bank manager, council officers then there should be official language.
Acronyms
Because of ver limited space people ar using Achronyms but
sometime reader are not aware of this there shoud be expalanation
What do the following acronyms stand for? If you don't know
instantly, then you can be sure there will be plenty of readers who don't.
Acronyms: OECD, SEO; CBI; ISA; Fifa; PCT
Answers:
OECD: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
SEO: Search Engine Optimisation
CBI: Confederation of British Industry
ISA: Individual
Savings Account
Fifa: Fédération Internationale de Football Association
Extra source:
1. Writing a news
article is different from writing other articles or informational pieces,
because news articles present information in a specific way.....
Read more...
2. Here's something very few people realize: Writing news
stories isn't particularly difficult. It does take practice and not everyone
will be an expert but if you follow the guidelines below you should be able to
create effective news items without too much stress...
Read more...
3. 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...
Read more...
Conclusion
Things should be clear if you want to be a successful
journalist. There are many works for journalist to publish something. A small
mistake can be problematic for his/her job so he/she must take care of
language, pattern of article, story or news. It is not just summary you have to
provide but beyond it they have to do like collect the information,
differentiate it, Arrange in chronological way. They should be aware of ancient
issue as well as present because it will help you to connect the dot. Every
time they have to take care of how, where, when, who is doing? To be a better
journalist first thing need is to be good listener, good observer.
Works Cited
about .
http://homeworktips.about.com/od/paperassignments/a/How-To-Write-A-News-Article.htm.
26 2 2016. <http://homeworktips.about.com>.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/sep/25/writing.journalism.news.
25 9 2008. <http://www.theguardian.com>.
