Note: There really is no single way of writing a news story. However, you will discover that most of the stories or blogs seen online or in paper appear to follow a certain formula. The formula for news story writing is. F= inverted pyramid.

I. The News Story Structure

A novel or play or nearly any other piece of writing begins with the setting or the groundwork of the plot; and then builds up to the climax. The news story, on the other hand, uses a reverse structure. It opens with a summary or the climax in its lead paragraph, and then develops the rest of the story by giving details either in chornological order or in the order of decreasing importance.

The logical reason for this type of structure is because it is a natural way of telling a story. "I just saw a fireman rescue a child from a burning building on Recto street," you will naturally begin if you want to tell your friend what you saw. More than likely, you will start your account with a description of the colorful patterns formed in the sky by the setting sun as you walked along Recto street, only to have your reveries broken by the wail of a fire siren. What you have done then is to give your listener a summary of the news you wish to convey; then you add the details.

Summarizing a news story in the opening paragraph has practical advantages. It facilitates reading and satisfies curiosity.

II. The Lead

Here's a poem by Rudyard Kipling:

I have six honest serving man,
They taught me all I knew;
Their names are What, Where and When
And How and Why and Who.

Here then are the famous five W's and the H that comprise the ingredients of a comprehensive lead. By merely seeing to it that they are all included is not enough. The good lead requires, among other elements, selectivity-- the determination of what elements is most important.

Let us take, for example, the explosion of a bomb (What) placed under a manhole cover (How) by a disgruntled emplyee who wanted to "get even" (Why, and to some extent, Who), at the corner of Recto St. and Quezon Blvd (Where) at 12pm (When), with thousands of people on the street, ,resulting in the death of the son of the mayor of the city, who was passing by at the moment, and 12 persons (Who). How would you handle the lead for this story?


Any one of the news elements in this case could serve as a springboard to propel you into the story. The opening words could emphasize any of the W's--What happened? Who was involved? When did it happen? Where did it take place? How did it happen? or Why? The poin is that htere is no formula one can apple which can guarantee a good lead. The experienced newsman can "feel" it carefully in his mind before he puts it on paper, and if he is not satisfied with it, he will tear the sheet out of this typewriter and try again--because he knows that once he has the good lead, the rest of the story tends to "tell itself". Even highly trained newspapermen are made constantly aware of theneed to strive for appropriate leads. So as bloggers, let's try to learn from them.

III. The Body of the Story

The body of the story should emerge from the lead, and the dominant point made in the opening paragraph must be fuly borne out and developed in the sentences that follow.

If the reporter starts with a summary lead to give the "story in a nutshell," then in the body of the story he has only the task of retelling the story in sufficient detail and with the facts and incidents arranged in logical order -- either of decreasin importance or chronological sequence. This oranization of material makes sense, for if the reader stops reading at any point, nothing omitted will be as important as what was read or left in the story.

Up Next.... Body of the News Story

Source: Principles of Campus Journalism by Elena Q. Tanodra, p.9-11.
*Note: Some words are edited on purpose to suit to the blogging needs.