Writing a News Report: A Review

Yesterday, we reviewed news report writing by analyzing a news story

from The Metro. Today, we are going to write a news report going
through the same exercise.

1. The lead is usually the first one to two sentences of a news

report and answers several important questions for the reader.
Read the headline of the news report you are about to write.
Use the picture to help you with your story.

Now come up with, from your imagination, answers to the

following prompts:

Who is the article about:

What has happened:

Where has it happened:

When did it happen:

An example of a good lead that answers two or more of the questions

above is:

Yesterday morning, two men were arrested outside Dairy

Queen on Dufferin Ave. after an altercation with police.

Now write your lead for your news report in the box provided below.
 2. The next step of the news report is to come up with more details
and specifics for your story. Some of these specifics or details
may also answer the “why” and the “how” in the news report.
Use your imagination to come up with more details in the news
report and list them next to the bullets below.

Once you have done this, answer the “why” and “how” of your
news report in the space provided below the bullets.

Details:

Why did this happen?:

How did this happen?:

3. To make your news report more interesting, use quotes from

interviews with witnesses of the event or others that may have
had some connection with the event. Again, use your
imagination.

Who are some people that you as a journalist may have interviewed for
your news report? What would they have said to a reporter?

Interview 1:

Interview 2:
Interview 3:

4. There are several ways journalists wrap up their news reports.

How do you want to wrap up your news report in an interesting
way? Choose to end your report with statistics, a plea to the
community or some other information you think might be a good
way to conclude the report.

Statistics:

or

Plea to community:

or

Other information not directly connected to the story:

5. Journalists write catchy headlines to grab the attention of their

readers. What is the headline you were given for your article?

Headline: ________________________________________________________
“How to Write an Effective News Story” reminders:

· News stories are written in third person. Do not

use “I” or “we”. Use instead, “Witnesses
stated” or “Investigators spoke to”

· News stories are direct and to the point. Write

concise, coherent and clear sentences.

· Answering the who, what, where, when, why and

how of the event helps develop the news report.

· News reports are based on facts. Make sure to

state specifics and details of the event
throughout the report.

· News stories are not narratives. You are not

summarizing the story, you are writing a news
story using events from the story you have read.

· Keep in mind that when you are writing a news

report, you are pretending to be a journalist. You
must use your imagination to come up with the
events and the interviews for your news story.
Name: __________________ Date: ______

News report Rubric

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

(limited) (satisfactor (good) (exemplary
y) )
Knowledge:
Shows
evidence of
understanding
content of
short story
Uses the 5 w’s
Thinking: uses
inferencing to
develop
content of
news story
including
quotes,
interviews,
wrap up
information
Communicatio
n:
Writing clear
and concise
with little
stylistic errors

Application:
follows proper
news report
formatting

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