Local Reporting, Feature Writing,

Parliamentary & Foreign Affairs etc

Reporting
If you need are writing anews report,
you need to concentrate on the four
important parets of a new story - the
news, context, impactand
emotion
The way you combine these four
elements will determine the
success of your news story

Balancing Facts and Style

Readers need to know the facts and who
or what may be affected by them
Related stories and background
information make up the context and
the emotional parts of the story show
the human side of it

Tips on writing a compelling and gripping news report

Facts: The facts will answer the:

who, what, when, where, why,
and how of the news event.
A
writer has a responsibility to make
sure his facts are accurate.

Style:
When writing a news report use theactivevoice
The active voice is more understandable and has
more impact
Make short, concise sentences with action
verbs Your language needs to be simple and
not have extra words that dont really contribute to
the focus of the story. (Eg the weather or how
someone is dressed doesnt need to be included
unless it has a bearing on the overall story
While you are writing, try to anticipate any
questions a reader might have while reading
your story

Local Reporting
When is local journalism not really
local?

Different beats

Crime
Weather
Health
Civic
Real estate
Business
Sports

Reporting: Features
Feature article adds depth and color to news
Eg a magazine that prints a story about a new type
of hearing aid in one issue may also run a feature
about how this technology has changed the life of
a hearing-impaired child.
Feature does not usually follow the inverted pyramid
structure of the typical news story.
A feature article is written using storytelling
techniques that grab the reader's attention
instead of simply providing facts.
Use quotes and anecdotes to add color to your story,
especially if your feature article is a profile of one
particular person.

 Incorporate details that use all 5 senses - describe

how things look, feel, taste, touch & sound (to make
the reader believe he or she is actually part of the story)
Don't include all of your research material. Dont have
to include quotes from everyone interviewed & statistics
from every secondary source.
The best features only make use of material that is
interesting & relevant.
Although feature writers can be a bit more creative
when structuring their articles, it's still important to get
the facts right.
Don't forget feature is supposed to be nonfiction.

Tips
1. Know your reader
2. Know your end goal
3. Explain why the reader should
care
4. Share your information
5. Anticipate questions

Business Journalism
is the branch ofjournalismthat
tracks, records, analyzes and
interprets the economic changes
that take place in a society
Business reporters are supposed to
make the complex worlds of
finance and commerce
intelligible to non-experts

 Business journalism is one of the most

fascinating aspects of media in recent
years as it has documented such wellknown corporate scandals as Enron,
WorldCom, Kingfisher, Maggi
Business journalisms history is much
more than recent scandals. It dates
back to some of the most important
events in the history of the United States
and the entire world.

Business and finance

reporters
need excellent contacts to breakexclusive
stories,
be able to write attention-grabbing features,
analytical features and
interviewmajor business & finance
personalities
Live, breaking news is an important element
of reporting in thissector
It is important to be able to challenge any
business and finance changes toexplore how
this will affect, staff, unions and the public

Sports Journalism
The sports journalism takes the
principles of general news reporting
covered in reporting and applies
them to the full range of sports
reporting skills

 Sports reporting needs knowledge

of different sports
The sports news cycle
Interviewing sports personalities
Sports news, sports public affairs
& sports politics
Sports features

Investigative Journalism
Investigative journalism is finding, reporting
and presenting news which other people try to
hid
It is very similar to standard news reporting,
except that the people at the centre of story will
usually not help you & may even try to stop you!!
The job of journalist is to let people know what
is going on in the community, the society
and the world around them.
Journalists do this by finding facts and telling
them to reader/listener/viewers

Why do societies need Investigative

Journalism?
People have a right to know about the society
in which they live, &about decisions which may
affect them
(even if people in power want to hide !)
People in power - whether in government, the
world of commerce, or any other group in
society - can abuse that power. They can be
corrupt, steal money, break laws, may be
incompetent & usually try to keep this knowledge
secret!
Journalists try to expose such abuse.

 Journalists also have a duty to watch how

well people in power perform their
jobs, especially those who have been
elected to public office
Journalists should constantly ask whether
such people are keeping their election
promises
Politicians and others who are not keeping
their promises may try to hide the fact;
journalists should try to expose it

Journalists should be able to expose abuse,

corruption & criminal activities in all fields of
public life, mainly:

Government
Companies
Criminals

Some facts
News value
Keep eyes and ears open
Correct facts, fits facts together,
check facts
Get evidence to check facts
Confidential sources
Threats
Work within law

Parliamentary Reporting
How to report parliamentary
proceedings
To cover parliament - a journalist
needs to know local laws,
understand parliamentary
procedure,
know about
the politicians &
political parties involved &
have a

 The parliamentary reporter witnesses,

summarises and reflects all of this to the
public
Familiarise yourself with these rules, otherwise
you may find yourself in contempt of parliament
Be clear readers to be able to understand every
word and every sentence written, immediately
A good reporter lays out all the arguments, fairly
& accurately, and lets the audience decide (Keep
personal views out!)

 The political context: Politicians

always want to be presented in the
best possible light
Parliamentary proceedings can
sometimes be dull, but are
important. So make them interesting

Foreign Affairs Reporting

Government criticism of the press is hardly new
Reporters are banned, jailed & in some instances
- tortured or shot
Dispatches are censored, and news sources are
stringently muzzled. International news agency
reports are controlled and foreign publications
are seized
The Ethiopian government expelled all three
Western correspondents - accusing them of "bias
and distortion."
ISIS what is happening today?