Writing News Stories

Need help writing and organizing your news story? Follow the tips below from Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method by Carole Rich and Reporting for the Media by Fred Fedler et. al.

Get the lead right

• Determine the focus or central point of your story. Write a sentence that articulates the focus or central point at the top of your page. This could be your lead.
• Write several of these, then pick the best one.
• A good lead is written as a simple sentence — in subject, verb, direct object order. For ease of comprehension, it should be 20 words or less. But make sure it is no more than 30 words.
• Remember, in news writing, your story starts with the conclusion.

For more tips, get the handout: Tips on Writing Your News Story Lead.

Plan your story

• Jot down a rough order for your story.
• Consider using one of these methods:
  • write an outline or list key words or thoughts
  • order your facts or ideas from the most important to least important
  • group together information  – quotes, facts, etc. — that relates to a specific point or topic.
• Visualize your story plan.
• Remember, in news writing, your story is likely to be written in Inverted Pyramid Style. This means you will present the most important information first and so on.

For more tips, get the handouts:

• Using Quotations in a News Story 
• Writing the Speech or Meeting Story

Write it right

• Make sure each point in your story leads logically to the next.
• Mix quotations with paraphrased information, facts and anecdotes.
• When you have three or more sources in a story, use each source only once or in consecutive paragraphs to avoid confusion. Don’t weave back and forth among your sources, unless the source is well-known, such as the mayor.
• If you get to a rough spot that you know doesn’t sound right, let it go. Make a note to fix it later.
• Try to anticipate readers’ questions and answer them.
• Use active voice whenever possible.
• Write short sentences.
• Write simple sentences.
• Vary sentence length.
• The more difficult the information, the simpler the sentence.
• Avoid jargon.
• Break boring background information that you must include into several small paragraphs and place it where it fits, but not in one long, continuous section.

Proof for accuracy

• Read your story aloud.
• Check fact, titles, names, quotes for accuracy.
• Check for typos and spelling.

Get help with AP Style and grammar here.

 Still stuck? Free-write your first draft or use the tell-a-friend technique.