How to Write Good News
News is information about events that are important, interesting or significant to readers, listeners or viewers. It is the job of news media – newspapers, magazines, radio and television – to inform and educate. They can also entertain, but the entertainment is usually provided in other areas – music and drama on radio and TV; cartoons and crosswords in newspapers.
A good news story begins with a snappy headline that captures the reader’s attention and makes them want to read on. This is often called the lede, and it may be a dramatic anecdote, a surprising fact or an important breaking development. It should also include the key elements of a news article – who, what, when, where and why – so that the reader can immediately put the news in context.
Ideally, the writer should avoid injecting their own opinion into a news story. This allows the reader to form their own opinion based on the facts. It is also helpful to let the subjects of a story do some of the talking, for example, interviewing them or taking quotes from their public statements.
Finally, a good news article will have a strong concluding sentence that is a restatement of the leading statement or places the news in context. It will also point out any future developments that could impact the topic. In the Internet age, there are many different sources of news. It is important to find several and compare them in order to get a balanced view of the situation.