Who, What, Where, When, Why, How
Module 1, Activity 2.3 - Elements of a News Story
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Introduction:

One of the most difficult things to decide as a reporter is "what is news". In order to write the news you must first decide what stories need to be told and then you must decide how to tell them. Creativity in journalism comes in the form of these decisions. As a jounalist you will attempt to narrate a story in a new and interesting way for your audience. In this lesson, you will have a chance to consider different story angles through the creation of questions, to understand the elements of a news story and to write two different types of leads.

Activities:

Task One - Generate Ideas
As you may have done in other lessons, brainstorm a list of potential stories in your community. Come up with a list of 3-5 potential ideas for a story. For this assignment, assume that your audience is a group of students similar to yourself. Try to choose story ideas that you would be interested in reading.

For example:

If your idea is to write about the increased number of businesses in your community that are limiting the number of teenagers that are allowed into their store at one time, you may generate questions such as:

Have these businesses had problems with shoplifting?
Have the businesses specifically caught teenagers shoplifting?
How much merchandise has been lost in the last year from a particular business?
Have the businesses taken any other measures to protect themselves against shoplifting?
Are there any laws that prohibit these businesses from discriminating in this way?
Do other stores in your community have the same policy?
Do stores outside of your community also have this policy?
What are the Canadian statistics on teenagers caught stealing?

Task Two - Primary Questions and Elements of a News Story
Since you will not be able to answer all of the questions that you generate, you must choose one or two on which to focus. Look at all the questions that you wrote down in the alloted time and put a star by the three you think you are most likely to use in your research/article. Keep these ideas for a news story. You may choose to use them for a story you will write in a later lesson.

In order to write the news, you need to know the key elements in any news story. Read the information on news stories provided by the Media Awareness Network. The information covers types of news stories, leads, the body of a news story and tips for writing.

When you are done reading the information try this quiz to test your knowledge! Try to answer the questions without using the clues. If you check your answers and find that you have some incorrect, use the clue buttons to help you find the correct information.

Task Three - Leads
After your research, it is time to begin writing your article. One of the most important jobs that you have is writing the lead to your story. In writing your lead, you must decide if your story is hard news or soft news (review these terms if you are having trouble remembering).

You must now write two different leads for the same story. The handout contains facts of a hypothetical incident. You are to look at the facts of this case and write a hard news lead and a soft news lead.

Once you have written each lead, look back at the notes on hard and soft leads. Check to make sure that you have included everything that is required and make notes on what is missing. Alternatively, your teacher may ask you to have a peer make these comments.