NEWS WRITING & REPORTING

News Writings & Reporting

News

·         Is a small brief report of an event of recent occurrence

·         Information about recent events or developments.

·         New information about specific and timely events

·         Any thing factual & interesting to masses.

·         Deviation from norms.

·         Anything you didn’t know yesterday.

·         North East West South, Whatever happens around in circle is News.

·         News is any new information or information on current events which is relayed by print, broadcast, Internet or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.

Types:

Hard News: Story about the actual News. Or news that concerns specific events and is strictly factual .This is the recent & serious news found in the front pages.

Developed News: All material coming on analysis, background, and editorial page is called developed news, i.e interpretative and investigative report; Editorial, feature, and column.

News Story: an article reporting the news or a short account of the news is called news story. Straight news stories always stay in third person point of view.

Style of News Writing

Inverted Pyramid

The structure of a news story is often referred to as the inverted pyramid. That is because the main, and most important, point is contained in the first sentence. The rest of the story includes element of less importance as the reader nears the bottom.

Reasons for the Inverted Pyramid Approach:

·         Makes reading easier and faster

·         Enables the hurried reader to get all the important facts in a very short period of time

·         Satisfies curiosity in a logical way

·         Makes page makeup easier

·         Makes the work of the copydesk easier

Five W’s and one H

In daily newspapers, most timely news stories are written in the traditional form--the inverted pyramid form (the order of decreasing importance). The story is considered to be complete if it contains five W’s and one H.

Who?                         Who is involved?   

What?                        What is happening?

When?                       When did or will this happen?   

Where?                     Where did or will this happen?

Why?                         Why did this happen or will it happen?

How?                         How did it or will it happen?

Elements of News

Element of News are kept in mind while writing the news.  These elements distinguish news writing from other forms of writings. Among the most common are:

Authenticity: (Accuracy):  Every statement, name, event, should be a verifiable fact. Reporter must check every note, quote (statement of source) and confirm it from source & concerned officials.

Objectivity: is an important element of news. A reporter should report news impartially and honestly. He should report factual things without any angle.

Balanced: Means select and arrange facts so as it gives a balanced view. If there are more than one party involved in a story then asks and give view point of all the persons involved. Representation of one or two parties would affect the credibility of news.

Clarity: The story should be clear, have simple language and free from any confusing word or thought. It should cater the majority of audience. Avoid difficult technical terminologies , but if they are necessary to use, explain them as well. i.e If you are writing any story regarding information technology for general audience , then by using MIS you should also explain that it stand’s for management information system.

Precise & Concise: The story should be short, brief and yet comprehensive. You should be precise because people loose interest in lengthy stories. But keep in mind that you wouldn’t delete or skip any important information.

News Values

News value’s determines a story’s “newsworthiness”. What makes a fact newsworthy is how it affects the people in one locality, the people who would read your publication. If the fact is not interesting to them or does not affect them in any way, it is not newsworthy. Here is a list of News Value’s.

1.      Proximity/ Nearness: This has to do with location. If the event is happening close by, it will impact on readers more than if it is happening across city, or across the world.. Something happening in your college or university is of more interest to you than the events from any another univ.

2.      Conflict:  Readers have interest in disagreements, arguments, fights and rivalries. If an event has a conflict attached to it, many readers will be interested on that basis alone. People are naturally drawn to conflict and find it fascinating.

3.      Oddity/ Unusualness/ out of ordinary –Strange or unusualness is fascinating to many readers. The more the event is unusual the more news value it has.  If something odd happened, it is newsworthy just because of its oddity, as the people want to know why it has happened.

4.      Emotion & Instinct/ Human interest: – How the people feel and are emotionally attached, People doing interesting things: Anything that appeals to the reader’s emotions, makes him laugh, cry, get angry, feel sympathy, etc….has the potential for human interest.

5.   Prominence – Famous people make news. The stories are made around prominent people. I.e. President visited the food street. Readers like to read about people they know. They want to know the every information about political leaders, singers, actors, or any famous personality.

6.      Impacts: What would be the effect of the event on the people? How would they respond .Result of any event, Reaction to any Government decision, i.e impact of women bill.

7.      Consequence:

• How would people react to news. What wod they respond.

8.      Timelines / Immediacy: Readers wants the most recent information on topics in which they are interested. The moment an event happens, it should be reported. It loses its value if there is delay in reporting. Current news has more impact than something that happened yesterday or last week.

9.    Gender / Sex: Sex is a directive force in human life, appears as a news value most common in stories. romance, marriage and divorce, fashion , glamour

10. Progress and Development: Refers to construction of new infrastructure highways or improvement of those already in existence. Any significant change for the betterment of society.

   Basic editing techniques

It is subeditors who carry out the basic editing of copy on a newspaper. They vary in number from three or four on a small weekly, ten to fifteen on a big national paper. Because of shift systems and holidays not all work at once. Some papers have separate features subeditors, some divide the news subeditors into a home and a foreign desk. The subediting function, however, is the same.

  The job of the news subeditor is to:

1. Check the names, addresses, figures and other facts of the story.
2. Check and put right any errors of grammar, spelling and structure.
3. Edit the story to the length needed for the page, if necessary cutting the copy or collating (to collect information together from different sources in order to examine and compare it) copy from a number of sources into one story.
4. Rewrite any part, or all, of the story, as needed, to reduce it to length or bring it to the standard required.
5. Write a headline
6. Write captions needed to go with the story.
7. Revise the story in length and context for later editions in the light of new information or a change in position in the paper.
8. Ensure that all these procedures are carried out to meet page and edition deadlines.

Getting it right

The amount of news and the sheer accumulation of facts in a newspaper, coupled with the speed of production, make inaccuracy a daily hazard. People are quick to condemn when a newspaper gets things wrong, and the graver errors can get an editor into serious trouble.

A vital part of the subeditor’s job is to check, check, check everything that is checkable. If avoidable mistakes get into the paper it is not the writer who is blamed but the subeditor who handled the story, who is expected to have almost a sixth sense that detects hidden traps.

How errors arise

1. No two eyewitnesses see things in the same light so that discrepancies can occur in different reports of the same incident. Reporters have to be relied upon to cross-check information on the job. There is not much the subeditor can do about this aspect except check back with the reporter any fact or figure that is suspect.

Checking with the reporter should be a regular practice where there is the slightest doubt about anything. Even if the original source of information cannot be contacted by the reporter, a quick word might reveal an error in telephoning or in keyboarding.

A nought might have been added to a figure, or left out, or a sentence garbled (written in a way that confuses the reader). An unlikely age, an unusual spelling of a name, or a figure or sum of money that seems disproportionate to the facts should alert a subeditor.

‘Attractive model Lisa Jones, aged 43 …’ would write angrily if she were only 23.

2. Misreadings can lead to mistakes when copy is rewritten by the subeditor. All rewrites should be checked against the original story, especially names and addresses, ages, dates, figures and quotations. It is annoying if the reporter gets the facts right and they turn up wrong in the paper.
3. Quoted speech is a particular source of complaint, where meanings have been changed or frustrated through vital words of sentences being left out in the editing. This does not mean that quoted speech cannot be edited or shortened, only that it should be done with care, especially in sensitive circumstances.

A common danger is the paraphrasing (to express what somebody has said or written using different words, especially in order to make it easier to understand) of quotes to use in the introduction to a story where the subeditor, in his or her zeal to grab the reader’s attention, pushes the meaning of a quotation beyond its limit.

If a Councillor tells a reporter, “It is possible the district council will consider demolishing three blocks of substandard flats,” and the intro says, “The district council is to consider demolishing three blocks of substandard flats,” the subeditor has gone too far.

4. Cases of mistaken identity are another cause of complaint and apology. In captioning stock pictures to go with a story the subeditor must make certain that the person in the picture is identified beyond all doubt.

Picture files often contain more than one person of the same name, and two persons’ pictures can become muddled in a file because of this. It is no defence for the subeditor to say the pictures came from the file. If there is any doubt about it being the right person the subeditor should not risk attaching a caption to it without identifying it.

Intro

The opening paragraph of a news story must hold the reader’s eye once he or she has started to read it so that the brain is persuaded to read on. The intro, as it is called, is a ‘contrived (written or arranged in a way that is not natural or realistic) device’ in which attention is gained not by starting at the beginning of the story, as the first chapter of a novel usually does, but by giving first the highlight, or the most important or interesting part of the story. The editor establishes this in the reader’s mind and then arranges the facts in sequence to follow.

Writing intros

The first part of a story is hardest to write -- the intro. Based on the intro, a reader makes a critical decision: Shall I go on?

An intro might contain only one sentence, but could have two or three.

The unregulated disposal of debris during reconstruction and renovation of houses has been causing serious environmental damage to greenbelts. To check this growing menace in the metropolis, a meeting was convened by the Ministry of Environment which was presided over by Minister of State for Environment Malik Amin Aslam Khan.

In feature stories, the intro may be several paragraphs long.

The history of crime in Pakistan is replete with incidents where social and political clout has conveniently been capitalized to perpetrate injustice and conceal one’s own misdoings. It is not rare when even the heirs of those who wield influence and authority have spread terror with a fearlessness, which only comes from being in possession of the license to kill.

The list of such crimes is long and the details painful but human memory is so short-lived that incidents, which may completely shatter the lives of an individual or a family associated with the victim, merely arouse fleeting sympathy among others. And then the event, no matter how tragic or horrifying, is forgotten and shelved to become part of history. As for the culprits, they manage to disappear from the scene as if they never existed.

Seated along a grave and lighting candles is a man named Mehboob Malik, a living but lifeless survivor of a horrific crime committed on May 13 last year by Nadir Khan, the nephew of a DIG. Mehboob is lighting candles to celebrate the 20^th birthday of his daughter, Shafaq Habib, who was ruthlessly shot by Nadir Khan in his G-6/4 residence. A student of BBA at the Muhammad Ali Jinnah University, the girl succumbed to her injuries during surgery at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

Talking to ‘The News’ during an exclusive interview here Thursday, Mehboob narrated how the incident has altered his entire perspective on life. He has lost faith and hope, and sees no chances of the culprit being apprehended. Mehboob lodged a complaint with the Capital Police, “hoping that these custodians of the life and property of the residents of Islamabad would at least make an earnest attempt to fulfil their obligation. Instead, one of these agencies favoured the murderer by destroying all circumstantial evidence at the behest of the real uncle of the accused,” Mehboob recalled with pain.)

For straight news stories, though, it is convenient to think of the intro as just the first sentence.

However you define it, the intro is the most important part of any story. Good editors sometimes spend as much time on the intro as on the rest of the story. Coming up with the right combination of words takes much thought and careful crafting.

Unedited version: She was kidnapped by a car-riding young couple, in their twenties, on 31st March (Thursday) in the bright evening when she was going to the doctor in G-11/3 with her two small brother to fetch medicine for her younger brother.

Maira Asif, 7, a student of OPF Girls High School, F-8/2, in an interview with The News, said, “I obtained 522 marks out of 600 and promoted to 4th class on 31st March and came to my grandfather’s house along with her parents and brother to tell them the news of her success and to enjoy with them”. But no body was aware about the incident that was to be happening in the same evening.

Edited version: Children are quite fond of reading fairy tales. In almost every narrative fantasy, human beings undergo trials and sufferings. They confront evil forces and try to overcome them. Every child believes that there would be a happy ending and that good would triumph over evil.

A student of the OPF Girls High School, F-8/2, experienced the greed of the ‘wolf’ and the evil of the ‘witch’ in her real life just like in a fairy tale setting.

The fourth grader was allegedly kidnapped by a car-riding couple, in their twenties, on March 31 while she was going to the family doctor in Sector G-11/3 to fetch medicines for her younger brother.

In an exclusive interview with ‘The News,’ Maira Asif said, “My school result was announced on March 31. I obtained 522 marks out of 600 and promoted to 4th class. I came to my grandfather’s house, along with my parents and brothers, to break the news of my success.”

The remaining story: “I was going to the family doctor to get some medicines for one of my brothers at about 5 p.m. when a black Toyota XLI, cruising in the street, stopped near me,” Maira recounted with fear in her eyes. “The car-riding ‘aunty’ and ‘uncle,’ after asking my father’s name, said that they were our family friends. They asked me to get into the car. But when I refused their offer, the man, at the steering, dragged me into the car and sped away towards Sector G-11/2,” she said.

The man drove the car in the streets for some time and touched a double road just before sunset, she said. “The ‘uncle’ parked the car at roadside, tied a handkerchief around my eyes and pasted an adhesive tape on my mouth. I was warned not to cry or shout or else I would be killed,” she said.

“The car was parked in the driveway of a house after a thirty-minute journey. Someone opened the door of the car and took me out. I was thrown on a bed in a room. Keeping me blindfolded, the ‘aunty’ and the ‘uncle’ talked to me about my family members. They talked to me in Urdu while speaking in Pushto or Persian with each other,” she said. “The ‘aunty’ was quite polite but the ‘uncle’ was uncouth and rude in attitude,” she said. They offered the girl a meager dinner --egg and toast -- late at night when she craved for food.

“They tied my hands to a chair in a dark room and threatened not to move or cry,” she said. “I blubbered once at night. I wanted to huddle close to my mother and cry out loud,” she added.

“The next day someone lifted me and took me upstairs. Later, I was shifted to another room of the house. No one talked to me all day. After a long time, they untied me and put me in the car. I was told that I would be handed over to my parents. According to their plan, I would be dropped near an ‘all glass building.’ They ordered me to remove the handkerchief from my eyes after one minute, otherwise I would be shot dead,” she said.

Maira said “My grandfather was in front of me when I removed the handkerchief from my eyes. It was the happiest moment of my life,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

Rao Aslam, grandfather of Maira, told ’The News’ that he received a telephone call from the captors about three hours of the incident. They demanded fifteen million rupees as ransom when the police were present in his house. He said that they made another call the next morning and repeated their demand. Then they contacted frequently from public call offices at Stadium Road in Abbasi Shopping Plaza, Commercial Market, Chandni Chowk and Chaklala Scheme III, he said. The captors agreed to six million rupees ransom and asked him to drop the moneybag along Kashmir Highway, but when he was on his way they asked him to go to Peshawar Road, he added. At a place, somewhere in the jurisdiction of the Westridge Police Station, the captors asked him to drop the bag and drive away towards his house. “I dropped the bag and drove back to my house. In the house, I waited anxiously for their next call,” Rao Aslam said. “It was a long wait. After midnight, the captors informed me that they would drop the girl at Blue Area near Sogo 2000 after an hour,” he said.

“I reached there five minutes before the time fixed by the kidnappers and started waiting for their car. The kidnappers arrived on time. They dropped Maira and sped away,” he said. “I started chasing the car after hugging Maira. I chased them to a house in Sector I-10/2. They dropped a man at the corner of the street and parked their car in another house,” he added.

“I informed the police straightaway. The police reached after ten minutes and conducted a raid. Two persons were taken into custody and US $150,000 were recovered from the house,” Rao Aslam revealed.

“I am unaware what other things the police recovered from them. I have no idea whether other members of the gang have been arrested or not. But the police are duty bound to give my money back,” he said.

For Maira’s family, all’s well that ends well. The little girl too wants to forget the real life fairy tale of the greedy ‘wolf’ and the evil ‘witch.’

The right combination of words will accomplish the dual purpose of the intro: telling the main point of the story and getting readers’ attention.

The approach to beginning a news story is different from some other kinds of writing. The intro doesn’t give background or history or other introductory matter; it gives the conclusion -- the main point -- right away.

Importance

Imagine the irritation of a reader who wants to know the outcome of an election if the story started in the beginning:

The casting of votes started at 7 a.m. Tuesday as voters turned out in great numbers to elect a new mayor.

A good intro would give the results of the election:

Hamza Abbasi won a landslide victory in the mayor’s race Tuesday.

Some professionals still say the lead of a news story should give all the important elements of the story -- the ‘who, what, when, where, why and how.’

The history of 5 Ws and 1 H: This approach to news writing originated during the Civil War, when battlefield correspondents sent their dispatches back to their newspapers by telegraph. The telegraph lines were frequently cut during transmission, so reporters developed the technique of getting all the crucial facts across in the first sentence. Details came later, if the line was still open.

Severed telegraph lines rarely present a problem today. But presenting the news to the readers in a readable package does. Trying to include all the significant facts in the intro results in a very long, hard-to-read sentence. It’s much better to write a shorter sentence that identifies the single most important point of the story leaving the less critical details for later.

A speeding vehicle veered off the road and killed 10 men sleeping on a sidewalk in the northern Indian state, police said Thursday.

Five others were injured in the incident overnight in the industrial town of Shikohabad, 25 kilometers northwest of the state capital Lucknow, said police spokesman Surinder Patel.

Most stories in today’s newspapers are in this format.

This doesn't mean that 5 Ws and 1 H can be left out of the story. They all must be included, usually near the top. But you shouldn't try to cram everything into the first sentence.

Determining which of the six critical elements to use in the intro is a challenge for most beginners. Choose the three or four that alone tell the story best. Follow with the other two or three in a transitional sentence, one that ties the intro to the body of the story.

Usually the ‘who’ is essential and should be in the intro. ‘What’ is also frequently one of the most important points to include. ‘Where,’ ‘why’ and ‘how’ will be part of some leads but not others.

When Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin walked on the moon, for example, the intro of the ‘New York Times’ story was “Men have landed and walked on the moon.”

The ‘where’ was obviously the key point of the story. The ‘why’ and ‘how’ were less important.

Some news organisations restrict the number of words in an intro and in the transitional sentence that follows. Common restrictions are 26-30-word intro and a 16-20-word transition.

Interest

Fortunately, the most important thing is often the most interesting thing. The editor just make sure that the most important thing is presented in an interesting way.

The following intro, for example, gives the most important point of the story. But it doesn’t sound very interesting:

Campus organisations will compete in the annual blood drive next week.

With a little imagination, the editor could have said the same thing in an attention-grabbing way:

Campus organisations will compete next week in a contest sure to draw blood.

Warning: The intro must not mislead. In their zeal to attract attention, some editors go overboard. You should emphasise what’s interesting, but not at the expense of accuracy.

Types of intros

The following are the nine most common types you are likely to find in print media.

1. Summary -- the most common type for straight news.

Nine students of the Islamabad University were injured Monday night when their van slid out of control on icy roads in Murree.

2. Quotation -- perhaps the second most common type of intro of news stories and an even more common feature intro.

“The king is dead,” shouted a diehard fan of Elvis Presley to his friend who was already sobbing.

3. Direct address -- uses ‘you’; involves the reader immediately.

You wouldn’t expect to be held up by a snake-totting robber, would you? That’s exactly what happened to a convenience store clerk who was confronted by two teenagers carrying a three-foot snake. Their ‘take’ was one 10-pack of Marlboros. They left the snake.

4. Question -- a good way to get readers involved.

Have you registered to vote yet? Mobile teams of the Election Commission of Pakistan will go door-to-door on Sunday and Monday to register the remaining eligible voters.

5. Picture or description -- a way to stimulate readers’ interest in the storyline.

Sitting on the hostel window, the tiny cat looked almost like a stuffed toy. But it wasn’t. It was an illegal resident of the boarding school.

6. Background -- sets the scene for the action to be told.

Cafeteria lines are short this week as fasting students contribute their meal money to the Edhi Trust.

7. Contrast -- provides insight and sets the tone for the story.

A prospective student applying for a part-time job in ‘The News’ would not be able to make it as a large number of people are willing to work full-time there

8. Punch -- quickly hits the reader with something of interest.

A cat put out all of the lights in Sector F-7 last night. It crawled into the main switchboard at the main power plant and darkness prevailed all over.

9. Freak -- intros that begin with the lyrics of a song, a poem or something unusual.

It’s another manic Monday (Bangles)

Here comes the rain again, falling on my head like a memory (Eurythmics)

1. Washington Post
2. Washington Times( Exclusive Stories, Defense stories quoted by responsible officials
3. New York Times
4. Los Angles Times
5. San Francisco Chronicle
6. Chicago Tribune
7. Miami Herald
8. Boston Globe.
9. Wall Street Journal
10. Financial Times
11. International Herald Tribune
12. USA Today ( Available all over USA)

Canada:

1. Globe & Mail
2. Toronto Star
3. Hotbwa Citizen
4. Vancouver Son

Uk:

1. The Independent
2. The Guardian
3. Financial Times
4. The Sunday Telegraph
5. The Observer
6. The Times Of London
7. The Mirror
8. The Sun

France:

1. Le Figaro
2. Limonte

Egypt:

Al Ihram

Kuwait:

1. Kuwait Times
2. Arab Times

UAE

Khalij Times

Gulf News

KSA

1. Saudi Gazette
2. Arab News (Urdu News)
3. Riyadh Daily
4. AKKAZ

India:

1. The Hindu
2. Hindustan Times
3. Times of India
4. Asian Age
5. The Pioneer
6. The Statesman
7. Kashmir Times
8. The Tribune
9. Deccan Herald
10. Daily Riyasat

Iran:

1. Kehan International ( Persian English)
2. ITLAAT
3. Jamhori Islami
4. Tehran Times
5. Iran Daily

China:

1. China Daily
2. Shanghai Review

Turkey:

1. Hurriyat
2. Turkish Daily News

Pakistan:

1. Pakistan Times
2. DAWN
3. Civil & Military Gazzete
4. Pakistan Time, Morning News, Amroz, Mashraq, Government Hold
5. The Muslim 1979
6. The Nation 1985
7. Frontier Post 80
8. Pakistan Observer
9. Baluchistan Time
10. Daily News
11. Daily Times
12. The Post
13. Jang 1942 New Delhi
14. Nawai Waqt Lahore
15. Hurriyat
16. Kohistan
17. Express
18. Pakistan Akbar Ali Bhatti
19. Khabrian

News Agencies of the World

USA:

AP- Associated Press ( 100 years old)

UPI- United Press International

Canada:

CP- The Canadian Press

UK:     

REUTERS (150 Years old. Established by a person called Reuter)

PA-Press Association

France:         

AFP- Agency France press

Germany:

DPA-Deutshe Press Agency

India

PTI-Press Trust of India ( Two languages Hindi – English)

UNI- United News of India

ANI- Asian News International

Pakistan:

APP-Associated Press of Pakistan ( Correspondence in Six Countries)

PPI-Pakistan Press International

UPP-United Press of Pakistan

NNI-News Network International

KPI-Kashmir Press International

SANA- South Asian News Association

INP- Independent News

ANI- Asian News Interaction

Online

Iran:

IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency)

FARS

Saudi Arabia; SPA- Saudi Press Agency

UAE: WAM

Kuwait: KUNA, Mena

Egypt: MINA

Turkey: Anatolia

Russia: ITTAR-TAS, InterFax

Japan: KYOTO (State) JIJI News service

Australia: AAP

China: XINHUA

Introduction to News Room:

Newsroom: is a centralized place in media organization where processing of news takes place. i.e news gathering, editing and disseminating. It has all the facilities for quick and efficient working. i.e Access to worldwide televisions, wire service, internet, fax etc. Newsroom of DAWN newspaper is considered to be excellent and worth seeing.

Editorial Staff: The team which is involved in processing of news excluding the clerical and support staff is called editorial staff or desk staff.

Sources of News:

• Written Sources
• Human Sources

Written Source

1. Press Release: Content dispatched to press for publishing

2. News Release: Press release meant for print media while news release is meant for both print & electronic media.

3. Press Note: Issued by district government / administration or police. It contains the administration point of view. Issued when there are riots, violence, curfew, and blockade.

4. Joint Communiqué/ Statement/ Declaration: 

§  Issued when dignitaries meet at highest level and joint statements are issued. i.e President Musharraf meet P.M Vajpayee and issued joint statement after Agra Summit.

·         Reflects that both parties have agreed on certain points.

·         Also issued at the end of any official high ranking visit to any country or place.

5. Notification: Different appointments, decisions made by different departments and issued to media. i.e appointment of new IG police Islamabad is conveyed to press through a notification.

6. Special Reports: Reports issued by different institutions and organizations are also good sources of news. i.e Reports issued from State Bank of Pakistan, NAB, UNDP etc.

7. Ordinance: Laws formulated for six month by president is ordinance. So any new ordinance issued is also a source of news.

How Reporters Work

§  Reporters have vast source & informant's network. They can get news from any where.

§  Reporters have access to inside stories &

Happenings in political parties, Govt

Departments and different segments of

Life.

§  They should have working relationship with the source & have common understanding. Means they have mutual trust among themselves. If reporter point out the source name, then he would not get any news from him in future. Same as if source gives the wrong info to reporter then he would be no more credible for the reporter and he would no longer depend on him.

§  This is the necessity of politician and Burro crates to have relations with media. (To get publicity, some time to leak information with a Particular angle & purpose).

§  A reporter should be master of his beat. He should know all the laws, resources and stakeholders concerning his beat.

§  Reporters are the backbone of any media organization.

§  Putting tricky person in trouble and get some news from him is considered best skill of any reporter.

§  Reporters always look for exclusive stories(Not available with other newspapers )

Reporting:

Types of Reporting:

1.    Routine, Spot

2.    Exclusive

3.    Specialized

4.    Investigative

1.      Routine, Spot Reporting:  This covers the reporting of daily Events & happenings on any general issue.

2.      Exclusive Reporting: Stories or reports which are not available with other newspapers are called exclusive. There is always a competition among newspapers to get exclusive stories, in order to attract readers & increase circulation. Exclusive news stories are obtained from special sources and through special arrangements. i.e Interview of Usama Bin Laden by Hamid Mir, soon after 9/11. or Interview of Amin Fahim on Geo TV after ILan-i- Muree, or Interview of Sheikh Rasheed to geo after the defeat in election2008.

3.      Specialized Reporting:

·         Reporting on particular & specific topic. Health reporting, parliamentary reporting, defense reporting, crime reporting.

·         For specialized reporting, reporter should have knowledge of his topic, terminologies, laws, etc

·         Now a days newspapers are hiring specialist for reporting in their respective area's.

·         Even British Newspapers have special editors on every issue, Like criminology, environment, IT editors & others.

4.    Investigative Reporting:

·         Going into background & probing the details, i.e Investigating construction scandal of Lal Shehbaz Qalanader Shrine, who was involved, why it was reported in parliament.

·         This is mostly aimed at exposing irregularities & wrong doings.

·         It may take one week, month or even year.

·         Daniel Pearl was working on an investigative story on particular topic.

·         Three ministries Commerce, Food & Agriculture signed an underhand deal with USA for reimbursing the payment made against F16 airplanes, and the reimbursement was in form of soybean oil. Army Chief, president Musharraf was kept ignorant. Rauf Klasra broke the news and got APNS Award for Investigative report.

Qualities of a Good Reporter:

§  Reporters are different from other people in journalism

§  This is one of the most dangerous medium.

§  Reporters are tossed and shuffle from people to people and places. At one point they have to cover from lavish five star hotels , palaces and on some other time may find themselves in war zone. From important leaders to ordinary man. From cities to deserts and high mountains.

§  They also enjoy visits to foreign countries while covering presidents, PM or any other official or event.

Below are some of the qualities and requirement of good reporter.

1.      Strong knowledge of political and world affairs. He should have knowledge of prevalent political situation, Where most decision are made, who are currently king makers, constitution , how Govt works , How parties perform, History, world affairs, ( International laws, agreements, organizations, role of game in war, fighting, diplomatic privileges, Geneva Convention. etc )      

2.      Fundamental Education Background: Now a days newspapers make preferences to media graduates.  Earlier there were no hard & fast rules in journalism. Anybody could enter the the media field . But no things have been changed. There is strict competition in the field and there is growing demand for specialists.

3.    Neutrality:

§  He should be neutral and not biased.

§  Set Aside personal liking, beliefs, religious ideologies while reporting

§  Now a days western reporters are biased towards Pakistan, Islam.

§  Whatever you find, report the same without mingling your own idea's. Reporter with different set of mind can be sent to report totally reverse topic like reporter with secular mind can be sent to cover a conservative ceremonies. You should avoid giving personal angle.

§  You can criticize on merit. Find loopholes.

§  Purely ethnic question should not be asked in press conference.

§  There should be no fabrication of fake stories.

§  Some French journalists were caught making Fake documentary of Taliban training camp.

4.      Ability to speak truth: Whatever you find, report it. i.e You have been given assignment to probe something fishy , you found someone powerful involved that might harm you. In this situation you need to be brave and publish the same without the fear of consequences. Unless it is against the national security then it should be avoided.

5.      Objective Reporting: You are not supposed to twist remarks & have to give the view point of every person involved.

6.      Ability to deal with heavy News Flow: There is no prediction or regularity in the brought up of news. There may be several days  that you have no news and suddenly rest of the days are flooded with the news i.e In a parliament session , There are morning , evening session, side meetings, speeches, background activities. So a reporter should know how to handle this work load and efficiently perform his duties that no important news is missed.

§  Reporter should remain calm, cool, composed and disciplined.

§  Quickly compose and disseminate the news as it happened, don’t pile up the news.

§  Work in organized way

§  In international summits, there so many speeches, side meetings taking place simultaneously that it is not possible for a single person to attend all but again you have to handle it and report comprehensively.

§  Reporters also have to tackle deadlines, managing security problems etc

7.      Physical Fitness: Reporting requires frequent traveling & moving around in difficult terrains. This demands physical fitness.  If someone is facing any kind of disability, then he should stay in newsroom.

CAPTIONS

Why use pictures anyway?

Words can seldom explain or describe an event as eloquently as can a photograph. There is a Chinese saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

The readers are educated, frightened, thrilled and amused by visual images. These images tell us about the lifestyle of people living in remote villages of Pakistan, a devastating flood in Bangladesh and the weeping family in the background, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in a cricket match and the list goes on.

Some photographs cause our eyes to mist, while others cause them to crinkle in amusement. Photographs can document everyday life in the alleys of the old city or a boring social event of the wealthy in a posh hotel.

What is a caption?

A caption is a brief summary or explanation of a photograph’s content. While each publication will have its own caption style, ideally a caption should answer the usual who, what, where, when, why and how.

Associated Press (AP), which provides a good caption model to follow, says the first sentence will be in the present tense and tells what’s happening, who’s in the picture, when it’s happening and where. The second sentence, in the past tense, sums up the action and provides the how and why. Occasionally a third sentence will be required to provide elaboration.

The photograph-caption package

A photograph and its caption, contrary to what some editors and photographers think, are viewed by most readers as a unit. Newspaper readers look at the caption for explanation and clarification of the visual information contained in the photograph.

Tips for caption writing

1. Don’t tell the obvious

If the person in the photographs is pretty or attractive, that fact will be obvious from the photograph. The picture will tell whether a person is smiling. It may be necessary, however, to tell why he or she is smiling.

2. Use specifics rather than generalities

‘A ten-pound cake’ is better than ‘a huge cake.’ ‘A man, aged 70,’ is more descriptive than ‘an old man.’

3. Use ‘from left’ rather than ‘from left to right’

The first means as much as the second and is shorter. Neither ‘left’ or ‘right’ should be overworked. If one of the two boys in a picture is wearing a baseball cap, use that fact to identify him. If the president is in a golf cart with a professional golfer, readers shouldn’t have to be told which one is the president.

4. Write captions in the present tense

This enhances the ‘immediacy’ of the photographs they accompany. The past tense is used if it gives additional facts not described in the action in the photograph. The caption may use both present and past tenses, but the past-tense element should not be used in the same sentence with a present-tense verb describing the action.

Indian tennis player Sania Mirza gestures as she addresses a press conference in Hyderabad on Thursday after returning home from the US Open. Sania, a native of the southern Indian city, was defeated in the fourth round of the tournament held at Flushing Meadows in New York by current number one Maria Sharapova. -- AFP

5. Make sure the caption is accurate

Double-check the spelling of names. The newspaper, not the photographer, gets the blame for inaccuracies. Caption errors occur because the photographer fail to give the editor enough, or accurate, information for caption writing.

6. Credit the photographer or wire service

Credit must be given to the photographer or the wire service, as the case may be, in the caption. (‘Photo by Naveed Akram’ or -- ‘AP wire photo’)

When photographs lie

“Photographs never lie” is one of the oldest newspaper axioms. It’s doubtful whether that was ever true, and it certainly isn’t today. Computerised processing of photos makes it easier than ever to manipulate pictures in ways that are totally unethical.

‘National Geographic’ magazine moved a pyramid closer to the Sphinx to improve the composition of a photo, then listened to cries of outrage from photographers and others who objected to the practice. ‘TV Guide’ put Oprah Winfrey’s head on another person’s body and suffered a similar fate.

One can’t help but wonder, though, how many similar things have occurred without someone noticing. The fact is that tampering with the content of a photograph is tantamount to printing a ‘manufactured’ quotation and attributing it to a senator, the mayor or a police officer at the scene of a crime. ‘Manufacturing’ untrue photographs is just as wrong as ‘manufacturing’ a quotation.

Quality publications now limit computerised alteration of photographs to the equivalent of ‘minor retouching,’ a process developed in the era of conventional photography. Editors and photographers are allowed to make a photograph lighter or darker. They are also allowed to do ‘electronic edge-sharpening,’ the equivalent of improving the focus.

Most other forms of alterations are prohibited, although some publications allow the removal of distracting background elements. That might include removal of an electric wire dangling behind a subject in such a way as to appear the wire is emerging from the person’s head. The best photographers eliminate such distractions the right way by making sure they aren’t there in the original photograph.

Writing Editorials and Columns

What is an Editorial?
An Editorial is usually written by the editor or one of the writers on his or her behalf and it represents the views of the newspaper. Also in editorial section, you will find other people’s opinions on the same subject or others. They are known as columns.

Editorial stories have:

1.      Introduction, body, solution and conclusion like other news stories.

2.      An objective explanation of the issue, especially complex issues.

3.      A timely news angle.

4.      Opinions from the opposing viewpoint that refute directly the same issues the writer addresses.

5.      Good editorials engage issues, not personalities and refrain from name-calling or other petty tactics of persuasion.

6.      Alternative solutions to the problem or issue being criticized. Anyone can gripe about a problem, but a good editorial should take a proactive approach to making the situation better by using constructive criticism and giving solutions.

7.      A solid and concise conclusion that powerfully summarizes the writer's opinion. Give it some punch.

Four Types of Editorials

1.      Editorials of argument and persuasion take a firm stand on a problem or condition. They attempt to persuade the reader to think the same way. This editorial often proposes a solution or advises taking some definite action.

2.      Editorials of informaiton and interpretation attempt to explain the meaning or significance of a situation or news event. There is a wide variety of editorials in this category, ranging from those which provide background information to those which identify issues.

3.      Editorials of tribute, appreciation or commendation praise a person or an activity.

4.      Editorials of entertainment have two categories. One is the short humourous treatment of a light topic. The second is a slightly satirical treatment of a serious subject. (Satire is the use of sarcasm or keen wit to denounce abuses or follies. While it ridicules or makes fun of a subject with the intent of improving it.)

Structure of an Editorial

Editorials are written according to a well-established formula.

1.      Introduction - state the problem

2.      Body - expresses an opinion

3.      Solution - offers a solution to the problem

4.      Conclusion - emphasizes the main issue

Here are some additional tips on structuring your opinion story.

1.      Lead with an Objective Explanation of the Issue/Controversy. Include the five W's and the H. Pull in facts and quotations from sources which are relevant.

2.      Present Your Opposition First. As the writer you disagree with these viewpoints. Identify the people (specifically who oppose you). Use facts and quotations to state objectively their opinions. Give a strong position of the opposition. You gain nothing in refuting a weak position.

3.      Directly Refute The Opposition's Beliefs. You can begin your article with transition. Pull in other facts and quotations from people who support your position. Concede a valid point of the opposition which will make you appear rational, one who has considered all the options.

4.      Give Other, Original Reasons/Analogies. In defense of your position, give reasons from strong to strongest order. Use a literary or cultural allusion that lends to your credibility and perceived intelligence.

5.      Conclude With Some Punch.Give solutions to the problem or challenge the reader to be informed.

A quotation can be effective, especially if from a respected source. A rhetorical question can be an effective concluder as well. While it ridicules or makes fun of a subject with the intent of improving it.

How to write an opinion piece

Think of an opinion piece as a persuasive essay: the writer has an opinion or a point of view on an issue and him or she wants to convince the reader to agree. This is not as easy as it may seem.

·         You must research your topic and find out what’s happening and what went on in the past.

·         You must know the facts and be able to refer to them in your argument.

Pretend you are a lawyer and you are making a case before a jury. You will want to convince the members of the jury to believe that your client is right . Therefore you need to present as much evidence as you can that proves the point.

You can do the same when you write a column or editorial. Here’s an example:

1.      start with a basic premise or theme.

2.      use facts and details to back up your opinion and help you make your case.

3.      Leave your readers with a lasting impression -- a strong point that will make them consider your point of view.

4.      Don’t need to preach to the reader. A good editorial will make readers take notice of the situation and form their own opinions on the issue.

Column Writing Tips

Many young writers prefer to write columns rather than straight news or features. Straight news is deemed to be boring – covering press conferences and reporting who said what. Feature stories involve too much reporting and require discipline to follow a set structure. Columns, which are essentially opinion pieces, are much looser – and therefore easier. Or so it seems.

Anybody can be trained to write straight news because it’s very mechanical. Feature articles, though also somewhat formulaic, are harder because they require good writing. But column writing is the hardest type of writing of all because it requires good thinking.

To write a good column requires more than just the ability to articulate an opinion. Your opinions must make sense, provide insight and be convincing. And you must do all this in an entertaining way.

It requires you to be almost like a lawyer. Through your arguments, you will need to convince the jury (your readers) that your client (your viewpoint) is right. Shaping a powerful argument takes practice and requires both breadth and depth of knowledge as well as the ability to critically analyze a particular issue.

So, is there a methodology for training someone to become a “good thinker”? I’m not sure about that but I’m certain it helps to be well-read, inquisitive and willing to listen to various viewpoints. If you're someone who likes to write but doesn’t want to do research or think deeply about an issue, forget about column writing.

Studying your role models will help you to develop your own voice. Follow the work of several established columnists and analyze their writings to discover how they project their arguments and how they make effective use of anecdotes, quotes and statistics. From there, you can learn the tricks of the trade and eventually develop your own distinctive voice and style.

Column writing is very different from other forms of writing because unlike straight news and feature writing, columns have dedicated readerships. A columnist develops a following because his readers feel they can gain knowledge, insight and entertainment from reading his writings. It’s a great honor to be given a regular column but remember, to do it well requires a great amount of dedication to the craft.

Lastly, a word of advice. Be ready for criticism. If you can dish it out, you’ve got to be able to take as good as you got. When you take a strong stance on anything, there’s bound to be someone offended by what you wrote. And they will write to you – often in less than polite language - to let you know exactly what they think of you and your opinions. It goes with the territory.


^Now, onto the tips,


1. Write with conviction: Put forward your opinion as something you truly believe in. Argue your case with conviction. Come down hard on one side of an issue. Be unequivocal. Never ever sit on the fence.

2. Maintain your focus: Make your column about one thing and one thing alone. Don’t muddle the message. Maintain your focus. That’s the only way to make a strong impression on your readers and to convince them that your point of view is correct.


3. Understand opposing viewpoints: Be mindful of the opposing argument. Anticipate objections to your point of view and deal with them convincingly with sound reasoning. If you’re not familiar with the opposing view, you will not be able to argue your points well.


4. Refer to facts: Your arguments, however logical, will not carry much weight unless they are accompanied by facts that support your position. Don’t overdo this and inundate your readers with statistics and figures. But do make use of facts from reputable sources.


5. Use analogies: Analogies are useful for illustrating a point, especially when the topic you are writing about is somewhat complicated or technical. Using a simple analogy from everyday life makes the issue more understandable and relevant to the reader.

6. Be critical: People like reading columnists who dare to criticize real life people – not just nameless concepts and policies. Naming names might create a bit of controversy but as long as you do not libel anyone and don’t go overboard in your criticism, it works well to make your column an interesting and exciting read.


7. Do reporting: It’s possible to write columns without doing any reporting but the best columns typically involve some form of reporting. When you report, you get on the ground and you gain a better sense of what’s really happening. When you write from an ivory tower, it shows.

8. Localize and personalize: Localize your story whenever possible. Also tie it to some personal experience – yours or that of someone you know. This makes an otherwise esoteric and distant topic more real, relevant and memorable to the reader.

9. Be passionate: Generally, people don’t like to hear a soft or passive voice when they read a column. So be aggressive – even arrogant, to an extent. People want to see passion. They want to feel energized. If the issue doesn’t seem to excite you, the writer, it’s certainly not going to excite the reader.


10. Provide a solution: Last but not least, don’t just raise an issue. Have the conviction to suggest a solution. Columns that criticize certain policies but offer no solutions are useless. People read columns because they want to gain insight and answers. If you don’t provide those, you’ve failed as a columnist.