Before writing a newspaper article, one must have an

understanding of the different types of articles

contained in a newspaper. Most news articles are news
stories and focus only on the facts but editorials and
columns are not considered real news stories and
usually reflect the opinion of their writer. There are
several types of news articles*:
A local news article focuses on what's going on in
your neighbourhood. An eample of a local news
story would be an article on a city council meeting.
A national news article focuses on what's happening
in the country. An eample of a national news article
would be an article on the !anadian government
passing a new bill.
An international news article focuses on news that's
happening outside the country. A story on an
influen"a outbrea# in !hina would be considered an
international news story.
A feature article is an article that is about $softer$
news. A feature may be a profile of a person who does
a lot of volunteer wor# in the community or a movie
preview. %eature articles are not considered news
stories.

An editorial is an article that contains the writer's
opinion. &ditorials are usually run all together on a
specific page of the paper and focus on current
events. &ditorials are not considered news stories.
A column is an article written by the same person on
a regular basis. A columnist 'the writer of the column(
writes about sub)ects of interest to him*her, current
events or community happenings. !olumns are not
considered news stories '+,o author(.
written by same man under same caption on regular
intervals
There are certain aspects that characteri"e a newspaper
article. These distinguishing features need to be
considered before writing about a topic in order to have
a well structured article.
-eadline and Byline
All newspaper articles should be set off with a headline.
The headline shouldn.t be a summari"ation of the
article/ instead it should serve the purpose of getting
the reader.s attention. The byline should usually follow
the headline. This states the author.s full name. 0n some
cases the byline can occur and the end of the article.
1emember to not use the first person point of view in
your article '+Mass(.
*The proper visual format for each type of article is
shown on the 2,ewspaper Articles3 poster.
4ead 5aragraph
The lead paragraph is the first one in a news story.
6sually, the lead is one sentence long and summari"es
the facts of the news story in order of most newsworthy
to least news+
worthy '+7no(. The lead paragraph should not tease at
the beginning or summari"e at
the end, as you sometimes see on television news.
0nstead, the author should lay all his*her cards out on
the table, so to spea#. The lead paragraph should
include the 2who, what, when, where, why, and how3 of
the story '+!igels#e(. 8epending on the elements of
news value, the summary news lead emphasi"es and
includes some or all of these components:
9ho names the sub)ect's( of the story. The 2who3, a
noun, can refer to a person, a group, a building, an
institution, a concept ++ anything about which a story
can be written.
9hat is the action ta#ing place. 0t is a verb that tells
what the who is doing. 1eporters should always use
active voices and action verbs for the what because
they ma#e the wording direct and lively.
9hen tells the time the action is happening. 0t is an
adverb or an adverb phrase.
9here is the place the action is happening. Again, it is
an adverb or adverb or adverb phrase.
9hy, another adverb, eplains the action in the lead.
-ow usually describes the manner in which action
occurs.
:ne eample of a lead is: Bargainers from ;eneral
Motors and 6A9 4ocal <=> will resume tal#s in 9arren
this morning see#ing to end a day+old stri#e over the
transfer of )obs from unioni"ed employees to less costly
contract wor#ers.
The 2who3 in the lead above are the bargainers from
;eneral Motors and the 6A9. 9hat are the bargainers
doing? The lead says they will resume tal#s.
9hen will the bargainers resume tal#s? The bargain are
meeting this morning
0n our story, the 2where3 is 9arren.
9hy are the bargainers meeting? The bargainers are
meeting to discuss the transfer of )obs '+7no(.
The reader should #now this information at first glance
so they are aware what the story is about and what the
emphasis is on.
The lead sets the structure for the rest of the story. 0f the
lead is good, the rest of the story comes together easily.
Many reporters spend half their writing time on the lead
alone. :ne guiding principle behind story organi"ation
is: the structure of the story can help the reader
understand what the author is writing about. The
structure should lead the reader from idea to idea
simply and clearly. The ob)ect is to give readers
information, and wow them with convoluted style.
Transitions
9ith one+sentence paragraphs consisting of only one
idea ++ bloc# paragraphs ++ it would be easy for a story to
appear as a series of statements without any smooth
flow from one idea to the net. Bloc# paragraphing
ma#es the use of effective transitions important.
Transitions are words or phrases that lin# two ideas,
ma#ing the movement from one idea to the other clear
and easy. :bvious transitional phrases are: thus,
therefore, on the other hand, net, then, and so on.
Transitions in news stories are generally made by
repeating a word or phrase or using a synonym for a #ey
word in the preceding paragraph. Thin# of bloc# graphs
as islands tied together with transition bridges of
repeated words or phrases '+7no(.
&planation and Amplification
%ollowing the lead paragraph comes the eplanation
and amplification, which deals with illuminating details.
The author should use discretion in choosing details to
include in this part of the story. @ome details may not be
as important as others and they should be presented in
order of importance from greatest to least. The author
should not feel the need to include everything he*she
#nows, but include everything he*she feels is important
'+!igels#e(. 0n addition, a direct Auote should be used
after the summary statement to provide amplification or
verification, for eample '+7no(.
Bac#ground 0nformation
At a high reading level, the average reader will become
confused reading the story. Therefore, the author should
fill in the gaps with bac#ground information. 9hen in
doubt about whether information should be included,
the author should put it in. %or eample, almost every
piece on the :.B. @impson case included in the
eplanation and amplification section the basic
information on what he was on trial for even though it
was basically common #nowledge '+!igels#e(.
Biases
,ewspaper articles should be written without bias.
5ersonal pre)udices should not find their way into the
article. The use of an op+ed or column forum is
recommended for personal opinions '+!igels#e(.
8irect and 0ndirect Cuotes
9hen possible, the author should use direct or indirect
Auotes to enrich the article. -owever, Auotations should
not be included )ust for the sa#e of using them: ma#e
sure they are relevant '+!igels#e(. 8irect Auotes can be
used in the following situations:
if a source's language is particularly colourful or
picturesAue
when it is important for written information ++
especially official information ++ to come from an
obviously authoritative voice
to answer the Auestions 2why, how, who, or what?3
1emember, a direct Auote repeats eactly what the
interviewee said. 0f a person's eact words aren.t
#nown, the author can paraphrase, but never change
the meaning of a person's words. 9hen paraphrasing,
Auotation mar#s aren.t reAuired but the indivudal.s
name should be included after the paraphrased
sentence.
Bibliography
The article must always contain a Bibliography or
29or#s !ited3 list that includes at least two sources. All
sources must be documented in the correct format* '+
@ebran#(.
The basic format of a newspaper article can be
condensed into a simplified eplanation:
-eadlineDAn attention getting phrase at the top of the
article.
Byline D By, your name.
4ead 5aragraph D @tart with a strong, interesting
sentence to get the reader engaged. 0nclude the 2who,
what, when, where, why, and how3 as appropriate.
&planation and AmplificationDThis section will
include several brief paragraphs eplaining the
details surrounding your photograph.
Bac#ground 0nformationDThis section will include
several brief paragraphs eplaining events leading up
to the picture, related national stories, etc. '+@ebran#(.
NEWSPAPER COLUMN (noun) The noun NEWSPAPER COLUMN has 1
sense: 1. an artice !i"in! o#inions or #ers#ecti"es $a%iiarit&
in'or%ation: NEWSPAPER
'our t&#es o' cou%ns
%e(ica
e!a
rei!ious
hu%orous
a)o"e cassi*cation is )& (r. A)(us saa% +hurshi(
!enera& cou%ns (i"i(e( into three cate!ories
hu%orous cou%n
roun( a)out to,n cou%n
e(itoria cou%n or #ersona e(itoria cou%n