How to Write Newsworthy Stories
News is information about events that have happened or will happen in the near future. It is important for democracy that the people are kept up-to-date on the happenings around them. It also helps in the growth of a society. News reaches the public through newspapers, radio and television.
To make a story newsworthy it has to be able to generate interest and curiosity among the readers. It must be of significant importance to the people and should affect their lives in one way or another. It should be new and not old and therefore have a fresh appeal. A good headline will catch the attention of the reader and make them want to read the article. The news should be unbiased and should not contain the writer’s opinions. It should give all the necessary details about the topic and also provide sufficient information so that the reader can form his own opinion.
The news articles should be written in an interesting manner with the use of proper language and a lot of creativity. It is recommended to write a news story using the inverted pyramid style, which means that the most important details come first and then the less significant details are followed by them. This is helpful because it gives the reader a better understanding of the topic.
An in-depth news story is one that takes a specific subject and goes into it at length, usually with a great deal of research. It is a type of news report that may include interviews with individuals or other sources. In-depth news stories are often hard news, such as a fire at a home or a political scandal.
Soft news is a general term for all non-hard news, which may be of interest to the public but is not of major importance. Soft news may involve things such as weather, sports and entertainment.
Hard news is what is typically seen on the front page of a newspaper, at the top of a web site or in the opening segment of a TV or radio news broadcast. It is usually politically or militarily related and has a high level of significance to the audience. It can be controversial and may have a wide impact on the community.
Some of the criteria that are used to determine whether something is newsworthy are: proximity, prominence, conflict, shock value and magnitude. Proximity refers to how close the event is to the audience. If it is in their own country, it will be more relevant to them than if it occurs in the next county. Prominence refers to how well known the people involved are. Conflict and shock value add to the significance of a story, while magnitude refers to how many people are affected. The more of these criteria a story meets, the more significant it is.