How to write a News Report

Part 1 – Collecting information for a news report

1. Figure out what to write about. News reports are about something that is happening now or that just
recently happened. Current issues, events, crimes, and investigations are good subjects for news reports.
Other styles of journalism are better for things like profiles, advice articles, and opinion pieces.
 Ask around for story ideas, especially government officials and public relations representatives.
 Scan the news to see what is already happening. This could lead to you finding other story ideas that
are related.
 Search your city or county's website or directory for local events that are coming up.
 Attend city council meetings to find out if there are any local issues happening in your area.
 Sit in on trials at the courthouse and see if anything interesting happens that you could report on.

2. Go to the scene. Once you find out what you want to write about, go there. You might need to go to the
scene of a crime, a business, the courthouse, or an event. It will be difficult to write about something that you
are not present at.
 Write down everything you see and everything that takes place.
 Record and take notes of any speeches that occur at events. Make sure to get the names of the
speakers.

3. Conduct interviews. Who you interview will depend on what you are reporting on. You will want to get a
broad range of quotes for your report, so try to interview an array of people. Good people to interview are
event coordinators, lawyers, police, business owners, volunteers, participants, and witnesses. If you need to
find people to schedule interviews with them, use the internet to find contact information. You can also
interview people directly at the scene, depending on your news report topic.
 If the story is controversial or political, make sure to get both sides of the issue.
 Prepare sample questions, but don't necessarily stick to them.
 Think of an interview as a conversation.
 Record the interview.
 Make sure to get the full names (spelled correctly) of anyone you interviewed.

4. Transcribe the interviews and speeches. When you are back at your home or your office, transcribe the
interviews and any speeches. Listen to your recordings and type out everything (or at least the most important
parts) of the interviews and speeches. This will make finding information for the report and any quotes easier.
 Make sure you review your transcriptions to make sure they're accurate. You don't want to misquote
someone.

5. Do research on the subject. News reports are about what happened in the moment, but it is good to do
basic research on the subject. Research any companies, people, or programs that you are reporting on to
make sure you have your facts straight. Double check spelling of names, dates, and any information you have
gathered to make sure it is correct.

Part 2 – Writing a news report

1. Write a headline. Your headline should be accurate, clear, and easy to understand. Use key words
from the story and keep it straight and plain. Use active and short action verbs in your headline. The
headline should accurately lead readers to what the report is about. The headline should be short –
from 3 to 8 words in length.
 The headline should be attention grabbing, but not exaggerate or mislead.
 Capitalize the first word of the headline and any proper nouns after that.
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 If you're having trouble coming up with a headline, you might try writing it last instead. It may be
easier to think of a headline after you've finished your article.
 For example, your headline might read: "Armed robbery at Portland farmer's market"

2. Write a byline, date line and place line. The byline goes directly underneath the headline. This is
where you put your name and clarify who you are. The placeline is where the article takes place and
is written in all caps. Use AP Style state abbreviations.
 An example of a byline: Sue Smith, Staff Reporter
 An example of a date line: June 10, 2018
 An example of a placeline: EUGENE, ORE.

3. Use a hard news lead. A news lead (or lede) is the opening paragraph of a report or article and is
often considered the most important part. A news report is not the time for a verbose and artful lead.
Keep your lead to the point, fitting as much of the basic information as you can into your lead. A lead
is only one or maybe two sentences and summarizes the news story; the who, what, when, where,
why, and how of you story should be emphasized in the lead.
 Don't include people's names in the lead (save that information for later), unless everyone
knows who they are (i.e. President Obama).
 For example: A Seattle man was caught selling stolen cars at his auto shop on Tuesday when
a police officer posed as a customer.

4. Write the body of your report. This is going to consist of the facts, but more detailed and specific
than in your lead. Use the information you collected and gathered at the scene and in interviews.
Write your report in third person and from a neutral perspective. Make sure your story conveys
information and not an opinion.

5. Include quotes in the news report. Quotes can be included in your news report to convey
information. Always introduce who you are quoting followed by the exact words that they said. Use
their full name the first time you mention them then only use their last name. The quotes are referred
to as direct speech.

 For example: Mary Quibble has been the director of the children's theater for six years. “I love
the children and how much they care about these performances,” Quibble said. “There are 76
kids in the programs. They range in age from 7 to 16 years old.”
If the person you interviewed actually had much to say, you should summarize,
giving only the most relevant information for your report, and use reported speech
in this case. For example: Mary Quibble, director of the children’s theatre for six
years, said there are 76 children on the program, ranging from 7 to 16 years old.
Reported speech is always written in the past tense.

6. Always include attributions (say where you got the information from – who said it). Unless the
information is common knowledge, always attribute where you got it. You can get in trouble for not
giving credit to someone. This is also important in case a fact is wrong, then it will be known who got
the fact wrong and that it was not you.
 For example: The woman ran out of the house at 11 p.m. when she heard the burglar enter,
police said.

7. Write in hard news style. You don't want to use overly descriptive language when writing a news
report. Just stick to the facts and keep the sentences short and concise. Use active language and
strong verbs.
 Speak in past tense when writing a news report.
 Start a new paragraph whenever there is a new thought (this might mean you have
paragraphs that are as short as a sentence or two)
 Write your news report in AP Style.

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Taken directly from “How to Write a News Report” https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-News-Report by Christopher
Taylor, PhD, September 6, 2019.

How to write a Headline for a news article

Part 1 – Understanding the purpose of a newspaper headline
1. Understand the key elements of a newspaper headline. A good newspaper headline will be
factually correct, connect to ordinary readers, attract attention using active words, and match the tone
of the article.
 Accuracy is very important when writing a newspaper headline, as you do not want to create
an unintended meaning or confuse your reader. Avoid exaggerating or embellishing the
content in the article by using an overblown headline. Instead, aim to communicate clearly
with your reader through a short, one to three word headline.

2. Try to solve a problem or answer a question. The headline will be in large letters on the page and
will likely be the first thing a reader will see when they open up the newspaper. You want to draw your
reader in by using the headline to pique their interest or curiosity. The headline should motivate the
reader to read the rest of the article.
 Often, readers will be willing to read a headline that provides factual information that will
solve a problem they might have or provide the answer to a question. For example, the
headline: Lincoln: ‘The war has begun' would be of interest to people reading the newspaper
in 1860, as it would answer their question: What is going on with the civil war in the United
States?
 As well, a reader may continue reading an article with a headline like: Make Your Car Engine
Sparkle if she is looking to solve the problem of cleaning her car engine.

3. Make your headline short. Your headline should contain focus keywords to make it easier for the
headline to be found by search engines. Online newspaper headlines should only contain keywords
and be no more than 70 characters (or 3 to 8 words), as additional words are considered too long.
 Keep in mind the expectations for newspaper headlines for online publications have shifted
from more traditional rules of newspaper headline writing. Many websites will sacrifice
accuracy and information for headlines that over promise or exaggerate a news story. Online
newspaper headlines, and some print headlines, are also using emotion to tap into a reader’s
curiosity and encourage the reader to read the rest of the article.
 For example, headlines like: The Cutest Otters on the Internet and You’ll Never Believe Who
Prince Harry is Dating Now contain very little actual information and are full of hyperbole.
However, these types of headlines are very common in online publications and some current
print publications. You may also come across headlines that telegraph emotion, or tap into the
reader’s emotions, such as: Daughter Comes Out to Father in Video. His Response Will Make
You Cry, or Images of Men That Will Make You Happy on a Monday.
 These types of headlines appeal to a certain audience and are usually used for light news
stories. Hyperbolic headlines are not recommended for breaking news stories about local
events, world events, and social and political topics as they can weaken the professionalism
of the article. Rather than appeal to emotion or exaggeration, focus on creating newspaper
headlines that inform your reader and that are based on fact.

Part 2 – Writing a Newspaper Headline

1. Identify the key terms in the article to create the headline. Read the article in full and make note
of the details in the first paragraph of the article. The key details of the story should be in the first one
to three sentences of the article, so look for the key terms in these lines.
 For example, in an article about migrants found dead in a truck in Vienna, the first sentence of
the article might read: “The decomposing bodies of as many as 50 people assumed to be
migrants being smuggled across Europe were found in a truck abandoned on a highway east
of Vienna on Thursday, the police said.” You may then highlight key details that should be
included in the headline, such as the location of the incident (Austria), the number of people
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 dead (as many as 50), who the people were (migrants), and where they were found (in an
abandoned truck). Your headline may then be: Austria Finds Up to 50 Bodies Thought to be
Migrants in Truck.
 Another example is an article on Google and the European Union’s antitrust laws, with the
first sentence: “Google on Thursday rejected claims from the European Union’s top antitrust
official that the company favored some of its own search results over those of rivals, saying
there was significant competition in the region’s online search market and that the company’s
services increased choice for local consumers.” You may then come up with a short, clear
headline that identifies the subject of the article (Google), the action the subject is taking
(denying or rejecting), and who the subject is reacting to (European Union’s accusations of
violating antitrust laws): Google Denies Europe’s Antitrust Accusations.

2. Use action verbs and the active voice in the headline. A good headline is driven by good action
verbs, which are verbs that describe something a person does in a clear and convincing way. Often,
simple action verbs are more effective than complex action verbs, for example “use” instead of
“utilize” or “show” rather than “demonstrate” or “model”. Prevent confusing your reader by sticking to
action verbs that will appeal to the average reader and will not muddle the overall meaning of the
headline. As well, you should never start a headline with a verb. The headline should begin with the
subject of the article, whenever possible.
 Avoid verbs like “think”, “believe” or “feel”, as these are not verbs based on fact or statements.
The headline should use only factual evidence from the article and should not be based on
emotion or uncertainty.
 An effective headline should also be written with logical sentence structure and a strong
present tense verb. Using the active voice will make the headline feel immediate and draw
your reader in. For example, a weak headline in the passive voice, with weak verbs, might
be: No affair, says Clinton, suggests witness should ‘tell the truth’. A better headline in the
active voice, with action verbs, might be: Clinton claims no affair, urges witness to ‘tell the
truth’. The second headline is much clearer and the subject of the article (Clinton) is stated
first in the headline.
 You should also avoid using words that could be read as either a noun or a verb. For
example, in the headline Violinist linked to JAL crash blossoms, the verb “blossom” can be
read as a noun or a verb in the context of the rest of the headline. The reader is not sure if
“crash blossoms” refers to the noun “blossoms” or the verb “to blossom”.[13] If you read the
article, you will understand the headline is referring to a violinist. Her father dies in a crash,
but her career blossoms. The headline only makes sense once you read the article, which
means the headline itself is confusing and not useful to the reader.

3. Put the headline in the present tense if the events are happening now. The headline should have
a time element so it is clear to the reader when the event is taking place. If the event occurred in the
recent past and is considered breaking news, for example, Austria Finds Up to 50 Bodies Thought to
be Migrants in Truck, you can use the present tense.
 You likely will not create a headline for an event that happened in the distant past, unless
there are new developments in relation to the event. You can use the past tense or the
present tense for the headline. For example, Robert Durst Murder Case Reopened in Light of
New Evidence or Robert Durst Murder Case Reopens in Light of New Evidence.Whenever
possible, remove articles like “an”, “a”, “the” and connecting terms like “because” or “due to” in
the headline. These are considered padding in a headline and are not necessary to get the
key points of the article across. For example, The Robert Durst Murder case will be reopened
because of new evidence can be shortened to Robert Durst Murder Case Reopens in Light of
New Evidence.

4. Do not use jargon or slang in the headline. Headline jargon, also referred to as “headlinese”, can
be confusing for your reader. Often, headline jargon are also too vague and do not provide the reader
with useful information.
 For example, Syrian head visits Senate. In this headline, “head” is a headlines, as it is not
clear if the headline is referring to an actual head of a Syrian or a Syrian who is the head of a
department or office.

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  Similarly, the headline FBI probe expected in hijacking case is confusing as it uses the
headline jargon “probe”, but this term does not give the reader any clear information about the
actions of the FBI. A stronger headline might be: FBI investigation expected in hijacking case.

5. Do the TACT test. Once you have completed your headline, you should run it through the TACT test
to confirm it is print ready. The TACT test is Taste-Attractiveness-Clarity-Truth. Ask yourself the
following questions in relation to your headline:
 Is it in good taste? Is there anything possibly offensive in the headline? Can anything in the
headline be taken the wrong way?
 Is it attractive to the reader? Can it be improved so it is more engaging and interesting,
without sacrificing accuracy?
 Does it communicate the key points of the article? Is it clear and simple? Does it use the
active voice and active verbs? Are there any odd words or double meanings that could
confuse the reader?
 Is it accurate? Are the proper words or terms from the article used in the headline? Is the
headline factually correct?
 If you answer no to any of these questions, you will need to rethink the headline and adjust it
so it meets the TACT criteria.

Part 3 – Formatting the Headline

3. Capitalize the first word of the headline. The first word of the headline should always be
capitalized, as should all proper nouns in the headline. Some publications capitalize every word of the
headline, and some publications do not capitalize every word, just the first word of the headline. You
should follow the formatting guidelines for the publication you are writing the headline for.
 All headlines should be flush to the left and should not take up more than one to two lines in
the publication. In general, shorter headlines are best.

4. Do not spell out numbers in headlines. You can start a headline with a number and you do not
need to spell out any numbers for most publications.
 For example, 3 dead in car crash, or 20 dead in explosion.

5. Use punctuation properly in the headline. Most headline punctuation follows the standard
punctuation rules, with two exceptions: periods and single quotes.
 Use periods for abbreviations only in headlines. For example, U.S. fights Iranian government.
 Use single quotes for any double quotes in the article. For example, Lincoln: ‘The war has
begun’, Clinton urges witness to ‘tell the truth’.
 You can also use a colon as a substitute for the word “said” in a headline. For
example, Lincoln: War inevitable, victory essential.

Taken directly from “How to Write a Newspaper Headline” https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Newspaper-

Headline by Megan Morgan, PhD Eglish, September 10, 2019