Journalist writing basics

Learning how to write for the news can be tricky at first, but with practice comes familiarity!

The main framework that I was taught was the 5W and 1H, and they are the six basic questions to ask yourself when gathering information on a news story, on a person, or solving an issue. These will be your building blocks to writing your stories.

5W and IH

• Who?

• What?

• Where?

• When?

• Why?

• How?

These 6 questions, when answered, will be your key to writing a compelling story.

For example, I am writing an article on a new bill and I need to gather my information. Who does this bill affect? What is the bill about? Where is the bill affecting? When did it happen? And how are other people reacting to said bill? Once you gather all of that, all that is left for you to do is connect the pieces to write your story.

Here are the four main things your article should have:

• Lead: the opening paragraph that contains your 5Ws and 1H in 25 words or less that summarizes your article clearly and captures your reader's attention.

• Quote: word for word of what someone you interviewed said that corresponds to your story.

• Nut graph: your body paragraph of information that adds to your story.

• Kicker: your ending to the story.

Learning how to write articles with these in mind helped format my stories to be better each time. It takes practice along with some trial and error, but it's worth knowing the basics of journalism.

Here is advice I learned from my journalist peers and teachers:

• Never interview other journalists, friends, or family members because that is a conflict of interest when the journalist's judgement is compromised in making decisions or taking actions in the workplace.

• Always check for grammar and spelling errors.

• Never fake a quote of what someone said or lie about who said it.

• Always have more than one source in every story.

• Always fact-check what someone tells you.

• Ask for a person's pronounce, names, titles, and contact information.

• Keep updated on local news and social media for stories and sources.

This was a lot for me to remember along with the many other journalistic tricks of the trade that I've learned over time, so it's handy to take notes whenever I learn something new. Learning the basics shaped my writing, and there is always room for improvement!