The inverted pyramid

This way of writing a news story, with the main news at the start and the rest of the detail following in decreasing order of importance, is known as the inverted pyramid. A pyramid has a broad base and tapers towards its top; the news story is just the opposite, with a broad top and tapering towards the base. It is therefore called an inverted (or upside-down) pyramid.

This "shape" of the news story, with a "broad" top and a "narrow" base, is in the weight of the news itself. Look back at the earlier example, of the Hohola house fire. See how the first paragraph of the news story is the biggest news, and how the story begins to taper down towards the minor detail.

The first paragraph, which is called the intro, contains the most newsworthy part of the story - the newest, most unusual, most interesting and most significant - told clearly and simply. This is followed by a full explanation and all the details. The most newsworthy parts of the story will be written nearest to the top of the story.

The later part of the story - the tapering point of the inverted pyramid - contains detail which is helpful, but not essential.

Here is an example of a short news story in the inverted pyramid; structure:

A Palauli woman whose body was found in the sea is believed to have drowned.
Police say the 35-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, was an epileptic.
Her body was found floating in the sea near Palauli, Savai`i, on Monday.
A post mortem examination will be conducted today.

This format has a practical advantage, too. If it is necessary to cut a number of lines, to fit the story into the available space on a page or into the available time in a news bulletin, it is best if the least important facts are at the end. Theycanthenbecutwithoutharmingthestory.

It will be clear from this that the most important part of any news story is the intro and that intro writing is one of the most important skills of a journalist.

We shall look in detail in the next chapter at how to write the intro.

Advanced news writing

The simple inverted pyramid, as described here, is not suitable for all news stories. Later, in Chapter 25, we will look at some more advanced and sophisticated shapes for news stories.
However, you should first master the basic inverted pyramid before moving on.

TO SUMMARISE:

News stories put the main point first, with other information following in order of importance, finishing with the least important.
This helps readers and listeners by identifying the main news and saving them time and effort.

Writing the intro in simple steps

Here we consider the qualities which a good intro should have. We look at how a reporter decides what information to put in the intro; and offer advice on how to make your intro more effective.

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The intro is the most important part of any news story. It should be direct, simple and attention-grabbing. It should contain the most important elements of the story - but not the whole story. The details can be told later.

It should arouse the interest of the reader or listener, and be short. Normally it should be one sentence of not more than 20 words for print media, and fewer for radio and television.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 763