Blog

  • Presenting news

    Presenting news

    However good the story, reporters must present it in a way that makes people want to absorb it. Most people today cope with an information overload from different sources – television, radio, the internet – and may be reading in a crowded train. To grab their attention news stories must be clear, concise, and interesting, dramatic and colourful.

    Write a heading that captivates your audience

  • What makes news?

    One classic definition of what constitutes news is this:
    If a dog bites a man, that is not news.
    But if a man bites a dog, that is news.
    This suggests news is reports of the unusual, but news is not always about unusual events; routine government decisions and company announcements might be news if they are of interest and relevant to many people. The importance given to one piece of news over another in a newspaper depends on a variety of factors, such as proximity. Another factor is relevance. A scientific breakthrough that could affect a country’s farmers, or the health of many of the population, even if reported from another country, could knock a good local story off the front page.

  • Style Guide

    There is no universal code for reporters, for the way they operate, or are allowed to operate, varies according to countries’ regional, historical and cultural differences. However, journalists generally agree on the key elements of what most people regard as good, responsible news reporting. It is the search for the truth, to the best of one’s abilities in the prevailing circumstances.