LEARNING GOALS • • • • • To identify the parts of a news report To identify bias To identify writing style To identify audience and purpose To write an informative news report

WHAT IS A NEWS REPORT?

A news report is a special form of writing that follows a very specific structure. Today we will learn the necessary look at the parts of a news report and type of writing required.

WHY DO WE READ NEWS REPORTS?

• • • • • To be informed about our communicate and the world To help us make informed decisions To learn To be persuaded To be entertained

5W 1H • • • News Reports answer the 5W 1H They are based on facts They are to be unbiased Who, What, Where, When, Why and How

THE ‘INVERTED PYRAMID’ STRUCTURE...

Lead Body *The most important facts -Answers all 5W’s -Is specific *Explains how the story happened -Includes quotations from speakers connected to the story Conclusion *Least important facts -No new information -All questions have been answered -Concludes with one sentence about the future of this story

READING A NEWS REPORT • • • Think about the following: Purpose: Why was the article written? To persuade, to entertains, to educate or to inform.

Audience: Who is the intended audience? The language and purpose should help you determine a specific audience.

Bias: to be in favour or against one thing, person, group or event. Not to tell all aspects of a story

BIAS Ask yourself the following questions to detect bias: 1. Whose point of view does the article focus on?

2. Who are the reporters sources?

3. Are both/all sides of the story told?

4. Is the language loaded to make the reader believe a specific point of view?

EACH NEWS REPORT MUST ALSO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING PARTS: 1) Masthead 2) Headline 3) Byline 4) Dateline 5) Photo 6) Caption 7) Quotation 8) Lead

LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT EACH PART…

1) MASTHEAD • • • The masthead is the largest font on the page It states the name of the newspaper Capital letters are used on all words

2) HEADLINE • • The headline is one sentence that summarizes what the news report is about. The title • Is written in present tense Ex. House Passes – CORRECT House Passed - INCORRECT Is the second largest font on the page

3) BYLINE - The byline states the reporters first and last name - The byline should be located before the actual report - Capital letters must be used for each name

4) DATELINE -States the date that the story is published in print -Is written in words not numerical form

5) PHOTO -Needs to be clearly related to your news report --Should be appealing and encourage people to read the article

6) CAPTION -Is located directly beneath the photo -Tells the reader what is seen in the photo -Is written in present or future tense CORRECT:

“plans to swim…”

7) QUOTATION(S) -Are statements given by people connected to the news event For example: an eye witness, the investigating officer, a neighbour etc. -Must use double quotation marks around the words that are being spoken and the punctuation -Must include the speaker’s first and last name -Must explain who the speaker is in relation to the story

8) LEAD -The lead is the first sentence of your news report -It must include the 5 W’s and summarize the main ideas of the report -The lead must be specific -Needs to be indented

WHEN WRITING YOUR NEWS REPORT… -The tone must be factual and informative NO opinions of the reporter are allowed -Specific details must be included to make the story clear -The language must be formal NO slang or short forms, it should sound academic -Write in third person (told from someone who was not involved) NO personal pronouns : I, we, me, our -Include short paragraphs 3-4 sentences in length

How to write a quotation:

Quotation marks around the spoken words After the car accident, Police Chief Joe O’Malley said “Jane is very lucky to be alive, we have never seen such a demolished vehicle before.” Explanation of who the speaker is and how they are connected to the story Speaker’s first and last name

PRACTICE: SEE IF YOU CAN IDENTIFY EACH PART OF A NEWS REPORT!

Practicing reading news reports will help you later in the unit when you read some news reports!