Category - Media
Topic - Journalism/Writing the News
Issue - How to write an informative news item without inserting bias
Tiptoid -
When you pick up your daily newspaper, you always expect the truth. You expect to hear the facts from an unbiased and reliable source. You want to know what happened, and not much more than that.
Writing articles such as these can be more difficult than it seems, as we all have our own opinions, and not expressing them can stifle our ability to write anything at all. This is why journalism is so different from any other type of writing style; it takes quite a bit of training, time, and patience to perfect the art of informative writing.
If you want to learn to write the truth, remember - not everyone wants to hear what you think about a news event. These people are news readers who only want to know the facts.
If you are setting out to write a news article, the first thing to do is make sure you know what you are talking about. What current event is the focus of your writing?
Once you have your topic, you gather every bit of information about this topic that you can. Know the facts, and make sure that each of them is true. Know your sources/resources. Know which sources are reliable, and which are not. If two sources contradict each other, trust neither, and look somewhere else. If your article is to be truthful, you must seek out the truth wherever it takes you.
Once you are in possession of the facts - which you have proven to be true - you then organize them into a logical order. In some written works this takes a chronological turn, relating to WHEN something happened. Or, perhaps, your writing will go in a geographical pattern, relating to WHERE something happened. It all depends on how you plan to write the article.
After this you fill in the spaces. Make certain that the transitions are smooth, so that what you write flows like poetry. But state the facts clearly, so that your article informs, as intended.
Note – Make sure to reread your work. Double, triple check!
Remember, personal bias does not belong in news writing.
Glossary -
bias – an attitude that always favors one way of feeling or acting over any other; prejudice
fact – information that is perceived as true
opinion – a person or group's view on any specific issue
Find Out More - Talk with your English or Journalism teacher. Become a good critical thinker by reading newspapers, newsmagazines or news Internet sites; www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/special_initiatives/toolkit_resources/tipsheets/writing_news_story.cfm
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Submitted by - Madison Jennings
Site Manager - Andrew An
May 2006