Elements of a Newspaper Article

Headline

Title of the article that uses a larger size of font to attract�audience’s attention. It often contains one or even several of�the 5Ws (e.g., Senior Attacked By Teen).

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Byline

The name of the journalist that wrote the story. Sometimes

includes location and news agency details (e.g., Jim Nasium,

Cornwall). Usually found near the top of an article.

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Lead Paragraph

The first paragraph in the newspaper that contains four of

the five W’s, including Who, What, Where and When. A

good lead should summarize the facts and try to hook the

reader into reading more (e.g., A senior was mugged

yesterday in a brazen attack in Cornwall’s downtown�Memorial Park. A teen is facing several charges in�connection with the incident after being picked up by police�early yesterday evening on the basis of eye witness reports)

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Elements of a Newspaper Article

Body Paragraphs

All of the paragraphs that occur after the Lead Paragraph�compose a news article’s Body Paragraphs. They describe�the 5th W of a news article: why. It might include quotations,�background information, statistics and additional details that�an interested reader might want to know.

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5 W’s

A hard news article should answer the 5W’s for a reader:

Who, What, Where, When and Why/How

Inverted Pyramid

The name given to the structure of a hard news article in a�newspaper. It is designed to attract the audience’s attention�and increase a reader’s efficiency. Key details, in this case,�four of the 5W’s are placed in a short, first paragraph that is�called the lead. All other supporting details that make up the�Why of the story are found in the subsequent body�paragraphs.

• Who?��Several questions should be asked in order to highlight any people who may be involved in the story. Find the major players, knowledgeable sources, stakeholders, etc. Secondary people would include those who support or oppose an issue or who may be indirectly affected by the problem or event.��What?��What is going on? What happened? Answers to these simple questions should be driven by key moments in the story and the forces that have created the issue or alternately, fixed the problem. This factor is the basic premise that supports why the story is news worthy.��When?��Attached to the events of What?, it is important to include a timeline of events. At what point does the story begin and where does it end? For future articles on the issue, an accurate timeline can be a useful tool.��Where?��Where is the action? This includes more than just the address or cross streets. Consider what the location looks like, sounds like and smells like as well as any surrounding locations that might impact the story. A great news writer would be able to make the reader "see" the location with minimal words.��Why?��This factor is not always the easiest to uncover depending on the circumstances. Look deeper than a simple, "Why did this thing happen?" Look towards why the people involved are behaving a certain way. Are there circumstances beyond the immediate story that contribute to the question of why?��How?

Columns and Spacing

• A standard page has four columns. Stories should not stretch across multiple columns and columns should not vary in width.  Newspapers usually do not look good when they have big gaps of white space. A little extra is not a problem so long as it does not  look as if it blends two different stories together. If it does a line can be used to separate the two articles. Lines should not meet  with text as they are only a frame, and should be used sparingly.

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Pull Quotes and Text Wrap

A pull quote is a quote from an article that is "pulled out" and enlarged to add visual interest. Text wrap is when a word is relocated to the next line because it is too big to fit on one line. These elements can be used to lengthen or shorten the size of a story.

Photographs, Cartoons, and Graphics

• EVERY photograph must have a caption AND a photo credit (Photographer: Joe Schmoe)
• Caption has a bold catch-phrase, then a colon, and then the caption in normal 12 point Times New Roman font
• Avoid the postage stamp/business card size art—don’t be afraid to supersize photos and cartoons, these are the elements that pull readers into a story—make them attention getting!
• Crop photos!  Only include the center of attention  
• Every picture needs a person in it!

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Writing a News Report (Article)

• Always write in the 3^rd person (he, she, they)
• Do not state your opinion
• Make up the facts (dates, places, names)
• Clearly state the 5 Ws (Who, what, When, Where, Why)
• Always refer to the picture!
• Use short sentences, simple language
• Use transition words

• Start your first sentence like this:
• On April 2, 2012 at St. Patrick’s High School, in Ottawa (restate the headline).

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• Refer to the picture in writing. Use…
• “The photo above shows…” “As seen in the picture…” “As the picture above shows…”

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• Use at least 2 direct quotations:
• When asked, the police chief said, “It is the citizens that have to take action.”