Writing a HoloNet Worthy News Article
The Art of Reporting the News
Writing a news story may seem simple enough, but there are several steps you must take prior to writing the article itself. By following the steps below, you will learn how to: decipher if something is newsworthy, learn how to collect the necessary information, understand how to format your article, set your work apart from others by including visualizations to enhance the story, and finally, how to tie everything together into one comprehensive piece.
Step One: Decide if it is News Worthy
Newsworthy stories have a special quality to them. While you can write about whatever you want on your own time, it is imperative to consider the audience when it comes to the news. All news articles should fit into one or more of the following categories:
Human/Alien interest piece: a story that focuses on individuals that others can relate to on a personal level.
Original: A story that is about something new that we didn’t know about prior to the article.
Relevant: An article that is timely and applicable to the current environment.
Unexpected: A story that is surprising and something that we don’t see on a regular basis.
Controversial: A subject that will cause debate amongst its viewers
If your story does not fit into one or more of these categories, it may be a good opinion piece, but not newsworthy.
Step Two: Figure Out Your Five ‘W’s (and the ‘H’)
Something we learned long ago, but often forgotten is remembering to include your “Five ‘W’s”. The five ‘W’s are, Who, What, When, Where, and Why. In addition, “How” should be incorporated as well. These five W’s and the “H” will be the meat of your story; this tells the audience who you are talking about, what the subject is, when this is happening, where it is taking place, why it is important, how it is transpiring, and the root of its origins. You must consider these questions prior to writing your article, so that you can look for this information in Step Three.
Step Three: Collect the FACTS
This step is crucial. It’s easy to take hearsay as fact, but in order to write a true news article, you need to gather all of the facts from unbiased sources. On top of doing research, perform an investigation of your own. Talk to people, go places, ask questions, record visual information using a holocam (when you have permission to do so), and take notes – lots of notes. Note peoples expressions, their reservations, even if they don’t want to comment, take note of that. Get information from both sides of the story if it is a controversial matter. Understand other people’s views. Take any opinion you thought you might have had and throw it out the window, let the facts show you the truth. The purpose of the news is to keep people informed, and it is your job to gather all of the facts for what they really are, even if it’s not the story you were anticipating on telling. Know that sometimes, you may set out to write an article and the research, investigation and facts will lead you to an even bigger, more impactful story. Don’t focus on the way you want to present your story in this part of the process, the way you should present it will become apparent as you gather all the necessary information.
Step Four: Organize Your Information and Outline the Story
Now that you have obtained all the information to write your piece, you need to organize it and make an outline of the story you want to tell. During this process, you need to be aware of your structure requirements – did your editor give you a word count? Where will this be presented? Will photos be included? Will this be on the HoloNet as a feature? What quotes will you pull?
Every good story is outlined in a similar way with the same backbone.
Lead sentence – The lead sentence is your hook. It is what will grab the audience’s attention and encourage them to read your article. Use this sentence to convince them that what you have to say is important.
Introduction – Now that you have your hook, introduce the facts that you gathered. Give away the five W’s and the H, set the scene for your audience so that they know what is happening.
Opening Quotation – Use a quote you gathered to really drive home the point you are trying to make, and where you are taking the story
The Main Body – Here you provide the meat, more details, more facts. This is the heart of your story and what point you are trying to make.
Closing Quotation – Use a quote you found that sums up the point of the article and tie it all together
Conclusion – End your story by tying all the pieces together in a memorable way. Summarize your point and make the audience think about what they just read.
During this stage, you may simply have quotes and thoughts jotted down, but do so in a way that really outlines everything you want to include in your piece.
Step Five: Write your Article
Now that you have all the information outlined in a way that tells a complete story, you can finally write your article. You will need to edit this several times, so don’t expect it to be brilliant right away. Once you have everything you wanted written, go back and edit. Is everything you said important? Is there unnecessary information that gets in the way of the actual story you are telling? You may have gotten numerous quotes that seem absolutely “perfect” to include, but know what really adds value to the article, and kill whatever doesn’t. Think about what else you would like to include to help tell the story as well. Do you have holograms that will speak for themselves?
Step Six: Add Your Visual Aids (Optional)
If you took pictures or video using the holocam or holorecorder, see where it fits into the article and how it can help support your story. If you don’t have visual aids, you can go back and add details in writing about the visual aspects of the story, to give your audience an even clearer picture of the situation.
Step Seven: Read, Edit & Repeat
This is the step that can be the most daunting – but use this time to make sure you remained unbiased in your story telling, included all the imperative information, killed what wasn’t necessary, and are clear and concise in what you are saying. You can have a friend read it, and make sure they understand it, as they represent your audience. Once you feel confident, submit to your editor (who may very well have additional edits) and then you are done!
