School of Media and Communication Studies

Khabeer Ul Tanwir
khabeer56@hotmail.com
 Before / While reading or while selected what
to read, what are the few things that are in
your mind?
 Stories don’t exist. They happen.
 A story is an event, not an object.
 It exists in time
 It’s often about people.
 It’s an experience for those receiving it – the
readers, listeners & viewers.
 Every real story has at least six elements
 1)A setting
 2)One or more characters
 3)Some sort of complication
 4)A process of resolving to the complication
 4)Some sort of resolution
 5)Some sort of closure
 Setting: Where and When
 The mood and the scene of the story.
 Characters
 Complications
 Response/Resolving
 Resolution
 Closure
 Remember: Stories don’t exist; they happen.
They’re events, not objects.
 Stories are more than text, graphics, pictures,
etc. They are images in the memory – the
minds and hearts of the people who reads,
listens and views them.
 As a reporter you are the story teller. You
need to captivate your audience.
 Reporters often begin with something that
signals that what follows is worth attention –
the story’s lead.
 The lead is usually what’s newest, most
interesting, strange, most significant in the
story that is being unfolded.
 The first paragraph – The Main attention
grabber
 On average usually less than 30 words
 Ideally should answer the 5W and 1H
 Ideally only one concept/detail per paragraph
 Prioritize paragraphs in order of importance
 Each paragraph can stand alone
 Quotes – eye witnesses, experts• Statistics

End the story with a short summary

 There is a difference between story and myth.
 Look into the events you’re covering to find the
truth.
 Don’t jump into conclusion.
 Report only as much of the story as you’ve really
gathered.
 Don’t fill in the blanks to make up your own
story.
 Don’t downplay or into the story.
 The story you’re telling is often the story being
told by other people so do not drift into telling a
story as your own
 Short – One Liner
 Simple and Direct
 Use comma to indicate the connector “and”
 Read a news story and identify all the
elements.
 Definition of News Reporting
News reporting involves discovering all
relevant facts, selecting and presenting the
important facts and weaving a comprehensive
story. Reporting involves hard work, which in
turn involves stamina and patience. The main
function of journalistic profession is news
reporting.
 Investigative Reporting
 Court Reporting
 Accidence Reporting
 Political Reporting
 Fashion Reporting
 Business Reporting
 Sports Reporting
 Specialized Reporting
 Identify/Pitch a recent, newsworthy event or topic
 Conduct timely, in-person interviews with witnesses
or relevant people
 Establish the “Four Main Ws and 1H
 Prioritize information in an imaginary inverted
pyramid
 Develop a strong Lead Paragraph
 Construct your piece (First Draft)
 Dig in for additional facts and information
 Edit and rewrite.
 Include a catchy Headline along with a picture if
seemed necessary.
 Read the final draft before final submission for
spellings, grammar and language mistake.
 Write a small news report on a recent event
that took place at UMT? (100-120 words)

 Use the inverted pyramid approach to

prioritize the information, develop a headline,
a lead paragraph, few supporting paragraphs
and a small closing summary.