COLEGIO DE DAGUPAN

SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

CAMPUS JOURNALISM

Chapter 3

The News: A Backgrounder

Understanding News

News is difficult to define because it has many variables, but one needs to
determine what is newsworthy when deciding what to write about for his or her story
assignments.

Try to process this. News must be factual, yet not all facts are news. A news item
is based on actual occurrences, situations, thoughts and ideas, yet not all facts are news.
For instance, a dog bites a typical man. This is not a news for many, but when a typical
man bites a dog, this may be newsworthy to some. Here, the logical nature of news may
be drawn, such that, the taste of news depends on the interest of and impact to their
reader.

To attain a wide array of perspectives and meanings about news, the definitions
of news according to Philippine journalism authors are surveyed and are listed below.

According to Soriano et al. (2012), a news is any oral or written report of an event
that happened, is happening, will happen in the North, East, West and South (NEWS)
that is of interest to the reader and which should be reported.

From Soriano's definition, three primary considerations in defining news are drawn.
First, news is reported through airwaves and in written form. Second, anything can
become news, whether the event is already done, is being done, or shall still being
conducted. Third, the news considers the interest of the reader in accepting the impact
of the news, that is, a news for somebody may not be a news to another person.
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SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Malinao (2008) also attempted to define news by pointing out that news is basically
about an event, idea or a reaction that is presented factually and simply in written form
to give the reader an idea of what is currently happening around him or her, particularly
on matters of interest to the community.

This lengthy definition by Malinao (2008) gives the notion that news may include
or encompass any topic including a speech or a simple feedback. Moreover, it stresses
that news is generally written and is based on facts.

Another perspective about news is given by Estrada and Singh (1987). Though the
date of publication may seem to be antiquated for some, for the purpose of tracing the
perspective, the definition is included. Estrada and Singh opined, "News is a timely factual
report of events, ideas or situations interesting or significant to people. Others define it
as literature in a hurry."

Estrada and Singh's definition gives an added perspective on time elements.

Literature in a hurry therefore means that news should be publicized at its freshness. It
means that the life span of a news may be so short that it expires right away and that it
can be buried when new angles of the news or topic are broadcast.

Additional viewpoint is also written by Puig and Flores (2005). They posited that
news is any information that is significant to a particular set of readers. Simply put, they
qualified news according to its relevance and interest of the readers.

Another pair of Filipino journalist writers, Soriano and Henson (1999), provides a
seemingly technical definition of news. They inscrbed that news is a reportage of accurate
facts, events and ideas that interest a large number of readers. Anything that is refreshed
or regenerated is also news. Here, the definition looks into the newness of idea that
responds to the interest of the readers. The definition marries the idea of immediacy and
interest; ergo, the newer the angle of the story, the more interesting it is to the readers.
 COLEGIO DE DAGUPAN
SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Lastly, Pangilinan (2012) provides another definition which goes, "news is

information that has a meaning for a set of readers." Hence, the bases of all news are
facts, interest and readers.

From all the definitions above, news can be coined by stating that it is a timely
reportage of events, regardless of time and manner, which are grounded on facts. It
considers nearness, importance, impact and interest to the public.

News in School Papers

With the concept of news in mind, a student journalist should remember that
anything that concerns the school, its students, the teachers, including the parents is
newsworthy.

News in school may include worthwhile or extraordinary acts of students like:

opening of a new college, inauguration of the new building, stories of success, conflicts
or suspense, school convocations and other programs, interviews of visiting personalities,
merging of two colleges, increasing tuition and other fees, new grading system and the
like.

Characteristics of a Good News

One can gauge the worthiness of a news by some qualities that emanate from the
subject's nature and functions. The characteristics that are discussed below become one's
yardstick to determine whether an issue is worth publishing or broadcasting. In such
sense, when a student writer has a limited space for a news, he/she tries to weigh the
importance of the news that will occupy a space in the paper by enumerating the
attributes of news that are present in both stories. Hence, the more attributes or
characteristics a story has, the more effective it is to become catchy, interesting and
worth reading...the more it becomes appealing to the readers.
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SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

1. Timeliness or Immediacy

This characteristic of a news item underscores the newest angle of the story. For
instance, the changing of the grading system which was announced yesterday is more
appealing to a student other than the Christmas party last December. It should be noted,
too, that the more recent the event, the more appealing it is to the reader.

2. Conflict

The physical and mental struggles of persons are also newsworthy. In campus
context, competitions like oratorical contests and quiz bees are newsworthy due to the
mental conflicts present. Sports events during intramurals or foundation days are
newsworthy, too, as they have physical conflicts.

3. Proximity or Nearness

Although proximity primarily refers to geographical location, it likewise means the

nearness of interest and appeal. In the context of writing news in the Campus or school
for students in Batanes what is happening to Batanes State College will be of more
interest to the them than what is happening to Western Mindanao State University. The
imposition of "no cellphone policy" in Batanes State College will interest the Batanes'
readers more than the zero-tuition scheme of Aklan State University, so to speak.

4. Accuracy

Journalism is anchored on facts. News writing is a journalistic skill. Therefore, the

contents should be accurately reported. Accuracy primarily refers to the factualness of
news as purveyor of truth.

5. Significance

If something is important to the reader, surely he/she will read the news. Hence,
a writer should survey whatever is significant to the life of the target readers and write
about it.
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SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

When news is important to him/her, the news bears a high degree of significance,
thus, newsworthy and worth reading. In the campus setting, topics that are highly
significant include new rules imposed by the administration or the student government,
amendments to policies, upcoming big events, results of scholarship screening and the
like.

6. Prominence and Names

"The world is unfair," so the adage goes. In this light, there are persons more
popular than others. Popular names can effectuate situations and their acts may be more
interesting to others. Hence, news about these persons can yield a high degree of
newsworthiness, thus becoming more readable than other news. For campus papers,
prominent personalities include the president of the student body, the principal, the
student who won in a national competition and the like.

7. Drama

Since news is also anchored on public interest, writers should bank on any story
that can lead the writers to crying or to laughing. Such story is packed with color; thus,
subjects are moving. In this way, the news becomes appealing to the readers. For
instance, you write a story of the student leader who manages to graduate as magna
cum laude despite his five-year term as the College Student Government President.

8. Oddity or Unusualness

Sociology can explain why oddity is a good element of news. A theory explains
that when persons are curious about a phenomenon deviating from a natural course,
they will be interested in such a topic or issue; hence, that topic becomes newsworthy.
Looking into the campus situation, one may write about a forty-year-old student who has
just graduated; he has just finished his fifth bachelor's degree in your college. This
unusual situation may be so intriguing as regards the student's purpose, therefore,
becoming more newsworthy to the readers.
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SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

9. Romance and Adventure

"Love makes the world go round," so a song says. Hence, stories about love.
including adventure, may ignite the taste of the reading public. This is also the reason
why showbiz news continuously booms.

10. Progress

Attaining breakthroughs and achieving scientific discoveries are given much

attention by the readers. This attribute of the news gives a high degree of shock and a
sense of development in the society where the persons live. Looking into a school
situation, progress may be in the form a newly constructed building and newly donated
laboratory equipment from alumni abroad.

11. Numbers

For persuasion, statistics or figures have the power to shake the conviction of the
audience. This is why numbers yield a very strong impact on the readers. However, the
figures that one should write should be worth appreciating. For instance, the Alumni
Association donated one computer set last January, while the Parent Teachers Association
donated 57 computer sets to the school. The latter yields a higher degree of
newsworthiness than the former. It is not safe to say, however, that the higher the figure,
the higher is its newsworthiness. Say, your school has performed in the National
Achievement Test 50% lower than last year's data. This is a figure lower than the usual
and yet bears a high degree of interest.
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SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Types of News Stories

Here are the following types of news stories according to their classifications.

1. According to Chronology or Sequence

Spot News. As the term suggests, this is a news story that gathers information
as it is broadcast at the same time. Hence, it is unscheduled and demands immediate
publication. In many' instances, the reporter becomes the first-hand witness to the
activity or subject taking place. For instance, a student journalist happens to be standing
at the gate when a jeepney bumps an education student. He writes the story and
publishes it in the weekly newsletter of the college.

Coverage News. Many interchange spot news and coverage news. Though both
of them are good avenues for firsthand information, the difference between the two is
that coverage news is written based on the given assignment to the reporter or news
writer. The assignment is sometimes called beat. It means that the writer knows what to
write about. For example, the chief editor wants to publish what transpires in the
academic meeting, so he assigns, Jessica, a writer to cover the meeting. Jessica knows
what she shall write about and shall be concentrated only on the meeting, thus, her beat.

Advance News. When a writer crafts news about an upcoming event, say,
meeting de avance of running student leaders, change of opening of classes for the next
academic year and an announcement of new uniforms to take effect next semester,
he/she actually writes an advance news. In advance stories, writers' skills in creating
many new perspectives on a subject are tested so as to create climax when the event
happens. Sometimes, series stories are created with one or two reporters guarding the
newest angles of the event or situation.
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SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Follow-up News. While advance news is predictive, follow-up news looks into
the upshot to an event or situation. For instance, a reporter wrote a news about the
imposition of the new uniform effective this semester, then in the next issue he shall
write on the ideas and comments of the students about the new uniform, or the problems
they now meet.

2. According to Range and Reach

Local News: This is a news item. The subject of which happens in one's own
community where the paper originates. For instance, The Builders, the official student
organ of Batanes State College, covers the installation of the underground electrification
system in the province; the news is said to be ai local news since it is about the province
itself.

National News: Countrywide news is called national news. It is determined when

the news impacts the people of a certain country. Most national news is published in the
dailies.

Foreign News: All news items which trace their origin from outside the boarders
of the country are called foreign news. Some foreign news articles also create impact to
typical locals due to their domino effect like the oil price hike in the world market.

Dateline News: An out-of-town news story. This news is introduced by a dateline

which states the place from which the story was reported, the date, and the source of
the material if not written by the local staff.
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3. According to Construction

Straight News. The first paragraph answers the most important W (what, where,
when, why, who) depending on which of the W's is the most prominent among them. Its
body paragraphs consist of the elaboration on the W’s and the H. It is written using the
inverted triangle structure.

Presentation of Who

Elaboration of Who

Additional
information about
what the Who did
Least information
about another Who

b. News Feature. This special type of news should not be confused with the
feature articles (features). News feature is sometimes called special features and printed
in the feature’s sections of the newspapers or in the magazines. Human interest and
news-feature stories are classified as news since both are gathered and written daily by
reporters as their regular assignments. Furthermore, both emphasize the elements of
timeliness or immediacy which distinguish news from other types of reading, although
they differ in important respects from the straight news story.
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c. Fact Story. This is a plain exposition of a simple situation of a series of closely

related events which confirm to the inverted triangle design more closely than any other
kinds of news. The component parts are the series of facts that may be likened to
rectangles of diminishing length arranged one after the other in order of their importance.

The key to proper arrangement consists solely in judging the relative value of the
data at hand and in grouping them in their respective order.

d. Action Story

This is a narrative involving not merely simple facts but dramatic actions incidents,
description of persons, perhaps testimonies of witness, as well as explanatory data.

In reading this kind of story, first write a summarizing lead in any appropriate
form. Relate the most important details in narrative or chronological form. Tell the story
again by giving more details. But be careful not to begin the chronological order just after
beginning. Give sufficient attention to the elaboration of important information,
background and interpretation. Each unit must be closely interlocked.

e. Speech, Report, Quote, and Interview Stories

The arrangements of a speech report, a quote story and of an interview are to

great extent similar. The quote story may be charted as alternating large and small
rectangles of diminishing size: summary, quote, summary, quote, summary arrangement.
The quotations may be direct, indirect, or a combination of both. In writing this kind of
story, the following suggestions may be helpful:

1. Write a summarizing lead in any appropriate form.

2. Write the body of the story in a summary-quote-summary arrangement.

3. The lead may be a summarizing statement- the gist of the speech, statement,
letter, or interview; or it may be the most important quotation in the story written as
direct quote. closely interlocked.
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4. Minor News Forms

a. News Brief. This is a short item of news interest, written like a brief, telegraphic
message. It gives mainly the result with few details.

b. News Bulletin. It is similar to the lead of a straight news story. Its aim is just to give
the gist of the news.

c. News Featurette. This is a short news feature usually used fillers, say, quirks, in the
news.

d. Sidebar. It is a news item or a feature placed side by side its mother story to which
it is related but under a headline of its own.

e. Flash. This is a message giving first brief news of an event. It is usually boxed.