The basics of how to write news for publication, like Adventist News Network photos: Tavis Ford, Anya Quinn and Alex S.

1. How to Write News
Ansel Oliver, Adventist News Network
http://news.adventist.org
Thursday, June 18, 2009

2. Practice.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

3. What Reporters Do
• Our job as church
reporters is to build
trust with people.
• We build trust by
sharing accurate
information.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

4. We communicate so
we can build trust.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

5. An organization
is a group of
real, authentic people.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

6. How do we report?
Thursday, June 18, 2009

7. How do we report?
• Share information
quickly and in an
interesting way.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

8. share the most interesting piece
of information first.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

9. Quickly Answer:
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why
• How?
Thursday, June 18, 2009

10. Quickly Answer:
• Who? Jim & Jane
• What? Kissing
• When? Today, a few minutes ago
• Where? Behind the gym
• Why? You know...
Thursday, June 18, 2009

11. “Jim and Jane were seen kissing behind the gym today,
suggesting the two new freshman students are now dating.”
Thursday, June 18, 2009

12. “Jim and Jane were seen kissing behind the gym today,
suggesting the two new freshman students are now dating.”
Thursday, June 18, 2009

13. “Jim and Jane were seen kissing behind the gym today,
suggesting the two new freshman students are now dating.”
Thursday, June 18, 2009

14. We’ve Answered:
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why
• How?
Thursday, June 18, 2009

15. Story Formula
Thursday, June 18, 2009

16. climax
body
intro end
how stories usually progress
Thursday, June 18, 2009

17. climax
A news story starts at climax.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

18. rose from the dead
body of the story
baby born in Bethlehem gospel commission
how stories usually progress
Thursday, June 18, 2009

19. rose from the dead
“A man rose from the dead after being crucified three days ago,
giving strong credence to his claim of being the Messiah.”
Thursday, June 18, 2009

20. Your Turn.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

21. Thursday, June 18, 2009

22. Get used to being edited.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

23. Your Turn
(again).
Thursday, June 18, 2009

24. A top national military officer
was cured of leprosy yesterday
after washing in the Jordan River
seven times upon advice from
a prophet and encouragement
from his own servant girl.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

25. A top national military officer
was cured of leprosy yesterday
after washing in the Jordan River
seven times upon advice from
a prophet and encouragement
from his own servant girl.
General Naman, who had been
suffering from the disease for…
Thursday, June 18, 2009

26. Your Formula:
• First Paragraph: One sentence,
summarizes the story
• Second Paragraph: Gives main
person’s name, more specific
information
Thursday, June 18, 2009

27. Thursday, June 18, 2009

28. “?”
Why a quote?
A quote placed
every few paragraphs
moves the story along.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

29. "I wasn't going to waver from my faith,"
Daniel said. "I didn't care what anyone
threatened to do to me."
Thursday, June 18, 2009

30. "I wasn't going to waver from my faith,"
Daniel said. "I didn't care what anyone
threatened to do to me."
"This just proves that his God
is the most powerful God in
the universe," King Darius
said.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

31. "This just proves that his God is the
most powerful God in the universe,"
King Darius said.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

32. Thursday, June 18, 2009

33. Inverted Pyramid
• Retains important
information when
trimming a story to fit
a certain space.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

34. How long should
a paragraph be?
• 1-3 sentences
• less is better
Thursday, June 18, 2009

35. The Davis Adventist Church board last night voted
to build a school that will serve 200 Adventist
students currently enrolled in a troubled public school.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

36. The Davis Adventist Church board last night voted
to build a school that will serve 200 Adventist
students currently enrolled in a troubled public school.
Board members voted 9-2 to approve $600,000
over the next two years to fund construction
of the school on church property.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

37. The Davis Adventist Church board last night voted
to build a school that will serve 200 Adventist
students currently enrolled in a troubled public school.
Board members voted 9-2 to approve $600,000
over the next two years to fund construction
of the school on church property.
"I'm glad we have the resources and vision to
invest in our kids," said board chair Bob Smith.
"This is something we have needed for a long time."
Thursday, June 18, 2009

38. The Davis Adventist Church board last night voted
to build a school that will serve 200 Adventist
students currently enrolled in a troubled public school.
Board members voted 9-2 to approve $600,000
over the next two years to fund construction
of the school on church property.
"I'm glad we have the resources and vision to
invest in our kids," said board chair Bob Smith.
"This is something we have needed for a long time."
Thursday, June 18, 2009

39. Nine-year-old Sally Jones has been struggling
in public school for two years now.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

40. Nine-year-old Sally Jones has been struggling
in public school for two years now.
She is bullied by other students, and her parents
think her teachers are just giving most students
good grades whether they work hard or not.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

41. Nine-year-old Sally Jones has been struggling
in public school for two years now.
She is bullied by other students, and her parents
think her teachers are just giving most students
good grades whether they work hard or not.
"My parents want to send me to another school,
but there just isn't another option," Jones said.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

42. Nine-year-old Sally Jones has been struggling
in public school for two years now.
She is bullied by other students, and her parents
think her teachers are just giving most students
good grades whether they work hard or not.
"My parents want to send me to another school,
but there just isn't another option," Jones said.
Davis Adventist Church board members hope
Jones and some 200 other Adventist students
currently struggling in public schools will be served
with a new Adventist school approved in last night's
meeting. In a 9-2 vote, the board approved $600,000
for a school scheduled for completion in two years.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

43. Kenya defeated Germany in yesterday's
regional football championship off a last-minute
goal from forward Ben Mwansa.
Thursday, June 18, 2009

44. Ben Mwansa didn't think he would be able to walk this year
without limping.
An off-season foot injury kept him from practicing with
the national team for three months.
But his work ethic with physical therapy propelled him
from the disabled list to starting forward halfway through the
season.
That work paid off for Mwansa and team Kenya yesterday
as they defeated Germany with a kick off that once-injured
foot for a last-minute goal to win the match 3-2.
"My foot actually still hurts, but I don't care," Mwansa said
in the locker room after the game. "I wanted to be there for
my team."
Thursday, June 18, 2009

45. Ben Mwansa didn't think he would be able to walk this year
without limping.
An off-season foot injury kept him from practicing with
the national team for three months.
But his work ethic with physical therapy propelled him
from the disabled list to starting forward halfway through the
season.
That work paid off for Mwansa and team Kenya yesterday
as they defeated Germany with a kick off that once-injured
foot for a last-minute goal to win the match 3-2.
"My foot actually still hurts, but I don't care," Mwansa said
in the locker room after the game. "I wanted to be there for
my team."
Thursday, June 18, 2009

46. Hard Lead
• Inverted Pyramid
Thursday, June 18, 2009

47. Soft Lead
• Soft lead using
Inverted Pyramid
Thursday, June 18, 2009

48. An important point...
Thursday, June 18, 2009

49. How long should
your news story be?
Thursday, June 18, 2009

50. adventistnews@gc.adventist.org
Thursday, June 18, 2009