Writing a News report from an interview

Writing a News report from an interview

How to conduct an interview:

Conducting interviews for news stories is an important skill for any journalist. A “source” – anyone a journalist interviews - can provide elements that are vital to any news story:

·         basic factual information

·         perspective and context on the topic being discussed

·         direct quotes

·         ideas on how to approach the story

·         names of other people to interview

Things You’ll Need

·         a thin reporter’s spiral notebook (can be purchased at most office supply stores)

·         several pens and a pencil if it’s winter (pens freeze in cold weather)

·         a tape recorder or digital voice recorder (optional)

·         a video camera for interviews you plan to webcast

Preparing for the Interview:

Research – Do as much research as possible. If you’re going to interview, say, a cardiologist about heart attacks, read up and make sure you understand terms such as “cardiac arrest.” A well-prepared reporter inspires confidence in the source.

Developing Questions – Once you’ve thoroughly researched your topic, prepare a list of questions to ask. That will help you remember all the points you want to cover.

Keys to a Successful Interview

Establish a Rapport – When starting out, don’t abruptly launch into your questions. Chitchat a little first. Compliment your source on her office, or comment on the weather. This puts your source at ease.

Keep it Natural – An interview can be uncomfortable, so keep things natural. Instead of mechanically reading out your list of questions, weave your queries naturally into the flow of the conversation.

Also, maintain eye contact as much as possible. Nothing is more unnerving to a source then a reporter who never looks up from his notebook.

Be Open – Don’t be so focused on getting through your list of questions that you miss something interesting.

For instance, if you’re interviewing the cardiologist and she mentions a new heart-health study that’s coming out, ask about it. This may take your interview in an unexpected - but newsworthy - direction.

Maintain Control – Be open, but don’t waste your time. If your source starts to ramble on about things that are of no use to you, politely – but firmly – steer the conversation back to the topic at hand.

Wrapping Up – At the end of the interview, ask your source if there’s anything important that you hadn’t asked about. Double-check the meanings of any terms they used that you’re unsure about. And always ask if there are other people they recommend that you speak with.

A Note About Note-taking – Beginning reporters often freak out when they realize they can’t possibly write down everything the source is saying, word-for-word. Don’t sweat it. Experienced reporters learn to take down just the stuff they know they’ll use, and ignore the rest. This takes practice, but the more interviews you do, the easier it gets.

Taping – Recording an interview is fine in certain circumstances, but always get permission to do so.

The rules regarding taping a source can be tricky. According to Poynter.org, recording phone conversations is legal in all 50 states. Federal law allows you to record a phone conversation with the consent of only one person involved in the conversation - meaning that only the reporter is required to know that the conversation is being taped.

However, at least 12 states require varying degrees of consent from those being recorded in phone interviews, so it's best to check the laws in your own state. Also, your newspaper or website may have its own rules about taping. 

Transcribing interviews involves listening to the taped interview and typing out virtually everything that's said. This is fine if you're doing an article with an extended deadline, such as a feature story. But it's too time-consuming for breaking news. So if you’re on a tight deadline, stick to note-taking.

·         Taping Interviews

·         Journalism

·         Interview Questions

·         Interview Tips

·         Interview Preparation

·         Finally, ALWAYS take notes, even if you’re using a recorder. Every reporter has a story about the time they thought they were recording an interview, only to get back to the newsroom to discover that the machine’s batteries were dead.

Writing a Press Note

Writing a Press Note

1. Start with an attention-grabbing headline in bold font.
2. Begin the body with the date and city.
3. Summarize the subject in the lead sentence.
4. Describe the important details of your story for the rest of the body.
5. Include your contact information at the end of the press release.

Making it Pop

1.         Write a genuine headline. It should be brief, clear and to the point: an ultra-compact version of the press release’s key point. Plenty of PR professionals recommend writing your headline at the end, after the rest of the release is written. If you follow that instruction, continue on and come back to writing the headline once the rest is done. The headline is known as the eye-catcher and is very important to the whole release.

·         wikiHow recognized as most reliable information source. See how that works? Now you want to know more! News release headlines should have a "grabber" to attract journalists, just as a newspaper headline is meant to grab readers. It may describe the latest achievement of an organization, a recent newsworthy event, a new product or service.

·         Headlines written in bold! A bold headline also typically uses a larger font size than the body copy. Conventional press release headlines use the present tense and exclude "a" and "the", as well as forms of the verb "to be" in certain contexts.

·         First word capitalized. As are all proper nouns. Most headline words appear in lower-case letters, although using a stylized "small caps" font style can create a more graphically news-attractive look and feel. Do not capitalize every word.

·         Extract important keywords. The simplest method to create the press release headline is to extract the most important keywords from your press release. From these keywords, try to frame a logical and attention-getting statement. If including a summary sentence after the headline, the same rules apply. Using keywords early will give you better visibility in search engines, and it will be simpler for journalists and readers to get the idea of the press release content. Look at the actions in this first step, and notice how every one of them could be a press release headline.

2.         Write the body copy. The press release should be written as you want it to appear in a news story. And remember this: most journalists are very busy, and don't have time to research your company's big announcement, so much of what you write for your press release will be what the journalists use in their writeup of your big event. Whatever you want them to say, this is where you put it.

·         Start with the date and city in which the press release originates. The city may be omitted if it will be confusing –– for example if the release is written in New York about events in the company's Chicago division.

·         The lead, or first sentence, should grab the reader and say concisely what is happening. For example, if the headline is "Careen Publishing releases new WWII novel," the first sentence might be something like, "Carpren Publishing, Ltd., today released their first World War II novel by celebrated writer Darcy Kay." It expands the headline enough to fill in some of the details, and brings the reader further into the story. The next one to two sentences should then expand upon the lead.

·         The press release body copy should be compact. Avoid using very long sentences and paragraphs. Avoid repetition and overuse of fancy language and jargon. Strive for simplicity, and no wasted words.

·         The first paragraph (two to three sentences) should sum up the press release, and the additional content must elaborate it. In a fast-paced world, neither journalists, nor other readers, would read the entire press release if the start of the article didn't generate interest.

·         Deal with actual facts –– events, products, services, people, targets, goals, plans, projects. Try to provide maximum use of concrete facts. This is news. A simple method for writing an effective press release is to make a list of following clarifications: Who, what, when, where, why, and how.

3.   Communicate the "5 W's" (and the H) clearly. Who, what, when, where, why ––and how–– should tell the reader everything they need to know. Consider the checklist in context with the points below, using the example above to generate our press release:

·         Who is this about? Carpren Publishing.

·         What is the actual news? Carpren Publishing is releasing a book.

·         When does this even happen? Tomorrow.

·         Where does this even take place? In all major markets, tomorrow.

·         Why this is news? It was written by renowned author, Arcy Kay.

·         How is this happening? The main event is at a book signing in Chicago, followed by a book tour to all the major metropolitan areas.

·         With the basics defined, fill in the gaps with information about the people, products, items, dates and other things related with the news.

·         If your company is not the main subject of the news, but is the source of the press release, make it clear in the body.

·         Keep it short and to the point. If you are sending a hard copy, the text should be double-spaced.

·         The more newsworthy you make the press release copy, the better the chances of it being selected by a journalist for reporting. Find out what "newsworthy" means to a given market and use this knowledge to hook the editor or reporter.

4.   Make it clean, crisp, and applicable to your audience. Odds are whoever you sent your press release to has a dozen just like it in his/her inbox just waiting to be ignored. If you want yours to be chosen, it's got to be good. Not only does it have to be good, but it has to be as close to "ready for press" as possible.

·         When an editor looks at your piece, he/she is thinking, from the first second, about how long it's going to take them to get it to print. If your work is full of errors, lacking content, or just needs to be revised, they're not going to waste their time. So make sure you have good grammar, all the basics, and have something to write about.

·         Why should these people care what you have to say? If you're sending it to the right audience, it'll be obvious. If you're not, well, why are you wasting your time? Give the right people a piece of news (news, not advertising) and you're on the right track.

·         They'll care more if you send it in the morning. That gives them time to pad your piece into what they're already working on. Be considerate.

5.            Tie it together. Provide some extra information links that support your press release. Does the company you're selling have additional information online that readers may find useful? Great. Add it in.

·         If you're nervous about what you've got, do some research on what's already out there. Someone probably wrote something on an event just like the one you're covering.

Tips on Writing a News Report

            If you need are writing a news report, you need to concentrate on the four important parets of a new story - the news, context, impact and emotion. The way you combine these four elements will determine the success of your news story.

Balancing Facts and Style

Readers need to know the facts and who or what may be affected by them. Related stories and background information make up the context and the emotional parts of the story show the human side of it.

Following are tips on writing a compelling and gripping news report.

·         Facts: The facts will answer the: who, what, when, where, why, and how of the news event. A writer has a responsibility to make sure his facts are accurate. If you have to write a report before you get all the facts, then say that in the report.

·         Style: When writing a news report, use the active voice. The active voice is more understandable and has more impact. Make short, concise sentences with action verbs. Your language needs to be simple and not have extra words that don’t really contribute to the focus of the story. For example, the weather or how someone is dressed doesn’t need to be included unless it has a bearing on the overall story. While you are writing, try to anticipate any questions a reader might have while reading your story.

Writing a Good Lead

The lead is the first few sentences of the story. It needs to be strong so it will grab the readers and make them want to read more.

·         If it is a hard news story, which is the breaking news or up-to-the-minute news, then you include as many facts as you can in the summary of the story.

·         If it is a soft news story, which is a human interest story or background information, then you put the facts in the body of the story. 

Leads need to tell the reader what the story is about and why it is important. The lead tells the reader why he should read the story. It needs to sound like you are having a conversation; that you are telling a friend about the latest news.  

Some errors that are found in leads include the lead having more than one main idea. When this happens, the reader is unclear as to what the story is about.

·         Some leads are lifeless, and need some tension or something that pushes the reader to read on, like dangling a carrot in front of a hungry rabbit.

·         Leads are sometimes dull and predictable. It’s good to make the reader smile or be surprised sometimes.

Lastly, leads can exclude certain readers if they are full of jargon.  Make sure the news report is suitable for everyone to read.     

Remember to cover the 5 W's:

What's happening?

Who is involved?

Where is this happening?

When is it happening?

Why is it happening?

And be:

Clear - use simple language

Concise - keep sentences short

Correct - check your facts, grammar and punctuation

 

Tips for Better Writing

Here are a few additional tips for writing that apply to writing in general:

·         Words should not be too long or complicated. A news story is not the place to try and impress people with your intelligence or your command of the English language. Pick your words carefully so they are concise and you will use fewer words overall.

·         Make sure your sentences are under 25 words and contain only one idea.

·         Use a simple subject verb object form.

·         Don’t use too many commas.

·         Paragraphs need to say something new and, like sentences, be short and to the point.

·         Never put more than three prepositional phrases into one sentence.

·         Never put more than three numbers in one sentence.

These will help your writing be clearer and easier to understand.

Writing for Media for II Semester students

Writing News Reports

A news report is similar to a news article. It is the basic facts of a story that is currently happening or that just happened. Writing a news report is easy if you report on the subject, conduct good interviews, and write in a style that is clear, concise, and active.

A.    Collecting Information for the Report

1.      Figure out what to write about. News reports are about something that is happening now or that just recently happened. Current issues, events, crimes, and investigations are good subjects for news reports. Other styles of journalism are better for things like profiles, advice articles, and opinion pieces.

·         Ask around for story ideas, especially government officials and public relations representatives.

·         Scan the news to see what is already happening. This could lead to you finding other story ideas that are related.

·         Search your city or county’s website or directory for local events that are coming up.

·         Attend city council meetings to find out if there are any local issues happening in your area.

·         Sit in on trials at the courthouse and see if anything interesting happens that you could report on.

2.      Go to the scene. 

Once you find out what you want to write about, go there. You might need to go to the scene of a crime, a business, the courthouse, or an event. It will be difficult to write about something that you are not present at.

·         Write down everything you see and everything that takes place.

·         Record and take notes of any speeches that occur at events. Make sure to get the names of the speakers.

3.      Conduct interviews. Who you interview will depend on what you are reporting on. You will want to get a broad range of quotes for your report, so try to interview an array of people. Good people to interview are event coordinators, lawyers, police, business owners, volunteers, participants, and witnesses. If you need to find people to schedule interviews with them, use the internet to find contact information. You can also interview people directly at the scene, depending on your news report topic.

·         If the story is controversial or political, make sure to get both sides of the issue.

·         Prepare sample questions, but don’t necessarily stick to them.

·         Think of an interview as a conversation.

·         Record the interview.

·         Make sure to get the full names (spelled correctly) of anyone you interviewed.

4.      Transcribe the interviews and speeches. When you are back at your home or your office, transcribe the interviews and any speeches. Listen to your recordings and type out everything (or at least the most important parts) of the interviews and speeches. This will make finding information for the report and any quotes easier.

5.      Do research on the subject. News reports are about what happened in the moment, but it is good to do basic research on the subject. Research any companies, people, or programs that you are reporting on to make sure you have your facts straight. Double check spelling of names, dates, and any information you have gathered to make sure it is correct.

            B. Writing the News Report

1.     Write a headline. Your headline should be accurate, clear, and easy to understand. Use key words from the story and keep it straight and plain. Use active and short action verbs in your headline. The headline should accurately lead readers to what the report is about.

·         The headline should be attention grabbing, but not exaggerate or mislead.

·         Capitalize the first word of the headline and any proper nouns after that.

·         For example, your headline might read: "Armed robbery at Portland farmer’s market"

2.     Write a byline and place line. The byline goes directly underneath the headline. This is where you put your name and clarify who you are. The placeline is where the article takes place and is written in all caps. Use AP Style state abbreviations.

·         An example of a byline: Sue Smith, Staff Reporter

·         An example of a placeline: EUGENE, ORE.

3.     Use a hard news lead. A news lead (or lede) is the opening paragraph of a report or article and is often considered the most important part. A news report is not the time for a verbose and artful lead. Keep your lead to the point, fitting as much of the basic information as you can into your lead. A lead is only one or maybe two sentences and summarizes the news story; the who, what, when, where, why, and how of you story should be emphasized in the lead.^[7]

·         Don't include people's names in the lead (save that information for later), unless everyone knows who they are (i.e. President Obama).

·         For example: A Seattle man was caught selling stolen cars at his auto shop on Tuesday when a police officer posed as a customer.

4.     Write the body of your report. This is going to consist of the facts, but more detailed and specific than in your lead. Use the information you collected and gathered at the scene and in interviews. Write your report in third person and from a neutral perspective. Make sure your story conveys information and not an opinion.

5.     Include quotes in the news report. Quotes can be included in your news report to convey information. Always introduce who you are quoting followed by the exact words that they said. Use their full name the first time you mention them then only use their last name.

·         For example: Mary Quibble has been the director of the children’s theater for six years. “I love the children and how much they care about these performances,” Quibble said. “There are 76 kids in the programs. They range in age from 7 to 16 years old.”

6.     Always include attributions. Unless the information is common knowledge, always attribute where you got it. You can get in trouble for not giving credit to someone. This is also important in case a fact is wrong, then it will be known who got the fact wrong and that it was not you.

·         For example: The woman ran out of the house at 11 p.m. when she heard the burglar enter, police said.

7.     Write in hard news style. You don’t want to use overly descriptive language when writing a news report. Just stick to the facts and keep the sentences short and concise. Use active language and strong verbs.

·         Speak in past tense when writing a news report.

·         Start a new paragraph whenever there is a new thought (this might mean you have paragraphs that are as short as a sentence or two)

Write your news report in AP Style.