Page 257 - DENG401_Advance Communication Skills

Advanced Communication Skills

Notes Writing with structure

Once you have all the relevant information, the structure of the story is very important. Most
professionals have a mental checklist:

First paragraph: A very quick summation of the story, including the most interesting part of the
story, the gimmick that makes it newsworthy.

Second paragraph: Explanation of basic facts.
Third paragraph: For preference, a quote from a source who is likely to know what they're
talking about (this is to supplement the fact you are a report writer, not an expert in the issue
you're reporting on).

Fourth paragraph: More information and introduction of the other side - there always is one.
Fifth paragraph: Quote from the other person.

Subsequent paragraphs can have more quotes or info depending on the story, but always order
it in descending level of importance/interest. Intelligent readers scan from the bottom up, and
read from the top down.

Depending on the importance of the news it will warrant more or less attention. Be concise. If a
news item can be adequately explained in 50 words, then do so. A good exercise is looking at
news articles in the papers and working out how you could sum them up in ten words.

Audience

Sad but true, most people rank their interest in the news as follows: 10,000 dead on another
continent = 1,000 dead on the same continent = 100 dead in your country = 10 dead in your county
= 1 celebrity eating grubs in a jungle. Remember whoever might have given you the task for
writing the report (whether for himself or for others), the reader is least likely to have an
interest pattern other than the above. We can probably disregard the last bit, as it's far better
covered by the mainstream press but the rest is still, unfortunately, relevant. The more local and
relevant it is, the more interested the readers will be.
People in general expect a certain style of writing.
This doesn't mean writing in stereotypes and clichés, it means not using long words when short
ones will do. More specifically, your writing style and tone should be aimed squarely at the
reader you are trying to grab the attention of.
While writing for a newspaper, take an idea of the audience you want to try for. Read the
mainstream press. They've been refining their techniques, with a great deal of thought, money
and effort, for overtly long years. The general media knows how to get a point across better than
anyone else. You are up against a massively well-oiled media machine, which cannot be
dismissed. They have all the funds, all the manpower, the backing of every major business and
every governmental source. Don't, whatever you do, dismiss them as a load of crap.

Example: On Friday night, Mr. Anish Mistri, a supervisor at Hannef Fireballs Pvt Ltd.
was killed by Raheem Usmani, a daily waged labourer in the company. Mr Mistri was doing a
substitute duty for another employee who had not reported that night. The person to raise the
alarm was Mr Zainal Abidin, who opened the cabin while he reported to the morning shift on
Saturday. Abidin was shocked to see Mistri lying on the floor of the cabin. The head supervisor
called the police who , by the help of other employees and circumstantial evidence, solved the
case within 48 hours. The police took Raheem Usmani in remand till next Friday.

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