Summary
Contents
Subject index
Anna McKane's News Writing is a pioneering book dealing exclusively with the all-important craft of writing news stories. The ability to write a good news story is the starting point for all young journalists' careers.
The book deals fully with all aspects of writing news, including how to write a good intro, or first paragraph; how to order the information and assemble a winning story; and what language to use. It provides a step-by-step guide to constructing a story, with good and bad examples, and a detailed analysis of style, language, and grammar. There are checklists to help inexperienced writers to measure their work.
The book is written in a clear and practical way and provides guidance for students and trainee journalists to enable them to write everything from a snappy short agency-style news story to a more reflective piece appropriate for a quirky news item. It will be invaluable for trainee and student journalists at every level from first year undergraduate to graduate courses. It is also likely to be of benefit to the many amateur journalists writing local or society newsletters.
What Makes News?
What Makes News?
Experienced journalists seem to have news sense flowing in their blood. It is hard for them to imagine not being able to spot what makes a good news story, and hard for them to imagine that a trainee can't spot it. Maybe all students and trainees have to face having their ideas rejected a few times, to help them work out what exactly makes news. One of the most-quoted definitions of news is that of William Randolph Hearst, the press baron who was the model for Orson Welles's Citizen Kane:
News is something somebody wants suppressed – all the rest is advertising.
This sounds impressive but actually it is nonsense: no one wanted to suppress the stories of the sinking of the ...
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