how to write a news report english

How to Write a News Report

How to Write a News Report? - Tips and Points to Remember

Writing a news report would be an easy task if you are interested in the news and are constantly updated with the latest events. A report is a brief story of an event that is happening or has already happened. Being a report writer, you must aim to write the report in an understandable way and ensure the message is conveyed to the readers. It must, therefore, be written in simple language. The subject of the news report has to be presented clearly, and the style of writing must be precise.

Read through the article to learn how to write a news report in English.

How to write a news report, visiting the site, interviewing witnesses, transcribing the interviews, introduction of the report, body of the report, answering the 5ws and the h, writing in short sentences, attribution, factual check, concluding the news report, catchy headline, frequently asked questions on how to write a news report.

We all have the practice of reading the newspaper. At times, we just read the headlines. We decide to read the full news article only if the headline is interesting. The body also has to sound interesting or must be engaging enough; otherwise, we skip the news. Writing a news report is very different from writing a general article. A news report is an informative report, not an opinionated article. Take a look at the following section to understand how you can structure your news report.

Structure of a News Report

A news report should include the following,

To get a better understanding of how to write a news report in English, we have provided a few tips for your reference.

Collection of Information

Collecting the right information is the primary thing before writing a news report. The main purpose of writing a report is to help the readers get true information about an event. To provide true information to the readers, you will have to provide proper evidence supporting it. Therefore, it is essential to collect as much information as possible to prove your point. There are multiple ways to collect and present information, some of which are mentioned below.

Site visiting is an interesting way of collecting and gathering all the information related to the event. It will help you find the exact data regarding the event. You can note everything you see and capture images to showcase as evidence.

While surveying, you can find a lot of people around you so that information can be collected from the witnesses. Their accounts may sound a little exaggerated at times; be smart enough to separate facts from fabricated information. To ensure you do not miss out on any information, you can record all your interviews.

After you have collected all the interviews, you can transcribe them to make them understandable to the readers.

Writing the Report – Steps to Follow

For a news report, the most important information comes from the headline and the first line of the report. The style of writing a news report must be like an inverted pyramid where the important information must be written in the first paragraph. The body of the report covers other information and supporting details related to the event. And the less important information must be added in the concluding paragraph.

While writing the report, make sure to start with the introductory paragraph, which must include the main story. The people involved, place and date have to be mentioned in this paragraph. This can be followed by a detailed account of the event/occurrence.

The body of the report must include other relevant information about the event. You can describe whatever you noted during the site visit and add the interviews you took. Make sure that the report is written in the third person point of view and in a neutral voice. It must be written in a way that sounds more informative rather than opinionated. There is not much place for personal emotions in a news report; it has to be objective.

While writing a news report, make sure you answer all the WH questions

After you have collected all these answers, you can begin writing the news report.

While writing a report, keep in mind that the sentences must be clear and concise. Do not write complex sentences. This will also help in using the apt vocabulary and in reducing grammatical errors.

Always acknowledge where you acquired the information unless it is common knowledge. Not giving credit to someone can get you in trouble.

A news report is different from an opinion piece in that only factual information is provided in a news report. Therefore, while writing a news report, make sure to collect all the facts and evidence and present them well in your report.

In the concluding paragraph, you can summarise your findings and also provide information related to a possible follow-up.

The headline plays a very crucial role in news report writing as it attracts the readers. A proper headline can be framed for a news report only after the writing is completed.

What is a news report?

A news report is a factual account of an event or an occurrence written with the intention of spreading information about what is happening in and around the world.

How do I write a news report?

Always follow the inverted pyramid style to write a news report. The important information is written at the beginning while leaving the less important parts until the end of the report. Write a catchy headline and keep the language simple and direct. Stick to facts and attribute facts to the source from which you acquired the information.

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Tips on Writing a News Report: Making It Solid and Trustworthy

Businesswoman reading a newspaper in office

You’ve probably read tons of news reports or articles throughout your lifetime, so you should at least have a frame of reference for writing one. Writing the news isn’t as easy as it looks, however. Engage your readership and showcase your journalism skills by focusing on the facts and the impact you want your story to have.

Start With a Good Lead

The lead (also called the “lede”), or the first few sentences, needs to be strong enough to grab the reader's attention and make them want to read more.

Tell the reader what the story is about and why it's important.

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

Focus on one main idea in your lead.

Avoid jargon if you can. This will ensure the report is suitable for all readers, not just those with prior knowledge of the topic.

Avoid burying the lead (also written as "bury the lede"). This refers to starting out with secondary information first. If a reader loses interest after the first paragraph because you buried the lead in the second or third paragraph, they may not ever get to why this story should matter to them.

Examples of Good Leads

When you read a good lead, it tells you the gist of the story and pulls you in.

"The million‑to‑one shot came in. Hell froze over. A month of Sundays hit the calendar. Don Larsen today pitched a no-hit, no‑run, no‑man‑reach‑first game in a World Series." - Shirley Povich, Washington Post

“The inauguration of a president is usually marked by lavish balls, colorful parades and hundreds of thousands of spectators. But well before the January 20, 2021 swearing-in of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, it was apparent that this year's event would look quite different. The January 6 assault on the Capitol and a raging coronavirus pandemic meant changes that were hard to miss, everything from masked inspectors to law enforcement in full tactical gear.” - Leslie Gornstein, CBS News

“New Yorkers have a surprise gift to look forward to for this Independence Day: a second Statue of Liberty sent by France. This new bronze statue, nicknamed the "little sister," is one-sixteenth the size of the world-famous one that stands on Liberty Island.” - Xiaoufei Xu, CNN

“ Four astronauts strapped into their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged to a fiery pre-dawn splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, closing out the first operational flight of SpaceX's futuristic touch-screen ferry ship.” - William Harwood, CBS News

Focus on the Four Elements of a Great News Story

Staying focused is key when writing a great news report. Remember that the core objective of a great news report is to convey the facts in a compelling and easy-to-understand manner.

Find The Facts

You can hardly call it a news story without the facts. Without them, your piece will quickly become an opinion piece or a lifestyle article. The public expects facts over opinions , and they also expect the journalist to follow sound fact-checking procedures .

The facts of your report should answer the 5 Ws (and an H): who, what, where, when, why, and how. A journalist is responsible for making sure the facts are accurate and reasonably complete. If you have to write a report before you get all the facts, then say so in the report.

Provide Context

In news writing, context answers the question, "Why should I read this?" From the perspective of the writer, context helps you decide what the audience needs to know. The American Press Institute cites context as a good way to gain new readers through an entry point they can relate to. Context provides the circumstances surrounding the facts of the news story.

Make an Impact

Impact touches on the "why we should care" theme, as well. News writing is an art form. You have to weave your story into something people will connect with. Impact keeps readers engaged beyond the headline and the lead. What are the ramifications or potential consequences of this news story? How will this series of events affect the reader and their community?

Evoke Emotion

The American Press Institute says “ emotion commands attention ” and fosters a communal feeling. Evoking emotion is the magic of news reporting. Writers must walk a fine line between cold, hard facts and a tug on emotional heartstrings.

You want to let the readers decide for themselves what emotions they feel while reading. So you shouldn’t spell it out by telling the reader what to feel ("In a shocking new development …").

Use Good Grammar to Share the News

Typos and grammatical mistakes can take away from your report and leave readers confused. Follow a few standard guidelines for news reports to get the best story out there.

In news writing, always follow the inverted pyramid . Place the most pressing facts at the start of the article and close with the least compelling elements.

Avoid long or complicated words. A news story isn't the place to impress people with your intelligence or command of the English language.

Choose short sentences over lengthy sentences that require many forms of punctuation .

Follow a simple subject-verb-object sentence format.

Use the active voice ; it’s more understandable and has more impact.

Don't use too many commas. Try to adhere to these eight comma rules .

Introduce a new idea in each paragraph, and, as with sentences, be short and to the point. Consider dropping in a few transition words where appropriate.

Never use more than two prepositional phrases close together. These are phrases like, "According to the national weather forecast …"

Try to anticipate any questions the reader might have, and answer them in your report.

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How to Write a News Article

Last Updated: February 28, 2023 References Approved

This article was co-authored by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article has 74 testimonials from our readers, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 2,135,958 times.

Writing a news article is different from writing other articles or informative pieces because news articles present information in a specific way. It's important to be able to convey all the relevant information in a limited word count and give the facts to your target audience concisely. Knowing how to write a news article can help a career in journalism , develop your writing skills and help you convey information clearly and concisely.

Things You Should Know

Sample Articles

Planning Your Article

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Writing Your News Article

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Proofing Your Article

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Be sure to double check all the facts in your news article before you submit it, including names, dates, and contact information or addresses. Writing accurately is one of the best ways to establish yourself as a competent news article writer.

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Expert Q&A

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about writing an article, check out our in-depth interview with Gerald Posner .

About This Article

To write a news article, open with a strong leading sentence that states what the article is about and why it’s important. Try to answer the questions who, what, where, when, and why as early in the article as possible. Once you’ve given the reader the most important facts, you can include any additional information to help round out the article, such as opposing views or contact information. Finish with a strong concluding sentence, such as an invitation to learn more or a statement indicating future developments. For tips on researching your article, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Write a News Article

News articles report on current events that are relevant to the readership of a publication. These current events might take place locally, nationally, or internationally.

News writing is a skill that’s used worldwide, but this writing format—with its unique rules and structure—differs from other forms of writing . Understanding how to write a news story correctly can ensure you’re performing your journalistic duty to your audience.

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What is a news article?

A news article is a writing format that provides concise and factual information to a reader. News stories typically report on current affairs that are noteworthy—including legislation, announcements, education, discoveries or research, election results, public health, sports, and the arts.

Unlike blog and opinion posts, a strong news article doesn’t include personal opinion, speculation, or bias. Additionally, the diction and syntax should be accessible to any reader, even if they’re not deeply familiar with the topic. News stories, therefore, don’t contain jargon that you might find in a research paper or essay.

What are the rules for writing a news article?

Whether you’re learning how to write a short news story for a school assignment or want to showcase a variety of clips in your writing portfolio , the rules of news writing hold true.

There are three types of news articles:

Regardless of the type of news article you’re writing, it should always include the facts of the story, a catchy but informative headline, a summary of events in paragraph form, and interview quotes from expert sources or of public sentiment about the event. News stories are typically written from a third-person point of view while avoiding opinion, speculation, or an informal tone.

How is a news article structured?

While many news stories are concise and straightforward, long-form or deeply investigated pieces may comprise thousands of words. On the shorter side, news articles can be about 500 words.

When it comes to how to structure a news article, use an inverted pyramid. Organizing your content this way allows you to thoughtfully structure paragraphs :

The first paragraph of a news article should begin with a topic sentence that concisely describes the main point of the story. Placing this sentence at the beginning of a news article hooks the reader immediately so the lede isn’t buried.

At a traditional newspaper, this practice is described as “writing above the fold,” which alludes to the biggest, most pressing news being visible at the top of a folded newspaper.

How to write a news article

There are a handful of steps to practice when writing a news story. Here’s how to approach it.

1 Gathering information

Source the five Ws about your news topic: who, what, where, when, and why. Lock down a keen understanding of the timeline of events so you can correctly summarize the incident or news to your reader. The key is to position yourself as a credible and reliable source of information by doing your due diligence as a fact gatherer.

2 Interviewing subjects

Consider who you want to interview for the new article. For example, you might choose to interview primary sources , such as a person who is directly involved in the story.

Alternatively, secondary sources might offer your readers insight from people close to or affected by the topic who have unique perspectives. This might be an expert who can offer technical commentary or analysis, or an everyday person who can share an anecdote about how the topic affected them.

When interviewing sources, always disclose that you’re a reporter and the topic that you’re writing on.

3 Outlining

Draft an outline for your news article, keeping the inverted-pyramid structure in mind. Consider your potential readership and publication to ensure that your writing meets the audience’s expectations in terms of complexity.

For example, if this news article is for a general news publication, your readership might include a wider audience compared to a news article for a specialized publication or community.

Brainstorm a snappy headline that concisely informs readers of the news topic while seizing their interest. Gather the most important points from your research and pool them into their respective pyramid “buckets.” These buckets should be based on their order of importance.

4 Writing

Get to writing! The paragraphs in a news article should be short, to the point, and written in a formal tone. Make sure that any statements or opinions are attributed to a credible source that you’ve vetted.

5 Revising

Reread your first draft aloud. In addition to looking for obvious typos or grammar mistakes , listen for awkward transitions and jarring tense or perspective shifts. Also, consider whether your first draft successfully conveys the purpose of your news story.

Rework your writing as needed and repeat this step. Don’t forget to proofread your work.

6 Fact-checking

Strong news stories are built on facts. If any statement or information is shaky or unsupported, the entire work is compromised. Before publishing a news article, double-check that all the information you’ve gathered from the beginning is accurate, and validate the information that your interview sources provided, too.

How to write a news article FAQs

What is a news article .

A news article informs readers within a community of current events that are relevant to them. It typically revolves around a topic of interest within a publication’s readership, whether the information is about local, national, or international events.

News articles are structured like an inverted pyramid. The most important or crucial information is always presented to the reader up front, followed by additional story details. A news article concludes with less important supporting information or a summation of the reporting.

The general rules for writing a news article involve accuracy and integrity. Report on the details of a story in a factual, unbiased, and straightforward way. When writing a news article, do not editorialize or sensationalize the information, and keep your content free of your opinion.

How to Write a News Story

Newspaper article outline, how to write a news story in 15 steps.

The Purdue Owl : Journalism and Journalistic Writing: Introduction

From Scholastic: Writing a newspaper article

Article outline

I. Lead sentence

Grab and hook your reader right away.

II. Introduction

Which facts and figures will ground your story? You have to tell your readers where and when this story is happening.

III. Opening quotation

What will give the reader a sense of the people involved and what they are thinking?

IV. Main body

What is at the heart of your story?

V. Closing quotation

Find something that sums the article up in a few words.

VI. Conclusion (optional—the closing quote may do the job)

The following is an excerpt from The Elements of News Writing by James W. Kershner (Pearson, 2009). This book is available for checkout at Buley Library (Call number PN 4775 .K37 2009, on the 3rd floor)

1. Select a newsworthy story. Your goal is to give a timely account of a recent, interesting, and significant event or development.

2. Think about your goals and objectives in writing the story. What will the readers want and need to know about the subject? How can you best tell the story?

3. Find out who can provide the most accurate information about the subject and how to contact that person. Find out what other sources you can use to obtain relevant information.

4. Do your homework. Do research so that you have a basic understanding of the situation before interviewing anyone about it. Check clips of stories already written on the subject.

5. Prepare a list of questions to ask about the story.

6. Arrange to get the needed information. This may mean scheduling an interview or locating the appropriate people to interview.

7. Interview the source and take notes. Ask your prepared questions, plus other questions that come up in the course of the conversation. Ask the source to suggest other sources. Ask if you may call the source back for further questions later.

8. Interview second and third sources, ask follow-up questions, and do further research until you have a understanding of the story.

9. Ask yourself, “What’s the story?” and “What’s the point?” Be sure you have a clear focus in your mind before you start writing. Rough out a lead in your head.

10. Make a written outline or plan of your story.

11. Write your first draft following your plan, but changing it as necessary.

12. Read through your first draft looking for content problems, holes, or weak spots, and revise it as necessary. Delete extra words, sentences, and paragraphs. Make every word count.

13. Read your second draft aloud, listening for problems in logic or syntax.

14. Copyedit your story, checking carefully for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and style problems.

15. Deliver your finished story to the editor before deadline.

Kershner, J.W. (2009). The Elements of News Writing. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

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Table of Contents

What is news report writing?

A news report is a fact-based story, on a particular event or incident happening/happened. News report gives all the information about incidents that already happened or currently taking place along with covering answers of 5Ws and 1H i.e. What, Where, When, Who, why, and How. Download these FREE Ebooks: 1 Introduction to Digital Marketing 2 Website Planning and Creation

Format of News Report writing

The format of News Report writing includes:

This basic and standard structure of a news report must be followed in order to write a good news report.

The Inverted Pyramid Rule:

News report writing follows an Invert pyramid rule as mentioned in the format section that the most important information is written fast in the Lead section then the body covers less information than the lead and at the last, the conclusion includes the least information. This is called the inverted pyramid writing style. This gives the reader the most important information first.

Understanding the 5Ws and 1H:

The 5Ws are: What, Where, When, Who, why, and How. Let’s understand the relevance of these Ws and Hs:

Sample of a news report writing:

Here is a sample of a news report writing: (Headline) Major earthquake strikes the central region (Lead) A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the central region of the country early this morning, causing widespread damage and leaving at least 100 people injured. (Body) The earthquake, which occurred at 4:37 am local time, was centered approximately 20 miles southwest of the city of X. It was felt as far as 200 miles away, with reports of shaking and structural damage in several nearby towns and cities. According to the National Earthquake Information Center, the quake was followed by several aftershocks, the largest of which had a magnitude of 5.4. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, but local authorities have reported significant damage to buildings and infrastructure, including collapsed bridges and roads. Power and telecommunications are also reported to be disrupted in some areas. The local hospital has treated at least 100 people for injuries ranging from minor cuts and bruises to broken bones. Emergency services are working to evacuate residents from damaged buildings and provide assistance to those affected by the earthquake. (Conclusion) It is not yet clear what caused the earthquake or how long the recovery process will take. Officials are urging residents to remain calm and follow any evacuation or safety instructions issued by emergency services. The government has also announced that it will be providing financial assistance to those affected by the earthquake.

What is report writing?

What are 5ws and 1h in news report writing, free e books.

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