writing for news websites and protals

8/14/2019 Writing for News Websites and Protals

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Writing for news websitesand protals


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The purpose of onlinewriting

To deliver essential information to its users inthe most effective, elegant, and efficientmanner.

It must inform quickly and simply, that it must bepleasing on the eye and make people want toreturn to the site time and time again.

It must be fast-loading and free of wasted wordsand padding.


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The online journalist

1. The role is similar to that of any other journalist.2. The journalistic rules are the same.3. Platform is different You need web skills to present

that information online.

4. You are dealing with facts.5. Your sentences still need to make sense; theymust have a subject, a verb, and an object.

6. You will be presenting the absolute essentials of astory

7. You will be asking the basic questions, who, why,where, when, what, and how8. The story format will be pyramid journalism

(writing that can be cut at any point and still makesense). This is for reasons that will be explained inthe multiplatform authoring module.


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Is your website a part ofanother media operation

If the website you are working on is astand-alone production (one that isnot connected to another mediaoperation) you will be free to presentthe information as you see fit, withinyour newsroom's editorial guidelines.


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If the website you are working on is part of a larger mediaconcern, you will be expected to reflect that media operation'snewsgathering and news production strengths online.

In more and more cases, websites function as part of a convergednews operation.

The aim is to reflect the news brand across all outlets, includingonline and other interactive platforms. In that case, you will needto come up with a persuasive reason for investing resources incovering different stories online than your news organisation iscovering in print or on air.

You will be expected to add value with content and functionalityaimed at the online audience, but the user should find the samefacts, tone and focus online as they do wherever your newsorganisation is delivering news content.


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Role of news on web

Your role is to include the elementsthat increase and enhance a user'sunderstanding of a story, or enablethat user to engage with you, andothers, about the news item in waysthat they can't on air or in print.


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Unlimited Space

There was a time when it was felt that one of thestrengths of the internet was that it didnt limit thejournalists to a particular story length; journalistscould write as much as they wanted.

All the column-inch restrictions that applied to printjournalists, and the news bulletin time limits thatapplied to TV and radio were not relevant to onlinejournalism.

This was and is true, but if that freedom is not

managed properly, it can lead to lazy, indisciplinedwriting.


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Unlimited Space

News stories need to have a standard style, layout, andformat. There will always be cases where longer,background features are needed in order to exploreissues in-depth. However, hard news stories still have tobe presented in tight, short-form writing.

The news stories need to follow a standard house style.

There needs to be a consistency of presentation formatso that the audience feels comfortable with what theyare reading. You need to make sure you know your newsorganisation's house style. If it hasn't got one, volunteer

to write one; it's important for consistency of approach.


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Example of online news


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Story Length and style

It is important that you

learn to write aseconomically as possiblewith no unnecessary or

wasted words.


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Story Length and Style

The ideal online news story will be inthe region of 300-500 words. This isnot a hard and fast rule, just a guide.

Some stories will be a lot less, andsome features and in-depth analysispieces can be longer, but the basic

news stories should remain short.


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Story Length and Style

The use of CMS The news operation you work for will probably have a

newsroom CMS (or content management system), this iswhere you write your stories.

Content Management System: Introductory Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzjqUHDVd_Y

There are usually boxes for the headline and summary,and another field for the rest of the story. There might befunctions for adding images, audio and video, links, and text

boxes. Some of the boxes, or fields, might have characterlimitations so that you cant write too much. This will usuallybe because the content you write for the Web is also to besent to other text-based platforms, such as SMS and WAP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzjqUHDVd_Yhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzjqUHDVd_Y


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Story Construction

The headline needs to make sense standing alone. It must notbe a label. It will be a short sentence. This is not only goodjournalism, but it also means that your news organisation canuse the material as a headline ticker on other platforms.

For eg : Dozens killed in Afghan explosion

The first paragraph must not repeat the headline, but must addinformation without duplication. It must also work on its ownand with the headline. Your news organisation might want touse this for an SMS service.

For eg: A massive car bomb explosion in the southern

Afghan city of Kandahar has killed at least 30 people.


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Story Construction

The next part of the storywill be a series ofparagraphs, each addingmore and more essential

facts to the story. By thetime you have written100 words you shouldhave presented the mainelements of the story.

Eg of first 100 words

Dozens more were hurt as buildingscollapsed in the attack in the centreof the city, doctors said.

The explosion took place shortly afterthe first results were announced in

the presidential election. Earlier a bomb killed four US soldiers,

making 2009 the deadliest year forforeign troops since the US-ledinvasion overthrew the Taliban.

Election attacks

No-one has yet claimed responsibilityfor the attack in Kandahar, which is astronghold of the Taliban. There havebeen a number of attacks in the citythis year.


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The remaining 400 words can beused to add value, includingquotes, statistics, and analysis.

Many people choose to write

sentence-long paragraphs for theweb. There is no hard and fastrule. Some feel the breaks makeit easier on the eye; others electto stick with conventionalparagraphs. You will need toadapt to the house style of the

site you are working on.

Once again they'vekilled children, women,innocent Afghans. Theyare not human. They areanimals.

Mohammad Sher Shah,deputy provincial policechief


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Story deconstruction

If you feel your story isworth more than 500words, and can only betold properly in 1,500,it might be worth laying

out all the facts andseeing whether you candeconstruct the storyinto small, but related,component parts.


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Deconstructing a longer news story is animportant technique for the online journalist.

It means that they can still offer the core facts ofthe story in 500 words, but they can also offerlinks to separate stories, which offer furtherexplanation of elements within the main story. Italso means that the user is not faced with too

much text, and it breaks the text into manageablechunks.


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Story Deconstruction

It also makes business sense. If youare working on a commercial newssite, and the income is generated

from adverts placed on the site, thedeconstruction of the story createsmore opportunities for the

positioning of adverts


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Story Deconstruction: A toolfor explaing

Each part of the deconstructed story will have its ownheadline and these headlines can be flagged up in themain story (and each part of the deconstructed story)as related news items. Story deconstruction enables

you to show the basic essential elements of the newsitem in the main story, while, at the same time, offeringyou a tool for explaining the more complex issues inwhat some people call, side bars.


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Facts not padding

In a media world where many newsorganisations are creating contentonce for multiple outlets, the days of

producing long unwieldy text for newsstories are past.

Features are different, but journalists

writing news stories need to keep theirwriting crisp and tight.


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Facts not padding

For the user, time often costs money.They will not thank you for paddingbetween the facts, or indulging inpoetic pros when what they want arethe essential details.


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Your job is to deliver facts tousers in the most efficient andeffective manner, not to obscure

those facts with unnecessaryverbiage.


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Making the most of the web

The web offers many fascinating ways to tella story differently.

When the editor hands a story to a journalistthere is usually a top line. Something hashappened, there are some basic factsalready in. The journalist has to make sense

of it and deliver a report as quickly aspossible.


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Take the example of theBahrain boat tragedy in 2006 . 57 people died(the death toll rose later) after a pleasure boatcapsized in the Gulf.

For those wanting news of relatives, the list of thenationalities who died or survived was a key fact.

However, to draw up the list in text would havemeant several paragraphs.

This is where the facts can be displayed in a textbox so that those who want to scan read canreach the facts faster. It offers the user a quick-glance view of the main elements without having

to read the whole story.

The text box can then also be used in otherstories, or on the sites main page, and it alsooffers a break in the text in your story page.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4862948.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4862948.stm


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Timelines and factfiles

Using the same technique, you canreturn to the story at a later stage andproduce another text box offering atime line or a fact file.

These, in turn, can link to the storiescovered at the time, making the textbox a valuable tool in helping the user

navigate a complex grouping of facts.

Again, these text boxes, timelines, andfact files, can be used in all the otherstories, offering the user, wherever sheor he ends up, all the details they needin one place, with the opportunity tofind out more by clicking on the issueor fact they are most interested in.

MILITANT ATTACKS IN AUGUST

18 Aug: Nine Afghans and a Natosoldier die and more than 50 areinjured in Kabul

15 Aug: Suicide bomb outside Nato HQ

in Kabul kills seven and injures 90 13 Aug: Twin blasts in Helmand and

Kandahar kill 14, including severalchildren

6 Aug: Five American and three UKsoldiers, five civilians and fivepolicemen killed by roadside bombs

mainly in Helmand 3 Aug: Bomb in city of Herat kills 12

1-2 Aug: Nine foreign soldiers killedover weekend


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Graphics and images

One showed the Kursk alongside a jumbo jet.


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The other showed it on the seabed alongside the Eiffeltower


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Images and Captions

Images, particularly those usedon the front page and the sectionindex pages, should tease a userinto the story. Head and shoulderpictures are rarely the bestchoice, although in some stories,

such as political meetings, theyare hard to avoid.

However, a powerful image canadd enormous value to theimpact of stories. The bestpictures are those that stop the

user in his or her tracks.


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Head and shoulder images Image depicting some action


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Images and captions

The images also need to belooking into a page. If yourWebsite puts its images to the

right of a story, you dont wantthe subject looking right. Thatwould mean they are lookingout of the page rather than intoit. The following image islooking the wrong way.

Image looking the wrong way


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Captions

Captions need toenhance understandingand stimulate interest.They are not labels. They

must not state theobvious. They, and theheadline, are often one ofthe most difficult piecesof text to write.

Caption for swineflu photo:

Saviours in white: Over 70people have now died inIndia because of swine fluand as the flu continues tospread, doctors in Delhi

are putting in 14 hours aday, screening dozens ofpatients in each shift.(NDTV photo)
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/doctors_working_long_hours_to_screen_flu_patients.phphttp://www.ndtv.com/news/india/doctors_working_long_hours_to_screen_flu_patients.php


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Get it wrong and the credibility of yournews brand could suffer. Read them over

and over again. Ambiguous headlines andcaptions are a real danger. Think throughhow your words might be misinterpretedand misunderstood. If there is any doubt,

rewrite it and keep it simple.


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The aim is not to be clever.Being clever can confuse. Theaim is to be clear, crisp and

capture the reader interest sothey will read the story and findout more.


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Original content andplagiarism

With most breaking news stories, the major newsoperations will be dealing in the same facts. Theirsources will usually be the same; they will be feedingoff the same wires services and making similar check

calls. It is not surprising to find almost identical storiesbeing published on different sites. In all cases, a newsoperation should try to find out how they can add avalue element the other news outlets cant deliver.


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At times like these, the online journalist mightwant to include a quote from an exclusivereport from the scene filed by one of thenews organisations correspondents. If thewebsite is attached to a newspaper theremight be an exclusive photograph taken byone of the papers photographers. If there is,this should go at the top and be flagged assuch.


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If you are working for a website connected to aradio or TV broadcaster there might beexclusive audio just in, or a clip of some video

only your organisation has and which you canadd to the story. The key is to look fororiginality.

Find out what your news operation does that

the others cant match and focus on presentingthat rather than worrying about where theopposition is stealing the lead in other areas.


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Never lift content from another site andpresent it as your own. Not only is itunethical, it is also extremely dangerous.

If you cant verify every fact and detail aseither coming from your own sources orfrom one of your news organisationscorrespondents, or attributed to

recognised sources, dont include it.


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Plagiarism is all too easy in the cut andpaste world of computer screens and theweb. There was a saying that the web was

all about copy and improve. In a way thatis understandable when it comes to designand layout. However, it is never acceptablewhen it comes to story detail.


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Despite being dishonest, plagiarism means signingyour news brand's reputation up to details you donot know are true. Once you write a sentence andit is published on your site, it is then considered to

be verified by your news organisation. It is amassive risk, both personally and professionally.Only publish what you know to be true and whatyou can stand by.


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Get it first, Get it right

Once a news story has broken and theinformation is in the public domain, it isoften a race to be first with the news.

Trying to beat the competition is a worthyaim, but only if you are sure you have allthe facts and that they have been checkedand double-checked.


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There is nothing worse than sendingout a breaking news alert and then

having to retract the story. Your userswill realise you got it wrong. They willseldom know when you got it right and

beat the opposition. They may noteven care.


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Dont deal in rumour. Tempting as it might be tocarry vague details of an incident that has taken

place, only stick to verifiable facts. You can flagup to the users that something is going on.Breaking news ticker headlines such as reportsare coming are acceptable.

However, unless you are a correspondent on theground and in the know, you must not speculateon the cause until it has been confirmed by areliable authority.


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Comments and Opinion

As in all journalism, the role of the reporter is topresent fact. You are not there to add comment, andyou are certainly not there to voice an opinion.

If you are a correspondent, with a particular brief and

an expertise, you will be expected to offer analyisisof a situation you are covering, this could includeyour informed view on how it is likely to develop.


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You might want to add a text box to thestory with the most powerful quote.

Use them sparingly. Two in one story might

be too much, bearing in mind you mightalso have an image, a fact box, and agraphic. Dont over clutter with gimmicks.Only use those that help tell the story

properly. Too many and you might start tolose the readers interest.


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Publishing articles in parts

In a breaking news situation youoften have very little to go on. Theremight be one fact on which the story

is based. The first thing is to knockout the one sentence containingwhat you know and publish that. You

can then continue to add to thestory, republishing as you go


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Li k th b fit d


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Links, the benefits anddangers

the links we offer on our stories are one of the mostimportant elements. Links should be seen as part ofthe story. Otherwise there is no pointing includingthem.

They should also be seen as adding value to thewords we write. They are not there to repeat thosewords, but to offer further information that we areeither not able to say, or have not researched.


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Although links can be a valuable tool in helping youtell a story, there are also many dangers lurking inlinks. You have no control over the content to whichyou are linking.

You need to be vigilant and only click to trusted sitesthat share a similar reputation to yours.

There is also the issue of taste and decency.


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Although most sites protectthemselves with words such as, thissite takes no responsibility for the

content contained on the sites it linksto, you need to take someresponsibility as to which sites you

feel are appropriate to be associatedwith.


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Cutting clutter

It is easy to become so immersed ina story that you become swampedby details and lose site of what is

important. Sometimes the journalistwriting a piece can be too close tothe facts and unable to see the top

line.


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Journalists can sometimes make too many calls,look up too many background pieces, and be tooinvolved in the subject to see the real newsangle. Their minds, like their desks, becomecluttered with data.

There is an art in online journalism of cutting theclutter to reveal the core of a story. Often theduty editor or chief sub will help.


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If you are on your own, you will continuallyneed to keep asking yourself what the story is

about, what has happened, why it is important,who it affects, how it affects them, and what islikely to happen next. Leave the complexitiesaside, go back to basics.

What is the one line that sums up the story?Keep it simple with short, sharp sentences. Listwhat you know. Dont try to be clever. You arewriting to inform ordinary people, not impress

your peer group.


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However, most web journalistsworking on a general news site willnot be required to do this. Comments

and opinions have to be attributedand not woven into a story as if theyare facts.

writing for news websites and protals

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