How to write an informative article

1) What to write? What’s new?

The term “new” is apparently easy to define. All this happens again around us: news, time issues, new projects or initiatives. But a newspaper does not publish only the news of the day. It also publishes more analysis, opinions and human interest articles.

Recognizing what will be good news can be more difficult.

The journalist must choose between the flow of information and events that come to him from his community and from the world. His usual criteria are: size, mobility, punctuality and interest. Please note that these factors are not necessarily all present simultaneously in every article!

2) “Hard news” or “soft news”? Articles or background reports?

The “hard news” sections (approximately 600 words) are the record of recent events or incidents. They make up the bulk of a normal day’s news.

The beginning (first paragraph) summarizes the facts. What happened? Where? When? Who / By whom? Why? This summary should be very brief. The rest of the text is there to give details.

The writing should be clear and concise. Above all, you must give readers the information they need. If the federal government announced yesterday a new program of great importance for young people, it is good news for today.

“Soft news” sections (approximately 600 words) are a common feature of not being connected to the news right away. They can be portraits of people, profiles of organizations or programs. The primer here can be more literary.

Deep stories (about 1500 words) go back to the new one. They explore a question. Although they are further removed from the immediate present, they are just as important for journalism. They can be a good way to explore topics too complex for the telegraphic style of a new topic. Example: a report on homeless youth. A longer text will reflect the complexity of their individual stories.

Deep stories are at the heart of journalism. A good story to bring your community back to life, its struggles, its victories and its defeats. A background report picks an angle (for example, young black men going back to church) and explores it by interviewing the people involved and drawing conclusions from their statements. The author addresses the question of the important moment and tells the reader about it through the comments of the people involved.

Tip: Don’t forget to “balance” your text. Present different people’s points of view on an issue and let the reader choose who to believe. Your personal opinion should not appear. These are quotes from people interviewed who build the report. You are the narrator.

Editorial: An editorial expresses an opinion. The editorial page of a newspaper allows authors to express their own points of view. All editorials are personal, but must be of interest to the reader.

3) How to structure your text

News articles (“hard news” or “soft news”) and deep stories have the same basic structure: an introduction, then the body of the text.

Introduction

The first one or two first paragraphs are among the essential elements of a new text. Journalists call it the beginning (or “beginning”). Its function is to summarize the content when it comes to news, to hook the reader, when it comes to general news.

In the “hard news”, summarize the primer that follows and answer the best 5 questions of traditional journalism (who, what, where, when and why). (Example: “Homeless youth expressed on Sherbrooke Street in Montreal, Wednesday afternoon, claiming the mayor’s emergency housing for the winter.” Can you identify the 5 basic questions in this manual?)

In “soft news,” the subject is presented in a less direct and more literary way. The author tries to capture the reader’s attention as a novelist would. (Example: “Four years ago, was Simon sleeping in the street or under bridges?” Once the reader is hooked, the journalist answers 5 questions in the text, but not necessarily at the beginning).

body of text

It incorporates the opinions of the interviewees, some facts and their own narration that structures the text. However, be careful, you do not have the right to “editorialization, that is, to express your own views in any way in this type of article.

Remember:

The role of a journalist is to discover and report the different points of view of the people involved in a given situation. His comments should represent the majority of the text. The narrative helps weave it all together into a cohesive whole. Recommendation: Do not deal with one topic per article. There can be a variety of details, but they should all be related to the original idea. (Example: if you want to discuss the relationships of black youth with the police, you MUST NOT get lost in the biography of a particular youth).

As journalists, you are the eyes and ears of the reader. Visual details are important to bring the text to life (for this, face-to-face interviews are always preferable to telephone ones). You must also “feel” about yourself, that is, develop an understanding of the emotional context of the issue at hand and the opinions expressed by those involved.

Pass? Here are two examples that essentially summarize each case to cover.

Young people come together to form an organization. You must say why they are doing it and what changes they are trying to promote in society. You must also specify who they are and what strategies they plan to use.

An artist exhibits for the first time. Why? What do you think is art? Is your creative process rational or emotional? What works like yours?

4) Some other tips

How to find ideas:

* Keep your ears and eyes open, listen to what your friends are talking about.

* Read everything that comes to mind, look for ideas in other newspapers and magazines.

* Discover the opinions of young people in a matter of time.

* Work on a topic that interests you and would like to learn more.

* Talk to people involved in a particular area to see what they give importance to.

How to find information

* Find articles on the subject.

* Tell your friends and associates.

* Contact associations and organizations specialized in the matter or interested in the subject.

* Get a list of people to interview, cover both sides of the story by interviewing people who have different views on the topic.

* Find government statistics and study old reports and press releases on the subject.

What to do and what not to do in an interview

* Always be courteous.

* Explain the basic rules of interviewing people who know how the media works. In other words, tell them that anything they say can and will be published. If they want one or more parts of their statements not to be published, they must absolutely specify this.

* Save the interview (for proof if questioned).

* Build a relationship of trust with the interviewee.

* Start with easy questions, save the hardest for last.

* Pay attention to the body language of the interviewee, if a question is defensive, leave to come back later.

* Never be aggressive.

* Taking control of the interview does not allow the interviewee to get lost in long speeches or get off topic.

* No, on the other hand, your preconceived ideas about what to say color the interview. Always remember that the interviewee knows more about the subject than you do.
Information organization

* Gather your notes, interviews and searches in a single folder.

* Read them.

* Look for the common theme that emerges.

* Select quotes and data of interest.

* Broaden the focus of your article.

* Summarize this axis in two or three sentences.

Writing and editing

* Remember that your role is to tell, to shape a story.

* Don’t be afraid to rewrite and correct.

* Write as clearly and concisely as possible.

* Adopt a direct style.

* Tell a good story.

* Give the reader what you think they want to know.

* Ask yourself what is the specific topic of your article.

* Read the article out loud, listen carefully to you.

* Look for the common theme that emerges.

* Select quotes and data of interest.

* Broaden the focus of your article.

* Summarize this axis in two or three sentences.