CRASH COURSE IN CAMPUS JOURNALISM

High School/Elementary Department- EECP

Special Class- Grade 7, 8, 9 and 4th Year
By Mr. Cedric M. Rayla
Adviser- The Rainbow Times
Reference:
Cruz, Ceciliano-Jose B. Advanced Campus Journalism. August 3, 2011

I. BASIC CAMPUS JOURNALISM

Course Description:

This course engages aspiring Campus Journalists in becoming skilled writers and critics in the
different areas of journalism for a variety of purposes. Their writings should make them aware of
their interactions among writing purposes and audience expectations as well as the way generic
conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in journalism. Campus
Journalists should be able to write effectively and confidently as writers across their personal lives,
to apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writings and to demonstrate understanding
and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic maturity in their own writings.

II. Course Objectives

At the end of the course, the students are able to:

1. Apply critical reading and thinking skills to the writing process through analyzing and reacting on
reading materials.
2. Follow the conventions of standard written English, in sentence structure, punctuation, grammar
and spelling.
3. Identify and develop styles appropriate to varied writing situations.
4. Analyze other writer’s motives in reasons for writing.
5. Relate writing motives to internal features of their texts including different genres and
expectations of different audience.
6. Write well-organized articles with a firm thesis and a clear introduction, body and conclusion

III. References
Cruz, Ceciliano- Jose B. Campus Journalism and School Paper Advising. Rex Book Store, 856
Nicanor Reyes St. Manila Philippines, 2000.
Malinao, Alito L. Journalism for Filipinos. National Book Store Inc., Mandaluyong, Philippines,
1991.
Malinao, Alito L. Campus and Community Journalism Hand Book. National Book Store Inc.,
Mandaluyong, Philippines, 2005.
Cruz, Ceciliano- Jose B. Advanced Campus Journalism. August 3, 2011
Ferguson, Donald L. Journalism Today. August 3, 2011

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Writing News

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
a. explain the importance of the Pyramid Structure in News Writing,
b. analyze the process in News Writing through using simple words rather than of obscure words, and
c. write quality news articles observing the rules In News Writing.

PART – I
Review of Newswriting
The Outline

A. News Defined
Simply defined, news is an oral or written report of a past, present or future event which is of
interest to the reading public. It should be factual, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and interesting.

B. Requisites of News

Factual accurate objective

Truthful unbiased interesting

C. Elements of News

 Conflict or struggle  Drama

 Immediacy or timeliness  Sex
 Proximity or nearness  Progress
 Significance or consequences  Animals
 Romance or adventure  Number
 Oddity or unusualness  Emotion
 Names

D. Types of News Stories

1. According to Scope and Origin

a. Local/ national
b. Foreign
c. Dateline

2. According to chronology or sequence

a. Advance or anticipated
b. Spot
c. Coverage
d. Follow- up

3. According to treatment
a. Fact
b. Action
c. Quote/ speech/ interview

4. According to content
a. Routine (elections, celebrations, anniversaries, etc.)
b. Sports (games, events, track and field, etc.)
c. Development news ( DEVCOM)
d. Police (accidents, fires, calamities, crimes, etc.)
e. Science ( development news)

5. According to structure
a. Straight news ( either single feature or
b. News feature ( several feature(composite))

6. Advanced type
a. Investigative

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 b. Interpretive
c. Depthnews

7. Minor type
a. Sidebar
b. Bulletins
c. Quirks
d. Newsbriefs
e. Flash
f. Roundups

PART – II
The News Story
Parts of the News Story
A news story has three parts: the lead, the bridge, and the body.

The lead introduces the body. It summarizes the story. It may be a single a single word, a phrase, a
clause, a brief sentences or a whole paragraph.

The three kinds of lead are the conventional or summary lead, the novelty lead, and the grammatical
beginning lead.

1. The summary lead is used in straight news reporting. It answers the right away all or any of
the Ws and/ or the H. (Who, What, Where, When, Where, Why and How).
2. The novelty lead is best used in writing news features. Among these are the astonisher,
contrast, epigram, picture, background, descriptive, parody, punch, one word, quotation, and
question leads.
3. The grammatical beginning lead is introduced by a kind of grammatical form which is usually
a phrase or a clause used to emphasize a feature. Here the important Ws and H are found
in the main clause not in the introductory or subordinate clause which is just a modifying
feature.

Examples are prepositional phrase, infinitive phrase, participial phrase, gerundial phrase,
and clause leads.

The body is the elaboration of the lead arranged in decreasing importance following the inverted
pyramid structure. In a news feature, the body usually follows the suspended interest structure like that in a
narrative.

The bridge is a transitional device to make story more readable. The lead and the body of the news
story are separate structures. Each has its own organizational patterns. A good news writer must aid readers in
getting from the lead to the body of the story. This transition is helped by a kind of bridge to the main part of the
story.

Elements of News

A news story may be appealing to a particular reader for any or all of the following elements:
conflict or struggle, immediacy or timeliness, proximity or nearness, significance or consequences, romance or
adventure, oddity or unusualness, names, drama, sex, progress, animals, number and emotion.

Writing the News Story

Finally, the reporter after gathering his facts writes his news story. In doing this, he should:

Write the story right away.

Play up the dominant points.
Be accurate and truthful.
Avoid opinion called editorializing; and use adjectives sparingly.
Avoid libelous and rebellious matter, prejudice, and bad taste.
Give the source (attribution) of the news.
Write names in full when these are mentioned for the first time
Identify the names mentioned
Watch out for errors in grammar, fact, structure, and style.
Observe the guidelines for clear and effective writing (unity, coherence, emphasis, clarity, brevity, etc.).
Adopt a paper stylesheet, stylebook, or style guide for consistency.

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Guidelines in writing a news story

1. Give your lead sentence a punch to catch the interest of the readers.
2. Starts with the most important event or idea.
3. Use the rule or proximity and explain how the news affects the people in the locality or the students in
school.
4. If your story has something unusual or novel to tell, bank on that for the lead. It’s hot copy.
5. Make your sentences concise and clear so that they could be easily understood. Long tedious sentences will
likely kill the readers’ interest. Besides, they usually lose the readers along the way. News stories are not
luxury or pleasure reading. They have the basic function to inform.
6. Use simple words. Using highfalutin words does not prove anything but pedantry and literary pretentions.
Even literary writers try as much as possible to use simple words.
7. Never be afraid of breaking the rules if it will prove helpful in making a good copy.

Preparing the Copy

In preparing his copy, the young reporter may follow these suggestions:

1. Type the copy on standard- sized copy paper, double or triple spaced to give room for the copy
readers’ mark.
2. Write one or two- word slugline in the upper left- hand corner to indicate the topic or subject matter of
the story. This is because the reporter does not write the headline of his news story. This is the duty of
the copyreader.
3. Complete the sentences or paragraphs on the same sheet of paper.
4. Avoid splitting words at the end of the line.
5. Write more at the end of the story sheet, except the last one which should be marked # or 30. These
marks, including the slugline, should be encircled.

Blind leads- Devices to simplify leads

To keep an opening sentence from becoming too cluttered with details there is a device called the blind
lead. It is so- called because complete identification is held until the second paragraph. A blind lead helps
create interest too.

Examples:

1. A second year high school student is reported in satisfactory condition at the Philippine General
Hospital recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident. ( blind lead)
Maria Santos, 16 a student of Honasan High School was injured last Sunday in a car accident at
Fourth St.
2. An NCR delegate won first place in news writing at the NSSPC held Feb. 18 in Naga City. (blind lead)
Judel A. Roman, chief editor of the Torchbearer, campus paper of the PNU Laboratory School
bested 15 regional champions.

The blind lead technique not only keeps detailed identification from crowding the opening sentence but also
permits the writers to add more details in the next sentence or paragraph. These details help hold the reader’s
attention.

Example:

The junior members of the newspaper staff, Abren Manalo, Ervin Joshua Cabral and Mycah Lim will
visit the English Classes of Mr. Cedric Rayla and Ms. Evelyn Fajanilan next week to recruit students for the
newspaper staff and explain opportunities for journalism students. (long and tedious)

Three junior staff members will give talks next week regarding journalism in English classes of two
teachers. (blind lead)
The staff members, Abren Manalo, Ervin Joshua Cabral and Mycah Lim will seek to recruit students for
the newspaper and explain opportunities for journalism students. They will visit English classes taught by Mr.
Cedric Rayla nd Miss Evelyn Fajanilan.

When the facts are complex, you can write a generalized lead and put the details in the second sentence or
paragraph.

The Bridges- Transition from the lead to story.

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As explained earlier, a news story has three parts; the lead, the bridge, and the body.

The Bridge: What It Does

Functions of the bridge are:
1. To answer one or more of the 5 Ws and How
2. To give proper attribution and identification
3. To give readers tie- in or tie- back or recap of earlier story.

The bridge is a transitional device to make a story more readable. Transition may be accomplished in a
sentence, a paragraph or several paragraphs. But it is done subtly and with ease and is not really evident to
the reader.
Bridging is accomplished by repetition of key words and linking paragraphs which expand on general points.

Note these early paragraphs from the story:

A high school senior was slightly injured Sunday near the school in what police described as a one-in-
a-million freak accident.
Ramon Garcia, 17, the senior, was treated and discharged from the Philippine General Hospital
following the noon accident in which his car was hit twice by the same jeep.
Police said Garcia was driving south on Taft Avenue. As he crossed Pedro Gil street, a jeep driven by
Mrs. Maria Reyes of Pasay City entered the intersection. The two vehicles collided, according to police and
the…

The first paragraph is the summary lead.

The second paragraph is the bridge. The bridge explains the blind lead (identifies the senior). It also (by
repeating “ senior” and “accident” uses key words to provide transitions from the lead to the chronological
details of the accident, which are explained beginning in the third paragraph.

Exercises

A. From the following facts, write a two- paragraph lead that would be an example of using the blind lead
approach:

Fact 1. From the Philippine Normal University the marchers proceeded to the
Department of Budget then Liwasang Bonifacio on Taft Avenue. An estimated
number of 1,000 teachers held rally to demand economic justice, democratic
rights, and relevant education.

Fact 2. Six town officials of La Bomba, Davao were massacred by a band of pirates…
looted the town… burned the town hall… yesterday. Killed wre Town Mayor
Wilfredo Cruz, 46; Vice Mayor Elado Gerona, 42; Justice Jose Marcelo, 50, and
Policemen Jose Escalona, 51, Pedro Tictikan, 50 and Paquito Diaz, 49…

Fact 3. Robin Padilla was arrested last night by Manila Police Narcotic Agents… not the
famous movie actor… 21 years old… a popular inmate of the Western Police
District narcotic detention cell… caught with a plastic bag containing dried
marijuana leaves.

Fact 4. A dog has become a movie star in just a year… he will appear here… “ Pogi” is
his name… he is a 6-year-old dog… a shepherd dog… he has appeared in five
moves made for television in the past years… will perform in your school Friday.

Fact 5. Competition in sports was held in October in your school and Reinier Magnayon,
senior; Simeon Tabbada, junior, and Michael Dallo, junior won first places in
bowling, badminton, and ping- pong, respectively.
B. Based on the following facts, write a blind summary lead. Then after it, write an appropriate bridge
paragraph.
1. When: last Tuesday
Where: Agno River
What: saved a 9- year-old girl from drowning
How: swam approximately 200 yards to rescue the girl when her boat capsized
Who: Elmer Ariarte
A senior member of varsity swimming team of the Philippine Normal University

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 Why: girl stood in boat causing it to overturn, Ariarte heard girl scream as she fell into
the water
Who: Ramona Roxas of Paco, Manila.
Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Vicente Roxas.

2. Where: Manila Science High School

When : August 18
Who: A third year neophyte in journalism
How: Trying her luck just after listening to the resource speaker
What: won first place in the Filipino newswriting contest
Who: Jennifer Balboa of the PNU Laboratory School
Why: bested senior and more experienced student editors from public and private
schools in National Capital Region

C. In the following example, supply the missing bridge paragraph, which can offer identification as well as
attribution for “ how” of the story.

Ramona Roxas is the junior and police reports show the accident occurred when her car
stalledon the tracks during a strong rain. ( Provide a bridge to the details of the accident
described in the third paragraph which begins the body of the story.)

A junior of ABC High School was killed yesterday morning in an accident involving her
car and a PNR train on Blumentritt St., Manila.

(Bridge)
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

The junior was driving to school. A flooded ditch at the crossing may have causedthe
accident, police reported.

D. Look at these facts from a student newspaper story.

The ABC farm building was razed by fire March 21. It was the fourth fire in the district
since June. Two current developments to the story: 1) Novaliches Fire Chief Christopher Garcia
said that arson investigators are still sifting through the evidence to find the cause, and that his
department is exploring all leads. He asked for information anyone might have about the fire,
especially from anyone who may have arrived at the fire before fire fighters, 2) Mr. Richard
Abucay, construction manager said that the losses from the fire may be beyond P500, 000.
Arson is suspected by the chief.

Here is the two- paragraph lead for the story.

Arson investigators this week are continuing to sift through evidence to find the cause of
a fire which razed an ABC farm building, March 21.
The Novaliches Fire Chief said he is also seeking information from anyone who may
have arrived at the fire before the firemen.

Write a bridge paragraph (third paragraph for story) below from the above facts to relate to the
point about the three earlier fires: (Suggestion: Identify the chief and tell why he suspects
arson.)

(Bridge)
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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PART- III
Special Types of News Stories

A. Interpretative ( Interpretive) News

Interpretative News Defined

Different authors give different views on what interpretative reporting is. Among these are:
1. It is reporting news in depth and with care, news refreshed with background materials to make it
comprehensible and meaningful. – Lester Markel, editor, The Sunday New York Times
2. It is objective judgment based on background knowledge of a situation or appraisal of an event
which are essential parts of news.- Lester Markel
3. It is telling the reader everything he needs to know about a given development, and all the essential
facts in a way that brings the story to the reader’s environment.- Robert Bollorf, executive editor,
The Wall Street Journal
4. It is giving the reading public accurate information as fully as the importance of any story dictates.
Catledge, editor, The New York Times

Based on the following definitions, interpretative reporting is more than the recital of bare facts, it is
reporting news refreshed with background materials to make it comprehensive and meaningful.

Case Study

In an old issue, the Manila Times carried a Reuters story on an impending replacement of Allen
Dulles, director of the US government Central Intelligence Agency. Based on the report in
Newsweek, the dispatch failed to state why the then President John F. Kennedy was relieving
Dulles. Most of those who read Newsweek were at a loss. They asked the following questions: “
What is CIA? Why is Dulles being relieved? What is the Cuban fiasco?”

The Manila Times foreign news editor therefore added three paragraphs to the Reuter story.
1. More information about Dulles was added.
2. Another paragraph explained what the CIA was.
3. And still another paragraph presented the Cuban invasion.

Objective and Interpretative Reporting Compared

1. Simply reporting the bones of the news

2. Tells the reader exactly what occurred
3. Presents bare facts

Advantages

1. Saves the newspaper from possible trouble

2. Offers no temptation for reporters to express a controversial or objectionable view

Disadvantages

1. The inquisitive reader suddenly finds himself at loose ends over a developing story because he was
never given a chance to know why something happened.

Interpretative Reporting

1. Puts the facts in perspective

2. Tells the reader why and how it occurred
3. Explains and analyzes the facts

Advantages

1. Previous setting, sequence and above all significance of the news are given
2. Today’s news is becoming increasingly technical; therefore, the news must be clarified and
interpreted if it is to become meaningful to the reader

Disadvantages

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 1. The reporter is exposed to many temptations. A biased reporter could use interpretation as an excuse
to distract the news, or to introduce deliberate bias.
2. The story tends to be very long.

What Interpretation Means

1. To a financial reporter- it is expected of him to know a little of economics, the Central Bank, and
business. But first of all, he is a reporter, not a finance expert. It is his job to gather the news as fast as
it breaks and explain what it means so that the reader will not be left perplexed. He translates technical
terms into layman’s English and does not merely reproduce them without explaining.
2. To a court reporter- he should explain or simplify legal terms. Not everybody knows what habeas
corpus, mandamus, certiorari or quasi contract mean.
3. To a labor reporter- he must translate into simple, understandable words such terms as close shop,
check off or picket, or else he won’t be understood.

How and What to Interpret

Hard news should be given substance and interpretation in order to be interesting and be fully understood.
This is done by:
1. Completing the accounts by giving factual backgrounds, eye- witness accounts, sidebars, localization,
and explanation of the “other side.”
2. Interpretation by way of mentioning causes and motives, significance, analysis, comparison, and
forecast.

Causes and Motives: The probing reporter keeps asking “Why?” He seeks the news behind the news.
He digs beneath the surface: e.g. Maceda and Angara kiss and make up. Why did they kiss and make
up? What was their previous quarrel?

Significance: If a barangay leader attends one function and boycotts another, there may be a significant
repercussion.

Analysis: Complicated decrees, letters of instruction or general orders must be analyzed and explained
so that they could be understood.

Comparison: Readers want to know comparisons, like achievements of barangay leaders, numbers of
votes in a referendum, etc.

Sidebars: In disaster news, sidebars, in form of charts or tabulations are sometimes published side by
side with the main news.

Side by side with earthquake news, for example, there may be an item on a history of big earthquakes
with their corresponding dates of occurrences and casualties.

Forecast: Giving the news a “tomorrow angle” is often a form of interpretation. The reporter makes a
prediction, or he may see trouble ahead based on the analysis.

The problem often met by the reporter in writing interpretative news is certainly not in the gathering of
his facts, but in interpreting the news without giving an opinion. Interpreting is different from giving an
opinion, the latter belongs to the editorial page and not to the news page.

The reporter should not be biased. His duty is to interpret in depth, not to give his views.

B. Depthnews

Depthnews is a kind of news feature that contains, aside from the essential facts attendant to a news story,
backgrounds, interpretation and analyses.

It is not a news story in the traditional sense since it is not based on a timely event that answers the 5 Ws
and the H, but rather on timely topics of interest to the readers.

Certainly, like any other kind of news story, it is based on facts and may answer any or all of the 5 Ws and
the H. However, the emphasis is on the elaboration of one W, the why.

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