A newspaper article is a great way to get your writing noticed and make people want to read more of what you have to say. If you’re new to writing for newspapers, here are a few tips and ideas that can help you start your career as a newspaper reporter:
1. Start with a good lead (or headline)
A good news article will begin with a strong, eye-catching headline that grabs the reader’s attention and encourages them to read more of the story. It should be brief and clear, but also contain a lot of interesting information about the story.
2. Start with the facts
Before you write your article, create a list of all the important information you plan to include. This will make it easier for you to write your article and eliminate unnecessary facts later.
3. Decide on your topic and type of article
After you have created a list of facts, decide what type of article you will be writing. Do you wish to write a simple opinion piece, a straightforward report, or a more in-depth analysis? This will determine the kind of facts you need to write about and how you should arrange them in your article.
4. Conduct interviews and interview sources
You should always seek out reliable, certified professionals or academics to validate the information you use in your article. This will prevent you from making mistakes in your reporting and ensure that your readers have a good understanding of the subject matter at hand.
5. Add pictures and other graphics to your article
Adding images to your articles can be an excellent way to make your stories more exciting and to enhance the overall look of the paper. You can include pictures of a person or a place and even pictures of objects that are part of the story.
6. Ensure your paper is neat and organized
The layout of a newspaper should be neat and tidy, with text blocks, columns, headings and pictures aligned both vertically and horizontally. You should also have a consistent font size and colour for all of your articles, as this makes them look professional.
7. Keep your paragraphs short, concise and direct
Unlike an essay, where your sentence length is up to you, the length of your newspaper article will be determined by how many facts you need to cover in each paragraph. This will be dependent on the size of the paper you are printing.
8. Use the active voice when possible, as this will make your writing more understandable and have more impact on the audience.
9. Use quotes whenever you can, as this will give your articles a more human touch and allow the reader to gain an idea of what the people involved are thinking.
10. Conclusion
The end of your article should be a strong, succinct summary of your main points. It should also have some ‘quotes’, which are comments from people you interviewed or researched that highlight what is important about the story.
