Homework Assignment 1

News Writing and Reporting

Assignment No. 1

Use a newspaper to complete this assignment. Clip out one story that represents each one of the seven elements of news.  So, you will end up with SEVEN DIFFERENT articles.  The seven elements of news are:

•  Timeliness: Something happened recently. Example: last night’s speech; a fire that broke out yesterday; the story is only timely if it’s in today’s newspaper because it just happened, within hours of the story running. Something that happened five days ago is probably old news.

•  Proximity:  How close, geographically, the story is to readers.  Example: a story that itemizes property tax increases for Torrance residents would run in the Daily Breeze, not in the Press-Telegram in Long Beach.

•  Prominent people or things: If someone (the president) or something (Staples Center) is well known and if something happens to that person or thing, it’s news. Example: the president has laser eye surgery: news.  You had laser eye surgery: not news.

•  Conflict: Conflict has repercussions in our society, so it’s newsworthy.  Example: wars, neighbors disagreeing about property lines, sporting events, etc.

•  Impact on society or your community: If something has the force to impact your community or society at large, it’s newsworthy.  Example: a water pipe breaks and Redondo Beach is without water; a tax increase, a disease outbreak, someone finds a cure for cancer.

•  Unusual: Odd or unusual stories. Example: a 10-year-old graduating from college, a robber returns to ask the victim out on a date.

•  Human interest: Stories that appeal to your heart, to your emotion and to your sense of humanity. Example: the mother down the street who’s donating time to help kids w/HIV or the lonely old third-generation beekeeper who lives off the grid and keeps ancient traditions alive. These are personal stories that take you close to the heart of the matter.

You must pick your articles from the NEWS section of the newspaper. That means no opinion, editorial, columns, sports, Dear Abby, etc. Almost all of the stories you find in the front section (the A section) will be news stories. If you are uncertain about what is a news story, remember that most news stories are located on the front page of the newspaper or the front section.  

Find ONE story for each element of news. You will discover that most articles in the newspaper fit more than one news element. However, there’s generally only ONE main reason why the story was included in the newspaper, so figure that out.  You will end up with seven different stories.

After you’ve found a DIFFERENT story for each of the seven elements of news, cut the story out and glue or tape it to an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. Cut only as much of the story that fits onto the sheet of paper. On the top of each sheet of paper write which of the seven elements of news that story fulfills. So, you will end up with SEVEN different news stories, one for each element of news, and you will label each news story according to which of the seven elements of news it fulfills.

Please do not just hand me a pile of clippings; they MUST be glued or stapled or taped to an 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper.

Finally, staple all seven of your pieces of 8 1/2 by 11 paper together in one package. NOTE: Photos, photo captions, headlines, etc. are not stories.