Writing Newspaper Articles

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Teacher’s notes included in the Notes Page

Accompanying worksheet

Flash activity. These activities are not editable.

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!cons key" For more detailed instructions# see the Getting Started presentation


Writing Newspaper Articles

Writing


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$earning ob%ectives

In this unit you will…

Learn the features of different types of newspaper

(tabloid, broadsheet, local and national

!iscuss headlines and articles, analysin" how theydiffer between types of newspaper

#rite your own newspaper article based on the

e$ents of %hakespeare&s The Tempest , payin"

particular attention to lan"ua"e, layout and style



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he first newspapers were all called broadsheets,

because they used lar"e, wide sheets of paper for their

pa"es) Tabloid newspapers were traditionally s*aller

and s+uarer in shape than the broadsheet papers)hese two types of paper ha$e +uite different written

styles) our style, *aterial and layout will be affected by

the kind of paper you are writin" for)

-ecently, so*e broadsheet newspapers ha$e reduced

the si.e of their pa"es to *ake the* easier to read,

particularly on trains/ owe$er, they are still classified as

broadsheet papers because of the style of ournalis*

within the*)

&o you know what the two main types o'

newspaper are called(

Types o' newspapers


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Types o' newspapers


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#hat do you think is the *ost i*portant difference

between tabloid and broadsheet newspapers4 #hatother differences are there4

In which way(s, if any, are free newspapers different to

newspapers you ha$e to pay for4

#hat is the *ain differencebetween national and local

papers4 5re there any other

differences4

an one and should one say

that any particular type of

newspaper is 7better8 than

any other4

&iscussion topics


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$ooking at headlines


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Ideally, a headline should:

What makes the per'ect headline(

What sort o'

newspaper is this(


su* up the whole article

"rab the attention of potential buyers

be easily re*e*bered)

5 pun or so*e alliteration can *ake it e$en *ore effecti$e)

What do )pun’ and )alliteration’ mean(

5 pun is a play on

words andalliteration is when

the sa*e consonant

sound is repeated)


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&iscussion activity

onsider the two headlines which you ha$e ust analysed)ow are the differences in the headlines likely to be reflected

in the papers& approach to what is actually the sa*e story4


Activityurn the followin" i*a"inary news ite*s into two headlines

each: one in tabloid style and one in broadsheet style)

If thin"s don&t chan"e, "lobal war*in" will causesea le$els to rise by a *etre in the ne=t century)

he >inistry of !efence has ad*itted that ?ulf #ar

%yndro*e could well ha$e been caused by che*icals

which were used by both sides durin" the conflict)


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5ll articles ha$e co**on features like:

sub@headin"s

Add any other 'eatures you can think o' to the

brainstorm above.

What does an article need(

a headline picture(s with

captions

All newspaper

articles

inter$iewsAco**ents

fro* people in$ol$edan e=pert opinion


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ou are now "oin" to work throu"h the $arious sta"es

necessary to create a finished newspaper article) ou will

be workin" fro* fictional pieces of infor*ation which

co*e fro* %hakespeare&s play The Tempest )

her father

her brother erdinand her father&s brother %ebastian

?on.alo (5lonso&s ad$iser

5ntonio (!uke of >ilan

Ceapolitan and >ilanese nobility and their ser$ants)

The background"

Writing an article

laribel, the dau"hter of Din" 5lonso of Caples, has ust*arried the kin" of unis) 5t her weddin" in unis were:



En the way ho*e fro* unis, a stor* blows up in the

>editerranean and Din" 5lonso&s ship is sunk)

he other ships in the fleet see the ship "o down, but

cannot find any sur$i$ors when they try to "o to the

rescue)

Writing an article

The events"


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5s a result of this e$ent, there is no direct heir to the

throne of Caples)

%adly, the fleet sails on to Caples where the bad news has

to be broken: the kin", the heir to the throne and *ost of

the senior councillors of Caples ha$e been drowned, as

well as the !uke of >ilan and a lar"e part of the nobility of

both Caples and >ilan) In addition, the ship had a crew of

se$enty Ceapolitan sailors, all of who* are lost)

Writing an article



#hile you wait for your reporter to run to the docks to "et

*ore details, you start work on a dra*atic headline for

to*orrow&s paper)

ry out se$eral different ways of approachin" the tra"edy,

includin" at least one tabloid style headline and one

broadsheet style headline)

ou are responsible for the front pa"e of

Naples Today, the city&s *ain newspaper) Itis the e$enin" of Fune 2'rd 13



I*a"ine you are the reporter for Naples Today ) ou ha$ebeen sent to the docks to "ather enou"h infor*ation to write

a dra*atic article for to*orrow&s paper)

>ake a list of the people who* you would like to inter$iew

for your research) -e*e*ber to include as wide a ran"e ofe=periences as possible)

!ndividual activity

our list should include:

Writing an article

so*eone who saw the fleet return

so*eone senior fro* the fleet (e)") a captain a relati$e of one of the drowned sailors

a political e=pert

a court spokesperson)



Gach takin" the other&s list of people to be inter$iewed,prepare in note 'orm a story for each of the*) !o not

write out the story in full) !o not discuss the details with

your partner)

-e*e*ber to think about what they saw, what they

heard, what they think and what they feel)

5s the ournalist, prepare +uestions which you wish to

ask your chosen people) 5i* for fi$e or si= +uestions

each H so*e *ay be the sa*e for e$eryone, of course/

5"ain, do not tell your partner what you are "oin" to ask)

ake it in turns to inter$iew each other, *akin" notes

when you are the ournalist)

Paired activities

Writing an article


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headline picture

*an you think o' anything else a newspaper 'ront

page might have(

price

The 'ront page

na*e of paper

date

sub

headin"scolu*ns



5 lonely pensioner was brutally beaten up by a *u""er, ust yards

fro* her own front door) 5ll she had on her was 9)00) 7I was ust walkin" ho*e fro* *y weekly lunch at the local !ayentre,8 says widow >ary G$ans, ;6, of %outh ourt, !e$enish)

It wasn&t e$en dark, only 'p* on a %epte*ber afternoon) 5nd thisisn&t a bi" city) 5re we safe anywhere these days4

Not sa'e in our own streets !)) >atthew Fohns of ?reen Lane Jolice %tation, #ilborou"hsaid, 7his is a really nasty attack on a defenceless old lady) It&s note$en as thou"h she had anythin" on her worth stealin")8

%o, now we can&t e$en feel safe in our own street) #hen are the

"o$ern*ent "oin" to wake up and reali.e they&$e "ot to doso*ethin" about it4 5fter all, we&re the ones who put the* there)%houldn&t they earn their keep by lookin" after us and *akin" surethat old ladies don&t ha$e to li$e in fear4

+rutal Attack on Pensioner



5 national sur$ey conducted by the Jolice ederation re$eals thatour streets really are less safe than they were ten years a"o)

he recent, [email protected] attack on an elderly pensioner, >rs>ary G$ans, a"ed ;6 of !e$enish, brou"ht the issue of street*u""in"s back to the public&s attention) he publication of thisreport will si*ply confir* what *any ordinary people ha$e felt forso*e ti*e: that police efforts to control street cri*e ha$e failed)

7It is now a *atter of ur"ency that the "o$ern*ent shouldreco"ni.e that it is its responsibility to tackle this issue) It cannot beri"ht that the elderly should ha$e to take their li$es in their handse$ery ti*e they step beyond their own front doors,8 said elp he 5"ed&s spokesperson elen %*ith)

7#e clai* to be a ci$ili.ed country, yet it see*s that our streets arenot as safe as we like to think) Jerhaps it&s ti*e to reassess thepriorities of the police force and tar"et the un"la*orous side ofco**unity policin": dru"s sei.ures are undoubtedly i*portant, butso is the day@to@day safety of $ulnerable *e*bers of society)8

,andom -treet *rime is ,ising



5 lonely pensioner was brutally beaten up by a *u""er, ust

yards fro* her own front door) 5ll she had on her was 9)00)

7I was ust walkin" ho*e fro* *y weekly lunch at the local !ay

entre,8 says widow >ary G$ans, ;6, of %outh ourt, !e$enish)

It wasn&t e$en dark, only 'p* on a %epte*ber afternoon) 5nd

this isn&t a bi" city) 5re we safe anywhere these days4

Not sa'e in our own streets !)) >atthew Fohns of ?reen Lane Jolice %tation, #ilborou"h

said, 7his is a really nasty attack on a defenceless old lady) It&s

not e$en as thou"h she had anythin" on her worth stealin")8

%o, now we can&t e$en feel safe in our own street) #hen are the

"o$ern*ent "oin" to wake up and reali.e they&$e "ot to doso*ethin" about it4 5fter all, we&re the ones who put the* there)

%houldn&t they earn their keep by lookin" after us and *akin"

sure that old ladies don&t ha$e to li$e in fear4

G*oti$e words !irect speech Jersonal details "i$en

Kse of

contractions

-hetorical

+uestions)

%hort sentences and $ery

short 7para"raphs8 throu"hout)

+rutal Attack on Pensioner

%ub@headin"

breaks

up te=t


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,andom -treet *rime is ,ising

5 national sur$ey conducted by the Jolice ederation re$eals that our

streets really are less safe than they were ten years a"o)

he recent, [email protected] attack on an elderly pensioner, >rs >ary

G$ans, a"ed ;6 of !e$enish, brou"ht the issue of street *u""in"s back

to the public&s attention) he publication of this report will si*ply confir*

what *any ordinary people ha$e felt for so*e ti*e: that police efforts to

control street cri*e ha$e failed) 7It is now a *atter of ur"ency that the "o$ern*ent should reco"ni.e that

it is its responsibility to tackle this issue) It cannot be ri"ht that the elderly

should ha$e to take their li$es in their hands e$ery ti*e they step beyond

their own front doors,8 said elp he 5"ed&s spokesperson elen %*ith)

7#e clai* to be a ci$ili.ed country, yet it see*s that our streets are notas safe as we like to think) Jerhaps it&s ti*e to reassess the priorities of

the police force and tar"et the un"la*orous side of co**unity policin":

dru"s sei.ures are undoubtedly i*portant, but so is the day@to@day safety

of $ulnerable *e*bers of society)8

%ophisticated sentence structure

?ra**atical accuracy!irect speech)

or*al $ocabulary

Brief personal details



&id you notice anything which both styles o' article

had in common(

!irect speech is used in both, to "i$e wei"ht to the point

of the article)

Both articles "i$e so*e personal details of the people

who* the ournalist +uotes)

our article will need to include co**ents fro* the people

you inter$iewed, as well as so*e of their personal details)

$ooking at style

I&* "oin" to ha$e so *uch fun*akin" up people&s personal

details and back"rounds/ It&ll

be "ood practice for when I&*

writin" *y own books)



Cewspapers use e=tracts fro* inter$iews, but they do not

use the* in the sa*e way as tele$ision news reports do)Look at the e=tracts used in the tabloid article which you

ha$e ust been studyin")

7I was ust walkin" ho*e fro* *y weekly lunch at the local !ayentre,8 says widow >ary G$ans, ;6, of %outh ourt, !e$enish)

!)) >atthew Fohns of ?reen Lane Jolice %tation, #ilborou"h

said, 7his is a really nasty attack on a defenceless old lady) It&s

not e$en as thou"h she had anythin" on her worth stealin")8

Cotice that the ournalist&s +uestions are not used in the

article) 5ll that appears is a co**ent fro* the inter$iewee)

sing interviews


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re*e*ber to keep your sentences +uite short

use co**ents fro* the people you inter$iewed

do not include your +uestions

use either broadsheet or

tabloid style do not *i= the*

break up your te=t with sub@

headin"s)

And 'inally# remember

what a dramatic news

item this is and use a

suitably dramatic style/

It is now ti*e to write your own article:

Writing an article

Writing Newspaper Articles

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