Types of Leads, Writing Features, Writing Articles, Column, Letters to the Editor
Types of leads
Based on grammar of the sentence, intros
can be classified into several categories:
1.Substantive
clause intro
Ex: New Delh, April 10 (PTI). Despite
adverse agro-climate factors, fordgrains production in 2004-2005 was likely to
touch 250 million tonnes, the agriculture minister disclosed today.
2.Conditional
clause intro:
Ex: New Delhi, May 2. The minister of
State for agriculture, has assured the Rajya Sabha that the government would
take prompt action if charges of bunglings against any of the NAFED officials
were found to be true.
3.Present
Participle Intro:
United Nations, April 30 (UNI). Calling
the United Nations’ current financial crisis “Yet another” challenge to
Multilaterialism India has asked members to defeat those trying to weaken the
world body.
4.Past
Participle intro:
Cherrapunjee, April 27 (UNI). A large
number of people here were disappointed today as President Abdul Kalam
cancelled his Cherrapunjee visit due to inclement weather.
5.
Prepositional Phrases intro:
Dhaka, March 2 (UNI). In the backdrop of
the political imbroglio in Bangladesh, the leaders of the two major oppostion
held on unexpected parley last Sunday.
6.
Infinitive phrase intro
Pune, May 1. Fifteen muslim membersof
the Janata Party including the former UP unit chief, Mr. Appas Ali, on Thursday
resigned from the primary membership of the party to protest agianst the
resolution.
Intros
or leads can also be classified according to the elements of the news (five Ws
and H) that dominate in the lead:
1.Who
lead:
Hoshiarpur, May 3 (UNI). The Jammu and
Kashmir police chief, Mr. J. F. Ribeiro on Saturday said maintenance of law and
order in the state was not an easy task.
2.what
lead:
3.When
Lead:
4.
Where lead:
5.
where lead:
6.How
lead:
Intro can also be classified on the basis of
variety of presentation:
1.Astonisher
lead:
This intro is of moderate length, from
twenty-five to thirty five words and tries to arrest the reader’s attention by
presenting the unexpected but not of world rocking importance.
Ex: Ludhiana, April 29. As many as 27
persons were killed and another 26 were injured when two Punjab Roadways buses
collided head on this morning.
2.
Catridge or capsule lead
This lead is brief and goes right to the
point and presents news with high concentration of news value.
Ex: New Delhi, April 29. Six cases of
AIDS disease have been detected in Tamil Nadu
3.Punch
Lead:
Milder than the astonisher or cartridge.
Its length is somewhere between cartridge lead and the astonisher lead. It is
useful for presentation of news that is not inherently exciting or sensational.
Ex: Luska, April 28. Women are
under-represented in and misused by the mass media, a study on women in the media has shown.]
4.Historical
or Literary-allusion lead:
It draws some character or event in
history or literature in relation to an event or person in the news.
5.Question
lead:
It fits with unusual or routine stories
that need an informal tone as well as with those that deal with matters of
universal interest.
6.
Direct Quotation lead:
When the lead is using a direct
quotation it should be short and eye-catching.
7.
Indirect Quotation lead:
Instead of using the speaker’s actual
words the reporter can say what the speaker said in his own words.
8.contrast
lead:
It attracts readers’ attention by
comparing extremes.
9.Direct
address lead:
It speaks directly to the reader or an
interesting subject or one with a universal appeal.
Ex: Dallas, April 27 (Reuter). Living in
Dallas may be hazardous to your marriage,…..
10.Descriptive
lead:
It is also know as situation or picture
lead. It tries to paint a word picture of an interesting person, place or thing
to help create mood for the story.
Ex: Lucknow, April 10 (PTI). One could
hardly see any crossing or eye catcing spot or an electric or telegraph pole in
Kumbh Mela area at Harldwar, where something or the other was not written in
the form of a banner or a hoarding or a poster concerning what one could do to
improve prospects of child survival and development, as part of a campaign
launched by UNICEF.
11.Parody
lead:
12.one-two-three-four
lead:
It is useful for giving the salient
points of an important programme or putting important budget provisions. In
this kind of intro a general statement is followed by various important points
with number. (1),(2),(3),(4), or letters (a), (b),(c),(d) and so on.
13.Miscellaneous
freak lead:
This type of intro has a novel approach
in sentence structure and presentation, in order to catch the readers attention.
Ex:Nagpur, October 27. It’s sourav
Ganguly, of course. All the idle speculation of the choice of a captain for
next month’s visits to sharjah and Australia after the setbacks in Srilanka.
14.summary
lead:
Many of the above leads actually
summarise the story that can be described as summary leads.
15.interpetative
lead:
It normally do not quote any body and
begin with a statement from the writer of the story. The interpretative lead
gives the assessment of the reporter or special correspondent based on facts of
the situation.\
Writing Features
Non-news editorial content is
traditionally classified as features. The one thing that newspaper features
usually have in common with news is the element of timeliness. In the case of
background or situation features, which explain and give context to the news,
the timeliness is obvious, eventhough a good deal of the content is already
known or accessible. A feature writing is a special human interest story
article that is not closely tied to a recent newsevent. It focuses on
particular people, places, and events, and it goes into great detail regarding
concepts and ideas of specific market interest. Holiday articles are published
when readers are planning their holidays and the paper is full of holiday
advertising.
Crossword
puzzles and comic strips, for instance, which usually come under the features
department. Even cartoons, however, often have news angles, and so have many
readers’ letters. The feature writer assembles a number of facts, some current,
some perhaps old, and some figures, quotations and descriptions and weaves from
them a pattern of argument in order to
come to a conclusion. The conclusion can be the explanation that lies behind a
news story, behind some government policy or current economic problem or simply
behind someone’s success. A feature writer still requires facts and quotations
from people though their newness is no longer the paramount consideration. He
is still concerned with what people say or do, but for mere selective uses.
A feature, in
its broadest sense, is a piece of explanatory, deductive, writing from which
bias is inseparable. It is a view of something printed under the writer’s name
as opposed to a piece of news writing which is an objective first-time
disclosure of facts. This does not mean that clarity and directness of language
can be put aside. The language in its words and phrasing, however, does take on
a more personal role as a result of the relationship between the writer, who is
putting over a view, and the reader whose support he or she is soliciting. What
many newspapers publish as the interesting and light feature could be called
“feature editorial”. If we compare today’s concept of feature with the concept
of news one can say that news story deals with more important facts while the
feature deals with more interesting facts. Further, timeliness is more crucial
in news than in feature. These criteria are relative and not absolete. But
together they can be successfully applied to identify a feature or a news story.
A feature writer,
and particularly a freelance writer, having armed himself with the ability to
hardness words and sentence construction to his needs must also develop an
awareness of the readers for whom he is writing. A good feature writer is
adaptable. Assuming that he knows or has researched his subject, and has reader awareness, he should be able to
address himself to a variety of newspaper audiences. Selling features involves
a precise study of the market and a publication’s requirements.
According to the
content,feature can be classified
into following catogories.
News
features:
News feature appears in news
columns but its news value content is lower as compared to hard news.
Backgrounders situations and story describing ‘how’ of an event come in this
category of features.
Anniversary
features:
These
kind of features appear on anniversaries and are planned in advance. The news
peg is anniversary. Those who specialise in it are called calendar journalists.
But even this kind of feature can have a human interest angle.
Light
or entertaining features:
Such features may or may not have
a news peg. They are meant for entertainment. Middles appearing is several
daily papers are examples of this kind of features.
Personality
features:
This kind of feature deals with
personalities that are important or interesting. Such features should be high
is human interest content. Obituaries also come in this category.
Serious
or analytical features:
Features in this category are
articles. They deal with a subject in depth and analyse its various aspects.
Human
interest features:
In such features human interest
is the primary content. They deal with ordinary persons is extra-ordinary
circumstances or extra-ordinary persons in ordinary circumstances. They touch
the heart of the reader and appeal to his emotions.
Wild
life features:
With
the interest in environment and wild life on increase features dealing with
these subjects are also increasing in newspapers and magazines. They are
normally accompanied by suitable photograph.
Photo
features:
Features that rest mainly on
photographs are called photo features. This is the case where photographs are
supported by words and not where photographs and variety and colour to the
test. A good feature should hang on a new peg. It should contain interesting
and important details of an event or person or situation. It should attract the
attention of the reader and should be readable enough to take the reader from
the beginning to the end. Language should be simple and the meaning clear.
Writing Articles
Articles may deal with
subject similar to those of research paper, but its approach is different. It
is more general and informal and is intended for a wider audience. The articles
are usually written for a newspaper or a
periodical. Sometimes they are semi-technical in nature, but in either case
they try to answer in as plain a style as possible the following questions:
·
How
does something happen?
·
Why
does it happen?
·
In
what way does it help us?
The emphasis in the articles is on the
communication of the human implications of a device, discovery or invention
rather than on the details of the process or mechanism used for arriving at the
result. For example, a research paper on environmental pollution may explain it
is caused, give the reasons and suggest ways of controlling it in scientific
terms. On the other hand, an article on the same subject is likely to emphasize
the impact of the pollution on plants, animals and human beings, and the role
of the common man in preventing it. In an article there is greater flexibility in the sequencing of
material. Formal headings may not appear at all. The author may decide to
dramatise or highlight a particular aspect and therefore mention it in the very
beginning and then unfold the story. Thus one will notice that an article is a
piece of communication which permits greater flexibility in its approach, style
and structure.
On
the basis of the content, the article may be classified as business article,
sports article, etc.
Writing
the Article:
Article
is like a report in that it relies heavily on facts. If it is to succeed,
however, the article must have much broader appeal. The write may give it this
appeal by making certain that the subject of the article is widely applicable
to the readers of the publication in which it appears.
The
techniques of the articles:
The
Title:
A good title suggests both the content and sprit of the article. Although it
must in any case be consideration with the style of titles generally used in
the publication, it is best to keep it short, with no more than three or four
stressed words often a subtitle helps to define the main title and add interest
to it.
The
opening:
once the reader begins the article, the writer must bind his interest into a
firm knot, which the writer systematically undoes as the article progresses.
Depending on the nature of the material, the writer may begin with a promise of
results, a statement of the problem, a recital of facts, or a story or
anecdote. Where possible the writer may dramatize the opening by putting his
point in a single concrete incident.
The
body: Development
of the article is accomplished preferably by details and instances. The
organization should be fairly simple- a few main topics, perhaps a running
narrative, step-by-step instruction, or a list of parallel points expanded in
sequence. The style should be as readable as the material allows.
The
ending: After
a while, if his material has been adequate, the write will have presumably
loosened the figurative knot he started with and there will be nothing else to
do except to stop writing. There are times, however, when good craftsmanship
will suggest that he goes just step further. The writer may then review his
main points, tell a story embodying the conclusion, suggest a plan of action,
or summarize the actual or anticipated results.
Writing Column
Consumer journalism columns is the
name sometimes given to the area of a newspaper in which specialist writers
advise readers on what to wear, eat, drink, drive, make, spend their money on
or do in their leisure time. These are the columns, so called because the
specialist writer, either retained as staff or hired as a freelance gives
advice and instruction to the readers, thus offering a service. The concept
behind a column is that the expert is familiar with the latest, most useful,
most effective, best value of the products, services or methods being
considered and can therefore save the reader time, disappointment or even
money. The writer must have a thorough knowledge of his field so that his
writing can be seen to be authoritative and relevant to the readers’ need and
most of all reliable.
The
writers of columns need to have qualifications or special experience in their
subjects. Almost invariably they stick to their own field in which the contacts
they build up, and the reader rapport, are of value to their paper. The more
specialist and less news worthy areas are often covered by outside or freelance
contributors on a fee per column basis usually with a contracts, or retainer as
well. Such specialists, depending on the terms of their contracts, may write
for other publications, such as magazines, local papers or even give radio or
television programmes, though they may not, as a rule, work for newspapers in
direct competition. Some may even syndicate their work through an agency and
perhaps sell it abroad. A newspaper’s choice of service column depends upon the
model of the reader implicit in the
editor’s planning and it is possible to learn a lot about a newspaper by
observing what service columns it carries.
Opinion
columnists are one of the most enduring survivals in British newspapers. The
idea goes back to the earliest period of journalism when literary figures such
as Swift, Steele, Addison, Defoe and their successors, sometimes under their
own names or under pseudonyms which became famous, aired their views and
prejudices on issues of the day.
Columnists
are usually given scope to develop their own style and to express views which
do not necessarily coincide with those expressed in the paper’s leader or
editorial opinion. Successful columnists can operate their own opinion forum
within the columns of the paper. In other papers such a column allows the
editor an opportunity to air matters
which are outside the normal pattern of editorial opinion.
Writing
Letters to the Editor
Letters from readers flood into
newspaper offices. The sheer administrative problem of opening,sorting and
answering the letters all has resulted in most national papers having a
correspondence department, or central registry, staffed by journalists, clerks,
secretaries and even a typing pool, working all day. In addition the more
popular columnists might have one or two secretaries dealing solely with their
own mail.
Most
papers run a regular ‘letters to the editor’ column. This is apart from any
special letters, features such as advice columns or show business viewpoints
that may be used. Such a column is a selection of the general letters addressed
to the editor on a variety of subjects some personal, some on topics of the
day, some criticizing or blaming the paper, some offering what the writer
believes is interesting information other just pieces of chat from lonely
people whose newspaper is their contact with the world beyond the end of the
street. Popular national dailies get around 500 to 1,000 such letters a week.
It is the job of the editor’s secretary to sort through the mail and personally
sign a good number of the replies and
leave his secretary to sign the less important ones. Letters seeking advice
will be passed to specialist writers dealing in this field with perhaps a note
sent first to the writer. Some newspapers count and list letters under subjects
in a daily or weekly report filed for reference. This shows what matters and
what aspects of the paper have occupied the readers’ mind. It can be a useful
source of statistical information in editorial planning.
An
important stage is the short-listing of letters for ‘letters to the editor’
column. The job is done by an experienced journalist sometimes in conjunjction
with the editor. The column may have a
regular slot or a title such as ‘your opinion’ or ‘Readers’ View’ and the space
available will be known in advance. The aim is to have a balanced selection
with a variety of topics, though ‘runs’ of letters may be used on a subject
that may have taken the readers’ fancy or have stemmed from a letter in an
earlier column. Few readers realize that most newspapers have not the space to
print letters at great length. Reducing them to their essential points has to
be carried out with great care so as not to distort or misrepresent the
writer’s view.
The Times, for instance,
cut letters only with the consent of the writer. The Press Council has had many
complaints over the years about readers’ letters and has declared that while an
editor has discretion to select letters for publication, that discretion must
be properly exercised. There is no right for anyone to have a letter published.
A person who has been subjected to an attack in a newspaper’s columns, however,
has a moral right to space for a reasonable reply. The Council also ruled that
‘editing should be done solely to quality a letter for publication and it
should never be allowed to defeat or obscure the point or points which the
correspondent wanted to make’. In fact, letters published in national papers
are usually checked back with the writer not only to verify their contents but
to ensure that some which may give personal details, are not fakes. Fake
letters to newspapers are not uncommon and a telephone call or a check call by
a local reporter can save a lot of trouble. Some newspapers and many magazines pay a small fee
for each or special letter published.
Apart
from the reader participation aspect, letters columns have proved by in-house
surveys to be among the most popular parts of both the national and the
provincial press. In a survey of local paper letters columns, Ian Jackson found
them of value to ‘listening into some of the leading themes of local
conversation’, in which readers could express exasperation and join in controversies.
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