Basics

Media Helping Media Story Builder

Welcome to Media Helping Media’s Story Builder. This is a simple tool which we have created to help those who are new to journalism create informative news articles.

There are many perfectly good ways to write a news story but they all tend to include the same basic building blocks.

We have put together a template, showing how these building blocks can fit together.

You don’t have to write all stories this way, but it does help to understand news content and structure.

In the template at the bottom of the page, fill in the sections with the relevant details of a news story. Each section has a specific function and is restricted to a limited number of characters. The limit is to encourage you to present the important information in a concise way. Some sections of are mandatory, but some that are marked ‘optional’ can be left unfilled.

When you have filled in the boxes you can hit the ‘Preview” button to see how it looks as the finished article. You can then hit the ‘Copy’ button to copy the text.

But, before you give it a try, please read the following tips which describes what news is.

The essential elements of a news story

For journalists at the start of their careers, one of the fundamental tasks is to learn what makes a news story. Here is a Media Helping Media guide to the essential qualities of a story and how to approach the task of writing it.

Is it new? There’s a reason it’s called news. Every story must tell the audience something new. If it’s not new, it’s not news.
Is it true? There is always a lot of rumour, misinformation and disinformation floating around. That is not news. Something can only be news if it is true.
Can you prove it? It is not enough to know that it is true, you must also be able to demonstrate that it is true.
Is it interesting? Without exception, news stories must be interesting. If it isn’t an interesting issue we wouldn’t be writing about it. However, interest can be preserved if the facts are documented properly. Writing clearly and robustly with sparkle and flow can make a story’s appearance more attractive with interest enhanced. However, be careful – attempting to add interest could lead to adding superfluous facts and asides which aren’t relevant.
Can you find all the necessary facts? A news story must contain all the information needed to make it coherent and understandable. Fact-checking is essential.
Can you find examples to illustrate the story? Examples are what bring a story to life. Show what a story means in practice to real people and you will connect with your audience.
Can you explain the context? Setting out the background to a story gives it depth and extra meaning. Adding context is another part of fact-checking.
Can you write a compelling headline? The headline should capture the interest of the audience and make them want to read more.
Can you write a impactful intro? The first sentence, sometimes called the intro or the lede, is the most important sentence in the story. It should be crafted for maximum impact.
Can you write a story that flows naturally? A good story must flow naturally without requiring the reader to struggle to understand what you have written.
Can you avoid raising questions that you can’t answer? Stories should be self-contained. If they leave the audience asking ‘why did that happen’ they have failed.
Can you avoid taking sides? Good journalists and good news stories present the facts without bias. The audience is left to make its own judgements about the people, events or ideas being described. See ‘Impartiality in journalism‘.
Have you included multiple perspectives? There are usually many different sides to a story, so a journalist needs to include diverse views and opinions so that the audience can benefit from multiple points of view. However, we need to be careful not to create false balance and false equivalence. This is where journalists try so hard to offer multiple perspectives that they end up skewing the facts. And we also need to be aware of our own unconscious bias which could affect how we treat and angle a story.
Can you be fair to everyone in the gathering and writing of the story? Journalism needs to earn the trust of its audience and the only way that can happen is if the journalists behave in an honest, straightforward and ethical manner. It’s about being fair.
Can you ensure you are correct? You need to be absolutely, 100 per cent sure that everything you have written is correct in every respect.
Is what you have written accurate? Accuracy is the first requirement of good journalism. Make sure every story you write is correct in every detail. Check and double check and never do anything but report accurately. We also need to be clear in all we write.

Related resources

Here are a few more training resources that might help you when you are composing your news story in out story builder.

Now it’s time to look at the Media Helping Media Story Builder. Your story will need an image or video, so always have a camera ready when you are out newsgathering. You might want to read our training material on Photojournalism and ethics and Interviewing for video journalists.

So, you are all set – let’s see how you get on with the Media Helping Media Story Builder.

Media Helping Media Story Builder

Write your story in the white boxes below

The headline – You will need a headline for your story, sometimes called ‘the grab’. A headline’s primary importance is to capture the reader’s attention and communicate the topic of the content, compelling them to read further. However, don’t worry if you don’t have the headline first. It might come to mind as you write the story. In newspaper journalism headline writing was the final touch added by a sub-editor but even though this is usually no longer the case, sometimes the best headline idea will emerge as – not before – the story is written. Add your headline in the box below. Max 100 characters | Current Words: 0 The intro/lede – The first sentence, sometimes called the intro, summary, or the lede, is the most important sentence in the story. It should be crafted for maximum impact. The intro’s purpose is to pull the reader in by telling the story in short form or pulling out a quote if dramatic enough. Add your intro in the box below. Max 400 characters | Current Words: 0 The details of what happened – This is where you add the chronology or narrative of what took place, setting out in simple terms the order of events Max 400 characters | Current Words: 0 Quotes or voices – News is about people, so we need to hear from them in your story. Always be on the lookout for strong quotes that give you story authority. Add interviews or quotes in the box below. Max 400 characters | Current Words: 0Background and context – Now you need to set out the background to the story in order to give it depth and extra meaning. Add background and context for your story in the box below. Max 400 characters | Current Words: 0 Statistics and data – A news story is stronger if it contains relevant data or statistics so that the audience can assess the importance based on numbers. Add any stats or data in the box below. Max 400 characters | Current Words: 0 Optional Paragraph 1 – for you to include any further details or elaboration if you need to add more. Max 500 characters | Current Words: 0 Optional Paragraph 2 – for you to include any further details or elaboration if you need to add more. Max 500 characters | Current Words: 0 Optional Paragraph 3 – for you to include any further details or elaboration if you need to add more. Max 500 characters | Current Words: 0 Optional Paragraph 4 – for you to include any further details or elaboration if you need to add more. Max 500 characters | Current Words: 0 Optional Paragraph 5 – for you to include any further details or elaboration if you need to add more. Max 500 characters | Current Words: 0 Conclusion – The concluding paragraph should avoid summarising the main facts (which belong in the lede). Its primary function is to wrap up the narrative by telling the reader what happens next (future actions, next steps), placing the event into a broader context, or providing a final, less essential quote for emotional closure. It should never introduce new, critical facts or offer the journalist’s opinion. However, a news report doesn’t always need a conclusion, which is why this field is optional. If future developments need to be added, then the last paragraph is (usually) where they belong but they are part of the story, not a conclusion. Some of the best reports present all the facts, appropriate quotes and necessary information – and then just end. Max 400 characters | Current Words: 0

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Related material

Lesson: Essential elements of a news story

Essential elements of a news story