Be the Journalist
Ever read the news and think ‘so what'? Ever get tired of watching the same repeated newsreel on a TV News station for 24 hours? Why not take control of the news? You can make a free website, and then begin reporting any news you like. The whole world can then see your work, and read about what you think the most interesting stories are. Once you make your own website, not only can you give your opinion on key global events, but you can also report on much more local news. But you may then need to be careful that it is not just another blog. A blog (a shortening of the term web log) is a type of website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art, photographs, videos, music, and audio. So this may not be right for you. After all, you did create a free website to write about real news - not only personal events. To really get a feel for this style of news-writing, pick up a daily newspaper and try identifying the sections of the article. Observe what makes a good lead - what attracts your attention, and what doesn't. Make a guess about what the piece is about based on the first line or two of an article and see if the rest of the piece is consistent. Finally, dissect an article - the ‘who', what, where, when, why and how - and write your own version based on the same information. Before long, you will be ready to take on assignments of you own. There are many ways to approach writing journalistic articles, but one of the most common is the inverted pyramid structure. Basically, what this amounts to is supplying the most important information at the beginning of the piece, and then covering additional information by order of importance. In such an approach, the first line, or lead, must convey the gist of the piece. One should be able to read the first paragraph of this sort of news article and know immediately what the piece is about. The last line or paragraph is the least important; this allows editors to easily cut unnecessary information.
About the Author
John Meadow
Article Writer
Jimdo - Pages to the People.
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