Two weeks ago, we looked at some of the ways writers tell their stories in the newspaper. This week we will focus on the most common style of newspaper writing: the news story.

As you will remember from the previous lesson, there are many ways of telling a story. The method you choose depends much on your audience. Suppose, for example, something unusual happens to you and you want to tell your friends. To catch their interest, you would probably begin at the beginning and describe each event as it actually happened ("I was walking home last night and it started to rain..."). This is known as telling a story chronologically.

Little children also like stories that begin at the beginning ("Once upon a time…."), but they also want the story to gradually build up in excitement. And, of course, they want the story to have a happy ending.

News writers have their own way of telling a story. Instead of telling you what it is, however, I have written a news story for you to analyse. You will quickly see that it is based on a popular children’s story, but it is developed in a very different way. As you read, consider what the differences are.

Nationwide search yields royal bride

Mysterious glass slipper the key

Agencies, Blissful Kingdom
Prince Charming married Cinderella yesterday in a fairy-tale wedding after a nation-wide search found her to be the owner of an unusual glass slipper.

The prince, smitten by the charms of an unknown young woman he had met at a palace ball, had ordered royal heralds to conduct a house-to-house search to find the owner of the glass slipper. Palace sources said it had been left by the woman as she abruptly rushed out of the ball for unknown reasons.

After weeks of fruitless searching, the heralds’ efforts were finally rewarded at the house of a wealthy widower who had taken a second wife. According to the chief herald, after futile attempts to fit the slipper on the feet of the widower’s two step-daughters, they were approached by the widower’s poorly-dressed daughter who shyly requested a chance to try the slipper on.

Much to the surprise of everyone (and, according to witnesses, to the consternation of her step-sisters), it fit perfectly. All doubts that she was indeed the prince’s favourite were quickly dispelled when she produced a second glass slipper. It was an exact match for the first.

The wedding was said to be "the most splendid ever to be held in the kingdom." It was followed by a luxurious banquet attended by virtually the entire adult population. Apparently reconciled with the new princess, her step-sisters had a place of honour throughout.

The royal couple is expected to live happily ever after.

Now look back at the news report of Cinderella’s wedding. Consider again how it was written and answer the "true-false" items below.

1. _____The story is much longer than the original children’s story.

2. _____The story is not chronological. Instead it begins with the most important points – the news – and only later gives the details.

3. _____The story repeats the most important points in the headline and then at the beginning of the actual story.

4. _____The writer clearly obtained much of the information in the story from sources, i.e., the writer did not see everything that happened.

5. _____You could stop reading after the headline and one or two paragraphs and still know the main ideas of the story.

6. _____The style of writing is more suitable for adults than it is for young children.

Clearly, the news story is written for an adult audience – busy people who want to get the main ideas right away. As you become familiar with news stories, you will see that you usually need to read only the headline and the first one or two paragraphs of a story to get the main facts. In fact, that is what most people do, jumping from story to story until they find a subject that interests them.

News stories are easy to read because of the convenient way they organise information. Once you understand the main ideas – almost always found at the top of each story – you can usually anticipate (guess in advance) much of what the rest of the story will tell you.

Here are several short news stories to practice with. Begin by reading the headline and first paragraph of each story. Then briefly consider what additional information you expect that the story will tell you. Read the remaining paragraphs to see if your guesses were correct and then answer my questions.

Hair colour crisis WINNIPEG – The blond inhabitants of a small Canadian town grew alarmed recently when they found themselves turned into redheads. "People are getting some sort of tinge to their hair," said Dave Reid, the mayor of Virden in Manitoba. What question do you expect the next paragraph of the story to answer? He said the fair-haired folk began turning into carrot-tops after the municipality installed a new water treatment plant early this year. The treated water picked up iron content, which cause the reddish tinge, when it travelled through older pipes. – REUTERS tinge — a slight colour * * * * * * * Missing tribesman found inside python Lucena, Philippines, AFP A Philippine tribesman who went missing was found 13 days later, dead inside the belly of a python, a police report in this southern town said yesterday. What additional information do you expect the story will tell you? Lantod Gumiliu, 32, a member of the Mangyan tribe in the island of Midoro left his home to catch bats on January 1, the police said. His wife said she heard him shouting for help but could not locate him. On Tuesday, members of the Mangyan tribe found a huge, bloated python, fast asleep. They killed the python, cut open its stomach and found Bumiliu’s body inside. bats — small flying animals with big ears and leathery wings which are active at night bloated — larger than normal; swollen * * * * * * * Monks cross border in search of alms Following shortages of offerings at home Hundreds of Buddhist monks and nuns have sneaked across the border from Burma to seek alms because of food shortages at home. What additional information do you expect the story will tell you? Find out from whom the news writer got his/her information. Does the story contain any information you didn’t expect to find? Their plight stems from Rangoon’s closure of border passes on Oct 2 in response to Thailand’s handling of the takeover of the Burmese embassy by armed student activists. The monks and nuns are not getting enough from Burmese devotees as the disruption in cross-border trade has sent prices soaring and made buying extra food for monks unaffordable. Somchai Issaman, secretary of Wat Luang in Mae Sot, Tak, said yesterday at least 320 monks and 30 nuns have sought shelter at the temple, seeking food. The temple received a good supply of rice, dried food and other necessities from worshippers during the past three months of Lent, which ended on Sunday, Mr Somchai said. The Burmese monks and nuns will be given enough from the stockpile to take back home. "They come to us because they are hungry," Mr Somchai said. "They need food. We hope they will depart for home in a few days once we are settled with their food allotments." They come from as many as 80 temples; inside Burma, Mr Somchai said. Their entry into Thailand under the current circumstances would be illegal on both sides of the border. They fear arrest if they return to Burma the same way the came, by river, Mr Somchai said. Where else can they go in search of food?" he said. "What do you do if you see a monk going hungry?" Immigration officials have inspected the temple to record the number of Burmese monks and nuns, Pol Maj Preecha Suwansorn said. They will be allowed to stay a few more days to get food, but then will be expected to leave, he said. "Normally, they must seek permission," said Pol Maj Preecha, "but it is an emergency. We know that they really need food. We cannot do anything to monks because it would be a sin and upset worshippers." – AP plight — unpleasant condition; difficulty * * * * * * * Firework injures 56 Fifty-six students were injured when a young colleague mistakenly lobbed an explosive firework into a sports stadium yesterday. What additional information do you expect the story will tell you? Is any part of the story told in chronological order? The accident occurred during the opening of the Nakhon Pathom Ratchabhat Institute's sports day, Pol Col Somchai Poyen said. He said Paisal Tangyuenyong, a student, accidentally picked up the wrong firework to be used for the opening ceremony. A smoke-generating firework was set aside for use as the highlight, but Paisal picked up an exploding firework, lit it and threw it over the stadium, which was packed with student spectators. Three of the injured students, Anuwat Kaewma, Porn-aksorn Puengrit, and Klairung Chaengsawangdee, were rushed to hospital in a serious condition. Paisal was charged with carrying explosives and causing injury to others, Pol Col Somchai said. Prasob Chan-inngam, the provincial education office chief, said the accident arose from carelessness. Fireworks should be banned from future celebrations organised by the institute, he said.

In real.time today you are going to find a front-page story about a famous clothing designer who created fashions for celebrities and the nobility. Unlike the fairy godmother of the Cinderella story, this designer began her career in the real world and during the difficult times of World War II (1939 - 1943). It is also a story about how the French fashion industry became the most famous in the world. There is a local angle to this story, too, which you will discover as you read.

Look at the vocabulary help below. Then, before you read, think about what you would like to know about this famous designer? Can you guess what the local angle at this time might be? What effect do you think WW II had on fashion design?

Your purpose in this lesson should be to help your students realise that news writers have a very distinctive style. Making it convenient for their readers, they put the main ideas of the story at the top where they are easily found and understood. You should also point out to your students why this style, with its frequent repetitions, makes news stories much easier to understand than other types of writing. In this way, news writers are very helpful. They want people to understand their stories as easily as possible.

Take some time with the Cinderella story. You might even begin by asking your students to tell the story in the traditional way. Then have them consider how it might appear in a newspaper. Remind them that the newspaper audience consists mainly of adults who often don’t have time to sit and read through a story from the beginning to the end.

As for the example news stories, I suggest you do the first two stories together as a class. Make sure your students stop after reading the headline and first paragraph for each story. Then discuss with them what they expect the rest of the story to tell them. You can then have your students do the remaining two stories in small groups.

I strongly suggest you also do the same exercise with actual stories from today’s Bangkok Post. You might let your students make the choices by having them students skim through the news section for stories that appeal to them.

The story from real.time will give your students the opportunity to compare news style and feature writing. For example, you might want them to locate the main idea of the real.time story which doesn’t come until the third paragraph.

To help students prepare to read the feature story this week, I think it is important for them to have some background to the article. Although it’s a fashion story, the historical aspect is an important angle to understand. I suggest that you have your students read my introductory paragraphs above and study the vocabulary. Then use the same skill they worked on with the news stories, that is, to think about what information they expect in this story. That could be a small group exercise.

Next week’s classic lesson: Using news stories to build your vocabulary

True-false answers: 1. F; 2. T; 3. T; 4. T; 5. T; 6. T;

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