You already know a lot about telling stories. You hear them all the time and you tell them all the time. You certainly know that how you tell a story depends very much on who you are telling it to. Your purpose in telling the story is important as well. You tell a funny story much differently from a serious story, for example.

People who write for newspapers understand these principles very well. They are very careful to write their stories to suit their readers and their purposes. In this lesson, you will get a good idea how this is done. You will look at examples of the three most basic ways of storytelling found in the Bangkok Post. And, who knows, perhaps you will become a better storyteller yourself.

Let’s begin with an event that you would certainly talk about if it happened to you.

Suppose that you had a very exciting and rather unhappy time at your local bank yesterday.Let’s pretend that you had a good job during the last term break which earned you 14,000 baht. Yesterday morning you went to the bank to deposit it into your savings account.

There was a long line of people waiting for service and you had to stand in line for at least 20 minutes. Just as you reached the front of the line, four masked men holding guns rushed into the bank and ordered everyone to lie down. You heard one of the men run past you and order the bank staff to put all the bank’s money into the large sack he was carrying. Unfortunately for you, when the gunmen entered the building, you were holding your money in your hand. One of the gunmen must have seen this because he came over to you and tried to take it away. When you resisted, he fired a shot into the bank’s ceiling. Needless to say, you gave him what he wanted. After about four minutes, the gunmen ran out of the building into a waiting car. The police arrived only two minutes later, but by then the gunmen had already escaped. You were suddenly 14,000 baht poorer.

Your sad situation gained a lot of sympathy, however, and you were interviewed by several newspaper and television reporters and you actually got to see yourself on TV twice. You were also featured in several news stories and one newspaper wrote a four-paragraph story on you alone.

This would obviously be a story that you would tell again and again, to your friends, your parents, maybe even some day to your children and grandchildren. And each time you might tell it in a different way.

Consider other ways that you could tell your story. How, for example, might you tell it to your parents, your brothers and sisters or your teacher.

Now suppose someday you become a writer for a newspaper and you decide to use the bank robbery story. How would you write your story?

Below are three possibilities. Read them and consider which would be most appropriate for
1) a news story summarising the facts;
2) a feature story which uses the bank robbery as an interest-catching introduction to a featured topic;
3) an opinion column which explores the meaning of the experience and attempts to persuade readers that something needs to be changed.

Exercise: Variety in your newspaper

As you become familiar with the newspaper, you will see that many important stories are covered using all three of the styles illustrated above. They begin as news stories and then quickly move to the opinion and analysis. Finally, you often find an in-depth feature story on the same topic in the Outlook section.

Below are six excerpts from stories on a subject that has been covered by the Bangkok Post for several years now. Read each excerpt and decide which section it most likely appeared in
1) the news section,
2) the opinion and analysis section or
3) the feature section.

Villagers in Lower Klity village can no longer drink or use the water in the stream. They say it is contaminated and has caused the death of their livestock. — SMITH SETIBUT Weak and sickly, Tukata is one of many slow-to-develop children in Lower Klity village Example One Two-year-old Orathai Nasuantasanee is another victim. The girl looks pale and weak, and cries most of the time. Orathai’s father, Anant, said the girl is sick quite often. While the level of lead in the blood of a child should not exceed 10 ug/dl, Orathai's is loaded, with 35.2 ug/dl. The young girl was treated for lead poisoning in October last year. Her mother, Sayumporn, took care of her during her 10-day hospitalisation. A few months later, Sayumporn, who also suffered from a high lead content – her level was 38.15 ug/dl – hanged herself. She was the first person to commit suicide in this close-knit village. Example Two Karen villagers are suing state agencies and a lead-floating plant for allegedly causing lead poisoning to Klity creek in Kanchanaburi province. About 200 villagers from the lower Klity last week authorised the Law Society to represent them in a civil suit against Lead Concentrate (Thailand) Co, the chief defendant. Varin Thiemcharas, of the Law Society, said action would also be taken against the Pollution Control Department and the Department of Mineral Resources for their tardy response. The lead poisoning problem first emerged in April 1997. Example Three Lead Concentrate (Thailand)’s track record is blemished at best. It has knowingly discharged tonne after tonne of lead-laden sediment into the creek and its clean-up was less than half-hearted: the toxic sediment was simply removed from the creek bed and dumped on the bank. There are more than enough reasons for the state, the Mineral Resources Department in particular, to not only revoke the company's concession but also to review all other mining concessions granted in Thung Yai wildlife sanctuary and nearby areas in an effort to protect natural water sources and preserve the sanctuary as a world heritage site. Example Four Lead Concentrate Thailand Co has been told to have another go at cleaning Klity creek of lead contaminants. The creek, running by Thung Yai Naresuan wildlife sanctuary, was heavily contaminated until the company was forced to close its plant. The Pollution Control Department issued the order because earlier clean-ups were ``sloppy,'' said Sopon Tatichotiphan, director of the pollution inspectorate division. In 1998, Lead Concentrate was told to clean 12km of the 19km creek. The volume of lead contaminated sediment was put at 4,610 tonnes. So far, only the first 4km had been cleaned. Heavy rain, and a prohibition of heavy vehicles and machinery in the reserve, had held up progress, said Mr Sopon. Example Five In the chilliness of an early night, dozens of villagers in long, white overalls – the traditional dress of the Karen people – crouched by the creek. Each took turns putting bits of glutinous rice and steamed taro into a decorated bamboo raft. The villagers then said a prayer, their voices a rhythmic wave rising and falling along with the sound of the creek itself. This ceremonial rite to renew the life of the Klity creek in Lower Klity village, Kanchanaburi province, has additional significance, since the stream has been polluted for decades by toxic discharges from a lead-separation plant upstream. Example Six . . . In almost all these cases, volunteer lawyers from the Law Society have been called upon to render services free of charge. These idealistic lawyers were happy to take the cases but they faced serious constraints: they have their own practices to pursue and their clients to satisfy. Wish as they might, they cannot afford to devote adequate time or expense on these pro bono cases. Court fees imposed on civil complaints are a serious constraint. The possibility of a worker or villager forking out 200,000 baht, which is the maximum fee for a civil case, is almost nil. Advocate groups cannot be expected to foot the bill in every case, even though they have done in the past. What is needed to further this cause more effectively is a fund that will take care of all the expenses, including payment for professional teams of lawyers and court fees.

TEACHER'S NOTES The lesson begins with a short, fictional story about an unlucky student who accidentally gets involved in a bank robbery. The lesson then considers some of the various ways the student herself might tell the story to other people. The last step is to consider how a newspaper might cover the story. This will differ according to the writer’s purpose. A news writer will simply relate the facts. An opinion writer will go further and look at some of the lessons – good or bad – the story holds for us. A feature writer, on the other hand, may take an in-depth look at one or more interesting elements of the story. The first activity consists of three short excerpts from stories based on the bank robbery. Your students must decide which one is a news story, which one is a feature story and which one is an opinion piece. Answers: The first excerpt (Example A) is an opinion piece since the writer obviously feels the bank should take responsibility for the loss. The second (Example B) is clearly a news story and the final (Example C) is a feature. Notice how the feature writer uses the bank robbery as a means of introducing the main topic – a cashless society. The second half of the lesson looks at a topic that has received much coverage in the Bangkok Post. It has been the subject of news stories, editorials and feature stories. The exercise consists of a series of excerpts from these stories. Your students then skim through each of these stories and once again decide if they represent a news, opinion or feature story. Answers: Example 1) feature 2) news 3) opinion 4) news 5) feature 6) opinion Click here to look at the whole eight-week series of lessons. Go back to the top