9 GOLDEN RULES
KISS – Keep It Short and Simple. In any newspaper, whether it be national or local, keeping sentences short and simple make for better news and it is easier to read.
Reading For Speed – Everything on a newspaper should be created for speed reading, enabling the audience to read through articles fast
Never Use 3 Words When One Will Do.
Don’t Repeat Yourself
Use Active Verbs – e.g “Youth strikes woman”
Use Puns In Headlines
Personalise The Story – make it relevant to people and places.
Categorise People – e.g Ex lover
Avoid – Overuse of clichés, euphemisms, being too chatty, foreign phrases.
GRAMMAR AND QUOTE USE
When using quotes in articles, I need to be sure to check if the quote is direct or indirect. The use of grammar in articles changes compared with usual written text. A direct quote is something somebody has actually said. These need speech marks.
Indirect quotes usually come after “ X was said to be..”. This quote may have been taken from an outside/close source.
Standard English grammar is often dropped when writing articles. This is because it makes the article easier to read and depending on the article can give a certain ‘feel’ to it.
TEXT LAYOUT
Newspaper text is always written in columns that are aligned to reach both sides of the margins, so giving an efficient look. Usually it ranges between one to three sentences per paragraph, and font size is usually around a size 8 or 10, so that it’s small enough to fit all information in.
The paragraphs are always indented to establish a different point, per paragraph. The establishing paragraph always includes “WHO, WHERE, WHEN and WHY”, this is written in short and ages are always shown after names. (Only in the first paragraph, unless introducing a new subject later on in the bulk of the information)
Text is mostly placed below or to the side of the photograph, if the article has one. It is rarely placed on top, as the headline is placed there.
Box-out – A small part of the page, shaded in a different colour.
By-line – the name of the reporter.
Caption – text under the photographs explaining the image.
Crosshead – a subheading within the body of the text of an article.
Feature – not necessarily a ‘news’ item, but usually with a human-interest angle.
Headline – this is the main title of the article, usually in the largest and boldest font, describing the main story. A banner headline spans the full width of the page.
Kicker – this is a story designed to stand out from the rest of the page by the use of a different font and layout.
Lead Story – the main story on the front page.
Lure – a word or phrase directing the reader to look inside the paper at a particular story or feature.
Masthead – the masthead is the title block or logo identifying the 'brand identity' of the newspaper at the top of the front-page. Sometimes a motto is also placed within the masthead.The masthead is often set into a block of coloured print or boxed with a border; the ‘Red-tops’ (The Sun, The Mirror, The News of the World) are categorised by style and the use of a red background in the masthead. Local newspapers generally use 'calmer' colours such as blue or green.
Pugs – these are at the top left and right-hand corners of the paper and are known as the ‘ears’ of the page. The prices of the paper or the brand identity are positioned there. They are well placed to catch the reader’s eye.
Secondary Lead – this is usually only a picture and headline, it gives a sneak preview of a story that you might find inside the paper.
Sidebar – when a main feature has an additional box or boxed panel along side of it.
Spread – a story that covers more than one page.
Standfirst – this is an introductory paragraph,letter or sentence before the start of the feature.Sometimes it may be in bold.
Strapline – this is an introductory headline below the headline.
