News is information about a change or an event in the world that affects people. It can also be about something that happened in the past. People want to hear about things that are interesting or significant. What makes news will vary from society to society, but there are some basic elements that all news stories have to include.
A good start
Grab the reader’s attention with a hook at the beginning of your story. A dramatic anecdote or a surprising fact are good ways to do this. This is called the lede or lead-in and is a key part of your news article. A well-written lede will answer the five Ws: who, what, when, where and why. It will also place the new developments in context by explaining why they are timely and important.
Gather facts
When writing a news article it is often better to let the subject speak for themselves rather than inserting your own opinion. This is particularly true in certain types of journalism where it would be inappropriate. However, if you can interview someone involved in the story who is able to provide further details or explain their point of view this is always good.
Once you have the key facts, group them into their respective buckets of importance and begin to draft your news article. Remember to keep your audience and publication in mind. For example, a news article for a broad general audience will probably need to be shorter and less complex than a news article that will appear in a specialized magazine or newspaper.