Structure of News Story

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INTRODUCTION

The inverted pyramid refers to a method of information presentation in which critical information is presented first, and then additional elaborative information is presented in descending order of importance.

In the pyramid metaphor, the broad base of the pyramid represents the least important information, while the tip of the pyramid represents the most important information. For example, in traditional scientific writing, a historical foundation (tip of the pyramid) is presented first, followed by arguments and evidence, and then a conclusion (base of the pyramid). To invert the pyramid is to present the important information first, and the background information last. The inverted pyramid has been a has been a cornerstone of modern journalism since the late 19th century, and has found wide use in instructional design, technical writing, and Internet publishing.This style of structuring information emphasizes fact-based reporting and neutrality—two of the key components asserting objectivity in journalistic writing .

These elements are also particularly important for hard news reports that require timely reporting and are characterized by high news value (e.g., breaking news stories on political topics). Moreover, scholars have found that an inverted pyramid information structure is a distinctive feature of real journalistic reports; whereas fake news stories often rely on opinion-based reporting and at times are written in structurally ambiguous ways . Thus, determining how well a news story fits the inverted pyramid arrangement could be useful in determining whether the report follows journalistic standards.

HISTORY

The style arose as a product of an old media technology-the telegraph. It came to be in 1845 after a portrait painter named Samuel Morse invented the telegraph, which was a new wave means of passing breaking news from one place to another so that it could be reported on.

The inverted pyramid proved useful when telegraph connections failed in the middle of transmission; the editor still had the most important information at the beginning. Similarly, editors could quickly delete content from the bottom up to meet time and space requirements.

STRUCTURE

The elements of a news story are the lead(critical information) and the body(elaborative information). The lead is written to hook the reader’s interest by using strong verbs and a question, quotation or description. The different kinds of leads are-

a. The standard lead has strong, active verbs.

b. A question lead starts by asking the reader an attention-getting question.

c. A quote lead introduces one of the most important people in the story. A quote lead usually uses a direct quotation from the person.

d. A descriptive lead draws the reader in by using descriptive adjectives and adverbs.

Next, the body offers more facts and details about the person, place or event cited in the first paragraph. It answers the questions of the five Ws and H. Edwin Shoeman, in his book “Practical Journalism”, forwarded the 5W’s and 1H Theory. The should be the terse summary of the “what,” “where,” “when,” “who,” “why,” and “how” of the information


Who was involved?

What happened?

Where did it take place?

When did it take place?

Why did it happen?

How did it happen?


In the inverted pyramid format, the most fundamental facts of a story—typically the who, what, when, where, and why—appear at the top in the lead paragraph, with non-essential information in subsequent paragraphs. The inverted pyramid is a way of front loading a story so that the reader can get the most important information first.

Lastly , the end should answer any question the reader might have or make the reader think about what has been written. The inverted pyramid is used in many wire stories. Local stories may open with a more attention-getting lead. Hence ,the idea is to start with your conclusion, and then build on how you came to that conclusion throughout the rest of your story.

IMPORTANCE

The inverted pyramid offers a number of benefits over traditional methods of information presentation:The structure enables readers to stop reading at any point and still come away with the essence of a story. It allows people to explore a topic to only the depth that their curiosity takes them, and without the imposition of details or nuances that they could consider irrelevant, but still making that information available to more interested readers. it permits efficient searching and scanning of information.The inverted pyramid structure also enables articles to be trimmed to any arbitrary length during layout, to fit in the space available. Moreover the style is helpful for writers, as this type of reporting is somewhat easier to complete in the short deadlines imposed on journalists, particularly in today’s fast-paced news business. However the efficiency of the inverted pyramid is also its limiting factor. While it provides a succinct, information-dense method of information presentation, the inverted pyramid does not allow the flexibility of building suspense or creating a surprise ending , so is often perceived as uninteresting and boring.

CLASSIC EXAMPLE

What follows is the report of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination, a report that would not only shake America to its core, but also establish the inverted pyramid as a precedent for journalists and content creators for years to come

War Department, Washington

April 15, 1:30 A.M. - Maj. Gen. Dis.:

This evening at about 9:30 p.m., at Ford's Theater, the President, while sitting in his private box with Mrs. Lincoln, Miss Harris, and Major Rathbone, was shot by an assassin who suddenly entered the box and approached the President. The assassin then leapt upon the stage, brandished a large dagger or knife, and made his escape in the rear of the theater. The pistol-ball entered through the back of the President's head and penetrated nearly through the head. The wound is mortal. The President has been insensible ever since it was inflicted and is now dying.

About the same hour an assassin, whether the same or not, entered Mr. Seward's apartments, and under the pretense of having a prescription, was shown to the Secretary's sick chamber. The assassin immediately rushed to the bed, and inflected two or three stabs on the throat and two on the face. It is hoped the wounds may not be mortal. My apprehension is that they will prove fatal. The nurse alarmed Mr. Frederick Seward, who was in an adjoining room, and hastened to the door of his father's room, when he met the assassin, who inflicted upon him one or more dangerous wounds. The recovery of Frederick Seward is doubtful.

It is not probably that the President will live throughout the night. General Gr ant and wife were advertised to be at the theater this evening, but he started for Burlington at six o'clock this evening. At a cabinet meeting at which General Grant was present, the subject of the state of the country, and the prospect of a speedy peace was discussed. The President was very cheerful and hopeful, and spoke very kindly of General Lee and others of the Confederacy, and of the establishment of government in Virginia. All the members of the cabinet, except Mr. Seward, are now in attendance upon the President.

I have seen Mr. Seward, but he and Frederick are both unconscious.

-Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War

CRITICISM

Some in the media critique the inverted pyramid for being artless, and certainly, it is not right for every news story, as it removes a great deal of autonomy from the reporter. It is important to note that some news stories do not strictly follow the inverted pyramid style, although the lead for a hard news piece always does. Furthermore, not everyone in the journalism field embraces the style; some detractors believe it is an unnatural way to engage in storytelling and present news to the public.

Others link inverted pyramid style to the decline in newspaper readership, arguing that, by giving away the ending first, the structure goes against the very fundamentals of narrative. Some scholars have theorized that the inverted pyramid structure might actually be more difficult for readers to understand.

With the emergence of online news writing, the inverted pyramid structure is not as prominent as it once was. In the online format, where editors are no longer bound by column inches, an article’s length is more flexible. Similarly, online journalism is increasingly influenced by the presence of bloggers, who typically eschew traditional news writing structure. Yet, proponents believe the inverted pyramid style an efficient way to organize and share information in a fast-paced society (Scanlan, 2003).

CONCLUSION

The inverted pyramid structure simply means placing the most fundamental information in the lead paragraph of the story, and then arranging the remaining details, from most important to least important, in the following nut graphs. Although some media writers are critical of the inverted pyramid structure, it remains one of the most widely used and time tested structures in mass media writing.

REFERENCES:

https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/highfiveunitB.pdf

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/journalism_and_journalistic_writing/press_releases.html

https://www.neboagency.com/blog/lincoln-inverted-pyramid/

Shreya Ghosh 
Journalism Department of Lady Shri Ram College 
Batch of 2022