7 Essential Elements to a News Story

The first class of Journalism 101 highlights the importance of five simple words. Who, What, When, Where and Why. These 5 W's are the essential building blocks of news writing.

Two more elements have impacted the flow of a news article. How? And So What? The sheer amount of news now requires new strategies to get readers involved in a single news story.

These seven news requirements will forge a news article that is informative, well-written and even potentially important.

Who?

Several questions should be asked in order to highlight any people who may be involved in the story. Find the major players, knowledgeable sources, stakeholders, etc. Secondary people would include those who support or oppose an issue or who may be indirectly affected by the problem or event.

What?

What is going on? What happened? Answers to these simple questions should be driven by key moments in the story and the forces that have created the issue or alternately, fixed the problem. This factor is the basic premise that supports why the story is news worthy.

When?

Attached to the events of What?, it is important to include a timeline of events. At what point does the story begin and where does it end? For future articles on the issue, an accurate timeline can be a useful tool.

Where?

Where is the action? This includes more than just the address or cross streets. Consider what the location looks like, sounds like and smells like as well as any surrounding locations that might impact the story. A great news writer would be able to make the reader "see" the location with minimal words.

Why?

This factor is not always the easiest to uncover depending on the circumstances. Look deeper than a simple, "Why did this thing happen?" Look towards why the people involved are behaving a certain way. Are there circumstances beyond the immediate story that contribute to the question of why?

How?

Once the initial story has broke, readers will want to gain insight into how the event happened, how the story was revealed and how the end has played out. How is an important factor for people to make sure something terrible never happens again, or even leads to government action. Just ask Enron and every other organization trying to keep up with changing governmental regulations.

How? adds insight to a story that otherwise would be glossed over and forgotten.

So What?

So much news is at our fingertips today. With only so much time to read it all, it becomes important to learn quickly, "Why should I care about this story?" Writers need to gain a firm grasp early in the writing of the article about why their story matters. For people to stick around and keep reading they should know why this story relates to them, impacts their life or is simply important for people to know about.

These seven factors come together to give a story as much pertinent information as possible. The story can be informative, compelling and vital at the same time. Journalism, at its best, is an incredible tool for society.

Before you pick up a newspaper or click your mouse, ask yourself this. So What?