Chapter 6 "Upside-down pyramids"

Key Points

• The basic news story structure is the 'inverted pyramid' and is used in a vast majority of stories. Essentially it refers to a conceptual graphic representative of the structuring of a news story, with the most newsworthy information appearing at the top, flowing into a more detailed analysis. This structure appeals to the nature of the average reader who merely skims the lead in order to reach the crux of the article.
  
• Kipling's 6 strong serving men (who, what, where, when, how and why) are generally prominent in the first few pars of a story.
  
• The inverted pyramid suits sub-editors also, being able to cut from the bottom of the story up is a good way to cut down to the necessary story length.
• The most important occurrences occupy the lead followed by explanation, further comment and analysis.
• It is generally preferable to go to the scene of the story than to have details related to you. Stories are often assigned with two words, 'Go! NOW!'
  
• On the scene, reporters should take a cautious approach, surveying the scene and not acting too aggressively in their questioning for details. The 6 strong serving men should be an instinctual part of a reporters questioning.
• Using witnesses can add dramatic effect to stories as well as credibility and weight.
• Building Blocks: A story has a number of individual parts used as 'building blocks' in creating articles. They include, narrative, description, quotations, paraphrasing and exposition.
• Transitional devices /'word bridges' are the glue that hold stories together. They help create flow and lead a reader through an article. They link together elements of the story and individual points. They may be as simple as words such as 'furthermore', 'because', or 'nevertheless.' There is sometimes a transitional paragraph or 'nutgraph' that links an intro to the body.
• Stories should be structured in an objective way so that fairness and balance (both sides of the story) are presented.
• The inverted pyramid remains the primary structure for news stories, but many other approaches have been trialled in an attempt to keep readers interested throughout the entire piece.

Discussion Questions

1. I would include the comment as a quote and allow readers to determine whether they believe the comment to be of relevance or importance. Certainly it is important to achieve a balanced piece but this should never be a substitute for factual evidence. Another option is to release a balancing article the next day and omit the balancing comment from the original.
   
2. In a situation like this, if a source has refused comment or was unavailable, I would write the piece presenting the evidence that I had. I would mention early in the story that a source from the opposing viewpoint had been unavailable for comment but they were given the opportunity to present their opinion. There is no guarantee that readers will read another paper and see the same story, therefore the fact a similar story is going to print should not diminish your own.
3. When covering a dangerous issue such as a fire, a journalist should be wary of any on site dangers. This may include the fire itself, unstable building structure, hazardous fumes, smoke etc. Some candidates for interview may be; the fire chief, fire fighters (preferable the ones who had been inside the building or most heavily involved), witnesses, owners of the building, tenants of the building, ambulance officers, police officers, council building inspector, owners of adjoining apartments nearby home owners. I would begin writing as soon as I had enough details to commence.
4. I think the inverted pyramid is the most effective structural tool for news story writing as it suits the average reader and presents the most pressing information first. If someone is interested in the story they will read further regardless of the fact that they already know the main point of the story.