Focus on the newspaper news Skimming News Articles; Analyzing News Articles

Many people read a daily newspaper to find what is happening in their city, their country and around the globe. Newspapers have daily headlines and accompanying articles about the most important events affecting our lives. Whether it’s a development in international or national politics, the success of a space mission or the result of an important election, the news pages present the important events on the subject.

HARD NEWS ARTICLES

Typically the “hard” news stories are on the front page of newspapers. Hard or pure news stories report basic facts about an event or situation. Here are some essential characteristics that distinguish pure news articles:

1. They report the facts, usually without giving the writer’s viewpoint.

1. They are usually short and to the point.

1. They are organized to give all the important information in the first few paragraphs.

With a news article, you can usually answer the important questions - what, who, where, when and sometimes why and how - very quickly by reading the first few paragraphs. These are called the five “W” questions. The first few paragraphs are called lead paragraphs. If you need more detail and elaboration, the rest of the article provides further information.

Exercise 1: Skimming a News Article.

Choose a news article from a recent newspaper. Read the headline and read the first few paragraphs. Then answer these questions.

1. Who or what is the article about?

2. Where did the events take place?

3. When did the events take place?

Now skim (read quickly) the rest of the article.

4. What additional facts did you learn about the subject?

5. If you hadn’t looked at the rest of the article, what information would you have missed?

6. Your past (background) knowledge about a topic in the news usually helps you understand the article better. What past knowledge did you have about the topic that helped you understand it?

A CLOSER LOOK AT NEWS ARTICLE

Analyzing a news article can help you become a more critical reader of the newspaper. Consider: Why is a topic in the newspaper at this time? If the topic is controversial, are both sides of an issue fairly represented?

Exercise 2: The News in Depth.

Choose another news article to analyze.

Analyzing a News Article.

1. Does the article cover the five “W” questions in the first few paragraphs? Briefly tell who or what, where, when and why or how. 2. What did you know about the subject before you read the article? 3. What did you learn by reading the article? 4. If there is a photo with the article, how does the photo support the main idea of the article? If the article does not have a photo, imagine that you are a photo editor and indicate a subject for a photo to accompany the article. 5. Is their any slant or bias in the article, for example, in the selection of the facts? Does the information on the news event differ from what you heard on the radio, saw on television, or read in another newspaper? 6. Imagine that you are the editor who assigns news stories. Assign a reporter to do a follow-up feature article on some aspect of the article. Explain to the reporter what you believe the focus of the article should be. 7. Is there anything in the article that is controversial? 8. Imagine that you are the editor of the opinion page. Assign an editorial topic to a writer. The topic should take a position on what is reported on the article. Explain to the reporter what the focus of the editorial should be.

Section Two

OPINION

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