how to write an article for local newspaper

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Choose a Relevant Topic:

Select a topic that is timely, relevant, and interesting to your local community. It could be related to local events, issues, or provide valuable information or insights.

Research and Gather Information:

Collect relevant data, facts, and quotes that support your topic. Conduct interviews with experts or people involved in the subject matter to gather unique perspectives.

Craft a Strong Headline:

Create a catchy headline that grabs readers’ attention and immediately communicates the focus of your article. It should be concise and engaging.

Write an Engaging Introduction:

Start with an attention-grabbing opening sentence or a hook that intrigues readers and provides an overview of the article’s main point. The introduction should be concise and compelling.

Develop the Body:

Expand on the main point in the body of the article. Divide it into paragraphs with clear subheadings and ensure a logical flow.

Present relevant information, arguments, or examples to support your main idea. Use quotes from interviews or credible sources to add credibility and interest.

Maintain a Neutral Tone:

When writing for a local paper, it’s essential to adopt a neutral tone and avoid biases or personal opinions.

Stick to the facts and present different perspectives if applicable.

Keep It Concise and Clear:

Newspaper articles generally have a word limit, so ensure your writing is concise.

Avoid complex jargon or technical language that may confuse readers. Write clearly and use simple, easy-to-understand language.

Include Relevant Images:

If possible, provide relevant images that amplify the article’s message or help visualize the topic.

Make sure the images are high-quality and properly credited.

Conclude Effectively:

Summarize the key points of your article in the conclusion. You can also end with a thought-provoking question, a call-to-action, or a suggestion for further exploration.

Edit and Proofread:

Before submitting your article, review it for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

Ensure the article flows smoothly and correct any inconsistencies or unclear statements. Edit it multiple times to enhance its quality.

A Sample Article For Publication in a Local Newspaper ;

“Community Gardens: Cultivating Connection and Sustainability”

Community gardens are sprouting up across our town, providing not only fresh produce but also an opportunity for neighbours to connect and promote environmental sustainability.

These green spaces foster a sense of community and bring together people from diverse backgrounds who share a common interest in gardening.

According to Mary Johnson, a local gardening enthusiast and founding member of the community garden initiative, these spaces serve as a haven for urban dwellers lacking access to yards or suitable gardening spaces.

The gardens, located in abandoned lots and public parks, offer individuals the chance to grow their vegetables, flowers, and herbs, contributing to a sustainable lifestyle.

Not only do community gardens provide access to fresh, organically grown produce, but they also promote social interaction.

Tom Robertson, a long-time gardener and advocate, believes that these spaces foster a sense of camaraderie among neighbors as they share gardening tips, successes, and even occasional frustrations.

The gardens become a meeting point for individuals from different age groups and cultural backgrounds, breaking down barriers and promoting cross-cultural exchange.

The benefits of community gardens ripple throughout the neighborhood, creating a positive impact on mental and physical health.

Studies have shown that spending time in green spaces reduces stress levels and improves overall well-being. Many gardener s find solace and contentment in tending to their plants, nurturing them from seedlings to harvest.

As our community faces challenges such as food insecurity and social isolation, community gardens have emerged as a powerful solution.

They offer a place for individuals to connect, grow, and learn together, while also promoting environmental consciousness.

By supporting initiatives like these, we can foster a stronger sense of community and work towards a sustainable future.

Note: Remember, each newspaper may have specific guidelines or word limits, so be sure to check those before submitting your article for publication. Good luck with your writing!

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How to Write an Article for a Newspaper: A Step-by-Step Guide

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on June 15, 2023

Categories Writing

Newspaper articles are essential to journalism, providing readers with the latest news and information on various topics. Writing a newspaper article is not like writing any other informative article. It requires a specific format, style, and tone of voice.

If you are interested in writing a newspaper article, this article will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to write an article for a newspaper.

Understanding Newspaper Articles:

Before you start writing a newspaper article, it is essential to understand the basic structure of a newspaper article. A newspaper article has a headline, byline, lead paragraph, body, and conclusion. Each section of a newspaper article serves a specific purpose, and knowing how to write each section effectively is essential. In addition, it is essential to understand the difference between a news article and an opinion piece, as they require different writing styles.

Preparing to Write:

Once you understand the structure and purpose of a newspaper article, it is time to prepare to write. This involves researching the topic, gathering information, and interviewing sources. It is essential to have at least two to three primary sources for your article and to contact them as far in advance as possible. This will make arranging interviews with them easier.

Key Takeaways

Understanding the basic structure of a newspaper article is essential before writing one.
Preparation is key when writing a newspaper article, including researching the topic and gathering information.
Writing a newspaper article requires a specific format, style, and tone of voice; knowing the difference between a news article and an opinion piece is essential.

Understanding Newspaper Articles

Definition of newspaper articles.

Newspaper articles are written pieces of information reporting current events or issues. They are published in newspapers and are meant to inform readers about what is happening in the world around them.

The purpose of a newspaper article is to provide factual information in an objective and unbiased manner.

Newspaper articles are typically organized in a specific format, with a headline, a lead paragraph, and the body of the article. The headline is a short, attention-grabbing statement summarizing the article’s main point.

The lead paragraph, or lede, is the article’s opening paragraph, which provides the most important information and sets the tone for the rest of the article.

Types of Newspaper Articles

There are several newspaper articles, each with its purpose and style. Some common types of newspaper articles include:

News articles: These articles report on current events and are meant to inform readers about what is happening around them. News articles are typically written in a straightforward, objective style.
Feature articles: These articles are longer and more in-depth than news articles. They focus on a specific topic or issue and provide more background information and analysis. Feature articles are often written in a more narrative style and may include quotes from experts or people involved in the story.
Opinion articles express the author’s opinion on a specific topic or issue. Columnists or editorial writers often write opinion articles to provide a perspective on the news.
Reviews: These articles critically evaluate a book, movie, or other cultural product. Reviews are often written by critics and are meant to inform readers about the quality of the product.

In conclusion, understanding the different types of newspaper articles and their purpose is essential for writing a good article. By following a newspaper article’s basic structure and style, writers can effectively inform and engage readers with their stories.

Preparing to Write

Before starting to write a news article, one needs to prepare themselves. This section will cover the three essential sub-sections of preparing to write: researching the topic, identifying the target audience, and outlining the article.

Researching the Topic

The first step in preparing to write a news article is researching the topic. Journalists must gather information from primary and secondary sources to write a credible, well-structured article.

Primary sources are documents or objects created during the event or by someone with direct knowledge, such as interviews, letters, or audio recordings. Secondary sources analyze, interpret, or comment on primary sources, such as books, articles, and reviews.

When researching the topic, it is essential to identify the main points and background information. Journalists must present facts and avoid expressing personal opinions. They should also cite their sources and verify the accuracy of the information.

Identifying the Target Audience

The next step is identifying the target audience. Journalists need to know who their readers are to write an article that is relevant and interesting to them. They should consider the reader’s age, gender, education level, and interests.

For example, if the target audience is teenagers, the article should use simple words, short sentences, and examples that are relevant to their lives. If the target audience is professionals, the article should use technical terms and provide relevant details to their field.

Outlining the Article

The final step is outlining the article. The outline should include a headline, a lead paragraph, and subheadings. The headline should be catchy and summarize the article’s main point. The lead paragraph should provide background information and answer the story’s 5Ws and 1H (who, what, when, where, why, and how).

Subheadings should be used to break up the article into sections and make it easier to read. Each section should have a topic sentence that summarizes the section’s main point. Journalists should use complete sentences and avoid using jargon or technical terms that the reader may not understand.

In conclusion, preparing a news article is essential to writing a well-structured and credible article. Journalists should research the topic, identify the target audience, and outline the article to make it relevant and interesting to their readers.

Writing the Article

Crafting a news article for a newspaper requires a structured approach that ensures the article is informative, engaging, and easy to read. Writing involves crafting a lead paragraph, developing the body, and writing the conclusion.

Crafting the Lead Paragraph

The lead paragraph is the most critical part of a news story. It should grab the reader’s attention and summarize the article’s main points. A good lead paragraph should be concise, engaging, and informative. It should answer the questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Journalists should start with a topic sentence summarizing the article’s main point to craft a good lead paragraph. They should then provide background information, using secondary sources to support their claims. The lead paragraph should be written in short, complete sentences that are easy to understand.

Developing the Body

The body of a news article should provide details, examples, and personal opinions that support the article’s main point. Journalists should use English effectively, choosing strong verbs and avoiding passive voice. They should also use citations to support their claims and avoid plagiarism.

To develop the body of a news article, journalists should start with a clear topic sentence that introduces the paragraph’s main point. They should then provide details and examples that support the topic sentence. Journalists should use short sentences and avoid using complex words that may confuse the reader.

Writing the Conclusion

The conclusion of a news article should summarize the article’s main points and provide a personal opinion or call to action. Journalists should use the conclusion to tie together the article’s main points and give the reader a clear understanding of the topic.

Journalists should start with a topic sentence summarizing the article’s main points to write a good conclusion. They should then provide a personal opinion or call to action that encourages the reader to take action or further research the topic. The conclusion should be written in short, complete sentences that are easy to understand.

In conclusion, writing a news article for a newspaper requires a structured approach that ensures the article is informative, engaging, and easy to read. Journalists can create articles that inform and engage readers by crafting a lead paragraph, developing the body, and writing the conclusion.

Polishing the Article

Editing and revising.

After completing the article’s first draft, editing and revising it to make it more polished is essential. Editing involves checking the article for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. The writer should also ensure that the article flows smoothly and that the sentences are clear and concise.

On the other hand, revising involves changing the article’s content. The writer should evaluate the article’s structure and organization and ensure it is easy to read and understand. They should also remove any repetitive or irrelevant information and focus on the essential points.

Fact-Checking and Citations

Fact-checking is an essential part of writing an article for a newspaper. The writer should ensure that all the information in the article is accurate and factual. They should also verify the sources of information to ensure that they are reliable and trustworthy.

Citations are also crucial in article writing. The writer should give credit to their sources of information by citing them appropriately. This adds credibility to the article and helps readers find the sources to read more about the topic.

When citing sources, the writer should follow the guidelines provided by the newspaper or publication. They should also use the correct citation style, such as APA or MLA.

In conclusion, polishing an article involves editing, revising, fact-checking, and citing sources. By following these steps, the writer can ensure that their article is well-written, accurate, and credible.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you grab the reader’s attention in the first paragraph of a newspaper article.

The first paragraph of a news article is crucial because it sets the tone for the entire piece and determines whether the reader will continue reading.

To grab the reader’s attention, start with a strong lead summarizing the most important information engagingly. Use vivid language and descriptive details to create a sense of urgency and intrigue.

What are the essential elements of a news story?

A news story should include the five W’s: who, what, when, where, and why. It should also answer the H question: how. In addition, a news story should be objective, accurate, and timely. It should provide context and background information to help readers understand the significance of the events being reported.

How do you write a compelling headline for a newspaper article?

A good headline should be concise, informative, and attention-grabbing. It should accurately reflect the article’s content and entice the reader to want to learn more. Use active verbs and strong language to create a sense of urgency and importance. Avoid using puns or wordplay that might confuse or distract the reader.

What are some tips for conducting effective research for a newspaper article?

To conduct effective research for a news article, start by identifying reliable sources of information. These might include government websites, academic journals, and interviews with experts or eyewitnesses.

Be sure to fact-check all information and verify the credibility of your sources. Organize your notes and keep track of your sources to make it easier to write the article later.

How do you structure the body of a newspaper article?

The body of a newspaper article should be organized in a logical and easy-to-follow way. Start with the most important information and work down to the details.

Use short paragraphs and subheadings to break up the text and make it easier to read. Include quotes from sources to provide additional perspectives and insights.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when writing a newspaper article?

Some common mistakes to avoid when writing a news article include using biased language, making assumptions, and including irrelevant or inaccurate information. It’s important to remain objective and stick to the facts.

Avoid sensationalizing the story or injecting your opinions or biases into the article. Finally, proofread your work carefully for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

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Education and Communications

How to Write a News Article

Last Updated: January 13, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,376,844 times.

Writing a news article is different from writing other articles or informative pieces because news articles present information in a specific way. It's important to be able to convey all the relevant information in a limited word count and give the facts to your target audience concisely. Knowing how to write a news article can help a career in journalism , develop your writing skills and help you convey information clearly and concisely.

Things You Should Know

Outline your article with all the facts and interview quotes you’ve gathered. Decide what your point of view on the topic is before you start writing.
Your first sentence is the most important one—craft an attention-getter that clearly states the most important information.
Proofread for accurate information, consistent style and tone, and proper formatting.

Sample Articles

how to write an article for local newspaper

Planning Your Article

If you’ve ever written a research paper you understand the work that goes into learning about your topic. The first phase of writing a news article or editorial is pretty similar.
Who - who was involved?
What - what happened?
Where - where did it happen?
Why - why did it happen?
When - when did it happen?
How - how did it happen?

1) those that need to be included in the article.
2) those that are interesting but not vital.
3) those that are related but not important to the purpose of the article.
This fact list will help prevent you from leaving out any relevant information about the topic or story, and will also help you write a clean, succinct article.
Be as specific as possible when writing down all of these facts. You can always trim down unnecessary information later, but it’s easier to cut down than it is to have to beef up an article.
It’s okay at this point to have holes in your information – if you don’t have a pertinent fact, write down the question and highlight it so you won’t forget to find it out
Now that you have your facts, if your editor has not already assigned the type of article, decide what kind of article you’re writing. Ask yourself whether this is an opinion article, an unbiased and straightforward relaying of information, or something in between. [2] X Research source

If you’ve ever heard the term “burying the lead”, that is in reference to the structure of your article. [4] X Research source The “lead” is the first sentence of the article – the one you “lead” with. Not "burying the lead" simply means that you should not make your readers read several paragraphs before they get to the point of your article.
Whatever forum you’re writing for, be it print or for the web, a lot of readers don’t make it to the end of the article. When writing a news article, you should focus on giving your readers what they want as soon as possible.
Write above the fold. The fold comes from newspapers where there’s a crease because the page gets folded in half. If you look at a newspaper all the top stories are placed above the fold. The same goes for writing online. The virtual fold is the bottom of your screen before you have to scroll down. Put the best information at the top to engage your readers and encourage them to keep reading.

Ask yourself the “5 W's” again, but this time in relation to your audience.
Questions like what is the average age you are writing for, where is this audience, local or national, why is this audience reading your article, and what does your audience want out of your article will inform you on how to write.
Once you know who you are writing for you can format an outline that will get the best information to the right audience as quickly as possible.

Even if you are covering a popular story or topic that others are writing about, look for an angle that will make this one yours.
Do you have a personal experience that relates to your topic? Maybe you know someone who is an expert that you can interview .

People usually like to talk about personal experiences, especially if it will be featured somewhere, like your news article. Reach out through a phone call, email, or even social media and ask someone if you can interview them.
When you do interview people you need to follow a few rules: identify yourself as a reporter. Keep an open mind . Stay objective. While you are encouraged to ask questions and listen to anecdotes, you are not there to judge.
Record and write down important information from the interview, and be transparent with what you are doing and why you are doing this interview.

Writing Your News Article

Your lead should be one sentence and should simply, but completely, state the topic of the article.
Remember when you had to write essays for school? Your lead is like your thesis statement.
Let your readers know what your news article is about, why it’s important, and what the rest of the article will contain.

These details are important, because they are the focal point of the article that fully informs the reader.
If you are writing an opinion piece , this is where you will state what your opinion is as well.

Step 3 Follow up main facts with additional information.

This additional information helps round out the article and can help you transition to new points as you move along.
If you have an opinion, this is where you will identify the opposing views and the people who hold them.
A good news article will outline facts and information. A great news article will allow readers to engage on an emotional level.
To engage your readers, you should provide enough information that anyone reading your news article can make an informed opinion, even if it contrasts with yours.
This also applies to a news article where you the author don’t state your opinion but present it as an unbiased piece of information. Your readers should still be able to learn enough about your topic to form an opinion.

Make sure your news article is complete and finished by giving it a good concluding sentence. This is often a restatement of the leading statement (thesis) or a statement indicating potential future developments relating to the article topic.
Read other news articles for ideas on how to best accomplish this. Or, watch news stations or shows. See how a news anchor will wrap up a story and sign off, then try to emulate that.

Proofing Your Article

Be sure to double check all the facts in your news article before you submit it, including names, dates, and contact information or addresses. Writing accurately is one of the best ways to establish yourself as a competent news article writer.

Step 2 Ensure you have followed your outline and have been consistent with style.

If your news article is meant to convey direct facts, not the opinions of its writer, ensure you’ve kept your writing unbiased and objective. Avoid any language that is overly positive or negative or statements that could be construed as support or criticism.
If your article is meant to be more in the style of interpretive journalism then check to make sure that you have given deep enough explanations of the larger story and offered multiple viewpoints throughout.

Step 3 Follow the AP Style for formatting and citing sources.

When quoting someone, write down exactly what was said inside quotations and immediately cite the reference with the person’s proper title. Formal titles should be capitalized and appear before a person’s name. Ex: “Mayor John Smith”.
Always write out numbers one through nine, but use numerals for numbers 10 and up.
When writing a news article, be sure to only include one space after a period, not two. [12] X Research source

Step 4 Have your editor read your article.

You shouldn’t submit any news article for publication without first letting someone take a look at it. An extra pair of eyes can double check your facts and the information to ensure that what you have written is accurate.
If you are writing a news article for school or your own personal website, then have a friend take a look at it and give you notes. Sometimes you may get notes that you want to defend or don’t agree with it. But these should be listened to. Remember, with so many news articles getting published every minute you need to ensure that your widest possible audience can easily digest the information you have provided.

Expert Q&A

Start with research and ask the “5. Asking these questions will help you create an outline and a narrative to your article. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
Interview people, and remember to be polite and honest about what you are writing. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
Put the most important information at the beginning of your article. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about writing an article, check out our in-depth interview with Gerald Posner .

↑ https://libguides.mit.edu/select-topic
↑ https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/writing-resources/different-genres/news-writing-fundamentals
↑ https://libguides.southernct.edu/journalism/howtowrite
↑ https://spcollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=254319&p=1695313
↑ https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/cm360
↑ https://mediahelpingmedia.org/basics/how-to-find-and-develop-important-news-angles/
↑ https://www.northwestern.edu/brand/editorial-guidelines/newswriting-guidelines/
↑ https://tacomacc.libguides.com/c.php?g=599051&p=4147190
↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/journalism_and_journalistic_writing/ap_style.html
↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/punctuation/space-after-period
↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

About This Article

To write a news article, open with a strong leading sentence that states what the article is about and why it’s important. Try to answer the questions who, what, where, when, and why as early in the article as possible. Once you’ve given the reader the most important facts, you can include any additional information to help round out the article, such as opposing views or contact information. Finish with a strong concluding sentence, such as an invitation to learn more or a statement indicating future developments. For tips on researching your article, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to write a news article: 11 key steps

Discover the 11 key steps for researching, reporting, and writing a compelling news piece, including how to structure the story, use quotes and add credibility

For aspiring journalists, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the dos and don’ts of article writing. We break down the traditional news article and show you how to build up a great piece of writing.

What is a News Article?

News articles report on current events like legislative change, politics, local announcements, the weather, scientific research, public health, the arts, and sports. While news articles vary in scope based on where they are published, they all must stay understandable for a large audience and convey information clearly, concisely, and accurately.

The Anatomy of a News Article

News articles are similar to other nonfiction articles in structure, but their main difference lies in how information is presented. The general anatomy of a news article consists of the following:

The Headline

Arguably the most important part of the news article, if you don’t have a headline that attracts the eye of your readers, your article will not get read. So, headlines need to stand out and make a reader want to find out more, in just a few words.

Better known as the lede or lead, a news article’s hook is meant to draw readers in further and get them interested in your piece. A good hook is only a few sentences long but manages to draw them into your article.

The Inverted Pyramid

The body of a news article is like an upside-down pyramid: the most critical information should be at the top of the piece, and less important information comes later. In news articles, this information hierarchy is what often separates each section.

The Sources

Ideally, your sources are the soul of your news article. Without accurate information, it’s impossible to report trustworthy news. We’ll delve more into sourcing information later in this article, but for now, remember that the best kind of source comes directly from live experience. Including quotes from first-hand sources is a great way to add credibility and interest to your article.

How to Write a News Article

So, let’s get started writing a news article. Generally speaking, there are eleven steps to creating a strong report:

1. Find Your Topic

The first thing you’ll need to do when writing a news article is to find what you’ll write about. Freelance journalists often pick topics they’re passionate about since it’s far easier to write about a topic you’re interested in. However, journalists working for news outlets may get assigned articles based on previous industry experience– that’s how specialized journalists come to be.

2. Determine Your Scope

Next, you’ll need to determine the scope of the article. This is like finding the target audience for your article. There are roughly three different levels of scope in journalism: the local, state or national, and the global level. The language you use and the subject of your article will vary depending on your scope.

3. Collect Primary Sources

You’ve got an idea of what you want to write about and on what scale you’re reporting, so now it’s time to get some information. The first sources you’ll need are primary sources, which come directly from people involved in your news story. A good example of a primary source would be the reporter interviewing a firefighter who saved a cat from a burning building or speaking with the cat’s owner about the fire's aftermath.

4. Collect Secondary Sources

Your secondary sources are pieces collected from other stories. In our fire scenario, your secondary sources might include information from previous fire coverage or the cat’s health history from a local vet.

5. Create a Citation List

Once you’ve found your sources, you’ll need to cite them. Citations vary from outlet to outlet, so always consult someone on the team regarding how you’ll cite your sources. Citations are necessary for conducting research; in journalism, they’re vital to establishing credibility in the article.

6. Outline Your Article

With the research out of the way, it’s time to get started outlining your article. Following the upside-down pyramid format, organize your information from most important to least important. Your outline will help you stay on track with each news article section.

7. Write Your Drafts

With the outline complete, you’re ready to write your first draft. Chances are, you’ll have to write multiple drafts of your piece as you go, so focus on getting your information down for the first draft.

8. Edit Your Draft

When you edit, check the article for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. While editing programs like grammar checkers and your computer’s spell check are great ways to speed up the process, remember to have your article proofread by someone else.

9. Fact-Check Your Information

Fact-checking should happen multiple times during your writing process since accurate information is the most crucial part of any news report. When you fact-check, ensure your information is also up-to-date since new information may change the context of an event.

10. Proofread

Proofreading your article helps writers match the tone and style of a newspaper’s. Proofreading is a lot like editing; you’ll need to move slowly and read things through to ensure that your article is easily understandable to the general public.

11. Include Your Sources

Once the main portion of your news article is complete, include your sources in a works cited page below it.

Timeliness is Important, But so is Accuracy

In an age of clickbait, it's essential not to sacrifice accuracy in favor of early publication.

How to Write a News Article That's Effective

It's similar to writing academic papers, but with vital differences

Writing Research Papers
Writing Essays
English Grammar
M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
B.A., History, Armstrong State University

Techniques for writing a news article differ from those needed for academic papers. Whether you're interested in writing for a school newspaper, fulfilling a requirement for a class, or seeking a writing job in journalism, you'll need to know the difference. To write like a real reporter, consider this guide for how to write a news article.

Choose Your Topic

First, you must decide what to write about. Sometimes an editor or instructor will give you assignments, but you’ll often have to find your own topics to cover.

If you get to choose your topic, you might be able to pick a subject related to your personal experience or family history, which would give you a strong framework and a dose of perspective. However, this route means you must work to avoid bias—you may have strong opinions that could affect your conclusions. You also could pick a topic that revolves around a personal interest, such as your favorite sport.

Research for Your News Article

Even if you end up with a topic close to your heart, you should begin with research, using books and articles that will give you a full understanding of the subject. Go to the library and find background information about people, organizations, and events you intend to cover.

Next, interview a few people to collect more information and quotes that give perspective on the topic. Don't be intimidated by the idea of interviewing important or newsworthy people—an interview can be as formal or informal as you want to make it, so relax and have fun with it. Find people with backgrounds in the topic and strong opinions, and carefully write down or record their responses for accuracy. Let the interviewees know that you will be quoting them.

Parts of a News Article

Before you write your first draft, you should be aware of the parts that make up a news story:

Headline or title

The headline of your article should be catchy and to the point. You should punctuate your title using Associated Press style guidelines unless your publication specifies something else. Other members of the publication staff frequently write the headlines, but this will help focus your thoughts and maybe save those other staffers some time.

"Lost dog finds his way home"
"Debate tonight in Jasper Hall"
"Panel chooses 3 essay winners"

The byline is the name of the writer—your name, in this case.

Lead (sometimes written "lede")

The lead is the first sentence or paragraph, written to provide a preview of the entire article. It summarizes the story and includes many of the basic facts. The lead will help readers decide if they want to read the rest of the news article or if they are satisfied knowing these details.

Once you’ve set the stage with a good lead, follow up with a well-written story that contains facts from your research and quotes from people you’ve interviewed. The article should not contain your opinions. Detail any events in chronological order. Use the active voice —not passive voice —when possible, and write in clear, short, direct sentences.

In a news article, you should use the inverted pyramid format—putting the most critical information in the early paragraphs and following with supporting information. This ensures that the reader sees the important details first. Hopefully they'll be intrigued enough to continue to the end.

The sources

Include your sources in the body with the information and quotes they provide. This is different from academic papers, where you would add these at the end of the piece.

Your conclusion can be your last bit of information, a summary, or a carefully chosen quote to leave the reader with a strong sense of your story.

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How to Write Articles for Newspaper: A Step-By-Step Guide

Do you want to learn how to write for newspaper? There are many people who are looking to make a career out of writing articles for newspapers, but many people are under the misconception that it is difficult or time consuming. The truth is, writing articles for newspaper is not only a viable career option, but it is also something that can be done with confidence and ease. If you are someone who is looking to make a career out of writing articles for newspapers, this article is for you. This article is going to give you a few tips that will make your article more interesting and captivating.

What is a newspaper?

A newspaper is a hand-written, printed or digital publication that is read by large numbers of people. These newspapers are found in some public areas such as post offices, libraries, etc. If you are looking to be a professional writer and write for newspapers, you will have to learn how to read a newspaper. If you are not familiar with how to read a newspaper, you can always go for a professional tutorial or training. What are the rules of writing articles for newspapers? A lot of people are under the impression that it is difficult or time-consuming to write for a newspaper. The truth is, the rules of writing for newspapers are easy to learn. Even if you are not a professional writer, there are still a few tricks that you can learn to be able to produce great stories and articles.

What are some key points to remember when writing for newspaper?

Have in mind the topic that you want to write about. Don’t think too much, just write down what comes to your mind. Use proper English and make sure that you avoid any mistake that is likely to hurt the feelings of the newspaper staff. If you are an expert on the topic, remember to explain it in simple terms for the readers. Do not plagiarize or get creative with your writing. Avoid any word play that is likely to turn your article against you. If you make an error, you should admit your mistake instead of trying to cover up. Remember to use proper punctuation. Do not use any swear words in your writing.

Decide which part of the paper you want to work for.

This is one of the most important tips that you will learn in this article. Most people don’t realize this, but if you want to make a career out of writing articles for newspapers, you should first decide which part of the newspaper that you want to write for. The first thing that you should do is find out which part of the newspaper is most active at that time. It could be a sports section, an entertainment section, a business section or anything that is prominent in that particular newspaper. Once you know which part of the newspaper is most active, you should then get in touch with them and explain what your skills are, and why you would be the best person to write for that particular section. If the newspaper wants you, they will make you an offer.

Research the paper you’re interested.

When it comes to writing articles for newspaper, you should know the kind of paper you’re writing for, for starters. Make sure you find the newspaper or the publication you’re interested in writing for. Get in touch with its editor and request to submit an article. You can contact them over the phone or via email. What is the kind of article that you’re submitting? For example, if you are writing for a business publication, your article should be about the services or products they offer. When it comes to writing for a lifestyle magazine, your article should be about an area of interest for that particular magazine. For example, if you’re writing for a parenting magazine, your article would be about parenting issues and how to deal with them, or choosing the best car for your family.

Read the paper every day, if possible.

A great way to increase your audience is to read your local newspapers on a daily basis. Apart from reading the editorials in the newspaper, it is best to read the columns too, in the hope that one or two of them might spark your interest. Make it your goal to get published in one column in every issue. Just reading the newspaper on a daily basis and leaving it at that will not do you any good. You have to look at the paper every single day and pick out that column that interests you the most. If you find that column, there is nothing stopping you from submitting a few lines to them every day. Learn how to write a great opening paragraph.

Section 6. Find out the Summary of news.

A. How to find the news in newspaper: A step-by-step guide To make sure that you choose news that is going to be of value to your readers, you have to spend some time on research. There are different things that go into choosing a story to write for the newspaper. You need to ensure that the information that you provide is well-informed, as well as, interesting. It is quite possible for you to see interesting news stories, but they could be boring to read.

Section 7. Point out with a cover letter that includes a writing sample.

For the majority of freelancers, writing a good article is not enough, as they still need to submit the article to newspapers, following which they need to go through the traditional and tedious process of getting an assignment. This is a cumbersome process that has to be done from time to time. The solution to this problem is quite simple; if you wish to be published in a newspaper or if you are in a position to get an assignment from a newspaper, all you need to do is to submit an article to them and include a cover letter that includes a sample article, and then you will be sure that you will get published in newspapers. This article will also show you how you can write articles that will have a more cohesive flow. This is a concept that is often ignored by many writers.

How to Improve Articles for Newspaper?

If you are interested in writing for newspaper, there are certain things that you can do to make your articles more captivating. Here are a few suggestions. 1. Take out of the article as many unnecessary words All of us do not always have the time to spend reading the entire article that we are about to write. Therefore, we tend to cut out unnecessary words from our articles. In doing so, we usually end up making the article easier to read and understand for others. 2. Improve the organization of the article Many articles that you write for newspapers are going to be used as filler in place of serious content. In other words, they are not meant to be used as content for longer content.

Make it catchy.

No matter what article you write, it should be clear, catchy, and easy to understand. You have to make the reader understand your message in a concise way and then get them to read on. The following simple steps will help you achieve this: Decide on a topic Consider the audience you want to reach Begin with a question Present your answer Here are some examples of how this works in practice. The headline asks: Who’s Your Slave? The question to be asked is “Who’s your slave?” The answer is the soldier, and you are interested in finding out why. So, your question is “Why is the soldier being called a slave?”, and you also want to know what to do about it. The article is titled: What is the Problem with Our Soldiers? The answer is clear and concise. Get the readers to think.

This article has served its purpose. You now know some very basic ways in which you can write articles for newspaper. You know that it is not impossible for you to make a career out of writing articles for newspaper and you have a clear idea of how you can go about it. If you liked this article, then please share it on your social media platform of choice. If you have any comments or feedback, then please do let us know by leaving a comment below.

The Ultimate Guide to Writing an Article for a Magazine

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How to Write and Sell Your Articles to a Newspaper or Magazine

If you're a writer with a passion for journalism or creative non-fiction, you may dream of seeing your work published in a newspaper or magazine. Perhaps you have just started a hobby and discovered a passion. Or you are struggling with a family conflict you know others will relate to. Maybe you came across a great tip or have insight into a topic many people might find helpful, or you are a seasoned freelance writer looking to expand your horizons.

Whatever the reason for grabbing the pen (or, most likely, reaching out for the keyboard), newspapers and magazines are always looking for the next great story to publish. In this article, we'll show you how to take those initial steps to get your work published.

How Can I Get My Article Published?

The path to getting your article published involves a few crucial steps, starting with enhancing your writing skills to craft compelling news articles. When you have a piece you're proud of, the next step is to submit your articles to the relevant magazines or newspapers. This submission process often requires an accompanying pitch or cover letter that concisely outlines your article's content and showcases why it would be of interest to the publication's readership. Familiarizing yourself with each publication's submission guidelines is crucial to increase your chances of acceptance. It's a challenging journey, but seeing your work in print is truly rewarding.

Create Your Own Unique Writing Style

If there is one thing most freelance writers will tell you when you get started, it's this: You will probably spend much more time editing than writing. However, if you want to get an article published in a newspaper or magazine, nice words are not enough. You need a unique angle or a unique tone.

Coming up with a good notion can actually be easier than you might think. It doesn't have to be extraordinary; it just needs a personal or original point of view. It could, for example, be a first-hand experience that caught you up unexpectedly. Or a life-changing adventure. Or, why not? You can write about all the things you learned while working for a specific industry that you know readers will appreciate.

There are many reasons why writers choose to publish their articles in local publications. You might write articles to get more visibility as a writer, to generate an income, or to create high-quality backlinks to your own blog or website (keep in mind, though, that most newspapers will have little to no impact on your site's search engine results page position).

But Where Can I Sell My Story?

You have an idea. You have an outline that can introduce it to an audience. And, if things have gone right, you have an article ready to be shared. So what's next?

An important aspect of selling articles is learning where you can submit your stories. There are many places that could be interested in buying your article. And, if you are a new freelance writer, you might be surprised to hear there are more possibilities out there than applying directly to newspapers. Let's see what the main ways to get your articles online are.

Content Agencies

If you want to cast a wider net, press and content agencies are a great starting point. Instead of going to one particular newspaper or magazine with your ideas, agencies can help you understand which publications will be more interested in your article - and pitch it for you. If what you've written is quite unique, these different publications might even bid on your story like an auction! Agencies are the ideal places to share big feature stories.

Some stories can also be sold to multiple newspapers and TV stations so that you can get a fee instead of one payment. However, it's better to pick one agency as they will want to sell exclusivity to their clients.

Real-Life Magazines

Many magazines will be happy to pay for your story. A lot of them will let you fill in a form online and get back to you if they find your article interesting. It's always worth keeping an eye on their Twitter feeds - as they might be looking for specific topics. If you're a more experienced or niche writer, you might not consider this a viable business, but you can definitely make money sharing your life experiences with real-life magazine readers.

You can contact newspapers directly and offer your story to them. Almost all of them have forms on their websites, but you can also call, email, or even send them a Whatsapp.

Selling articles or stories to the newspaper is not effortless, but it's also not difficult if you follow the proper steps and are willing to put in some extra effort on top of the actual writing. For example, you might have to send many query letters and create different versions of your articles , such as short summaries and bullet points lists (we will go through this in more detail in the next section).

Creating a Good First Impression

As a writer, you might be thinking: My words should speak for themselves. But editors receive many articles a week and might not have the time to read every single line of them. Sometimes, the most important aspect of selling articles is knowing how to communicate with editors.

You definitely don't want to tell an editor how great you are (or how rejections haven't shaken your enthusiasm for writing). Instead, it's better if you focus on:

What you are submitting or proposing (an idea, an outline, a short fiction story, a blog post style article, etc.)
What other newspapers, magazines, or new publications have featured your work before. (make sure you include a link to your portfolio)
Your skills and relevant experience.
Why you think your article is good for publication.

These communications will be more diverse once you have established a relationship with different editors. Still, most of them will be happy to receive a one-page pitch letter rather than an entire manuscript. Once you've earned your reputation, you can bypass the query letter process.

Is freelance work getting too complicated?

Use Indy to make freelancing simple. The useful set of tools will make your freelance admin easier by connecting your work from proposals to payment.

Writing Articles for Money

If you are new to the world of writing (or freelancing), you'll be happy to hear that you don't need to be an expert to publish your first magazine article and/or start making money writing. You don't need to do it full-time either; you can start with freelance gigs or small contracts.

There are a few different types of content that can make you money as a writer. These include (but are not limited to):

Selling your articles to newspapers and magazines
Writing blog posts (for others)
Self-publishing your work as an e-book
Writing scripts for video producers
Making show notes for podcasts
Writing content for marketing campaigns
Writing copy for websites

Your experience will of course determine which publications or customers will take your work.

How Much Money Can You Make Selling Your Articles?

If your story is in demand or exclusive, you can expect higher payments from newspapers and magazines. It should be noted that, as a profession, freelance writing is relatively unstable. If you pick this career, you should think of yourself more as a self-employed entrepreneur than a flighty artist.

Pay rates for freelance writers working for newspapers and magazines vary depending on the publication. The amounts also change depending on your experience and whether you have published other important pieces. In addition, your geographic location (or at least your market) will also determine your payment range. Some writers charge by the hour and others by the number of words. For an article feature (and considering all the factors we mentioned), you can expect to get $30-$120 an hour.

Free Places to Get Your Articles Published

If you're new to the world of freelance writing, you should consider uploading your articles to a free platform that can act as a portfolio of your work. One of the main advantages of using these sites is that they offer practically unlimited storage for your content. Plus, you can create shareable links, and Google will find your articles and index them in searches.

Some popular free sites to write articles and get them easily distributed to a broader audience include:

Medium : This popular publishing site has an easy interface, a network of users looking for things to read, and ranks quite high in google searches. Medium articles also look particularly good, as the site has chosen font combinations and layout options that improve legibility, readability, and aesthetics.
LinkedIn : You can publish your articles on LinkedIn and get a lot of attention, not just from your network but from people searching for that topic. LinkedIn is better for pieces in which you have subject matter expertise.
Scriggler: This content platform is focused mostly on helping authors maximize their outreach. Many freelance writers choose Scriggler to discover and comment on each other's work.
Ezine Articles : You can submit original articles here to get more exposure and traffic back to your site. This platform is better suited for freelancers trying to promote their own businesses.
Tumblr : Most people think of Tumblr as an image database. But you can also host articles there. In fact, Tumblr has a popular hashtag for them: #Articles.
Vocal : Sites like Vocal not only allow you to share your stories, but you can also earn money from reads, tips, and challenges. For example, you can make around $3.80 for 1000 reads ($6 if you have a Vocal+ membership)

Selling Your Article to Multiple Publications

When you are very knowledgeable about a topic, you can also get more mileage out of the articles you write. All you need to do is provide each piece with a new or different perspective.

Retelling or 'rewiring' your stories is both an excellent creative exercise and a way to improve your finances. The first thing you should do if you're considering expanding on a particular topic is to find the emergent patterns. Perhaps your first article mentioned something in passing. Why not expand on it, and turn it into a completely new angle? Or revisit something you might have wanted to flesh out... or even go over something you discarded before. You can dig in and see what more value there is in a topic, and that passion will always come through in your work if you are genuinely interested in something.

There's nothing wrong with remixing material to make more money writing articles. But, of course, this doesn't mean just spinning some words and sending the same article to different publications. Rephrasing can also take your writing in a new direction, turning it into a completely new story. Don't plagiarize yourself; start fresh and shower your subjects and topics in a new light.

Publishing Articles - Final Tips for New Writers

Start writing your first news article : It’s essential to familiarize yourself with the structure and style of news articles. Start by writing about reports that interest you and hone your skills over time.
Develop a writing portfolio : Compile all the articles and personal essays you've written, showcasing your writing skills and versatility. Include a broad range of topics to appeal to a wide range of publications.
Submit articles to various platforms : Once you're confident in your work, start submitting your articles to different publications. These could range from local newspapers to online blogs and magazines.
Showcase your written work on your website : If you have a personal or professional website, make sure to include a section dedicated to your work. This helps potential clients view your work quickly and easily.
Connect with various publications : Establish relationships with multiple publications to increase your chances of having your work published. Research the type of content they publish and tailor your submissions accordingly.
Write personal essays : Personal essays allow you to share your personal experiences and insights. They are a great way to show your unique voice and perspective.
Create a website : A professional website serves as an online portfolio showcasing your work and providing a platform for potential clients to contact you.

Using Indy as a Freelance Writer

The road to getting your article published is never easy. There isn't a clear roadmap or specific steps to follow that will guarantee a positive outcome. But there is a lot you can do to turn your passion and endurance into a solid business.

Indy is a one-stop platform that can help you boost your freelance writer career with powerful tools and an easy-to-use dashboard. These are some ways in which Indy can help you keep your work organized and your clients happy.

Schedule meetings and keep track of all your article submissions with day, week, and month views. Indy's calendars can also sync with Google Calendar and integrate directly with the platform's time tracker. See what articles are due and keep track of invoices, contracts, and proposals. With Indy's friendly and colorful calendars, you won't miss your next writing deadline or all your hard work payments!

Manage all your freelance writing contracts in one place. You can start with a template (or write your own article writing contract from scratch), edit the different fields, and sign and send in minutes. Indy offers legally-vetted freelance contracts for a variety of jobs and situations. They are flexible, support electronic signatures, and integrate with your clients and calendars. Define payment terms, deliverables, and project details, or create NDAs in seconds. Plus, Indy helps you protect your work and your client's information and keeps everything centralized, so it's always easy to track and follow.

Who likes paper trails more than a writer? With Indy, you can store all of your articles, track changes and revisions, and get feedback and approval, all within one easy interface. You can manage your published articles, query letters to editors, and even ask for feedback without your client having to create an account. When you upload a new version of a document, Indy automatically adds version control so you can see all changes. Plus, all your files are securely stored in the cloud so that you can access them from any device (or provide someone with access).

Generate and send invoices in seconds - and get paid for your writing work faster than ever. Indy's invoices make selling articles really straightforward. They look beautiful (you can include your own logo and use your brand colors) and are easy to send and pay. You can also set up recurring invoices to help you keep track of all cash flow without needing to create each document manually and set the tax rate and taxable items. Indy works with various payment methods such as credit cards, direct deposits, checks, wire transfers, etc.

Organize all of your article writing submissions in one place. With Indy's proposals, you can create engaging, professional-looking, and impactful estimates and proposals to impress your clients. These documents offer a balanced combination of powerful features and functionalities and also allow you to keep track of their status. You can start with a template or from scratch (the platform uses drag-and-drop text, image, embed, timeline, estimate, and signature blocks). The system can, for example, tag them as Draft, Sent, Read, and Approved.

Indy has an integrated to-do list app that is ideal for managing your daily tasks. For example, you can get a clear picture of the articles you have to write. This feature can be especially useful for freelance writers who want to divide their writing into smaller chunks—such as research, interviews, drafts, and editing. Your tasks are also automatically connected to your calendar, so you can easily keep tabs on everything.

Time Tracker

You can record, report, and get paid for your time all from one place using Indy. If you're a writer, you might charge by the number of words or by the hour. If it's the latter, you can use the time tracker to know exactly how long it took to write a specific article. This feature has two more advantages: It can help you stay more focused on your tasks and not on the clock, and it can give your client more clarity about what you wrote, when, and for how long. Because Indy integrates all of its tools, you can also add your sessions and entries to your invoices automatically (don't worry if you prefer to measure your time differently, you can also do a manual input).

People and Projects

In addition to the tools we just covered, Indy has two more essential features that can help you boost your writing career: People and Projects. With people, you can keep tabs on all your contacts. Each client, for example, gets a contact page that automatically collects all invoices, files, and other documents you have shared with them. And with projects, you can easily divide your writing jobs and manage their status, tasks, messages, and documents from the same dashboard.

In this guide, we showed you the importance of having a unique point of view, a list of places you can sell your stories to, and some tips for how you can make a great first impression on editors. We hope you put these tips into action and feel empowered to take the next steps in your freelance writing career.

Life - and writing- are complex, but Indy makes them simpler. You can start our Free plan today and take full control of your independent business from start to finish and, when you're ready, upgrade to Pro for just $12 a month.

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How to write newspaper articles.

While educating myself with a correspondence writing course, I wrote a number of articles for local newspapers. Although I always wanted to write fiction, the course advised starting with non-fiction and journalism. This is because it is a lot easier to sell a newspaper article than a book, especially if you're writing a piece of local interest and are approaching a local publication.

Having an article published gives you valuable experience in dealing with editors and how they edit (or, in some cases, butcher) your work to make it fit the page.

Writing a gig or theatre review makes an excellent starting point. If the gig is local and you write well, a local paper is likely to use your work. That’s how I started – I wrote a review for a band I played in. Admittedly, this was a bit cheeky, but being in the band meant I knew the music and knew no one else from the paper was there to review the gig. This allowed me to write about the band and the performance convincingly.

To write an article, you need an angle. When the smoking ban was first introduced in the UK, I decided to do a piece on it as I had a friend who ran a local pub. I interviewed him, talking about the impact it was having on his business. The editor loved the local angle and the article went straight in the next edition. A really simple idea, but it worked. By using local contacts, you can produce something unique that no one else might have thought of or be able to write.

Elegant Literature Monthly Fiction Magazine and Contest

I’ve discovered that one thing to avoid when doing this kind of freelance journalism is voicing your own opinion. No one cares what you think. Readers just want the facts so they can make up their own minds. I found editors tend to strip anything out that is opinion based rather than factual. You can describe what happened and allow an interviewee to talk and give their perspective, but your own thoughts are not needed. This technique seems to work well. Remaining unbiased results in a higher success rate.

I can’t really talk in any great depth about this as fiction is my first love and I simply used article writing as a stepping stone to gain experience with having work edited and published. However, the experience I gained from doing this has proved invaluable. For any kind of writer, journalism makes an excellent starting point.

Below are copies of some of the articles I’ve had published in local press; the Bristol Evening Post and the South Avon Mercury.

Bristol Evening Post - Valentine's Day Article - February 14th 2004

click image to view full article in new tab

Christopher Fielden Newspaper Article - Valentines - Bristol Evening Post - February 14th 2004

Mercury - Ye Gods! Gig Review - November 11th 2004

Christopher Fielden Newspaper Article - Ye Gods - Mercury November 11th 2004

Mercury - Smoking Ban Article - December 9th 2004

Christopher Fielden Newspaper Article - Smoking Ban - Mercury December 9th 2004

Mercury - Brain Busters - February 3rd 2005

Christopher Fielden - Brain Busters - Mercury February 3rd 2005

Mercury - Valentine's Day Article - February 3rd 2005

Christopher Fielden - Valentines Day Article - Mercury February 3rd 2005

Bristol Evening Post - Vic Du Monte - April 28th 2005

Christopher Fielden - Vic Du Monte Newspaper Article - Bristol Evening Post - April 28th 2005

Mercury - Vic Du Monte - September 29th 2005

Christopher Fielden - Vic Du Monte's Persona Non Grata Article - Mercury September 29th 2005

Bristol Evening Post - Vic Du Monte - September 29th 2005

Christopher Fielden - Vic Du Monte Article - Bristol Evening Post September 29th 2005

Mercury - Ye Gods! Album Release - December 8th 2005

Christopher Fielden - Ye Gods gig - Mercury December 8th 2005

Mercury - Portishead Carnival Article - March 30th 2006

Chris Fielden - Portishead Carnival Newspaper Article - Mercury March 30th 2006

Mercury - Lands End to John O Groats Charity Ride - June 2007

Chris Fielden - Lands End to John O Groats Charity Bicycle Ride Article - June 2007

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Stan P Hello. I'm from Pittsburgh, PA. Every time I contact a newspaper outside of Pittsburgh (National and Regional Newspapers) I get turned down because I am not local. How can I get published in other newspapers when they only accept local writers.

Chris Fielden Hi Stan. In my experience, for local papers, you have to come up with a story with a local angle. That was the only way I got into them, apart from in Bristol (where I live) because I’m a local writer. Or tie a story in with local events.

For example, I sent bacon into space once (crazy project…) and got into a Wiltshire (UK) area newspaper and on the local radio because they had an event all about locally sourced ham (Wiltshire is famous for it). Bit of an extreme example, but hopefully you see what I mean. The bacon in the project made it newsworthy for that area at that time.

Re the nationals: you’d need a really strong story to get into one of them – it’s very competitive and they often have in-house staff to contend with too. Still, if the story is strong and original and/or you have a unique interview or information or something newsworthy, most editors would still consider it.

I’ll admit, it’s been a long time since I wrote for a newspaper – about 6 or 7 years – but that was my experience of it at the time.

I hope that’s helpful.

Mani P Dear sir, I'd like you to write articles for our newly opened restaurant, in the Toronto Star or any other famous news paper in Toronto Etobicoke. Can you help me with that ?

Chris Fielden Hi Mani. I don't undertake that kind of writing anymore I'm afraid - I concentrate on fiction.

I'd recommend working with a Canadian author who understands the local publications.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Ravi A Hello. How can send you my articles to be published in news papers? I'm a writer and want to develop my career. Can you help me to publish my articles in news papers?

Chris Fielden Hi Ravi. I'm afraid I can't publish articles for you, as I don't run a newspaper. The best way to go about submitting your articles is to buy copies of newspapers you are interested in and read them so you understand the kind of stories they publish. Then read their submission guidelines and get in touch with them directly to pitch your ideas. In my experience, that's the best way to do it.

I hope that's helpful and wish you the best of luck with your writing.

Jemma U That was useful.

Chris Fielden Thanks, Jemma :-)

Grace J Thank you for the information! I am currently a year 8 (or grade 7, if you are in America) student who is planning to make a school newspaper with friends!

Chris Fielden No problem, Grace! That's awesome news about your school newspaper. Please let me know when you get it off the ground - would love to take a look at it :-)

Penchalaiah K How do I write for an English newspaper?

Chris Fielden Hi Penchalaiah. Most newspapers have contact details on their website. Some have submission guidelines too. So the best bet it to start there :)

Amarachi P I am Amarachi from Nigeria. I have been asked to write an article for publication on a newspaper on my experience as the football captain at my last school.

Chris Fielden That's great, Amarachi.

I wish you the best of luck with writing your article - it sounds really interesting :-)

Valerie T Hi, I'm Valerie. I've been asked to write and publish an article as an assignment in school. Can you give me any advice on what topics or areas to write on?

Chris Fielden Hi Valerie. It depends where you hope to have the article published. If you're going for a local newspaper (which is a good place to start) then an article concerning something of local interest might be good. For example, when the smoking ban was implemented in the UK, I interviewed a pub landlord in the town I live in about the impact it was having on his business and a local newspaper published it.

You could also consider contacting one of your local publications, explaining your situation and asking them if they would like you to write about anything specific.

I hope that helps and wish you the best of luck with your assignment.

Chioma N I am Chioma from Nigeria. I am 16 yrs old. I really want to know more about being a journalist. Can you teach me? Thank you.

Chris Fielden Hi Chioma, thank you for your message.

I used to do a lot of writing for newspapers, but I now concentrate on fiction writing and running my blog, so I can't help you I'm afraid.

There are many online writing courses. I'd research some of them as a starting point. Try checking out your local universities - many unis run journalism courses. Or try the Open University and similar educational facilities that operate online learning options.

I hope that helps and wish you the best of luck with your writing :-)

Chioma N Thank you.

Chris Fielden You're welcome, Chioma :-)

Ejoh E I'm a content creator, writer for Cheap SEO Articles but I want to become a freelancer. I tried writing for someone once and he complained. He said it was too short and jumbled. I felt the article was fine. What can I do to make my article better?

Chris Fielden Hi Ejoh. Thank you for your message.

I'd recommend having a couple of articles critiqued. You can do that via a paid service, like the critique service I offer on my website .

Or you can look at platforms that offer free critiques. I list details of those in this resource .

I hope that's helpful and wish you the best of luck with your writing :-)

Eamonn M Good article, Chris. It came up when I googled article writing so your SEOs are working!

I used to write humorous articles for the Bristol Evening Post and was paid about £30 each for them, not bad back in the 1980s. I don't think they pay anything now but I'm thinking of article writing to keep my brain in gear. I'm giving up on short stories. Even the tiniest non-paying mag gets hundreds of submissions a month now. As for novels, there are 8 billion on Amazon and 8 billion authors tweeting at you to buy their book. I can't give mine away. Also, friends and family read articles. No one except my brother is the least bit interested in fantasy and SF.

I enjoyed your short story book and must review it on Amazon. All your advice was sound but there are so many short story writers now that even the lowest paying obscure online zines get hundreds of submissions every month. One's chance of acceptance is getting lower and of money almost zero. Not much reward for the effort.

Chris Fielden Thanks for your comment, Eamonn.

Sorry to hear you're giving up on fiction writing. You're right about the number of authors and submissions, but I find a dogged approach still works. Everyone experiences rejections, but if you keep trying, acceptances still occur. I'd urge you to keep trying.

Article writing can earn you money, depending on who your write for and what you write about. I hope that works well for you. And if you enjoy it, that's great. I find non-fiction easier to write. Well... "easier" might be the wrong word. "Quicker" might be more accurate. Fiction takes me a long time to write. Making things up requires more thought, I think. Writing a bit of fiction and non-fiction is good, though. Each inspires the other. I find the same with music. Working in different creative mediums works well for me. Maybe it will work for you too?

All the best to you.

Paul K Dear Chris, thanks very much for sharing some of the experiences that you had and have made you a great writer in this world. I have perused a few of your articles above and I can tell you're a wonderful writer. My name is Paul, and I'm from Malawi. I once published my pieces of article ranging from short fiction stories to opinions etc. I'm not a full writer by myself because I have never been trained in writing. I did all these writings out of my interest, and passion. I really need to pursue this career as one of the best African writer. Dear brother, I need to get good advise from you. For sure, I am not able to pay for a journalism institution as it is very expensive compared to the little income that I earn.

The other thing is that, how can I link with the local newspaper so that I can eventually send my article? Do I need to go to there respective offices and ask for an opportunity to tribute my stories? How did you do yours?

Please help me with any information you can.

Chris Fielden Hi Paul, thank you for your message.

In my experience, it's best to contact the paper directly. I used to email ideas and articles to the editor and they would let me know if they wanted to print any of them. As I worked with the papers more, I got to know the editors and, on occasion, would meet up with them. That's because they were in my local area.

My advice would be to research the papers in your local area, or publications that deal with your area of expertise, and see what they want from journalists and writers. I started off doing a peice for my writing course about Valentine's Day and the local paper published it because the timing was right and they wanted something on that subject matter at that time - I sent it to them a week or two before Valentien's Day. Then I went on to do gig reviews and articles of local interest. That worked for the publications I was dealing with.

I hope that helps and I wish you the best of luck with your writing journey.

The copyright of the stories and content published on this website remain with the author.

Christopher Fielden and all the other contributing authors published via this website have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the authors of these works.

The stories and articles on this site are provided for you to read free of charge subject to the condition that they are not, by way of trade or otherwise, copied, lent, sold, hired out, printed or otherwise circulated in any format without the author’s prior consent.

How To Write a News Article (+4 Tools, Examples & Template)

By Dmytro Spilka

Nov 6, 2019

By the late 1400s, the printing press had been perfected, and Germany began publishing pamphlets containing news content. Realising the power of printed news, several papers in London became popularised in the years following 1621.

Almost 400 years later, the transition from print to online has had a profound impact on the way we consume news and subsequently, how we create it. You’ve probably already noticed that the morning paper covers the news that was instantaneously delivered to your mobile device the night before.

The nature of online news reporting allows journalists to simultaneously watch an event unfold and update their readers in real-time. Both print and online news articles aim to discuss current or recent news in local happenings, politics, business, trade, technology and entertainment.

Typically, a news article on any topic and at any level will contain 5 vital components for success . This is what separates news-article writing from other forms of writing.

1. Headline

These 5-12 words should deliver the gist of the whole news. In most cases, it’s important not to play with words or to be too cryptic. A news article headline should be clear and succinct and tell the reader what the article is about. Should they find the topic interesting, they will probably read the article.

Whilst headlines should be clear and matter-of-fact, they should also be attention-grabbing and compelling. According to some sources, eight out of ten people will read headline copy and only two will continue to read the rest of the article (Campaign). So, if 80% of people are unlikely to ever make it past the headline, there is plenty of room to spend extra time in crafting the perfect headline for your news article.

This BBC headline definitely makes people give it a second look. At first glance, you probably noticed the words “Goat” and “Ronald Reagan” and wondered what on earth has brought this farm animal and 80s U.S. president to exist within the same sentence- let alone the same headline . Closer inspection lets the reader know that the article is about goats’ helping to save the Presidential library in the California fires. Most would want to know how, so they read on.

Put simply, this string of words tells people who wrote the article and is usually prefaced by the word ‘by’. This component really depends on the company you write for. Whilst most magazines and newspapers use bylines to identify journalists, some don’t. The Economist, for example, maintains a historical tradition where bylines are omitted and journalists remain anonymous. In such cases, the news article reflects the publication as a whole.

3. Lead paragraph

This is the section to get straight down to the facts and there is no time for introductions. A lead paragraph must be constructed to attract attention and maintain it. To do this, the basic news points and facts should be relayed without digressing into detail or explanation. Those are forthcoming in the next section of the article.

Included in the lead are what journalists refer to as the 5 Ws: Who, what, when, where and why. To some extent, by simply stating each W, some form of lead is automatically formed. For example; “ An off duty nurse and paramedic used a makeshift tourniquet to save the life of British tourist whose foot was bitten off by a shark in Australia on Tuesday”.

Who – an off duty nurse and paramedic and a British tourist
What – built a makeshift tourniquet
When – Tuesday 29th October 2019 (article published Wednesday 30th October 2019)
Where – Australia
Why – to save the life of the British tourist

This should conclude your lead paragraph and have your readers engaged and interested to learn more about the news. Resist the temptation to include additional details about the event as they have no place here. Structure is everything and you wouldn’t want to mess up the flow of the overall piece.

4. Explanation/discussion

A good place to start when writing the paragraph that follows your lead is to jump into the shoes of your readers and think about what they might want to know next. What are the factors that seem obscure, or most fascinating and is there scope to delve into more explanatory detail to put it into the wider context?

To do this well, the writer must have access to the answers to these questions.

Expanding on the details of your 5 Ws is all about providing in-depth coverage on all the important aspects of your news. Here, you should reflect on your first-hand information. Add relevant background information that explores the wider context. In other words, consider whether this story has implications on anything else.

Include supporting evidence in this section. This can take the form of quotations from people involved or opinions of industry experts. Referring to credible sources in your news article will add value to the information you publish and help to validate your news.

Ensure that the use of your quotations add value and are informative. There is little use in providing a quote that doesn’t shed light on new information. If the point has been made clear in your lead paragraph – there is no need to repeat it here.

For example, “An off duty nurse saved the life of a British tourist’, said Police Chief John Adams.” This quote tells the reader what they already know as this is the information stated in the lead.

Rather, “It was a long way back to shore and if he continued to bleed that much all the way back I’m not sure he’d have made it” – said Emma Andersson, off duty nurse.’ The inclusion of this quote gives a deeper insight into the severity of the incident and adds value to the article.

5. Additional information

This space is reserved for information of less relevance. For example, if the news article is too long, get the main points down in the preceding paragraphs and then make a note of the trivial details. This part can also include information about similar events or facts that somewhat relate to the news story.

What makes a news article so powerful

The ultimate aim of a news article is to relay information in a specific way that is entertaining, informative, easily digestible and factual . For a news article to be effective, it should incorporate a range of writing strategies to help it along. It should be:

Active not passive

Writing in the active tense creates a more personal link between the copy and the reader. It’s more conversational and has been found to engage the audience more. It also requires fewer words, so shorter and snappier sentences can be formed.

For example “A British tourist’s life was saved by an off duty nurse” is longer and less colloquial than “An off duty nurse saved a British tourists’ life”. The latter is easily understood, more conversational and reads well.

Positive, not negative

Whilst it is true that certain publications might use language to swing the sentiment of their copy, news should give the reader the information they need to inform their own opinion . The best way to do this is to avoid being both negative or positive. A neutral tone reads well and draws attention to key issues.

It’s often more effective if your news article describes something that is actually happening rather than something that’s not. For example, rather than stating that “the government has decided not to introduce the planned tuition funding for university students this academic year” a more palatable account of the event would be “the government has abandoned plans to fund university tuition this academic year”.

Quote accurately

We now know that the use of quotations belongs in your explanatory paragraph. They validate what you’ve said and inject emotion and sentiment to your copy. But what makes a good quote? And how and when are they useful?

Writers should be able to differentiate between effective and ineffective quotes. They should also appreciate that a poorly selected quote placed in an inappropriate paragraph has the power to kill the article.

Consider who you are quoting. Is their opinion of interest to your readers? Quotes that are too long can grind on your reader’s attention. Especially if they are from bureaucrats, local politicians or generally just boring people with nothing significant to say. Rather, the shorter and snappier the quote, the better. Bald facts, personal experiences or professional opinions can add character and depth to the facts you’ve already laid out.

Direct quotes provide actuality. And Actuality provides your article with validation. Speeches and reports are a great source of quotes by people that matter to your story. Often such reports and transcripts can be long and tiresome documents. Great journalistic skill is to be able to find a usable quote and shorten it to make it more comprehensible. Second to this skill is to know precisely when the actual words used by a person should be quoted in full.

Remember, people ‘say’ things when they speak. They don’t “exclaim, interject, assert or opine”. Therefore, always use the word “said” when attributing a quote. For example, “three arrests were made on the scene” said PC Plum.

Sound use of adjectives

The golden rule here is that adjectives should not raise questions in the reader’s mind, rather they should answer them. Naturally, an adjective raises further questions. For example:

‘Tall’ – how tall?
‘Delightful’ – according to whom?
‘Massive’ – relative to what?

Unless followed by further information, adjectives can be subjective. However, this isn’t always bad. If they contribute to the relevance of the story, keep them. Just be sure to ponder each one as to whether they raise more questions in the reader’s mind.

Lastly, it’s always better to approach news-style writing directly and specifically. Use words like ‘gold, glitter, silver,’ instead of ‘bright and sparkly’. Being specific isn’t dull or boring. It allows readers’ to follow the article with a more accurate understanding of the news. Vagueness does not.

No Jargon or abbreviations

Those working in an organisation or specific industry will often take for granted the fact they’re surrounded by jargon. It’s a convenient and efficient way to communicate with those who also understand it. These terms become somewhat of a secret language that acts to exclude those on the outside. This must be assumed at all times when writing news. There’s no telling whether an article on a new medical breakthrough will be read solely by medical practitioners and scientists. In fact, it almost certainly won’t be.

If readers feel lost in your article or have to look elsewhere for explanations and definitions of acronyms and abbreviations, it’s unlikely they’ll return. The rule here is to avoid them or explain them.

Be cautious with puns and cliches

Over and over you hear them and rarely do they evoke any positive response; cliches have no place in your news article. Yet, as for puns, lots of headline writers find these neat little linguistic phrases irresistible.

The problem is, they can be just as exclusive as unrecognisable jargon. References to the past that are well received by readers over 55 years old, means risking a large portion of readers being left out.

Is there a tasteful and refined way to use puns, cliches or metaphors ? Yes, but one always bears the risk of some readers not understanding and abandoning the article altogether. Take the following example:

The Sun’s headline “Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious” echoing Liverpool’s earlier “Super Cally goes ballistic, QPR atrocious”.

In all fairness, both are great puns and will have had most readers humming the Mary Poppins anthem all afternoon. But to fully appreciate this play on words, it helps to know that ‘Cally’ is the former footballer, Ian Callaghan and ‘Caley’ is the team Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Those with no interest or knowledge of football would have been immediately excluded from this article. However, given the fact that the article was clearly aimed at football enthusiasts or at least, fans, the aim was never to produce an all-inclusive article in the first place.

Write in plain English (make it easily digestible)

Articles written in plain English are easy to digest. This is especially important what discussing complex or technological news. Most readers won’t have the time to decipher cryptic or overly elaborate writing styles whilst keeping up with the news story being told.

Clear and unambiguous language, without technical or complex terms, should be used throughout. As the amount of news we consume each day has increased with the internet, mobile devices and push notifications, it is important to keep things simple. We now have the pleasure and task of retaining more news than ever before. This is easier to do when the news we consume is clear, succinct and written in plain English.

Be timely and up to date

News gets old fast. Today’s news is tomorrow’s history. So, timeliness in the news industry is imperative to its success. Similarly to freshly baked goods – news should be served fresh. Once it’s old and stale, nobody’s interested in it. Don’t, however, take the risk of serving it before it’s ready.

There is great skill attached to being a timely journalist. Capabilities must range from gathering research in good time, to writing content at speed and editing accurately under pressure. There are a few things you can do to help stay on top of the latest affairs and find time to write.

First, a conscious effort to stay up to date with news on all levels is necessary. That is international affairs, governmental, regional and local levels. You should have a solid awareness of ongoing issues and debates across all mediums. For example, If there’ve been developments on ongoing peace treaties, you should be able to pick up the news story as it is – without the need to revise the entire story.

It’s likely that you’ll be under the pressure of several tight deadlines. Don’t just keep them in mind, write them down. Keeping a content calendar is an effective way to organise your time and make sure you’re hitting all deadlines accordingly. Whether it’s your phone calendar or an actual deadline diary, a visual representation of time can help you distribute tasks and stick to a schedule.

Always be available when a press release comes your way. If you’re not there to cover the story, someone else will. Organise a backup just in case you’re unavailable to make sure all necessary information reaches you in emergency situations. Having such a plan in place can save time when it comes to researching and writing news articles. The writing process becomes easier when all the material is at hand.

Make it entertaining

A good news article will entertain its readers. To do so, the article should contain some human interest. In general, it’s been found that people are interested in the lives of other people. An article that appeals to the voyeuristic part of human nature is immediately entertaining.

For example, a flood in an empty building doesn’t have nearly as much human interest as a flood in a building full of people and belongings. Sad, but true. Simply because we identify with each other, we are interested in reading about each other too.

If your story has an interesting or relatable person at the heart of it, it should fuel your article . Tug at the emotional strings of your readers and make a connection between them and your story. Look hard enough, and you’ll find human interest everywhere. Writing a business article about a new project manager with a passion for bringing tropical fruit flavours to toothpaste? There’s human interest here. We all use toothpaste – whilst some will be onboard with this idea, others will scoff and remain faithful to their dependable mint flavoured paste.

Prepare to tap into your inner literary comic. If the story you’re working on is funny, don’t hold back. Just as most journalists enjoy working on a story that hits their ‘quirky button’, most readers will be more inclined to read a story that plays on their humour strings.

Fact check everything

‘Fake news’ has become a familiar term, especially for journalists. Unverified facts and misleading claims have blurred the line between journalism and other content creation. It’s now more important than ever to fact check everything .

A good PR tip is to avoid a reputation disaster rather than repair one. You do not want to fall into the category of fake news. This might drive away potential returning readers and significantly reduce readership.

Using statistics, figures and facts are a great way to add validity and actuality to your article. They lend themselves to originality and make your article more credible when used correctly. Without checking the authenticity of these facts, you risk delivering an article that is grounded in fiction.

News article writing tools

To hit the nail on the head and deliver a news article that is well researched, well written and well-received; take advantage of some online writing tools to help you along the way.

1. Grammarly

This free and comprehensive writing tool is practically everything you need to craft grammatically correct and error-free copy. Not only does it check your spelling and grammar, but punctuation too. Grammarly uses context-specific algorithms that work across different platforms to help make your content flow seamlessly throughout.

2. Headline Analyzer

Analyse your headlines for free and determine the Emotional Marketing Value score (EMV score). Headline analyzer analyses and scores your headlines based on the total number of EMV words it has. Headline Analyzer also tells you which emotion your headline most impacts, so you know whether you’re on the right track from the get-go. So, along with your score, you’ll find out which emotion your headline piques at, be it intellectual, empathetic or spiritual.

Writing for the web requires a distinctive set of skills than those required for print. The way readers use the online space and in particular, the search engines have changed the way they consume news. Ultimately, out of the millions of web pages, readers should be able to find yours.

Be mindful of the words you use in your article. Search engines assume that content that contains words or phrases that have or are likely to be searched by researchers, is more relevant content. As such, it bumps it up to higher-ranking positions.

You can easily find out which precise words have been in popular searches and which phrases you should incorporate into your article. Use Ahrefs Keywords Explorer tool to explore seed keywords, industry keywords, and generate keyword ideas.

You can also use Ahrefs Content Explorer to search for any keyword and get popular content that drives traffic.

4. Discussion forums

Online communities and discussion forums are a great source for journalists to broaden their network and keep up-to-date with the latest media news. Find useful tips and the latest news in the following groups:

Journalists on Facebook, contains more than 1.3 million fans and over 9,000 journalists. It’s one of the most established journalism communities online. You’ll find inspiration and a place to find and discuss breaking news.
LinkedIn for Journalists is a highly active community featuring a section dedicated to advice and discussion points for journalists. Take advantage of monthly free webinars that cover how to generate story leads, build sources and engage audiences.
/r/journalism on Reddit, opens the door to nearly 10,000 members, posting questions, advice, interesting news stories and professional opinions on recent and breaking news. Not only is it a source of news stories, but also a place to find an extremely diverse mix of opinions and story angles.

A structural combination of the essential components of a news article , as noted in the first section of this post, will put you in the right direction. Once you have your framework – made up of a working headline, lead, preliminary explanation and additional notes – you can begin to pack it with all the elements that bring a news article to life.

Turn to Ahrefs and online communities for inspiration and make use of writing and editing tools like Grammarly for the entire process. This will save you time editing (crucial in the news media world) and improve the quality of your article to get it to the top of those SERPs.

Remember, there’s always a human interest, you just have to find it. It’s this element that will determine the level of engagement your article stimulates. Just keep in mind, most people are either interested in how a news story will affect their own lives or how another person’s life is being affected.

By the end of the process, you should have a news article that is in good shape and ready to entertain, educate, inspire or inform your readers. The last thing to do but certainly no less crucial is to fact check everything. A sub-editor can be handy when it comes to catching typos and picking up grammatical errors, but fact-checking is primarily down to the writer.

News Article FAQ

[sc_fs_multi_faq headline-0=”h3″ question-0=”How long should a news article headline be?” answer-0=”Headlines that are between 5-12 words (up to 65 characters) are generally more effective.” image-0=”” headline-1=”h3″ question-1=”How long should a news article be?” answer-1=”The word count is unlimited. It all depends on the nature of your news article. However, as a general rule, Google needs at least 300 words of content to grasp the context of the page.” image-1=”” headline-2=”h3″ question-2=”How to cite a news article?” answer-2=”Generally, you would need to add the name of the source, the name of the author and a hyperlink to the original source.” image-2=”” headline-3=”h3″ question-3=”How to fact check a claim, statement or statistics?” answer-3=”The claim, statement or statistics must be verifiable by a credible source. Context plays a massive role in fact-checking, hence, simply taking citing figures may not qualify as proper fact-checking.” image-3=”” count=”4″ html=”true” css_class=””]

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How to write an article for media, newspaper, and magazine

What is an article in the newspaper?

Some would say that it is a dying art. With the availability of the Internet, millions of people can get the news at their fingertips, so why do we need the papers delivered to our doorstep now? Well, it is certainly true that the Internet has become a game-changer, but people are always required to be informed, and the newspaper has long served the need.

The written news may be changing, but it will always be important in our society. The rest of this lesson discusses how to write an article in the style of a physical newspaper.

Well, a news article discusses the current recent news of common interest (ie daily newspaper) or a specific topic (ie political or business news magazines, club newspapers, or technology news websites). A news article may include eyewitness accounts of the incident.

How do you write a newspaper article?

The best way to structure a newspaper article is to first write an outline. Review your research and notes. Then jot down the ideas for the following six sections. Remember, this is just a foundation on which you can build your story.

How do you write a news article headline?

Headline: This is a brief, noticeable statement about the incident. The title of your article should be attractive and up to the point. You should puncture your title using Associated Press style guidelines, which specify, for example, that the first word is capitalized, but, unlike other heading styles, the words after the first word (except for proper nouns) are usually But do not occur. Numbers are not spelt. Other members of the publishing staff often write headlines, but this will help focus your thoughts and perhaps save those other employees for some time.

What is the newspaper byline?

Byline: Byline is the author’s name in this case – your name. It tells who wrote the story.

What is a newspaper byline?

Lead: It is also called Lead paragraph that has all the who, what, when, where, why and how. The author needs to find answers to these questions and write to them, the opening sentence of the article. The lead is usually the first paragraph and is written to provide a preview of the entire story. It contains a summary of the story and contains many basic facts. The lead will help readers decide if they want to read the rest of the story, or if they are satisfied knowing these details.

What is the newspaper storyline?

Storyline: Once you set the stage with a good lead, follow a well-written story that includes facts from your research and quotes from people you interviewed. Have done The article should not have your opinion. Detail any events in chronological order. Use active voice – not passive voice – when possible and write in clear, short, direct sentences.

In a news article, you usually place the most important information in the opening paragraph and follow up with supporting information, enough to ensure that the reader sees the important details first and that you hope, to continue until the end Is ready from.

Source: Keep your sources with information and citations that they do not provide, at the bottom of each page or the end of the story, as you would for an academic paper.

Your conclusion can be your final information, summary or carefully chosen quote to leave the reader with a strong sense of your information.

What are the 5 parts of a newspaper article?

Who – Who was involved?

What – What happened?

Where – Where did it happen?

Why – Why it happened?

When – When did it happen?

How – How it happened?

How do I find newspaper articles?

Now how will you know where to submit the article? Talk to the editor yourself and write and submit the article as per your need.

what are the requirement for submission of article in newspaper.

mr. gitesh sharmaze, does a news paper or a magazine\'s article should have a definite purpose intended by a caliber-ed author. haa yee bath tho hai k...

hindi news tak is one of the best hindi news website which provides latest breaking news in hindi, in it you can get or read latest politics news, ent...

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How to Write a Newspaper Article?

Writing a newspaper article is unlike writing other informative articles because a news article delivers content in a particular way. It’s essential to present information within a limited word count and to do so in a way that answers the five “W’s”: Who, What, Where, When, and Why.

Six parts of a newspaper article, how to write a newspaper article for school, how to write a newspaper article about an event, how to make a newspaper article in a short timeline, how to write a news article overnight, how to get a newspaper to write an article about you.

This article will show you how to write a newspaper article for any school level. Learning this important skill may pave the way for a career in journalism, so we’re going to address several questions we get from students who are looking to learn how to write a good newspaper article that presents information clearly and concisely.

Before we jump into how to write a newspaper article it’s important to identify the 6 parts that make up the article. Following this newspaper article format ensures that you incorporate all of the necessary components that make for a great article:

Headline – This succinctly tells the reader exactly what the news story is about in a single phrase or sentence (e.g., Cavs Expected to Land #1 Pick ).
Sub-Title – This supports the headline by expanding on the subject in one or two sentences (e.g., The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to trade up with Golden State Warriors to pick #1 in next year’s draft ).
Byline – This line tells the reader who wrote the story and may provide some background information (e.g., John Smith – 20+ Years of Covering Cleveland Sports ).
Lead – The opening paragraph should tell all of the most important facts, addressing the who, what, where, when, and why).
Body – This constitutes the majority of the article, containing more information on a piece of news.
Quotes – These important because they provide direct sources for information from eyewitness, experts, and other people relevant to the news story.

Students of all levels want that need to learn how do you write a newspaper article find this simple 3-step process to be the most helpful. You can apply this to any type of article with just a few adjustments. Read this process carefully before starting on your assignment to ensure you understand it. This will prevent you from making mistakes and having to start over.

Research your topic as much as possible before you get started. For your persuasive article to be viewed as credible, you must know your topic inside and out. Start by answering the 5 W’s we mentioned earlier. It’s advised you have a dedicated notebook or note cards to gather all of the related facts about the story.
Next, you need to organize your facts . A great way of doing so is to break up your facts into three categories: 1) facts that must be included, 2) facts that are interesting but not essential, and 3) facts that are related but are not important to the main purpose. You want to be as detailed as possible when listing your facts. You can always cut out excess information when you start writing, reviewing, and editing the article.
Create an outline to guide your writing. Many students want to learn how to write a newspaper article example so that they have a template they can keep referring to as they write more pieces. This is a great idea but it is much easier to find a few stories of similar style and length and then to build a good outline following the professionals.
There are six parts to any news article which we have already mentioned. Leave the header, sub-header, and byline until the end. Start with the lead . This is the opening paragraph that provides all of the important details the reader must know to understand the rest of the article.
After listing all of the most important factual information in the opening paragraph, follow up with additional content in the article’s body. There is no set amount of sentences or the number of paragraphs for the article. This will be determined by the specified word count which will vary from assignment to assignment. Try to keep your paragraphs short for improved readability.
Finally, conclude your article with a strong sticking point that rewards the reader for sticking with you to the end. You can close by restating the opening statement or by giving some idea about anticipated future developments. You can also give the reader information for a call to action (e.g., a phone number or an address) he or she may be interested in knowing about.
The reviewing, editing, and proofreading exercises for a newspaper article are the same as for any other writing assignment. Try doing each of these exercises separately, giving yourself plenty of time in between to ensure that you always approach the writing with renewed vigor and a fresh perspective. If you use a newspaper article generator, make sure you double-check grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Even the most sophisticated electronic programs can make some costly mistakes that could keep your piece from being published.

Many students get started learning how to write a newspaper article based on an event. This could be something planned for the school or the community. Students can report on the event before it occurs or can report on the event after it takes place. In both cases, the above 3-step process can be used to cover all the important details that a reader would like to know about. Time-management is very important since the event in question will occur at a specific date and time, so students must be fully prepared.

What we mean by a short timeline is having to write a news story within a couple of days. This is the situation most journalists find themselves in. They are often given a story to research and report on and are required to submit a polished article to be published online or in print while the story is still fresh. You can follow the same 3-step process discussed above which should come naturally with plenty of dedicated practice.

If you need to learn how to write an article for a newspaper overnight (which is common situation journalists face when there is breaking news), you follow the same steps we’ve covered above but cut some corners to get the article to the publisher early in the morning. Generally, you can combine the reviewing, editing, and proofreading exercises or you can minimize the time you spend in between each of these to just a few minutes.

The fastest and easiest way to get a newspaper to write a story about you is to be involved in an important event or a situation that generates plenty of interest locally or nationally. Several local newspapers do human interest stories as well. You simply need to have a good story to tell. Perhaps you can discuss your involvement with the community or you can explain a unique story that inspires others. Most of the time newspapers will come to you, but you can also submit your ideas for an interview.

If you need more assistance on writing a persuasive news article or any other type of writing, our academic experts are ready to help. We can show you how to write a newspaper article template or an outline. We can review, edit, and write an article on any piece of news you have. Just email, call or chat with one of our friendly customer support staff members and he or she will connect you with a writing expert.

How to Write a ‘How-To’: A Step-by-Step Guide to Our Contest

We walk you through how to brainstorm a topic, interview an expert and write your own original “How to ….”

An illustration of a question mark over two conversation bubbles with drops of sweat dripping off.

By Natalie Proulx and Katherine Schulten

“If you want to know how to do something, don’t just search the internet,” advises Malia Wollan , the longtime writer of Tip , a how-to column that ran weekly in The New York Times Magazine for seven years. “Instead, find a person who already knows how and ask them.”

That’s the challenge we are posing to students in “How to … ,” our new informational writing contest for teenagers : Interview an expert about (almost) any skill and then write an engaging and informative essay explaining it to readers.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to do that, with advice from the how-to expert herself, Ms. Wollan. You’ll start by getting familiar with the Tip format. Then you’ll brainstorm a topic for your own piece, find and interview an expert and, finally, put it all together.

When you’re ready, you can submit your completed how-to essay to our contest , which is accepting submissions through Feb. 14.

A step-by-step guide:

1. read some “tip” articles to understand the form., 2. look more closely at one piece., 3. brainstorm your topic., 4. find an expert., 5. conduct the interview., 6. put it all together..

What does a how-to essay look like? There are, of course, many ways to write one. For instance, you may have consulted wikiHow in the past, whether to learn how to make a realistic New Year’s resolution , fold a fitted sheet , reheat rice or do one of the many, many other things the site can teach you.

But since the inspiration for our contest comes from the Tip column in The Times, spending some time examining how it works is the logical first step in constructing your own.

Start by reading any three Tip articles of your choice.

If you don’t have a Times subscription, this guide can help. If you click on any of the 40-plus Tip topics we link here, you can access them for free, as long as you open them directly from this page. (Note to teachers: If your class does have a Times subscription and you are working from the column itself , be aware that some articles may not be appropriate. Please preview before sharing.)

Here are some options to help you choose:

Maybe you’re interested in learning a physical skill, such as how to build a sand castle , skip a stone , do the splits , tackle someone , spot a shooting star , crack a safe or find a four-leaf clover .

Or maybe you would rather up your emotional intelligence by, say, learning how to laugh at yourself , let your mind wander , recover from being ghosted , build an intentional community , be less fearful of the dark or forgive .

Perhaps you want to know how to do something practical, like break in boots , fix a brake light , mend a pair of jeans , use emojis , put out a grease fire , read faster , survive an avalanche , ask for an extension or find a lost hamster .

Or maybe you’d rather choose something offbeat, like how to start a family band , talk to dogs , communicate through facial expressions , make a love potion , build a fort , enjoy snowflakes , wash your hair in space or race pigeons .

After you’ve read three, answer these questions:

What do you notice about the structure, organization and language of a Tip column?

What predictable elements can readers expect to find in every edition?

If you did the activity above, you might have noticed some of these elements:

Tip articles are short: Each column is about 400 words and around four paragraphs long. Our challenge asks you to write something of about the same length.

The topics are usually ultra-specific: The skills described might be physical ( how to skip a stone ) or emotional ( how to forgive ), serious ( how to suture a wound ) or offbeat ( how to befriend an eagle ), but they are always small enough that they can be fully explained within the limited word count.

Each article features a single expert source: You probably noticed that each column begins and ends with a quote from an expert on the topic and that the same expert gives background and advice throughout the piece. For this contest, we are not requiring you to follow that same format, but we are asking you to find and interview an expert to inform your essay. And if you’d like to follow that format, you may.

The advice is practical, but the pieces are engaging to read. Each includes concrete tips for how to accomplish a task, but it’s never just a boring list of steps. The writer also provides context for the skill so that readers understand how and why they might use it in their own lives. And the quotes Ms. Wollan chooses from her interviews are often colorful or full of voice, as you can see in this piece about how to appreciate spiders .

They are written to the reader: The writer addresses the reader as “you,” and often uses the imperative to craft sentences that tell the reader what (or what not) to do.

Now let’s break it down even further. Choose one Tip article to read — either one you already read in Step 1 or a new one — and then respond to the following questions:

Whom does the writer quote in the piece? Why do you think the author chose this person? What makes him or her an expert in this skill? Do you think this person was a good source of information?

Look closely at when the author chooses to quote the expert and when she paraphrases the information that person gave. What is the difference? Why do you think she chose to quote the lines she did? Give some examples from the piece to explain your reasoning.

You may have been taught in school to cite your sources by using footnotes or by putting them in parentheses after you’ve referenced the information. That’s not how journalists do it, yet they still make their sources clear. Where do you see this in the piece you read? What punctuation or wording does the author use to tell us where certain facts and details come from?

Now let’s look at how the author balances explaining how to acquire a skill and showing why it’s needed: Underline or highlight in one color the lines in the piece that tell readers how to accomplish the task, and use another color to highlight lines that give context. What do you notice about the difference in language? What do you notice about the way these pieces of information are woven together throughout?

After reading this, do you feel confident that you could accomplish the task on your own? What tips, if any, did the expert share that surprised you?

When, where and for what purpose might you use this skill in your own life? What lines help readers see how this skill might be relevant to their lives?

What else do you admire about this piece, whether it’s the topic covered, the way it’s written or anything else?

Now that you better understand how to write a how-to, it’s your turn to write one!

First, of course, you must find a topic. For a Times Insider article about how the Tip column is made , Ms. Wollan and her editor, Dean Robinson, describe how they found their ideas:

She often gets suggestions. Many people ask her to write about navigating interpersonal relationships; Ms. Wollan acquiesced in the case of a highly-requested Tip on how to break up with a therapist. She thinks people come to her because “that stuff is hard to navigate and it’s also hard to Google.” Some of the more recognizable scenarios featured in Tip columns come from Ms. Wollan’s own life. She credits being a mother as the inspiration for columns on delivering babies , singing lullabies and apologizing to children . Mr. Robinson occasionally comes across ideas in his life, too. He suggested a piece on how to find a hamster in your house, he said, “because we’ve lost some hamsters.”

Brainstorm as many possible topics as you can for your how-to piece. Here are some ways to start:

Respond to our related Student Opinion forum . We pose 10 questions designed to help you brainstorm about what you’d like to learn to do, and what you already do well. We hope you’ll not only provide your own answers, but also scroll through the answers of others.

Ask for suggestions. What skills have your friends, family and neighbors always wanted to learn? What do they already consider themselves experts on? Keep a running list.

Get inspiration from the Tip column . As you scroll through the column, which headlines stand out to you? Could you take on a similar topic in a different way? Do any of them inspire other ideas for you?

Work with your class to compile as long a list as you can. After you’ve tried the three ideas above, come to class with your list, then share. Your ideas might spark those of others — and when it’s time to find experts, your classmates may have contacts they can share.

Once you’ve come up with as many ideas as you can, choose one for your piece and refine it until it is the right size for a 400-word piece.

These questions can help:

Which of the topics that you listed gets you most excited? Why?

For which do you think you could realistically find an expert to interview? (More on that in the next step.)

Which are already specific enough that you could thoroughly explain them in 400 words or fewer?

Which are big, but could be broken down? For instance, if you chose “learn to cook,” make a list of specific skills within that larger goal. Maybe you’d like to learn how to chop an onion, bake chocolate chip cookies, or build a healthy meal from the noodles in a ramen packet.

Which topics do you think might be most interesting to a general audience? Which feel especially unique, helpful or unexpected?

Maybe you chose your topic because you know someone who is already an expert at that task or skill. But even if you have, read through this step, because it might help you find someone even more suitable or interesting.

Here is how Ms. Wollan says she found experts for her column:

Ms. Wollan finds interview subjects by “just poking around” online and on the phone. Sometimes she has to talk to a few people before reaching the source she will feature in the column. She interviews most of her subjects by phone for about 45 minutes, sometimes longer. “I love talking to people who just maybe don’t care so much about being an expert,” Ms. Wollan said. Some of her favorite interviews have been with children and people in their 80s, who are often “looser and more generous with their advice.”

Who could be an expert on your topic? At minimum, it should be someone who is knowledgeable enough about your subject that your readers will trust his or her advice.

Some choices might be easy. For example, for her column on how to choose a karaoke song , Ms. Wollan interviewed a world karaoke champion; for her piece on how to recommend a book , she interviewed a librarian; and for her article on how to suture a wound , she interviewed a doctor.

Other choices, however, may be less obvious. For a column on how to breathe , Ms. Wollan interviewed a clarinet player; for one on how to slice a pie , she interviewed a restaurant owner; and for one on how to say goodbye , she interviewed a child-care worker who had bid farewell to many children during her career.

Brainstorm as many potential experts for your piece as you can and then choose one as the subject of your piece.

Your expert doesn’t have to be a world champion or the national head of an organization to have expertise. This person can be anyone with specialized knowledge of a field or topic. For example, if you were writing a piece on how to start bird-watching, you could interview someone who works at a local park or zoo, someone from a birding group in your town or a bird-watcher you know personally, such as a neighbor or teacher.

Like Ms. Wollan, you might start by “poking around online” for potential subjects. And you may have to talk to a few people before you decide on the person you want to feature in your piece.

If you are doing this assignment with classmates, now might be a good time to pool resources. Share your topics, and find out who might know someone with expertise in those areas. Remember that you are not allowed to interview your relatives — but you can suggest your woodworker grandma or your skateboarder cousin to someone who is writing about those topics.

When you reach out to people, keep in mind this advice from Corey Kilgannon, a New York Times reporter who has interviewed people for profiles and who was a guest on a Learning Network webinar about profile writing :

Tell the person what your goal is and where you’re coming from — that you’re writing a profile for a school assignment or a contest or a newspaper or whatever. Be straight with the person you’re interviewing. Some people might be a little nervous or shy about how this is going to turn out, or how they’re going to look. So tell them what it’s for, how long it’s going to be, that there will be photos, or whatever you can.

Once you’ve found the expert for your piece, it’s time to conduct your interview.

In “ The Art of Learning to Do Things ,” Ms. Wollan offers excellent advice that everyone participating in our challenge should take to heart:

If you want to know how to do something, don’t just search the internet. Instead, find a person who already knows how and ask them. At first, they’ll give you a hurried, broad-strokes kind of answer, assuming that you’re uninterested in all the procedural details. But of course that’s precisely what you’re after! Ask for a slowed-down, step-by-step guide through the minutiae of the thing. For seven years, I did exactly that — I called a stranger and asked that person to describe how to do a specific task or skill.

That might sound like a straightforward task, but you should come up with some questions — on your own or with your class — before you talk to your expert.

These might include questions like:

If you were to explain how to do this skill or task to someone who had never done it before, what advice would you give?

What are some common errors that those first learning this skill or trying this task often make? How can they be avoided?

What is your background in this skill? How did you get started with it? How did you learn how to do it?

When or why might a person have to use this skill? What are the benefits of knowing it?

You might also return to some of the Tip articles you read at the beginning of this lesson. Read them closely and see if you can guess what questions the writer may have asked to get the specific quotes and information the expert shared in the piece. Which of these questions might be helpful for your own interview?

Remember that interviewing is an art — and Times journalists can offer you advice.

In addition to asking good questions, it’s also your job as a journalist to make the interviewee feel comfortable, to listen carefully, to ask follow-up questions and to clarify that you have accurate information.

We have written our own extensive how-to on interviewing, filled with tips from Times journalists. Steps 3, 4 and 5 in this lesson will be especially helpful. Created for a contest we ran in 2022, the guide can walk you through preparing and practicing for an interview; keeping the conversation going while conducting it; and shaping the material into a useful piece when you’re done.

Finally, it’s time to write your piece. If you are submitting to our how-to writing contest, keep in mind that your essay must be 400 words or fewer.

Remember, too, that we are inviting you to take inspiration from the Tip column, but that you don’t have to copy its form and structure exactly — unless you’d like to. Most important, though, is to find a way to write what you want in a way that sounds and feels like you.

That said, there are a few key elements that are important to include, which can be found in our contest rubric . Below, we share some examples from the Tip column to illustrate these elements.

Introduce your expert source.

The person you interviewed will be the main source of information for your piece. Ask yourself: How will my readers know this person is an expert in the skill or task? What information should I include about this person to make my readers feel that they can trust the person’s knowledge and advice?

Here is how Ms. Wollan introduces her expert in “ How to Skip a Stone ”:

“Throw at a 20-degree angle,” says Lydéric Bocquet, a physics professor at École Normale Supérieure in Paris.

Later, she further explains Mr. Bocquet’s expertise:

Bocquet’s quest to understand how this happens — how a solid object can skim along water without immediately sinking — began more than a decade ago, while he was skipping stones on the Tarn River in southern France with his young son. “He turns to me,” Bocquet says, “and asks, ‘Why does the stone bounce on the water?’” To answer that question satisfactorily, Bocquet and his colleagues built a mechanical stone skipper and analyzed the angle of each toss using high-speed video. They also created a set of mathematical equations to predict the number of skips.

How do you know Bocquet is an expert in skipping stones? Do you, as the reader, trust him as an expert on this topic? Why or why not?

Explain how to do the task or skill.

The heart of your piece is, of course, your explanation. You might start by making a list of steps that your expert source shared and then paring it down to the most essential information.

Ask yourself:

What instructions are crucial to the reader’s understanding of how to accomplish this skill or task?

What did the expert share that I found surprising or may not have thought of?

What details can I leave out, either because they are not very interesting or because they are less important?

What sequence for the steps make the most sense for my readers?

Consider the first paragraph from “ How to Build a Sand Castle ”:

“Use your architect mind,” says Sudarsan Pattnaik, an award-winning sand sculptor from Puri, a seaside city in India. If you’re building from memory, first envision your castle. For Pattnaik, who is 42, that means well-known Hindu or Muslim sites. “I have made so many Taj Mahals,” he says. Build with fine-grained sand already wetted by an outgoing tide. “Dry sand is too, too difficult,” Pattnaik says. Bring tools: hand shovels, buckets with the bottoms cut off and squirt bottles. Tamp wet sand into your bucket molds, setting one layer and then the next, like bricks. Sculpt architectural details from the top of the mound down. Bring reference photographs if you’re aiming for realism.

See if you can identify all the steps to making a sand castle that the writer shares in this paragraph. What do you notice about the order? What, if anything, do you think the writer might have left out, and why do you think she made that choice? What tips did you find most surprising? What do these lines add to the piece?

Notice also the grammatical structure Ms. Wollan uses: “Build with fine-grained sand”; “bring tools”; “tamp wet sand into your bucket molds”; and so on. This is called the imperative mood and is often used when telling others how to do something.

Include at least one quote.

If you are submitting to our contest, you need to include a minimum of one direct quote from the expert. Ask yourself: What quotes from my interview are so interesting, important, surprising, informative or colorful that I need to find a way to fit them in?

Look at “ How to Do the Splits ,” in which Ms. Wollan interviewed Kendrick Young, a professional sumo wrestler:

Start by stretching every day after you get out of the shower (heat increases muscle and ligament flexibility). Wear comfortable, stretchy attire. “Definitely don’t try to do this in jeans,” Young says. Sit with your legs spread as wide as you can. Once you can do that without hunching, begin to lean toward the ground, exhaling as you go. “You don’t want to be bending over a big pocket of air in your lungs,” Young says. It might help to have someone push down on your midback (historically, sumo wrestlers often stood on one another’s backs to force the body to the floor).

Why do you think the writer chose to include these two specific quotes in the piece, while paraphrasing (or writing in her own words) the rest of what Young said? What additional context did the writer provide to help us understand the purpose and relevance of these quotations?

Provide a purpose for reading.

Remember that a how-to essay is not just a list of steps; your readers should also understand how this topic might be relevant to their lives. Ask yourself: Why should a reader care about this skill or task? Where, when or for what reasons might someone want or need to do it?

Consider the last paragraph in “ How to Start a Family Band ”:

To be in a family band, you have to be prepared to spend a lot of time together, actively working on cohesion. Music can act as a kind of binding agent. When they’re not in quarantine, the Haim sisters see, or at least talk to, each other every day. “Instead of camping as kids, or going hiking, it was like, ‘OK, we’re going to practice a few songs,’” Danielle says. “It was definitely my parents’ ploy to spend more time with us.”

What reason does the writer provide for why a reader might want to try this activity? What additional background does she share from the expert, Danielle Haim, to help explain why a family — even one that might not be musical — may want to start a band together?

Submit your final piece.

Once you’ve written and edited your essay, give it a title (“How to…”) and submit it to our contest by Feb. 14. We can’t wait to learn the skills you’ll teach us!

Natalie Proulx joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2017 after working as an English language arts teacher and curriculum writer. More about Natalie Proulx

Katherine Schulten has been a Learning Network editor since 2006. Before that, she spent 19 years in New York City public schools as an English teacher, school-newspaper adviser and literacy coach. More about Katherine Schulten

Mixo thrives writing in his mother tongue

Author and poet, mixo machebe from ghandlanani village in giyani, says he writes in xitsonga because he wants to preserve his heritage..

He released his first publication, Xiondle, a book of poems, in 2021, and in 2023 he released a novel, Ndzhombo, which won an award from Unisa. He has recently released a children’s book, Tintiho ta mina. He says when he was doing his master’s degree in translation at the University of the Witwatersrand, he struggled to get Xitsonga material; it encouraged him to write in the vernacular.

“I saw a gap and a need to write in my mother tongue because there are not enough Xitsonga authors. “Writing in my language allows me to preserve my language and give our people an opportunity to be represented in literature.” Recently his work was recognised at the PanSALB Multilingualism Awards in Durban, where he attained third position in the categories of language and literature, and language activism in Xitsonga.

Also read: Praise singer wins second spot in Golden Shield Awards

He told the Herald that the win encouraged him to write more. “I’m grateful and feel blessed to be recognised for my work and I will continue writing,” he says.

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Money blog: Streaming platform copies Netflix in crackdown on password-sharing

We've enlisted expert help to investigate whether it's more difficult to secure a mortgage if you're self-employed. Read this and more in the Money blog, your place for personal finance news. Leave a comment on stories we've covered, or a question for our experts, in the form below.

Friday 5 April 2024 19:00, UK

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Ask a question or make a comment

Senior doctors in England have voted to accept an improved government pay deal, bringing to an end the year-long dispute which had led to strike action.

The British Medical Association (BMA), a trade union which has been representing the consultants, put the offer on pay and conditions to its members, with 83% voting in favour.

The pay deal includes changes to the review body on doctors' and dentists' remuneration (DDRB) and a 2.85% (£3,000) uplift for those who have been senior doctors for four to seven years, said the BMA.

The offer is in addition to the 6% awarded during the DDRB process last summer.

You can read more here ...

Administrators to The Body Shop are drawing up plans to salvage a future for one of Britain’s best-known high street brands.

Insolvency practitioners at FRP Advisory have outlined proposals to launch a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that would see The Body Shop entering talks with landlords about rent cuts, as well as other creditors, Sky News has learnt.

According to proposals sent to The Body Shop's creditors on Friday morning, which lay bare the depths of the financial problems inherited by the investor which bought the company less than four months ago, a CVA would "allow the company to be rescued and exit from administration".

This would see it continuing to trade under the ownership of Aurelius, the investment firm which took control of it at the start of the year.

Read more in our City editor Mark Kleinman's full story .

The crisis enveloping Thames Water has deepened after its holding company announced it had been unable to meet a debt repayment.

Kemble Water said it missed an interest payment that was due on Tuesday.

The firm said it had asked its lenders to take no immediate action so as to "provide a stable platform while all options are explored".

The announcement paves the way for a potential restructuring of Thames Water, which serves nearly a quarter of Britain's population.

You can read more about that here .

The UK's largest specialist wine retailer, Majestic, has completed a rescue deal to buy Vagabond from administration.

On Friday, Majestic confirmed it had completed the acquisition of the wine bar chain, which will secure the future of nine Vagabond venues and 171 workers.

The bar firm's "underperforming" site in Canary Wharf has not been bought and will be closed.

Vagabond's two sites at Gatwick Airport are also not included in the deal.

The average UK house price fell by approximately £2,900 month on month in March, according to Halifax.

The typical property value fell by 1%, having risen 0.3% in February.

Average property prices landed at £288,430, said Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages.

"That a monthly fall should occur following five consecutive months of growth is not entirely unexpected, particularly in view of the reset the market has been going through since interest rates began to rise sharply in 2022.

"Despite this, house prices have shown surprising resilience in the face of significantly higher borrowing costs."

Prices remain almost £50,000 above pre-pandemic levels, she added.

Nicky Stevenson, managing director at estate agent group Fine & Country, said: "An increasingly busy property market helped to prop up prices on an annual basis at the beginning of spring, but the monthly fall shows there is still some turbulence."

Once an interest rate cut appears on the horizon, demand should "push UK prices 3% higher this year", said Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at estate agent Knight Frank.

British billionaire Joe Lewis has avoided a jail sentence after admitting he orchestrated an insider trading scheme that helped those around him make millions.

The former Tottenham Hotspur owner, who lives in the Bahamas, tipped off his girlfriend, friends, and two of his private pilots with inside information on four publicly-traded companies, which they used to get rich, prosecutors in New York said.

In January, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud, admitting in court he had known he was breaking the law.

Freelance Writing Jobs

Writing contests, make money writing, hottest topics, writing for local news outlets.

A very easy way for writers living in rural areas to increase their monthly income is to act as a local correspondent for different social media content websites. Social media content sites, like Patch.com , Examiner.com , and SkyWord.com , hire writers to report on local events.

What are the guidelines?

The hot topics for these sites include: general interest articles, local happenings, personals, celebrity interviews, accounts of fires, railroad wrecks, robberies, murders, suicides, court affairs, business failures, damage by storms to property, sickness, death, funeral ceremonies — or any anything that has a particle of news in it.

These blog posts need not be long; from 300 to 500 words is about the average length, but of course, word length increases according to your story’s importance.

I am at present writing for two social media content sites, as well as three news websites that my county newspapers run as part of their newspaper print coverage. Besides my other literary work, and my work in the office during the day, I find that writing for these local news outlets, online and offline, helps pay the bills at the end of the month.

Besides writing for websites that hire writers to report local news, you can still find thriving local, county and state newspapers that outsource work to writers to write short columns of interest. Social media content sites, such as the ones I mentioned above, are less stringent on what they post, whereas, editors of local newspapers will critique your work, leave out what is not important, and revise the rest if it does not meet the newspaper’s house style or its editorial standards.

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AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the April 2 presidential and state primaries

FILE - Voters work on their ballots in kiosks in Jackson, Miss., March 10, 2020. Voters in the pivotal swing state of Wisconsin, as well as Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island, will weigh in on their parties presumptive nominees in presidential primaries Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Further south, Arkansas and Mississippi voters will return to the polls to decide a small handful of legislative seats that were forced to runoffs in primaries held earlier in March. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters in the pivotal swing state of Wisconsin and three Northeastern states will have a chance to indicate their support or opposition to their parties’ presumptive nominees in presidential primaries Tuesday. Wisconsin voters will also decide the fate of two Republican-backed statewide ballot measures that will shape how elections in the state are run and funded.

Farther south, Arkansas and Mississippi voters will return to the polls to decide a handful of legislative seats that were forced to runoffs in primaries held in March.

Although multiple names remain on the presidential ballots in Wisconsin, Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump face no major challengers and already have secured more delegates than they need to win their parties’ nominations at the conventions this summer. Voters in Connecticut and Rhode Island will have the additional option of voting “uncommitted” if they want to register a protest vote against Biden, a Democrat, or Trump, a Republican. Wisconsin voters have a similar option, although it’s called “Uninstructed Delegation” on their ballot.

Delaware was also scheduled to hold a Republican presidential primary on Tuesday, but the contest was canceled on March 19 after former candidate Nikki Haley had her name removed from the ballot, leaving Trump the only remaining candidate. A Democratic primary there would also have been held Tuesday, but Biden was the only candidate to file for the ballot, so the event was never scheduled. In both cases, the parties awarded all the state’s delegates to Biden and Trump, as they were the only candidates remaining in their contests.

FILE - Sarah Matthews, former White House deputy press secretary, arrives as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, July 21, 2022. As Donald Trump seeks the presidency for a third time, he is being vigorously opposed by a vocal contingent of former officials who are stridently warning against his return to power and offering dire predictions for the country and the rule of law if his campaign succeeds. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

DECISION NOTES

In the presidential race, Biden and Trump are the favorites in their primaries as neither candidate faces a strong challenge. In all four contests, the first indications that they are winning statewide on a level consistent with the overwhelming margins seen in most other contests held this year may be sufficient to determine the statewide winners.

For the Wisconsin constitutional amendments, the fault lines hew closely to traditional partisan lines, with Republican state lawmakers backing the two measures and Democrats in opposition. Thus, the state’s vote history and political demographics will inform the race-calling process.

As for the races in Arkansas and Mississippi, runoffs tend to be lower-turnout events than the initial elections that prompted them. For local races, in which turnout for regularly scheduled elections is already relatively low, this could slow the race-calling process in particularly close contests since determining the outcome could rest on a handful of votes. For example, in Arkansas state House District 63, only 108 votes separated the first- and second-place candidates, out of 1,700 total votes cast.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Here are the April 2 contests at a glance:

DELEGATES AT STAKE ON TUESDAY

Democrats: 436

Republicans: 179

STATES WITH PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES (4)

Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin

STATES WITH NON-PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES AND ELECTIONS (3)

Arkansas (runoff), Mississippi (runoff), Wisconsin

TUESDAY TIMELINE

8 p.m. EDT: All polls close in Connecticut, Mississippi, Rhode Island

8:30 p.m. EDT: All polls close in Arkansas

9 p.m. EDT: All polls close in New York, Wisconsin

STATE HOUSE PRIMARY RUNOFF, DISTRICT 35 (D): Jessie McGruder, Raymond Whiteside

STATE HOUSE PRIMARY RUNOFF, DISTRICT 63 (D): Fred Leonard, Lincoln Barnett

STATE HOUSE PRIMARY RUNOFF, DISTRICT 88 (R): Arnetta Bradford, Dolly Henley

WHO CAN VOTE: Voters who participated in the March 5 primary for a specific seat may only vote in the same party’s runoff for that seat. In other words, voters who cast ballots in the Republican primary on March 5 may not vote in a Democratic runoff for the same seat. Voters who did not participate in any party’s primary for a specific seat on March 5 may also participate in the runoff. All voters must be registered in the district holding the runoff.

FIRST VOTES REPORTED (March 5 primary): 8:36 p.m. ET

LAST ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 3:28 a.m. ET with about 99.7% of the total votes counted

CONNECTICUT

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (D): Biden, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson, Cenk Uygur, “Uncommitted.” 60 delegates at stake

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (R): Trump, Ryan Binkley, Ron DeSantis, Haley, “Uncommitted.” 28 delegates at stake

WHO CAN VOTE: Only voters registered with a party may participate in that party’s primary. Democrats can’t vote in the Republican primary or vice versa.

FIRST VOTES REPORTED (2022 primaries): 8:08 p.m. ET

LAST ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 12:52 a.m. ET with about 99.9% of the total votes counted

MISSISSIPPI

U.S. HOUSE PRIMARY RUNOFF, DISTRICT 2 (R): Ron Eller, Andrew Smith

WHO CAN VOTE: Voters who participated in the March 12 primary for District 2 may only vote in the same party’s runoff. In other words, voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary on March 12 may not vote in Tuesday’s Republican runoff. Voters who did not participate in any party’s primary for this seat on March 12 also may participate in the runoff. All voters must be registered in the 2nd Congressional District.

FIRST VOTES REPORTED (March 12 primary): 8:07 p.m. ET

LAST ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 12:35 a.m. ET with about 97% of the total votes counted

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (D): Biden, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson. 268 delegates at stake

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (R): Trump, Chris Christie, Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy. 91 delegates at stake

WHO CAN VOTE: New York has a closed primary system, which means only Democrats may vote in the Democratic primary and only Republicans may vote in the Republican primary.

FIRST VOTES REPORTED (2022 primaries): 9:01 p.m. ET

LAST ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 2:49 a.m. ET with about 94% of the total votes counted

RHODE ISLAND

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (D): Biden, Dean Phillips, “Uncommitted,” Write-in. 26 delegates at stake

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (R): Trump, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, “Uncommitted,” Write-in. 19 delegates at stake

WHO CAN VOTE: Rhode Island voters registered with a specific political party may cast ballots only in their own party’s primaries. Voters who are not affiliated with any party may participate in any party primary, but doing so will automatically affiliate them with that party in state records.

FIRST VOTES REPORTED (2022 primaries): 8:10 p.m. ET

LAST ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 11:03 p.m. ET with about 97% of total votes counted

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (D): Biden, Dean Phillips, “Uninstructed Delegation,” Write-In. 82 delegates at stake

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (R): Trump, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, “Uninstructed Delegation,” Write-In. 41 delegates at stake

STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURE, QUESTION 1: “Use of private funds in election administration. Shall section 7 (1) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum?”

STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURE, QUESTION 2: “Election officials. Shall section 7 (2) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that only election officials designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums?”

WHO CAN VOTE: Any registered voter in Wisconsin may participate in either primary.

FIRST VOTES REPORTED (2022 primaries): 9:14 p.m. ET

LAST ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 3:01 a.m. ET with about 99.8% of the total votes counted

UNCOMMITTED ON THE BALLOT

Connecticut, Rhode Island, Wisconsin (as “Uninstructed Delegation”)

ARE WE THERE YET?

As of Tuesday, there will be 104 days until the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, 139 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and 217 days until the November general election.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024 .

Are you one of the millions about to have cataract surgery? Here’s what ophthalmologists say you need to know

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Florida

Associate Professor of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Disclosure statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Florida provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US.

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Cataract surgery is one of the most popular and commonly performed procedures in the world. The vast majority of patients have excellent outcomes with few complications.

Here are the numbers:

By age 80, over half of all Americans have cataracts .

Close to 4 million cataract surgeries are performed in the U.S. every year .

Over 90% of patients have 20/20 vision with glasses after surgery , although those with other eye conditions may not do as well, including those with glaucoma , a progressive disease typically associated with elevated pressure within the eye; diabetic retinopathy , which ultimately can cause leakage in the retinal tissues; and macular degeneration , a disease that is typically related to age.

The rate of post-surgery infection from endophthalmitis is less than 0.1%.

You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa .

As ophthalmologists who have performed thousands of these procedures , we know that many patients have misconceptions about both cataracts and the surgery. For example, some think a cataract is a growth on the eye’s surface.

We like to compare a cataract with the frosted glass of a bathroom window, where light can be transmitted but details cannot. Or when turbulence from a storm causes normally clear water in the ocean to become murky. In much the same way, the eye’s once transparent lens becomes cloudy.

About the surgery

Cataract surgery removes the clouded lens of the eye and replaces it with a new, clear lens to restore your vision. Most patients report the procedure is painless.

It’s typically an elective surgery that is performed on an outpatient basis. The patient is often awake, under local anesthesia, with sedation similar to that used for dental procedures. We like to say patients receive the equivalent of three margaritas in their IV.

Numbing drops are then applied to the eye’s surface, along with an anesthetic inside the eye. Patients with claustrophobia, or movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, may not be suitable candidates for awake surgeries and require general anesthesia.

Before surgery, patients receive dilating drops to make the pupil as large as possible. The surgeon makes a tiny incision, usually with a small pointed scalpel, between the clear and white part of the eye to gain access to the lens capsule , a thin membrane similar in thickness to a plastic produce bag at the grocery store.

This capsule is suspended by small fibers called zonules , which are arranged like the springs that suspend a trampoline from a frame. The surgeon then creates a small opening in the capsule, called a capsulotomy, to gain access to the cataract. The cataract is then broken into smaller parts so they are removable through the small incision.

This is similar to a tiny jackhammer, breaking the large lens into smaller pieces for removal. That sounds scary, but it’s painless. Ultrasound emulsifies the lens and vacuum power then aspirates it from the eye.

Laser-assisted cataract surgery has been found to have similar outcomes to traditional cataract surgery.

Complications are rare

Serious complications, such as postoperative infection, bleeding in the eye or a postoperative retinal detachment are rare; they occur in approximately 1 in 1,000 cases. But even in many of these situations, appropriate management can salvage useful vision .

Capsular complications deserve additional discussion. According to some studies, they occur in up to 2% of cases . If a hole or tear of the posterior capsule is encountered during cataract surgery, the clear gel in the vitreous – the back chamber of the eye – may be displaced into the front chamber of the eye.

If that happens, the gel must be removed at the time of the cataract surgery. This will reduce the likelihood of additional postoperative complications, but those who have the procedure, known as a vitrectomy , have an increased risk for additional complications, including postoperative infections and postoperative swelling.

After the surgery

Patients usually go home right after the procedure. Most surgery centers require that the patient have someone drive them home, more for the anesthesia rather than the surgery. Patients begin applying postoperative drops that same day and must wear an eye shield at bedtime for a few weeks after surgery.

Patients should keep the eye clean and avoid exposure to dust, debris and water. They should try not to bend over and should avoid heavy lifting or straining in the first week or so after surgery. Lifting or straining can cause a surge of blood pressure to the face and eye. Known as a choroidal hemorrhage , it can lead to bleeding into the wall of the eye and be devastating to vision.

Things that cause only moderate increases in heart rate such as walking are OK. Routine postoperative examinations are usually completed the day after surgery, about a week after surgery and about a month after surgery.

A choice of lens

The plastic lens used to replace the cataract, or intraocular lens , requires careful sizing for optimal results and a nuanced discussion between patient and surgeon.

Early intraocular lens technologies were monofocal , and most patients with these lenses chose distance correction and used reading glasses for near tasks. This is still the preferred approach for approximately 90% of patients having cataract surgery today.

Recent advances have led to intraocular lenses that offer multifocality – the opportunity to have near as well as distance vision, without glasses. Some multifocal lenses are even in the trifocal category, which includes distance, near, and intermediate vision, the latter of which in recent years has become very important for computer and phone use.

Most patients with these advanced technology multifocal lenses are happy with them . However, a small percentage of patients with multifocal lenses can be so bothered by visual disturbances – notably night glare and halos around light sources in the dark – that they request removal of the multifocal lens to exchange it for a standard intraocular lens. These exchanges are a reasonable option for such situations and offer relief for most affected patients.

Determining who’s an ideal candidate for a multifocal intraocular lens is an area of active research. Most clinicians would recommend against such a lens for a patient with a detail-oriented personality. Such patients tend to fixate on the shortcomings of these lenses despite their potential advantages.

As with many technologies, current generation advanced technology intraocular lenses are much better than their predecessors. Future offerings are likely to offer improved vision and fewer side effects than those available today.

But these newer lenses are often not reimbursed by insurance companies and often entail substantial out-of-pocket costs for patients.

Deciding on what type of lens is best for you can be complicated. Fortunately, except in unusual circumstances, such as when a cataract develops after trauma to the eye, there is seldom a hurry for adult cataract surgery.

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How to Write an Article for a Newspaper: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Preparing to Write

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How do you write a compelling headline for a newspaper article?

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How to write a news article: 11 key steps

What is a News Article?

The Anatomy of a News Article

The Headline

The Inverted Pyramid

The Sources

How to Write a News Article

1. Find Your Topic

2. Determine Your Scope

3. Collect Primary Sources

4. Collect Secondary Sources

5. Create a Citation List

6. Outline Your Article

7. Write Your Drafts

8. Edit Your Draft

9. Fact-Check Your Information

10. Proofread

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Timeliness is Important, But so is Accuracy

How to Write a News Article That's Effective

Choose Your Topic

Research for Your News Article

Parts of a News Article

Headline or title

Lead (sometimes written "lede")

The sources

How to Write Articles for Newspaper: A Step-By-Step Guide

What is a newspaper?

What are some key points to remember when writing for newspaper?

Decide which part of the paper you want to work for.