Inverted

Pyramid

Style

All stories

have shapes

The reporter’s job is to decide which shape is best for the story

Inverted pyramid style

Goes from most interesting information to least interesting

information.

Chronological style

Tells the story from beginning to end, using fiction techniques.

Hourglass Structure

Combines the inverted pyramid and the narrative

pyramid together

Champagne Glass

1. a compelling summary

2. Narrows into a chronological account

3. A kicker

Section style

Told in parts, such as different time frames, points or view, or as chapters in a narrative

Inverted pyramid style

is the most common way to write a news story.

The story is shaped this way:

•Most important info in the lead

•Next most important info in the second paragraph

•Least most important info at the end

Once it is written, the story is “shaped” like this:

Lead

Details

Less impt. details

Here’s an example of an inverted pyramid news

story:

A 16-year-old West High School sophomore is in critical condition today at River City Hospital after being treated for smoke inhalation at his home last night.

Joe Smith, son of Bob and Carol Smith of 116 Travis Lane, was overcome by smoke in the family garage about 8 p.m. after pouring carbon solvent into the carburetor intake of his car, according to a hospital spokesman.

He was discovered by his parents, who called an ambulance.

All of the information is not used in the lead of the story. If we were to label what is in the lead, it would look like this:

A 16-year-old West High School sophomore is in critical condition today at River City Hospital after being treated for smoke inhalation at his home last night.

whowhat

where

whenwhy

Emphasizing the

“W’s and H”A lead may begin with any of the who, what, when, where, why and how, depending where the reporter wants to place emphasis.

Emphasis on “who” The Yorktown High School Football Booster Club is having its bookkeeping files investigated by the Yorktown School District.

Emphasis on “what” An investigation into the bookkeeping files of the Yorktown High School Football Booster Club has begun by the Yorktown School District.

Emphasis on “when”

Late yesterday afternoon, the Yorktown School District opened an investigation into the bookkeeping files of the Yorktown High School Football Booster Club.

Emphasis on “where”

Yorktown High School in Smith County is having its Football Booster Club bookkeeping files investigated by the school district.

Emphasis on “why” Because of irregular spending practices, the Yorktown School District has opened an investigation into the bookkeeping files of the Yorktown High School Football Booster Club.

Emphasis on “how” A full-scale audit and investigation for the past six months will be conducted on the bookkeeping files of the Yorktown High School Football Booster Club, the school district announced yesterday.

Another example of inverted pyramid style

Ben Davis, 85, of 345 Benson St., was killed in an automobile accident on Warner Road about 1:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Arkansas State Police.

Davis, a Hot Springs farmer, was killed when his car left the road and struck a tree two miles east of town on Warner Road, police said.

Same story, written in chronological style

Today at 1:30 p.m., Ben Davis, who is a farmer at 345 Benson St., was driving home on Warner Road.

He was two miles east of town when his car went off the road and hit a tree.

Davis, 85, was killed instantly, according to a hospital spokesman. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Why is inverted pyramid style used?

It allows the reader to read only the lead and know most of the important information.

It allows the editor to cut the least important information from the bottom of the story and not worry about leaving out anything of great importance.

How did inverted pyramid style begin?

During the Civil War, telegraph wires relaying news were sometimes cut by opposing sides. As a result, war correspondents began using the most important part of the story first.

The Hourglass Structure

• The hourglass was named by my colleague Roy Peter Clark in 1983 after he had begun to notice something new in his morning paper. 

• It wasn’t the news; it was the way the news was being told. In their stories, reporters seemed to be combining two forms: the inverted pyramid and the narrative.

• THE TOP. Here you deliver the news in a summary lead, followed by three or four paragraphs that answer the reader’s most pressing questions. In the top you give the basic news, enough to satisfy a time-pressed reader. You report the story in its most concise form. If all that is read is the top, the reader is still informed. Because it’s limited to four to six paragraphs, the top of the story should contain only the most significant information.

•

• THE TURN. Here you signal the reader that a narrative, usually chronological, is beginning. Usually, the turn is a transitional phrase that contains attribution for the narrative that follows: according to police, eyewitnesses described the event this way, the shooting unfolded this way, law enforcement sources and neighbors agree.

•

•THE NARRATIVE. The story has three elements: a beginning, middle and end. The bottom allows the writer to tell a chronological narrative complete with detail, dialogue, and background information.

•

• The hourglass can be used in all kinds of stories: crime, business, government, even to report meetings. It’s best suited, however, for dramatic stories that can be told in chronological fashion. In the right hands, as the following story from The Miami Herald illustrates, the hourglass is a virtuoso form that provides the news-conscious discipline of the inverted pyramid and the storytelling qualities of the classic narrative.

•

A salute to the Class of 2011

• as we mentioned before the break, the time has come tonight to continue our annual tradition around here, showing you the best of this year's college commencements, and meeting members of the graduating class along the way. there's no shortage of advice for them. but among them there's no shortage of brains or talent or spirit, either. so here now, your class of 2011 .

• I think it's incredible that four years have gone by in the blink of an eye .

• I have very persnickety hair.

• the jig is up. the clock has run out. and the future with a capital f now rests with all of you and your goofy hats.

• the plot you choose may change or even elude you. but being your own story means you can control the theme.

• I'm Matthew Randall.

• I definitely very silly.

• I'm michael nguyen. I'm very personable.

• I'm a student veteran.

• let's think about those who would love to be sitting in the chairs you occupy today. the entire time you've been here at fordham there have been young men and women in uniform over there serving in two wars.

• my time in iraq is really, really hard to put to words.

• you were young children when you watched planes hit the world trade center. you quickly understood what it was like to feel out of control.

• i was in the seventh grade. from the window we could see the smoke coming from the towers

• the shooting brought to my front yard things that i thought i had put away a long time ago. this is a beloved member of this community.

• the country's most powerful earthquake –

• the massive earthquake and tsunami hit my home town in Japan. everything was gone.

• i looked out, and i couldn't see the end of the tornado to left or right. it's an awe-inspiring terror.

• i can report to the American people -- • we ran down to the white house to celebrate

that moment in history

• do not let the many challenges of the world discourage you. don't let the cynics and skeptics dampen your enthusiasm. dream, my friends. dream. you fall up

• i dream to be a film director and producer.

• well, i have lots of dreams. i dream of saving the world .

• what brought down hosni mubarak was not facebook, and it was not twitter. it was a million people in the streets ready to die for what they believed in. so if you want to get something done in the world, never forget, ultimately you have to get out of facebook and into somebody's face.

• and every single day I walk into the oval office , and for all the days of my life i will always remember that in no other nation on earth could my story be possible. could your stories be possible.

• we are some of the most resilient -- • determined. compassionate. we are

unwilling to carry on the hatred. i really love you.

• so there you have it. humility, patience, and faith. and always a few tears from me.

• i'm the class. of 2011 .