Types of Writing

InformalFirst, Second or Third Person

Descriptive Business

First and Second Person Journalistic

Third Person

Press Releases

Characteristics of News Timeliness

Is the information recent? (most important reason)

Proximity Where is the “news” physically or psychologically?

Prominence How “big” is the event, idea, situation or person?

Impact How many people are affected?

Characteristics of News

Conflict Is the subject man vs. man, man vs. nature, etc.?

Novelty Is the subject unusual, bizarre? Is it the first, the last

or once in a lifetime? Does it show progress or human interest?

Usefulness Is the information useful to those reading it?

Elements of News

WhatSubject of the story, person, object, action,

phenomenon or area Who

People by name, title and description, if appropriate

WhyReasons for action, attitude, event

Elements of News

WhenTime, day, year of occurrence

WherePlace of action or people

HowProcess by which the event attitude or

phenomenon occurred

Order of Points

ChronologicalFollow a time pattern

DirectionFollow a spatial pattern

Cause-effectTwo pattern choices: main cause and effect,

second cause and effect, and third cause and effect or all causes and all effects

Order of Points

Problem-solutionProblem is presented; solution is given

TopicalOrganized by writer’s discretion, usually by

importance

Writing Style

Inverted PyramidMost important points expressed firstRequired by newspapers and other

publications that have limited space

Lead

Body

Body

Body

Conclusion

Parts of the Release

Headline10 words or lessSummarizes storyYour billboard for the story

LeadCatches audience’s attention Introduces the five WsKeep it simple

Lead

Most critical part of the news release Without an effective lead, the reader will

not read further. A good lead “sells” the story. What, how, why, when and who should

be covered in the first paragraph. Give this information in three or four

sentences (no more than 30 words).

Lead

Answer the following questions:What will take place?Why are you holding this event?Who will be there?When and where is it?How many people are participating and what

will they be doing?What do you expect to come out of the event?

Cowboy Caravan Set

Oklahoma State has released dates for six of the 2004

Cowboy Caravan stops in February. Head Coach Les Miles and other members of the football staff will be the featured speakers at each of the stops.

The first Cowboy Caravan event for 2004 will be in

Shawnee Feb. 15, at the Shawnee Expo Center. Other stops include Tulsa Feb. 16, Stillwater Feb. 17, Oklahoma City Feb. 21, and Altus Feb. 28. An update on recruiting will be part of the program.

For more information, contact the OSU POSSE office at

1-877-2-B POSSE or visit http://okstate.ocsn.com/

“Soft” Leads

Laughter is a Drug that Cures

The feeling of wellness after a good laugh

has been found to do more than brighten

someone's day.

Fast Food Can Be Healthy

The lifestyle of late nights, early mornings

and erratic eating schedules for many

people often lead them to turn to fast food

as their primary source of nutrition.

Silos and Shopping Carts Bring Learning Home on

New Ag in the Classroom CD

What do Sylvan Goldman, inventor of the shopping cart, Bill Pickett, rodeo star, and Grady, the famous silo cow from Yukon, have in common?

“Hard” Leads

Former professor sentenced to 35 months in prison

A former Oklahoma State University professor is in jail after being convicted of possession of child pornography.

Cowboy wrestlers defeat Hawkeyes, 30-10

Oklahoma State’s wrestling team recorded a trio of falls en route to a 30-10 whipping over the Iowa Hawkeyes Sunday afternoon inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

U.S. helicopter shot down near Baghdad

  A U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter was shot down Tuesday near the western Iraqi town of Habbaniyah — the third helicopter downed in the region in less than two weeks.

“Combination” Lead

Stanford Advances to Finals

In a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat, down-to-the-wire, extra inning game on Thursday evening, Stanford 's Putnam scores a two-run homer to right center in the top of the 10th. Stanford wins 7-5 and will play bracket two winner Rice Saturday at 6 p.m. Central Time.

Parts of the Release Body

Inverted pyramid Include support for each point

Quotes Comparisons Statistics Causes and consequences Background information

Parts of the Release

ClosingTell how one can receive more information

Name of person, phone number, e-mail, etc.

Closing example

For more information about OSU’s basketball team, contact Coach Eddie Sutton at (405) GO-POKES.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: JANE DOE

January 14, 2003 (405) 555-1234

Headline is centered and bolded

STILLWATER, Okla. – First paragraph: interesting lead sentence,

general description of event, date, place, and who is invited.

Second and succeeding paragraphs: more description, background

of the event, quotes from people involved.

Final paragraph: program details, contact information.

# # #

Style and Format

AP Style – always Same format – always Begin a new paragraph with a quote Use ### at the end of the story If it is more than one page, put

- more - at the bottom of the first page.

Ash's unlikely blast sparks Stanford to title seriesBy Wayne Drehs

OMAHA, Neb. -- When Stanford third baseman Jonny Ash laid in bed on the

eve of the biggest game of his college career Wednesday night, he

experienced a dream that even he couldn't believe.

It was the top of the ninth, there were two outs and he was at-bat against All

World closer Chad Cordero of Cal State Fullerton. The Cardinal were down by

one, until Ash lifted a two-run homer over the right field wall to win the game.

Jonny Ash's game-tying homer enabled Stanford to celebrate a win on

Thursday. Pretty shocking, considering in over 275 career at-bats, Ash, a slap

hitter, had never homered. Pretty shocking considering in 53 innings, Cordero

had only given up two home runs all year.

Yet that was the dream.

- more -

Putnam powers Cardinal into title seriesDanny Putnam's blast sent Stanford into the championship series.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- An unlikely power display helped Stanford beat Cal State

Fullerton and move into the College World Series championship round.

Three innings after Jonny Ash's first career home run tied it, Danny Putnam hit a

two-run homer in the top of the 10th to give the Cardinal a 7-5 victory Thursday

night.

"Jonny's could have been the gamer, and mine fortunately was," Putnam said.

"Watching the ball go out there was a lot of adrenaline flowing. It was

unbelievable. It's what you dream about."

Putnam, 2-for-5 with three RBIs, hit a 2-2 pitch from Darric Merrell into the right

center field stands after Ryan Garko led off the inning by getting hit by Merrell's

first pitch.

- more -

Write a Lead

Today’s presentation Who What When Where Why