In journalism, there are several different story types found across all platforms. Below we look at different story types. There are some examples right here in the textbook, but you will also see links to other examples that you can look at. Some of these examples are too long to show in their entirety in the textbook. These examples are all from websites – the most dominant platform for news writing now – but as you read through them, consider, for example, whether you would find similar story types in broadcasting (radio and television). (Answer: Yes, most of them are found in broadcasting as well.)
A news story is the most important story type in journalism. It aims to tell the reader something they did not know before about the news of the day by answering six important questions: what, where, when, why, and how. This is known as the 5 W’s and the H. Journalists should answer these questions as neutrally and objectively as possible. The purpose of news is to tell people what has happened, without taking sides. You will remember that we discussed news values in chapter 4. News values help us identify whether something is news.
Traditionally, news stories for print publication have been written in the inverted-pyramid style, but there are also other ways to write news stories, such as the T-structure,the diamond structure, and the hourglass structure. We look at all these later. The inverted-pyramid format is seen as the traditional news writing style because it gives the reader all the information quickly, usually in the first few paragraphs, and towards the end of the story, there is less important information that can easily be cut by the sub-editor, if needed, to save space in the printed newspaper. With more stories now being published online, there is not always a need to write in the inverted-pyramid format anymore, because there are no space limitations online. However, readers still want to hear the news fast, so whichever news writing style you follow, you should get to the point quickly.
The article at this link, from GroundUp, is an example of a news story. It is a story about how many people had applied for the special Covid grant of R350 in South Africa. It is something that happened at a specific time and was important to publish at the time. As you read the story online, see if you can identify the 5 W’s and the H.
News stories are published in print and online and are broadcast on television or on the radio. They always tell the reader about the news of the day in a quick, easily understandable way. Broadcast and internet news stories often have more video and audio elements, which print stories do not have. As print news stories are limited by being published in paper format, they often focus more on deep details and descriptions, while online and broadcast stories can use audio and video clips to help tell the story. For example, instead of using the written word to tell a story, a radio, television or an online news story can play the voice of the person being quoted and show them while they are talking.
A Q&A (question and answer) is another story type. This is a question–answer format, where both the journalist’s questions and the interviewee’s answers are quoted directly. An interview can also be a narrative, where you present what the interviewee said in a chronological form. This piece from The Guardian is an example of a Q&A with Marie Kondo. The journalist asks questions and the interviewee answers them. The article simply presents the questions and answers.
Q&A stories can also happen online and in broadcast media. In Q&A stories, the journalist would ask someone a range of questions, prepared and unprepared, and the answers are recorded and broadcast. It is the same process as in print, except in online and broadcast media, the interviewee can be seen and heard. Here you can listen to a Q&A on public radio in the US.
A feature is another type of news story. It is much longer than a news story. A feature can be more creative, it is usually more in-depth, but it is still based on facts and should be fair and accurate. Feature stories provide scope, depth, and interpretation of trends, events, topics or people. They aim to humanise, add colour, educate, entertain, and illuminate.
A type of feature can be a news feature on something that is currently in the news – for example, a story about Ukrainian refugees and their new lives in another country.
The article here, from GroundUp, is a feature article. It is quite long and not reproduced here, but you can follow the link to see what a feature article looks like. You will see it is written in a different style than a news story. Later in this chapter, you will learn why and how we write news and feature stories differently. Here you can see a video feature from the BBC about a nuclear accident that almost happened in the US.
Feature stories also appear online and in broadcast media. They are the same as feature stories one would see in print in the sense that they delve deeper into a topic, but once again, online and broadcast feature stories can also use audio and video to help tell the story, not just the written word as in print.
Columns, editorials, and reviews are other types of news stories. These are more subjective story types than features. They can, and usually do, include openly personal opinions from the journalist. Editorials are pieces where the editors of a publication present their opinion on the news of the day. Reviews are analyses of products, movies, books, or new technology, or various other subjects, where the writers examine something and offer an informed opinion. A good review not only presents the critic’s opinions but also shows their expertise. A movie critic, for example, would not simply say why a movie is entertaining to watch or not; the review would be based on the critic’s extensive knowledge of the field. A good column is also based on facts, not merely opinions. It should be a well-argued piece of writing, making a certain point.
This article is a review. The writers examined and tested scooters and made an informed decision, based on their tests, to select the best ones.
Here is a review in podcast format about running shoes, where various athletes also give their opinions. This is an example of a well-researched review based on good information, not just opinion.
Reviews and editorials can appear in print and online, be heard on the radio and be seen on television. A column, on the other hand, is a print-specific article type. It can only appear in print. It is usually a piece written by an expert who takes a certain side in an argument. Columns often present the opinion of the writer.
The article at this link is a column. You will see the author expresses her opinion about the types of leaders she would like to see in South Africa. She is a leadership expert and, therefore, she has the knowledge to express such an opinion.
Column writers, despite taking clear sides and expressing opinions, should still be experts in their fields to be believable to the readers.
The article below, from GroundUp, is an editorial. It contains comment by the editors of GroundUp. It is not a news story but the opinion of the publication’s editors about a pressing issue. It is clear that this story is an editorial because the byline (the names of the writers, at the top of the story), says “GroundUp Editors”.
Article from GroundUp
Groundview: The Cape Town fire is an urgent reminder to offer solutions to homeless people
If people are chased away, they are likely to return until a solution is found to the problem that prompted them to move there in the first place
19 April 2021 | By GroundUp Editors Groundview | Cape Town
It seems that one of the fires which devastated parts of Cape Town on Sunday and Monday may have been started by someone cooking on the mountain.
Timeslive quoted SA National Parks saying that it was believed a fire left unattended by a “vagrant” was the cause of the first blaze.
Investigations will perhaps show whether or not this was the case.
But even if it didn’t happen this time, sooner or later, a fire will be started, inadvertently, by someone living on the mountain. Sooner or later, someone will fail to extinguish a cooking fire, or the wind will pick up a live ember. It’s a fact: the presence of people living and cooking on the mountain is a fire hazard.
People live on the mountain for a reason. And even those who would have no compunction about chasing them away will acknowledge that if people living on the mountain are chased away, they are very likely to return until a solution is found to whatever problem prompted them to move there in the first place.
For some, the solution may be a shelter. For others, it may be social services, help reconciling with family members, getting a social grant or an identity document, or registering for worker’s compensation or for a place on the housing list. For others, who have skills but cannot apply for jobs, it might be help finding employment. And for yet others, it may be psychiatric care. Some people are homeless because they suffer from conditions which need either acute or long term care, and perhaps permanent accommodation in care homes.
This fire is an urgent reminder that there are compelling reasons - other than compassion - to offer better solutions to the people living on the slopes of our mountains. Not only for their sake, but for the sake of the whole city.
Now you know about the different types of news stories you can tell. But how do you find your story? The next section will show you the secrets of finding news stories.
