Spice up Your Next News Article Articles | Writing

By: Aaron Read

News writing doesn't have to be boring! If a writer can't learn to spice up the story with the right angle, readers will skip right past it - no matter how important the content.

Writing an interesting news piece isn't hard. You just have to learn how to approach it in a more interesting manner. Readers need to know what happened at last night's school board meeting, but is it necessary to bore them with a basic rundown of the agenda Of course not.

Even at the most mundane meeting, a good writer can find a unique angle or twist to highlight some aspect of what's being discussed. Just stay away from sensationalizing and editorializing in order to create a story.

It may seem that that's what sells these days, but a true news journalist should always strive to get the story - the real story -and present it in a fair and factual manner.

Angles Are Everything: What is an angle? It's an articles selling tool. It's what takes those boring who, what, where, when, and why facts of the story, and gives it a little extra pop!

It's a new twist on an old idea. That doesn't mean that every story deserves (or can handle) an offbeat angle, but it does need to fresh and interesting.

While feature writing encouraging trying unique angles, using them in hard news can be a bit trickier. Solid news writing should be first and foremost factual, informative, and to the point.

Readers need to know about that new "playground tax" discussed at the Board of Supervisors meeting, but, instead of presenting it as a sensationalistic piece on yet another burdening tax on local citizens, or a dry lowdown on how much this tax will cost homeowners, why not try a more interesting angle?

Find out why the Supervisors find it necessary to implement such an unusual tax. Visit the playgrounds in town and see their disrepair. Show your readers the safety concerns under question, and explain the cost of refurbishing the playgrounds in detail.

Find out about communities that have closed their playgrounds. Did boredom cause an increase in vandalism? Offer some alternatives to the tax -- like community fix-up days or corporation and church-sponsored fundraisers.

Another angle you might like to try: interview doctors at a local emergency room to the results of the head injuries and broken bones caused by under-maintained playgrounds in your area.

Interview a young child and their parents who have suffered a debilitating injury from a playground accident. Give your readers a chance to see the importance of this tax.

continued... Spice up Your Next News Article Part 2