The most important difference between journalism and other forms of non-fiction writing is the idea of objectivity. Journalists are expected to keep an objective mindset at all times as they interview sources, research events, and write and report their stories.

There are five types, which are investigative, news, reviews, columns, and feature-writing.

Journalism is about stating facts and telling the readers about the exact things that happened. Whereas, mass communication involves disseminating information to the people at local, national or international level with or without a necessary intent, with the help of multiple media platforms.

Newspapers generally adhere to an expository writing style. Over time and place, journalism ethics and standards have varied in the degree of objectivity or sensationalism they incorporate.

How to Write a News Story

1. Choose a recent, newsworthy event or topic.
2. Conduct timely, in-person interviews with witnesses.
3. Establish the “Four Main Ws”
4. Construct your piece.
5. Insert quotations.
6. Research additional facts and figures.
7. Read your article out loud before publication.

News articles are written in a structure known as the “inverted pyramid.” In the inverted pyramid format, the most newsworthy information goes at the beginning of the story and the least newsworthy information goes at the end.

Rule #1: A straight news lead should be a single paragraph consisting of a single sentence, should contain no more than 30 words, and should summarize, at minimum, the most newsworthy “what,” “where” and “when” of the story. Example: “Fire destroyed a house on Main Street early Monday morning.”

The major characteristics of news are:

• Accuracy.
• Balance.
• Objectivity.
• Concise and clear.
• Current.

News is that part of communication that keeps us informed of the changing events, issues, and characters in the world outside. Though it may be interesting or even entertaining, the foremost value of news is as a utility to empower the informed.

The best story is a well-told tale about something the reader feels is relevant or significant. The best stories are more complete and more comprehensive. They contain more verified information from more sources with more viewpoints and expertise. They exhibit more enterprise, more reportorial effort..

news•writ•ing n. writing for publication in a newspaper, often reporting current events; journalism.

Read All About It! The Eight Elements of News

• Immediacy. Has it just happened?
• Proximity. Is the news geographically local to the readership or close to their hearts?
• Prominence. Is your information or news about something that is highly topical today?
• Oddity.
• Conflict.
• Suspense.
• Emotion.
• Consequence.

How to Write a News Story in 15 Steps

1. Select a newsworthy story.
2. Think about your goals and objectives in writing the story.
3. Find out who can provide the most accurate information about the subject and how to contact that person.
4. Do your homework.
5. Prepare a list of questions to ask about the story.
6. Arrange to get the needed information.

Description. News Writing and Reporting: The Complete Guide for Today’s Journalist, Second Edition, uses a multitude of reporting and writing examples from print, broadcast and online sources in order to deconstruct and reveal journalistic practices, techniques and philosophy to today’s students.

To conclude your opinion essay, write a paragraph where you restate your opinion using different words. You should avoid introducing a new idea or apologizing for your views. However, to make your essay more engaging, you can end with a warning, ask a provocative question or suggest consequences.

A feature story is a piece of non-fiction writing about news. A feature story is a type of soft news. A feature story is distinguished from other types of non-news by the quality of the writing. Stories should be memorable for their reporting, crafting, creativity, and economy of expression.

The best rule in feature writing is to observe no rules, aside from those of basic journalistic style and structure. The best lead for the feature story is a natural extension of the story – nothing forced or contrived without consideration to the tone or subject of the story.

How to Write a Profile Feature Article

1. Know the rules of attribution.
2. Ask open questions, be a good listener, and probe for anecdotes.
3. Prepare for your interviews.
4. Interview with breadth and depth.
5. Write for a national audience.
6. Keep an open mind.
7. Decide on an approach.
8. Focus on what’s most compelling.

While you can’t be an aspiring writer, you can be an aspiring author in any pre-publication stage. A journalist is someone who writes and/or reports for newspapers, magazines, or news websites. A journalist can be a writer, but not all writers are journalists.

Earlier today, Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, said that his job was not to hire journalists, but to hire smart people who understand the world: This whole concept of journalist has to be rethought. I’m sorry, I don’t care about journalists.

It’s no harder than any other job. There are good days and bad days. On good days, you might have a very interesting story to report or you might have had a really successful interview. I would like to say that journalist is a hard job because they have to work in a office and home as well.

If your answer is yes, then it is worth it. Even though a journalism degree is not exactly necessary to be a journalist or writer, it can be quite beneficial for future journalists. … If you want to work in a communications or media-related field that isn’t journalism, then a degree is quite useful.

Journalism degrees are not useless & they’re also not required. A journalism degree isn’t required, but it absolutely helps you skip a lot of “on the job” training that you’d otherwise need. English, History, Poli-Sci or just a general “communications” degree are all helpful.

Jobs for journalism majors

• Content writer.
• Staff writer.
• 3. News producer.
• 4. News editor.
• Freelance writer.
• Copywriter.
• Social media planner.
• Content manager.

NO. Studying Journalism doesn’t require knowing Math. You will need to be perfect in the language you choose to pursue journalism in, current affairs, among other things. Math for journalism is as important as current affairs for engineering.

If you are a creative writer or dreamer at heart and keen on pursuing a career in Mass Media or Journalism, take up subjects such as Modern Indian Language, Hindi, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology from the arts stream. A liberal arts education is an excellent starting point for the journalism foundation.

Here are some classes you’ll likely take as a journalism major:

• Broadcast Journalism.
• Corporate Communication/Public Relations.
• Feature Writing.
• Mass Media Law.
• Photojournalism.
• News Writing and Reporting.

You won’t need math skills but you will need these key qualities to do well in a Mass Communication Degree: A strong command of the English language. Ability to work crazy hours if needed.

The O level requirement, that is, the required WAEC subject combination for Mass Communication must include: Literature in English Language. English Language. Government.

3 years

Please note– If Mathematics is not listed among the Jamb subject on this post, then Mathematics is not compulsory for this course. JAMB UTME subject combination to study Mathematics must include: Mathematics. Any two of Physics, Chemistry and Economics or Geography.