Julie Lavender

Twenty Newspaper Writing Tips for '20
By Julie Lavender

My monthly post on Edie Melson's writing website, The Write Conversation, listed twenty tips for newspaper writing and anazlyed most of them with an actual newspaper story. 



I'll list the twenty tips below, but check out Edie Melson's blog here to see the whole article and examples of the tips. 

1. Make sure the headline, which serves as the title of the newspaper article, is informative, yet also engaging and interesting, and typically between five to seven words. Here’s the headline of an article I wrote recently.

2. Sometimes, a headline is easier to write after the article is completely written. 

3. The lede, the first sentence of the article, should be between 30 and 35 words that summarize the main points of the story. 

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4. The lede covers the who, what, when, and where of a story. Sometimes, but not regularly, the lede will include the how and why of a story.  

5. Follow the lede with paragraphs of supporting details, in compelling words that keep the reader’s attention until the very end of the article.

6. Paragraphs are usually one to three sentences in length. 

7. Sentences are short and to the point and typically follow the subject-verb-object pattern. 

8. Cut unnecessary words. Instead of saying, “Police officers arrived quickly at the scene and were able to find the suspect on Main Street,” say, “Police officers located the suspect on Main Street.” 

9. Avoid the use of excessive adjectives and adverbs. 

10. Use simple words. Avoid complicated and flowery vocabulary.

11. Use active verbs when possible and avoid passive sentences.

12. Write articles in third person. 

13. Newspaper articles are generally written in past tense.

14. The first time you refer to a person in a story, use the full name and title, when applicable. Following the first mention, refer to the person by last name only. The exception occurs when two people with the same last name are discussed in a story. Use full names for each reference when that occurs. 

15. Long names of companies or businesses that also go by initials should be spelled out completely the first time, with the initials appearing in parentheses afterwards. Those initials may be used throughout the rest of the article for brevity.

16. Unlike other literary works, don’t repeat information at the end of the article as a summary.

17. Conduct in-person interviews when possible and take copious notes, recording the interview if possible. 

18. Counter-check facts and statistics and check spellings, especially names and titles.  

19. Include pertinent, informative quotes and attribute quotes accurately. 

20. Conclude the article with a pertinent quote, related link, invitation or call to action, or powerful statement.