The style of the news story

You get at least three chances to understand most news stories.

Most news stories have a very clear style. They give the main points at the top in the headline and the lead paragraph(s). The body of the story then adds details, statements and comments from people involved in the story, plus any background the writer feels is necessary. This means you get at least three chances to understand the main points of the story. We say “at least” because some stories have accompanying pictures and captions (text explaining the pictures) as well.

Each of the three main parts of the news story (the headline, lead and body) has its own distinctive style and content. For a detailed look at each, see the following:

 

The headline
The lead
The body
Taking full advantage of the news style