Writing a Story and The Four News Models
Writing a Story and The Four News Models
In Chapter 4, Freedman has shown us the different ways of writing a story. Among the various methods given, the most important one is learning how to manipulate the timeline. Simply changing or moving a couple of shots or sound bites and/or just adding an element can quickly put a new spin on a story. Indeed, manipulating the timeline could be regarded as the most effective way of making little but valuable alterations in the storyline. This method could even lead one to discovering the best version of the story. One can often find reporters using this trick to their advantage when their producers ask for multiple versions of the same story or when they are working under a very tight deadline.
In this chapter, Freedman has also talked about how to structure a story and how to make it stand out. Freedman says that before the entire package is built up, a scene must be set which would help to sell the story. One important tip is to avoid cramming all the facts into one package. Instead, it would be better to write the story from a particular perspective, which would make the tale more interesting. Freedman’s advice is to be creative and to have a little fun with the words. In the chapter, Freedman has also spoken about the “Y” structure, which is a more advanced technique for building a timeline.
However, while Freedman has said that a package should be ended with a sound bite to make the ending strong, I beg to differ. Freedman has provided two examples and a discussion with his co-worker on this topic in the book. But I feel that although having a powerful ending to a story is a necessity, doing so with a sound bite can prove to be quite risky. For instance, if the producer thinks that the story is too long and wants to cut the last 10 seconds, there are all chances of the sound bite being removed from the storyline.
The Four News Models
Chapter 7 presents a breakdown of four news models that reporters often use in their field. The four news models are- the general model, the payoffs model, the altered chronology model and the particular to general model.
The general model for a news story commences with a lead-in that covers the crucial information in the story. From here the news package will then move on to providing the background information relevant to the story and any recent developments in it. Finally, the package will cover the leftover information.
In my opinion, among the four news models journalists prefer to use the payoffs and the altered chronology models the most. In fact, every day reporters can be seen using the payoffs model to write their stories. Perhaps reporters like to use this model because it builds an air of mystery around the story and gives out information little by little. This way the audience is more likely to view the news story till its end as their curiosity would be aroused and they would be eager to see the story unfold.
The altered chronology model is often used by reporters to present breaking stories or stories with a twist. In this model, the lead-in frequently begins with a particular perspective. It is only after the lead-in that the background information pertaining to the story is given followed by the controversies surrounding it and some interesting and relevant information that the audience will look forward to.
As compared to the other three news models, the particular to general model probably generates greater human interest as it helps to identify poster girls/boys who will strike a chord with most people. However, finding the perfect poster girls/boys could prove to be a challenge as their problems have to reflect those of the common folk.
