News writing is different from many types of composition, in that it comes with a very specific set of characteristics that are unique to it. Most people, after all, don't read the news the way they read a magazine feature or a short story.
Pick up a daily newspaper and look at the different articles. You'll notice various qualities in well-written pieces that you should emulate when producing your own news stories.
They address as many of the possible reader questions (who, what, where, when, why, and how) right in the lead.
The most significant details go up front. All the juiciest, meatiest aspects of the story should be divulged right at the start.
Sentences are written short and to the point.
Paragraphs are kept tight, containing no more than two to five sentences each.
The overall tone stays as objective as possible. Sure, newspaper writers can have an opinion - they just can't write about it in their news stories.
There are no conclusions. Sure, you "close" a news story, but you don't "conclude" it with a statement of opinion.
Lay down the facts and let the readers decide - that's how it should be.
Because it has to answer so many questions, the lead can really make or break a news story. Most readers will ascertain what a piece is about from the first two or three lines. If they can't, there's a good chance they'll be lost.
Writing correctness is even more of a virtue for news pieces because the stories are so tight. That's why grammar correction software is such a vital part of the newsroom. It helps turn out stories with as little mistakes as possible, while doing it faster than any human proofreader could.
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