A breaking news story is a timely account of events as they occur. It’s a common way to keep the public informed, and is especially important in a crisis situation like an accident or a natural disaster. The goal of this type of journalism is to provide accurate, up-to-the-minute information, while avoiding sensationalism and ensuring that all facts are correct.
There are different formats for breaking news stories, but all of them share certain common elements. For example, the inverted pyramid model starts with a summary lede that answers the most pressing questions, then moves on to detail the event and who is involved. The article should also include a timeline of the incident to help put it into perspective. Finally, there’s usually a transitional phrase that cites the source of the upcoming detail – for example, “Police say they are investigating an armed robbery after closing last night.”
The next step is to decide what type of information will go in your lead. Depending on the nature of the story, this may be as simple as what happened, when and where it occurred, who is involved and why it’s newsworthy. You can use quotes from the people involved, but always make sure you get their full names and spell them correctly (e.g. Molly vs Mollie).
Then you’ll need to choose a headline. This is important because it’s what will catch the reader’s attention and tell them what the story is about. The style of the headline should match the tone of your story – direct for hard news, more narrative for human interest pieces.
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