Elements of News Writing - Central Idea

The basic factor of good writing involves focusing on a clear, manageable idea, argument, or opinion around which the whole content is created. Developing an idea is a process that also includes selecting subordinate ideas that support and strengthen the central idea. In news writing the central idea is the theme of story which decides it new value.

• Narration

Narration is a method of presenting a story to the audience. News stories are generally presented in a narrative form, where the author explains the facts and information to the audience or readers. There are three elements that influence the narration of a story. They are the narrative point of view, voice of narration and time of narration. Point of view is the perspective through which the story is communicated. This can be a first person, second person or third person point of view. Voice is the format of presentation. The time frame in which the story is presented i.e. in the past, present, or future, describes the time of narration.

Narrator is the presenter of the story, who delivers information to the audience, particularly about the plot. In news writing the reporter plays the role of narrator.

• Angle

The angle is the point or theme of a news or feature story. The news angle defines the political and social point of view of the story. It establishes the purpose and relevance of the story. The intro or lead of a news story defines its news angle.