

In journalism, a story refers to a single article, news item or feature. A story is usually relevant to a single event, issue, theme, or profile of a person. Stories are usually inspired through news pegs (the central premise of the story). Correspondents report on news occurring in the main, locally, from their own country, or from foreign cities where they are stationed.




In a print publication, the first phase of presenting a story finds the reporter involved in investigation, observation of events, and interviews with people. Reporters take notes and also take photographs or shoot videos, either on their own, or through a photographer or camera person. In the second phase, they organize the material, determine the focus or emphasis (identify the peg), and finally write their stories. The story is then edited by news or copy-editors, who function from the news desk. The headline of the story is always decided by the news desk, and practically never by the reporter or the writer of the piece. Often, the news desk also heavily re-writes or changes the style and tone of the first draft prepared by the reporter / writer originally. Finally, a collection of stories that have been picked for the newspaper or magazine edition, are laid out on dummy (trial) pages, and after the chief editor has approved the content, style and language in the material, it is sent for publishing. The writer is given a byline for the piece that is published; his or her name appears alongside the article. This process takes place according to the frequency of the publication. News can be published in a variety of formats (broadsheet, tabloid, magazine and periodical publications) as well as periods (daily, weekly, biweekly, fortnightly or monthly).





Wire services

Wire services are typically news agencies that provide news to publications, broadcasters and media houses by the minute. They work through technical tie-ups and arrangements with practically all mainstream news organizations, who pay them for the content that they provide. The public has no direct access to this content, unless it is carried by a local newspaper or television channel. Most of these agencies, like Reuters for instance, work on international, local, and national fronts.

Often, routine news is sourced directly from these agencies, by the news desk. Routine news is information related to announcements, press conferences, statements made by government or corporate officials, and any other mundane facts. The news desk receives updates from agencies every few minutes. Information related to the outbreak of a calamity, or important developments concerning national issues is usually obtained from agencies itself. These news items often go without any reporter's byline, that is, the credit is given to the newspaper in general, or is attributed to the agency that has sent out the information (or "broken the story"). If not very impactful, they are carried as small news briefs. On television, these items are the snippets displayed on the ticker: the rolling text at the bottom of the screen. Reporters who work for agencies do not usually get any credit for their work, as it is sent out as an "agency copy". Wire agencies are extremely important to the functioning of journalism; they are the backbones of most news organisations today, who heavily depend on them for important, routine content. They provide the material that an organisation may not be able to cover through its own limited resources alone.

Exclusive stories on the contrary, are the stories or news items that a publication or channel has obtained through its own resources; it is when a reporter associated with a particular organisation has found certain information through personal sources, and not through public announcements or from PR officials. The exclusivity of a story is also dependent on the condition that no other news channel or publication carries it simultaneously. Often, a reporter may find an exclusive story, but finds that it has lost its exclusivity when his or her source gives out that information to other newspapers and channels. While routine stories may provide the basic material that is required, exclusive stories are the ones that form the editorial identity or the voice of the newspaper.

Morning newspapers are obliged to carry both routine and exclusive news; afternoon editions usually have to go a step further and work hard on follow-ups and their own exclusive stories. Most afternoon dailies do not carry routine news at all. Their content is lighter, and is meant to be a second reflection of the day's events. Magazines and weeklies also focus entirely on features and exclusive stories.


The Internet has allowed the formal and informal publication of news stories through mainstream medial outlets as well as blogs and other self-published news stories.


Newscasters function at large stations and networks that usually specialise in a particular type of news, such as sports or weather. Weathercasters, also called weather reporters, report current and forecast weather conditions. They gather information from national satellite weather services, wire services, and local and regional weather bureaus. Some weathercasters are trained meteorologists and develop their own weather forecasts. (See the statement on atmospheric scientists elsewhere in the Handbook.) Sportscasters select, write, and deliver sports news. This may include interviews with sports personalities and coverage of games and other sporting events.

Article topics and writing

Articles are written about topics that are considered notable by the editors of the publication, with notability varying depending on the focus and audience of the publisher. Large agencies or companies may have reporters that are specialized to discuss specific topics (a beat); smaller agencies are more likely to have a small number of reporters covering all areas of interest. Investigative reports may cover lengthy stories that require days or weeks to gather sufficient information. Articles must be produced to meet a limited deadline determined by the broadcast or print time of the specific publication and working hours may vary according to the deadlines set and depending on projects or last-minute developments may be long or irregular.


Most of the time, journalists are expected to be responsible and objective in their analysis, and are supposed to refrain from personal biases or prejudices. However, this is one of the most debated of all journalistic values, and many today feel that objectivity is a myth.

Grade the News, an American website, identified seven yardsticks on the basis of which it judges the standards of some local media houses' news quality. These yardsticks are newsworthiness, context, explanation, local relevance, civic contribution, enterprise and fairness.



Feature articles are usually longer forms of writing; more attention is paid to style than in straight news reports. They are often combined with photographs, drawings or other "art." They may also be highlighted by typographic effects or colors.

Writing features can be more demanding than writing straight news stories, because while a journalist must apply the same amount of effort to accurately gather and report the facts of the story, he or she must also find a creative and interesting way to write it. The lead (or first two paragraphs of the story; see Nut graf) must grab the reader's attention and yet accurately embody the ideas of the article.

In the last half of the 20th Century the line between straight news reporting and feature writing has blurred. Journalists and publications today experiment with different approaches to writing. Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, Hunter S. Thompson are some of these examples. Urban and alternative weekly newspapers go even further in blurring the distinction, and many magazines include more features than straight news.

Some television news shows experimented with alternative formats, and many TV shows that claimed to be news shows were not considered as such by traditional critics, because their content and methods do not adhere to accepted journalistic standards. National Public Radio, on the other hand, is considered a good example of mixing straight news reporting, features, and combinations of the two, usually meeting standards of high quality. Other US public radio news organizations have achieved similar results. A majority of newspapers still maintain a clear distinction between news and features, as do most television and radio news organizations.

Sports journalism

Sports journalism covers many aspects of human athletic competition, and is an integral part of most journalism products, including newspapers, magazines, and radio and television news broadcasts. While some critics don't consider sports journalism to be true journalism, the prominence of sports in Western culture has justified the attention of journalists to not just the competitive events in sports, but also to athletes and the business of sports.

Sports journalism in the United States has traditionally been written in a looser, more creative and more opinionated tone than traditional journalistic writing; the emphasis on accuracy and underlying fairness is still a part of sports journalism. An emphasis on the accurate description of the statistical performances of athletes is also an important part of sports journalism.

Science journalism

Science journalism is a relatively new branch of journalism, in which journalists' reporting conveys information on science topics to the public. Science journalists must understand and interpret very detailed, technical and sometimes jargon-laden information and render it into interesting reports that are comprehensible to consumers of news media.


Many, but not all, journalists covering science have training in the sciences they cover, including several medical journalists who cover medicine.

Investigative journalism


Because of its inherently confrontational nature, this kind of reporting is often the first to suffer from budget cutbacks or interference from outside the news department. Investigative reporting done poorly can also expose journalists and media organizations to negative reaction from the subjects of investigations and the public, and accusations of gotcha journalism. When conducted correctly it can bring the attention of the public and government to problems and conditions that the public deem need to be addressed, and can win awards and recognition to the journalists involved and the media outlet that did the reporting.

New journalism

New Journalism was the name given to a style of 1960s and 1970s news writing and journalism which used literary techniques deemed unconventional at the time. The term was codified with its current meaning by Tom Wolfe in a 1973 collection of journalism articles.

It is typified by using certain devices of literary fiction, such as conversational speech, first-person point of view, recording everyday details and telling the story using scenes. Though it seems undisciplined at first, new journalism maintains elements of reporting including strict adherence to factual accuracy and the writer being the primary source. To get "inside the head" of a character, the journalist asks the subject what they were thinking or how they felt.

Because of its unorthodox style, new journalism is typically employed in feature writing or book-length reporting projects.

Many new journalists are also writers of fiction and prose. In addition to Wolfe, writers whose work has fallen under the title "new journalism" include Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, Joan Didion, Truman Capote, George Plimpton and Gay Talese.

Gonzo journalism

Gonzo journalism is a type of journalism popularized by the American writer Hunter S. Thompson, author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 and The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved, among other stories and books. Gonzo journalism is characterized by its punchy style, rough language, and ostensible disregard for conventional journalistic writing forms and customs. More importantly, the traditional objectivity of the journalist is given up through immersion into the story itself, as in New Journalism, and the reportage is taken from a first-hand, participatory perspective, sometimes using an author surrogate such as Thompson's Raoul Duke. Gonzo journalism attempts to present a multi-disciplinary perspective on a particular story, drawing from popular culture, sports, political, philosophical and literary sources. Gonzo journalism has been styled eclectic or untraditional. It remains a feature of popular magazines such as Rolling Stone magazine. It has a good deal in common with new journalism and on-line journalism (see above).

'Celebrity' or 'people' journalism

Another area of journalism that grew in stature in the 20th Century is 'celebrity' or 'people' journalism, which focuses on the personal lives of people, primarily celebrities, including movie and stage actors, musical artists, models and photographers, other notable people in the entertainment industry, as well as people who seek attention, such as politicians, and people thrust into the attention of the public, such as people who do something newsworthy.

Once the province of newspaper gossip columnists and gossip magazines, celebrity journalism has become the focus of national tabloid newspapers like the National Enquirer, magazines like People and Us Weekly, syndicated television shows like Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, The Insider, Access Hollywood, and Extra, cable networks like E!, A&E Network and The Biography Channel, and numerous other television productions and thousands of websites. Most other news media provide some coverage of celebrities and people.

Celebrity journalism differs from feature writing in that it focuses on people who are either already famous or are especially attractive, and in that it often covers celebrities obsessively, to the point of these journalists behaving unethically in order to provide coverage. Paparazzi, photographers who would follow celebrities incessantly to obtain potentially embarrassing photographs, have come to characterize celebrity journalism.

'Convergence journalism'

An emerging form of journalism, which combines different forms of journalism, such as print, photographic and video, into one piece or group of pieces. Convergence journalism can be found in the likes of CNN and many other news sites. The Washington Post has a notable amount of this.

Ambush journalism

Ambush journalism refers to aggressive tactics practiced by journalists to suddenly confront with questions people who otherwise do not wish to speak to a journalist. The practice has particularly been applied by television journalists, such as those on the CBS-TV news show 60 Minutes and by Geraldo Rivera and other local television reporters conducting investigations.



Role of journalism in a democracy






The elements of journalism

According to The Elements of Journalism, a book by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosensteil, there are nine elements of journalism In order for a journalist to fulfill their duty of providing the people with the information they need to be free and self-governing. They must follow these guidelines:

  1. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.
  2. Its first loyalty is to the citizens.
  3. Its essence is discipline of verification.
  5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power.
  8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.

On the April 2007 edition of the book , they have added one additional element, the rights and responsibilities of citizens to make it a total of ten elements of journalism.

Professional and ethical standards


  • Fully attribute information gathered from other published sources, should original sources not be available (not to do so is considered plagiarism; some newspapers also note when an article uses information from previous reports);
  • Check every fact reported;
  • Find and report every side of a story possible;
  • Use careful judgment when organizing and reporting information.
  • Decline gifts or favors from any subject of a report, to avoid the appearance of being influenced;


Recognition of excellence in journalism

There are several professional organizations, universities and foundations that recognize excellence in journalism in the USA. The Pulitzer Prize, administered by Columbia University in New York City, is awarded to newspapers, magazines and broadcast media for excellence in various kinds of journalism. The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism gives the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards for excellence in radio and television journalism, and the Scripps Howard Foundation gives the National Journalism Awards in 17 categories. The Society of Professional Journalists gives the Sigma Delta Chi Award for journalism excellence. In the television industry, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences gives awards for excellence in television journalism.

Failing to uphold standards

Such a code of conduct can, in the real world, be difficult to uphold consistently. Journalists who believe they are being fair or objective may give biased accounts -- by reporting selectively, trusting too much to anecdote, or giving a partial explanation of actions. (See Media bias.) Even in routine reporting, bias can creep into a story through a reporter's choice of facts to summarize, or through failure to check enough sources, hear and report dissenting voices, or seek fresh perspectives.

As much as reporters try to set aside their prejudices, they may simply be unaware of them. Young reporters may be blind to issues affecting the elderly. A 20-year veteran of the "police beat" may be deaf to rumours of departmental corruption. Publications marketed to affluent suburbanites may ignore urban problems. And, of course, naive or unwary reporters and editors alike may fall prey to public relations, propaganda or disinformation.

News organizations provide editors, producers or news directors whose job is to check reporters' work at various stages. But editors can get tired, lazy, complacent or biased. An editor may be blind to a favorite reporter's omissions, prejudices or fabrications. (See Jayson Blair.) Provincial editors also may be ill-equipped to weigh the perspective (or check the facts of) a correspondent reporting from a distant city or foreign country. (See News management.)



Self-censorship is a growing problem in journalism, particularly in covering countries that sharply restrict press freedom. As commercial pressure in the media marketplace grows, media organizations are loath to lose access to high-profile countries by producing unflattering stories. For example, CNN admitted that it had practiced self-censorship in covering the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq in order to ensure continued access after the regime had thrown out other media. CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour also complained of self-censorship during the invasion of Iraq due to the fear of alienating key audiences in the US. There are claims that the media are also avoiding covering stories about repression and human rights violations by the Iranian regime in order to maintain a presence in the country.

Reporting versus editorializing


The distinction between reporting and opinion can break down. Complex stories often require summarizing and interpretation of facts, especially if there is limited time or space for a story. Stories involving great amounts of interpretation are often labelled "news analysis," but still run in a paper's news columns. The limited time for each story in a broadcast report rarely allows for such distinctions.

Legal status






Right to protect confidentiality of sources



In the United States, there has never been a right to protect sources in a federal court. Some states provide varying degrees of such protection. However, federal courts will refuse to force journalists to reveal sources, unless the information the court seeks is highly relevant to the case, and there's no other way to get it. Journalists, like all citizens, who refuse to testify even when ordered to can be found in contempt of court and fined or jailed.

Right of access

Journalists often depend on freedom of information legislation to access information held by the government. These rights also vary from nation to nation.

United States

In the United States, the Freedom of Information Act guarantees journalists the right to obtain copies of government documents, although the government has the right to black out some information from these documents. Other federal legislation also controls access to information.

Some states have more open policies for making information available, and some states have acted in the last decade to broaden those rights. New Jersey has updated and broadened its freedom of information legislation to better define what kinds of government documents can be withheld from public inquiry.


In India, the Right to Information Act was passed in 2005, giving citizens the right to access state and national records.

See also


External links

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