Journalists now use social media, newspaper/magazine websites and other popular sites on the Internet to publish their stories and content. Readers on the Internet view this published material for a brief time and don’t stick around for long, so it’s important for the published copy to be short and snappy, with all relevant information included all while maintaining the readers interest.
The inverted pyramid is a journalistic metaphor used to help structure and prioritise aspects of news stories/articles. Basically it states that at the beginning or ‘intro’ of your copy, it should contain the most newsworthy information, followed by important details, then by other information.
The ‘Five W’s and a H’ are commonly used in the introducing paragraphs of an article as they are the considered the most important information that readers want to know.
The inverted pyramid:
Image Source: Wikipedia
I have researched how content is written and displayed by looking at current news stories posted on the Internet. Below are two stories that I have analysed or broke down to help show the structure and rules that make good copy online.
1 – Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31375445
This is the homepage of the BBC News website. The story that stands out the most is the one titled ‘US Islamic State Hostage Killed’. It has large bold text for the title or headline and is at the top of the page.
Above is a screenshot of the beginning of the article. The intro is written in bold as it is the important information at the top of the copy used to draw the reader in to the story. It has 22 words and is short and to the point. Looking around at articles anywhere in the press, online and in newspapers – generally introductions to news stories hold less than 30 words and usually comprise of just one sentence. This article does follow the metaphor of the inverted pyramid, with the most important newsworthy information at the top, followed by more information and quotes. In the first several lines all of the five W’s and the H are used.
2 – Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jilted-husband-who-hit-ex-wifes-5138254
On the homepage of the Mirror website this story stands out the most as it has the largest bold title and biggest images at the top of the page. As you can see in the above image other stories are posted on the page with images and bold text but are less prominent as they are smaller and not at the top of the page.
This articles intro also comprises of 22 words and is one short and to the point sentence. It proceeds with the next sentence giving the reader more specific information such as the names and ages of the people involved. The inverted pyramid is used here as the shocking and important news is in the first paragraphs with more information following.
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