UM Digos College

Department of Teacher Education

RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

Course Outline: ELT 323 – Campus Journalism

Course Coordinator: MERAFEL GRACE S. ABULE

Email: [email protected]
Student Consultation: Traditional Contact (Calls, Texts, Emails)
Mobile: 09071122351
Phone: N/A
Effectivity Date: January 2021
Mode of Delivery: Blended Learning and Distance Learning
Time Frame: 54 hours
Student Workload: Expected Self-Directed Learning
Requisites: 
Credit:   3
Attendance Requirements: A minimum of 95% attendance is required at all
scheduled Virtual or face to face session.

Course Outline Policy

Areas of Concern Details

Contact and Non-contact This 3-unit course self-instructional manual is
Hours designed
for blended learning mode of instructional delivery with
scheduled face to face or virtual sessions.
Theexpected number of hours will be 54 including the
face
to face or virtual sessions. The face to face
sessionsshall include the summative assessment
tasks (exams)
since this course is crucial in the licensure
examination
for teachers.
Assessment Task Submission of assessment tasks shall be on 3 rd, 5th,
Submission 7thand 9th week of the term. The assessment paper
shallbe attached with a cover page indicating the title
of theassessment task (if the task is performance),
thename of the course coordinator, date of submission
andname of the student. The document should be
emailedto the course coordinator. It is also expected
that youalready paid your tuition and other fees before
thesubmission of the assessment task.
Grading System Assessment Methods Weights

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

EXAMINATIONS
A. Exam 1 to 3 - 30%
B. Final Exam
- MCQ and Performance-based - 30%
CLASS PARTICIPATIONS
C. Quizzes - 10%
D. Research - 15%
E. Oral recitation - 10%
F. Assignments - 5%
Total 100%
Submission of the final grades shall follow the usual
Universitysystem and procedures.
Student All communication formats: chat, submission of
Communication assessmenttasks, requests etc. shall be through the
school recognizedplatforms. You can also meet the
course coordinator in personthrough the scheduled
face to face sessions to raise your issues
and concerns.
Contact Details of the Dean Eduard L. Pulvera, MSIS
Email: [email protected]
Contact Details of the Tomas A. Diquito, MAST – Bio
Program Head Email: [email protected]
Students with Special Needs Students with special needs shall communicate with
thecourse coordinator about the nature of his or
herspecial needs. Depending on the nature of the
need,the course coordinator with the approval of the
programcoordinator may provide alternative
assessment tasks
or extension of the deadline of submission
ofassessment tasks. However, the
alternativeassessment tasks should still be in the
service ofachieving the desired course learning
outcomes.
Help Desk Contact Directors Office / Deans Office
Phone: 09071462971

Course Information – see/download course syllabus in the Quipper LMS

CC’s Voice: Hello future educators! Welcome to this course,ELT 323 – Campus
Journalism.This course aims to provide the students’ knowledge and awareness on the
principles on journalism in general and school paper in particular. These principles of
news writing have been simplified to suit the ability and maturity levels of young
journalists so as to develop and enhance their skills in news writing. This subject will

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

also allow the students to perceive the relation of what they do in school to their
commitments and involvements outside the school, thus, developing the students to
become conscious, responsible and dynamics citizens of the country.

CO Before we start the course, it is necessary that you will know the
definitions of journalism from the different perspectives and also to trace
back the history of high school publication.

Let us begin!

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

Big Picture
Week 1 to 3: Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO): At the end of the unit, you are expected to
a. Define and determine the scope of journalism.
b. Trace the history of high school publication and identify the functions and
sections of a campus paper.
c. Discuss the elements that make up a news article.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Define and determine the scope of journalism.

Metalanguage
For you to demonstrate ULOa, you need to have a wide range of understanding
of the definition and scope of journalism.
Key Terms:
 Journalism –It is the occupation of writing for publication in newspapers and
other periodicals.
 Periodical – It is a publication that comes out at regular intervals – daily,
weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.
 Newspaper – It prints more news, has no special cover, and is printed on a
special paper called newsprint.
 Magazine – It prints more features and human-interest stories, has a special
cover usually with a big cut on it, and is often printed in bookpaper.

Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the first
three (3) weeks of the course.Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer to
these resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

“Journalism is in fact history in the run.”

- Thomas Griffith

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

Definition of Journalism

There are many definitions of journalism, but the most familiar ones are those
given by Noah Webster, by Fraser Bond, and by the Encyclopedia.
The word, journal comes from the Latin word diurnal which means “daily”.
Webster defines journalism as the occupation of writing for publication in
newspapers and other periodicals.
Fraser F. Bond, on the other hand, defines it as “something that embraces all
forms in which or through which the news and comments reach the public.” According to
him, all that happens in the world, if such happenings hold interest for the public, and all
the thoughts, actions and ideas which
these happenings stimulate, become
basic materials for the journalist.
High School journalism has been
defined by school paper advisers of the
City Schools of Manila as “that enjoyable
co-curricular activity of the school paper
staff in collecting, organizing and
presenting news; in writing editorials,
columns and literary articles, and
features; in copyreading, proofreading,
dummying, and writing headlines – all
for the purpose of putting out a school organ.”

Scope of Journalism
Journalism may be divided into three areas; namely,
written, oral,and visual. Periodicals such as newspapers
and magazines fall under written journalism.
A periodical is a publication that comes out at
regular intervals – daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-
monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.
A newspaper prints more news, has no special
cover, and is printed on a special paper called newsprint.
News is printed on the front page as well as on the inside
and back pages.

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

A magazine prints more features and human-

interest stories, has a special cover usually
with a big cut on it, and is often printed on
bookpaper. If ever news is printed, it is brief,
featurized, and is found in the inside pages.
Periodicals, brochures, journals, books, and
graphic arts are classified under print media.
Radio falls under oral journalism, while
television, movies, and documentaries are
under visual journalism.
Radio and television are examples of
broadcast media while movies and documentaries are examples of film media.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila.

Let’s Check
Directions: Now that you know the definitions and scope of journalism, answer the
following questions that follows. Choose the letter of your answer.
1. Who defines journalism as the occupation of writing for publication in
newspapers and other periodicals?
a. Webster c. Bond
b. Encyclopedia d. Cambridge

2. In newspaper, news is printed on the front page as well as on the inside and
back pages.
a. True
b. False

3. Newspaper is printed in a special paper called ______.

a. Bookpaper c. Newsprint
b. Manila paper d. Oslo paper

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

4. Which of the following materials is not classified as printed media?

a. periodicals c. brochures
b. graphic arts d. radio
5. Radio and television are examples of _______.
a. Film media c. Print media
b. Broadcast media d. Visual media

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Answer the following questions below briefly but precisely.
1. What is the difference between print media and broadcast media?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

2. Among the different definitions of journalism presented above, which is the best
definition for you? Why? Explain your answer.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

In a Nutshell
As a potential writer, define journalism in your own.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.
Do you have any question for clarification?
Questions/Issues Answers
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Trace the history of high school publication
and identify the functions and sections of a campus paper.

Metalanguage
For you to demonstrate ULOb, you need to study the birth of high school
publication by tracing its history and also the functions and sections of a campus paper.

Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the first
three (3) weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer to
these resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

The Birth of High School Papers in the Country

High school student publications are almost as old as the Philippine public-school
system itself. For instance, the first Manila High School, now the Araullo High School,
then under the editorship of Carlos P. Romulo, started putting out a mimeographed
student paper named The Coconut in the school year 1911-1912.
As an extra-curricular activity in the early Philippine public high schools, student
publication was introduced in the country shortly after its wide adoption in the American
high schools and colleges. It is believed that the first school paper in the United States
was published in 1851. However, it was not until the early 1920’s that student journalism
gained acceptance in the American high schools.
In the Philippines, the first regularly issued printed high school paper was the La
Union Tab of La Union High School. It was published in 1923. Since then, Pioneer
high school papers came out one after the other.
Among the school organs where: The Pampangan, Pampanga High School,
1925; The Leytean, Leyte High School, 1925; The Rizalian, Rizal High School, 1926;
The Coconut, Tayabas High School, 1927; The Volcano, Batangas High School, 1927;
The Toil, La Union Trade School, 1928; The Samarinian, Samar High School, 1928;
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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

The Melting Pot, Tarlac High School, 1929; The Granary, Nueva Ecija High School,
1929; The

Torres Torch, Torres High School, 1929; The Cagayan Student Chronicler, Cagayan
High School, 1930.
By 1931, there were 106 high schools in the country. Since then, although there
have been no regulatory memorandums or circulars urging high schools to put out a
school paper, newly organized high schools followed suit. They, too, had to put out one
for themselves.
Out of those 106 high schools, only 30 had school papers registered with the
Bureau of Public Schools. By 1950, this number increased to 169; by 1954, to 253; by
1975, to 500, and by 1986 to more than 900 English and Filipino secondary school
papers.
The first significant regulation governing the putting out of high school papers
was Circular Letter No. 34, s. 1929 which is set down certain requirements based on the
service manual. It was issued by the Bureau of Education now the Department of
Education, signed by Director Luther B. Bewley.
Among the requirements were:
1) that capable teachers be available to supervise carefully all steps of the papers
production;
2) that finances be sufficient to avoid taking subscriptions and to prevent financial
embarrassment to the faculty; and
3) that a printer who has equipment to produce a creditable paper be available.

The circular objected to the publication of school papers containing undesirable

materials, poor printing, and faulty English.
On October 22, 1945, Acting Executive Officer John H. McBride Jr. of the
Department of Instruction and Information sent a letter to all division superintendents
quoting provisions from the service manual stating that the school papers should consist
chiefly of articles treating of school activities, but they should be free from
advertisements, from questionable jokes and cartoons, and from worthless poetry and
prose. It stated further that articles purporting to be written by pupils should be solely
the product of their efforts, the assistance of the teacher being limited only to criticisms.

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

The Birth of Manila City School Papers

The first school paper in Manila public high schools and incidentally in the
country was born in the school year 1911-1912. This was The Coconut of the old Manila
High School (now Araullo High School). It was a mimeographed paper, it was edited by
Carlos P. Romulo.
The next in line was Torres Torch of Torres High School. The maiden issue
made its bow in September, 1930. Then followed by the Mapazetteof Mapa High School
and The Chronicler of Arellano High School, both in 1940.
All the rest were born after World War II. The list of Manila high school
publications with their Filipino paper counterparts, as of 1967 are hereby listed in for the
logical order.
1911 – The Coconut (Mimeographed) later renamed The Wall in 1937, Araullo High
School: Ang Moog, June 1957.
1930 – The Torres Torch, Torres High School: Ang Sulo, June – July, 1956.
1940 (Sept.) – The Mapazette. Mapa High School: Ang Gabay, 1946.
1940 (Nov.) – The Chronicler. Arellano High School: Ang Tambuli, November 1945
1946 – The Power, EARIST; Ang Lakas
1947 (Sept.) – The Gazette, Abad Santos High School; Ang Tinig, June 1957
1954 (July) – The Evening Progress, EARIST
1958 (June) – The Wheel, Roxas High School; Ang Gulong, 1964
1958 (July-Aug.) – The Molave, Villamor High School; Ang Mulawin, July 1958
1958 (Aug.-Oct.) – Gov. Forbes Newsletter, later renamed The Blue and White,
Magsaysay High School; Ang Silahis, Aug.-Oct. 1958
1958 (Sept. 9) – The Scroll, later named The Quezonian, Quezon High School; Ang
Landas, Nov. 1958
1959 – The Quill, later renamed The Avanceñan. Avanceña High School; Ang
BukangLiwayway
1959 – MHS Newsette. Manila High School; Ang Binhi, 1959.
1962 (July) – The Shield, Soliman High School; Ang Pananggalang, later named Ang
Kalasag, July1962.

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

1962 – The Newsletter, later named The Councelor, Alonzo High School; Ang Mithi,
later renamedThe Clarion, then The Rectonian, Recto High School; Ang Diwa, March 7,
1963

1963 (March 22) – The Gold Reed, Quirino High School; Ang Tanglaw, later renamed
Ang GintongPanitik, March 1963
1963 (Feb.-March) – The New Horizons, Osmeña High School; Ang Bulalakaw, July
1963
1963 (March 13) – The Barangay, Lakandula High School; Ang Barangay, 1964
1963 (Nov.) – The Boys Town Newsette, later renamed Ang Sandigan, Boys Town
HighSchool (now Valeriano E. Fugoso Memorial School)
1963 – The Nucleus, Manila Science High School; Ang Ubod, 1963
1964 (July 11) – The Sampaguita, later renamed Ang Batis, July 1966
1966 – The Pioneer, Aguinaldo High School; Ang Usbong, 1966
1967 (Jan.) – The Newsette, later renamed Ang Layag, Jan. 1967
1967 – The Paez Echo, Paez Integrated School, Ang Pahatid.

Functions of the Campus Paper

A campus paper is a publication, either a mimeographed or printed, put out by
staff members whose names appear in the masthead or editorial box.
The compass paper has many functions. The traditional roles of the compass
paper we’re specified by Harold Spears and C.H. Lawshe Jr. in their book, An
Introduction to Journalism.
A. Aid to the students
1) Provides an opportunity for interesting writing.
2) Gives students the opportunity to learn how to read the newspapers.
3) Acts as a stimulus to better work.
4) Develops students’ powers of observation and discrimination concerning relative
merits of news articles.
5) Serves as an outlet and motivation for journalistic writing.
6) Offers training in organization, business methods, commercial art, salesmanship,
bookkeeping, and business management.
7) Develops qualities of cooperation, tact, accuracy, tolerance, responsibility, and
leadership.

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

B. Aid to the school and community

1) Informs the community on the work of the school.
2) Publishes school news.
3) Creates an expresses school opinion.
4) Makes known the achievements of the school.
5) Helps unify the school.
6) Encourages and stimulates worthwhile activities.
7) Develops a right standard of conduct.
8) Provides an outlet for students’ suggestions for the betterment of the school.
9) Develops better interschool relationship.
10)Develops school spirit.
11)Develops cooperation between parents and the school.

The modern campus paper has evolved other functions. Briefly explained, they are:
1) Information function – It informs the readers of events that happened, that are
happening, or that will still happen. That is its news function. But information
may also come from the features, editorials, and other sections of the school
paper.

2) Opinion function – Through the editorials and editorial columns, the editor
interprets the meaning of the news, especially of the banner news, and gives
his opinion of important matters or of significant events of the day.

3) Education function – One of the most important functions of a modern

campus paper is to educate not only the students but also the people in the
community. Sex education and family planning which used to be taboo in
classrooms are now the topics of discussion by student writers in their school
organs.

4) Watchdog function – The school paper acts as the guardian of the student’s
rights. It serves as the eyes of the readers.

5) Laboratory function – It serves as the teaching tool for the building journalists.
After they have learned, for example, how to write straight news stories, they
cover school activities and write the news for publication.

6) Documentation function – Important school events and worthwhile student

accomplishments and achievements are recorded in the school paper for
posterity’s sake. Most present-day histories have been researched on from
old files of newspapers.

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

7) Entertainment function – The school paper, like an interesting book, keeps

the reader company especially when he is alone. Most human-interest stories
are very interesting to read.

8) Developmental function – In a developing country like the Philippines,

scholastic as well as commercial journalism has been given nobler
significance. The young writer who used to spend more time reporting on club
activities like elections and parties, and writing lines to Delilah, has graduated
into a development journalist. As such, he has included his community and
his beat, and sometimes touches on topics of national significance. He’s been
encouraged to write on increasing agricultural productivity, land reform,
expanded health, medical and other social welfare services, population
education, rural electrification, nutrition education, and the promotion of a
deeper culture consciousness among the people.

Sections/Parts of a Campus Paper

Whether it is a community, metropolitan, or national paper, its parts and sections
are more or less the same. Traditionally, these are:
A. Front Page
1) Local news – news that takes place with in the country.
2) Foreign news– news that takes place outside the country.
3) Dateline news – an out-of-town new story. It is introduced by a dateline which
states the place from which the story was reported, the date, and the source of
the material if not we can buy the local staff, as Tokyo, Japan, Jan. 25 (AP).
4) Weather news – usually a boxed forecast of area, sometimes the temperature,
wind directions, and velocities. Extremes on weather our reported as more
detailed new stories.
5) Index – a slug line indicating an important inside page story and the page where
it is found.
6) Other things found on the Front Page: (Those with asterisk (*) may or may not be
present).
a) Nameplate – the engraved or printed name of the newspaper, as the Manila
Times our PNC porch.
b) Ears –the little boxes on either side of the nameplate.
c) Banner – the principal headline bearing the boldest and biggest type. It is
the title of the most important news of the day which is called banner news.
It may or may not run across the page. If it does, it may also be called a
streamer.
d) Running head – a head made up of two or more lines.
e) Headline – the title of any news story. The word headline is used only for
titles of news stories.
f) Deck – a subordinate headline placed immediately below its mother
headline, also known as bank a readout.
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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

g) Lead – the beginning of a new story. It may be a word, a group of words, a

sentence, or even a paragraph.
h) News story – the whole story of an event composed of the lead in the text
which is the elaboration of the lead.
i) Columns – the horizontal division into parts of a newspaper. Many national
papers are divided into eight columns while a typical school paper is divided
into five columns of 12 ems each.
j) Column rule –the vertical line that divides the page into columns. Most
pages of newspaper are divided into columns by a space usually one em
wide. This space is called a sunken rule.
k) Fold – the imaginary horizontal line that divides the newspaper equally into
two parts.
l) Byline – the signature of a reporter preceding a news-feature, as By Warren
Cruz.
m) Box – News materials enclosed by line rules.
n) Cut – a metal plate bearing a newspaper’s illustration, also known as cliché.
o) Cutline – the text accompanying photos and other art work, better known as
a caption. If written above the photo just like a slugline, it is called an
overline.
p) Kicker – a tagline placed above but smaller than a headline, also known as
teaser. If it is bigger than the headline, it is called a hammer.
q) Credit line – a line giving the source of the story or illustration, as Reprinted
from the “Manila Times” or Photo by MPI.

B. Editorial Page
1) Folio – consists of the page number, date of publication, and name of the
newspaper, usually written on top of the page. This is also found in the other
pages.
2) Masthead –the editorial box containing the logo, names of the staff members and
position in the staff, subscription rate, the publisher, and other pertinent data
about the newspaper. Alogo (a shorter word for logotype) is a cut which contains
an identifying word or words, such as the name of the newspaper or of a section.
3) Editorial proper –a commentary written by any of the editors who comments or
gives the opinion of the staff or the whole paper on various subjects. It is the
stand of the newspaper.
4) Editorial column –a personal opinion written by the columnist himself. Like the
editorial proper, it may attack, teach, entertain, or appeal depending upon its
purpose.
5) Editorial cartoon –usually a caricature emphasizing a simple point. Usually
humorous, it has the function of the editorial. It stands by itself and is not a
complement of the editorial proper.
6) Editorial liner – a short statement or quoted saying placed at the end of an
editorial column or editorial to drive home a message.

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

7) Letter to the editor – a letter sent in by the reader giving his personal views on
certain aspects.

C. Sports Page
Sports stories are classified as new stories; therefore, what may be found in the
news page may also be found in the sports section. Other things that may be found in
the sports section are the sports commentaries and sports features.

D. Special Features
The modern newspaper has taken some special features and eliminated some
which have become irrelevant to the needs of the times. An example of this is the
society page.
Commonly found in the present-day newspaper are: a) Life and Leisure (The
Arts, Religion, Entertainment and Comics) and b) Finance and Business for the Manila
Times. The feature page of the Manila Bulletin contains: home and culture,
entertainment, comics, shipping, classified ads, movie, TV and radio guides, and the
comics page.
The modern campus publication is both a school and community paper. It is for
this reason that its content is similar to that of a metropolitan paper, minus the business
and agricultural sections; the shipping, movie, TV and radio guides; the display and
classified ads; and the comics page.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

1. Cruz. C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila.
2. Capati, Belmonte. 65 Years of Public Education in Manila, San Juan, pp. 37-38.
3. San Juan, Clehenia C. “Training High School Journal in the Service of Education
and Development”.
4. Armando Malay, The High School Paper, pp. 169-179.
5. Cruz, Ceciliano-Jose. “The History and Development of Journalism in the City
High Schools of Manila.” An M.A. thesis presented to the UP Institute of Mass
Communication, 1973.

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

Let’s Check
Directions: Identify the correct answer.
____________1. It is the engraved or printed name of the newspaper.
____________2. The imaginary horizontal line that divides the newspaper equally into
two parts.
____________3. The beginning of a new story. It may be a word, a group of words, a
sentence, or even a paragraph.
____________4. The title of any new story.
____________5. The principal headline during the boldest and biggest type.
____________6. The editorial box containing the logo, names of the staff members and
position in the staff, subscription rate, the publisher, and other pertinent data about the
newspaper.
____________7. A line giving the source of the story or illustration.
____________8. The little boxes on either side of the nameplate.
____________9. The horizontal division into parts of a newspaper.
____________10. It is the stand of the paper.

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Answer the following questions below.
1. Secure old copies of your school paper (elementary, high school or college)
published five or ten years ago. Note at least 3-5 differences from your present
issues.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

2. Prepare an old/new issue of your school paper. Clip from your school paper three
(3) different articles exemplifying three (3) different functions of a modern school
paper. Paste the clipped article to an A4 bond paper, label each article and
explain the function that is being exemplified.

In a Nutshell
Your turn. Answer the following questions.
1. Which part or section of a campus paper you think is the most important and has
the biggest role in the campus paper? Why? Explain your answer.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

2. State one more function of a campus paper which is not yet mentioned above.
How can this function serve its purpose?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.
Do you have any question for clarification?
Questions/Issues Answers
1.

2.

3.

4.

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 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
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5.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOc. Discuss the elements that make up a news
article.

Metalanguage
In this section, you will be acquainted with the elements that make news and the
different types of news stories. Also, you will learn how to identify the different types of
news stories according to scope of origin, chronology or sequence, structure, and other
forms and you will be able to construct different types of lead such as conventional lead,
grammatical beginning lead and the novelty lead.

Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the first
three (3) weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer to
these resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

Definition of News
News is an oral or written report of a past, present, or future event. It should be
factual, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and interesting. But what is interesting to one is not
always interesting to another. What is news in Manila may only be a daily occurrence in
Cotabato; what is hot news today may be irrelevant tomorrow.

Elements of News

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A news story, may be appealing to a particular reader for any or all of the
following elements:
1) Conflict – this may involve physical or mental conflict – man versus man, man
versus animals, man versus nature, or man versus himself. Stories of war,
athletic meets, and journalism contests are examples of conflicts.
2) Immediacy or timeliness –this element emphasizes the newest angle of the story.
The more recent the event, the more interesting it is to the reader.
3) Proximity or nearness – this may refer to geographical nearness as well as the
nearness of kinship or interest. To a Filipino reader, news about a cholera
epidemic in Asia concerns him more than the same kind of epidemic in Europe,
unless he has many relatives in Europe. Again, if two news stories - one about
the results of the NSAT examinations and another about the results of the bar
examinations appear on the same page, a graduating fourth year student will
read first the former because of its immediate interest to him.
4) Prominence – some people are more prominent than others by reasons of
wealth, social position, or achievements. The assassination of former Senator
Benigno Aquino hugged national and international headlines for many months.
Prominence may also refer to places or things.
5) Significance – whatever is significant to the life of an individual is interesting to
him. This is why newspapers sell like the proverbial hotcakes when news of the
increase in the price of oil or of the eminence of war is published.
6) Names – important names make important news. Also, the more names there o
in the story, the better.
7) Drama – this adds color to the story. The more picturesque the background and
the more dramatic the actions are, the more appealing the story is to the reader.
The public certainly loves a good show. Anything that moves a reader to tears or
to laughter is good news.
8) Oddity or unusualness –this refers to a strange or unnatural events, objects,
persons, and places. An odd story is interesting not because of its newest value
but because of the human-interest side of it. Consider this: a dead man comes to
life, finds himself in a coffin, sits up and dies of heart attack.
9) Romance and adventure – the romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
had hugged headlines for many years. Romance may be experienced with other
things. There were romances of Hemingway with the sea and of the astronauts
with space.
10) Sex – since the dawn of history, sex has always interested man. Stories of sex
are usually related to stories of romance, marriage, divorce, and the varied
activities of men with women. This is not always the case. The element of sex is
involved with a woman like Cory Aquino is elected president of a country or when
a bandit queen robs a bank in broad daylight.
11) Progress – the onward and forward march of civilization or the progress of the
country is chronicled step-by-step in the newspaper. The trend today is towards
development communication. Reports on the significant changes in the
established order and on scientific achievements are in order.

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12) Animals – stories of animals, especially those with talents are good reading
matter because of their human-interest value.
13) Number – sweepstakes numbers, vital statistics, election results, scores in
games, casualties, fatalities, price of goods, and ages of women make good
news.
14) Emotion – all the other elements of news mentioned above appeal to the
emotion. But the term emotion here includes the various human responses such
as the innate desire for food, clothing, shelter; the universal interest in children,
animals, and nature; and a natural feeling of love, sympathy and generosity, of
fear, hatred, and a jealousy.

Types of News Stories

News stories may fall under any of the following types according to:
1) Scope or origin
a) Local news – Report of events that take place within the immediate
locality.
b) National news – News that takes place with in the country.
c) Foreign news – News that takes place outside the country.
d) Dateline news – News preceded by the date and place of origin or place
where it was written or filed: Tokyo, Jan. 20. (AP)

2) Chronology or Sequence
a) Advance or anticipated – news is published before its occurrence,
sometimes called dope or prognostication. The reporter foretells events
expected to occur at the definite time in the future.
b) Spot news – news that is gathered and reported on the spot. It deals with
unscheduled information demanding immediate publication. The reporter
himself is an eyewitness to the event that took place.
c) Coverage news – news written from a given beat. Both a spot news and
coverage news are good examples of firsthand reporting.
d) Follow-up news –a sequel to a previous story. Having a new lead of its
own, it is a second, third, or subsequent chapter of a serial.

3) Structure
a) Straight news – news that consists of facts given straight without
embellishment. Its main aim is to inform. It uses the summary lead and is
written using the inverted pyramid structure.
b) News-feature (featurized news is distinguished from a feature article) – it
is also based on facts, but it entertains more that it informs. It uses the
suspended interest structure like the narrative; thus, it cannot meet the

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cut- off test. In writing a news-feature, the writer may give his impression,
may describe any rate, but without resorting to biased opinion; i.e., without
editorializing. The reporter’s by-line usually appears with his story.

(1) Single-feature or One-incident story – the story deals with an

isolated event. A single fact is featured in the lead and is explained further
in the succeeding paragraphs. The story breaks magically at every
paragraph; thusenabling the reporter to cut or lengthen it as space
dictates.
(2) Several-feature, multiple-angled, or composite story – several
facts are included in the lead in their order of importance. These are facts
are elaborated one after the other in the body. The several-feature story
aims to draw together two or more divergent aspects of related news
items separately; the writer writes them in one big story.

4) Treatment
a) Fact story –This is a plain exposition setting forth a single situation or a
series of closely related facts that inform. It is written in the inverted
pyramid design.
b) Action story – A narrative of actions involving not mere simple facts but
also of dramatic events, description of persons and events, perhaps
testimony of witnesses, as well as explanatory data. Sports games,
competitions, accidents, and war reports are examples of action stories.
c) Speech report – a news story usually written from a public address, talks,
and speeches.
d) Quote story – speeches, statements, and letters, and to some extent,
interviews when reported, are recorded as quote stories. All are based on
recorded information, either written or spoken, and transcribed by the
reporter in the form of news.
e) Interview story – a news report written from an interview.

5) Content
a) Routine story –celebrations, enrollment, graduation, election stories
reported year in and year out.
b) Police reports – accident, fire, calamity, crime stories, etc.
c) Science news
d) Developmental news
e) Sports stories

6) Minor forms
a) News brief – a short item of news interest, written like a brief telegraphic
message, giving mainly the result with details.

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b) News bulletin – it is similar to the lead of a straight news story. Its aim is
just to give the gist of the news.
c) News-featurette – this is a short news future usually used as filler, e.g.,
“Quirks in the news.”
d) Flash – a bulletin that conveys the first word of an event.

Kinds of Lead
1. Conventional or summary lead
This kind of lead used in straight news answers right away all or any of the 5 W’s
and/or the H. It may be of the following:
a) WHO Lead – used when the person involved is more prominent than what he
does or what happens to him.

Ex. President Fidel V. Ramos addressed April 20, the PMA graduates in Baguio
City.
b) WHAT Lead – used when the event or what took place is more important than
the person involved in the story.

Ex. The NSAT Bobby given of November 24 to all graduating high school
students desiring to enroll in the four-year college course.

c) WHERE Lead – used when the place is unique and no prominent person is
involved.

Ex. The Philippines will be the site of the next Miss Universe contest.

d) WHEN Lead – barely used as the reader pressure room is the story to be timely.
However, this lead is useful when speaking of deadlines, holidays, and important
dates.

Ex. Sept. 15 is the deadline for filing the NSAT application forms.
Today, almost to the hour, the Revolutionary Government was proclaimed by
former President Corazon Aquino.
e) WHY Lead – used when the reason is more prominent or unique than what
happens.

Ex. Because of poverty, around a hundred students dropped out from school last
year. This was learned from PNU President Gloria Salandan.

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f) HOW Lead – used when the manner, mode, means, or method of achieving the
story is the unnatural way.

Ex. By appealing to the school board, the Manila Science High School was able
to construct a three-story concrete building.
2. Grammatical beginning lead
There are times when the lead is introduced by a kind of grammatical form which
is usually a phrase or a clause used to emphasizea feature. Here, the important W’s are
found in the main clause, not in the introductory or subordinate clause which is just a
modifying feature.
Some examples of these grammatical beginning leads are:
a) Prepositional phrase lead – the face is introduced by a proposition.

Ex. With the brooms and other cleaning equipment, boy scouts from the Manila
public high schools cleaned the city market in consonance with Mayor Alfredo
Lim’s CLEAN and beautification drive.

b) Infinitive phrase lead – it begins with the sign of the infinitive to plus the main
verb.

Ex. To encourage the reason, Balikbayans are given a warm welcome by their
fellow Filipinos.

c) Participial phrase lead – it is introduced by the present or past participle form of

the verb.

Ex. Hoping to cop the first place, the PNU wood-pushers honed up for the chess
championship games. (present participle)

Dressed like priests, robbers were able to enter the bank. (past participle)

d) Gerundial phrase lead – it is introduced by a gerund (a verbal noun ending in -

ing).

Ex. Winning the development communication trophy during the national press
conference Araullo High School’s best achievement of the year.

e) Clause Lead – the lead begins with the clause which may either be independent
or subordinate; or may either be a noun or an adjectival or adverbial clause.

Ex. Because September 9 was Osmeña Day, all lessons dealt with the life of the
late President Sergio Osmeña Sr. (subordinate, adverbial)

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3. Novelty Lead
Some kinds of leads are best used in writing news-features. They are written in
such a way that they attract attention or carry out a definite purpose. Among these kinds
of novelty leads are:
a) Astonisher lead – uses an interjection or an exclamatory sentence.

Ex. Champion of District I!

Better look your best this week!

b) Contrast lead – describes two extremes or opposites for emphasis. The sharper
the contrast, the more effective the lead will be.

Ex. Four months before the Beautification and CleanlinessDrive, Zone 15 in

Tondo, Manila was the dirtiest district. Three months after, it won the first place in
the Clean contest sponsored by the Department of Community and Local
Government.
c) Epigram lead – opens by quoting a common expression, verse, or epigram, at
least familiar in the locality.

Ex. Like father, like son. Ramon Garcia Jr. graduated valedictorian this year. 10
years ago, his father, Mr. Ramon Garcia Sr. also topped his class and delivered
his valedictorian address on the same rostrum where the young Garcia delivered
his.
d) Picture lead –describes a person, a place or an event, at the same time creating
a mental picture of the subject matter in the mind of the reader.

Ex. The new principal, although only in his early 30’s, is already silver-haired. He
seldom talks, but when he does, he talks with sense.

e) Background lead – similar to the picture lead except that it describes the setting
which may be more prominent than the characters and the events.

Ex. The PNU campus was turned into a miniature carnival ground September 1
during the 91st F-Day celebration of the University. Decorated with buntings and
multicolored lights, the quadrangle was a grand setting for a barrio fiesta.

f) Descriptive lead – used when comparatively few descriptive words can vividly
formulate an imagery.

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Ex. Dressed in white polo barong, and with diplomas in their hands, 594
graduates marched down the stage to the tune Osmeña High March.

g) Parody lead – consists of a parody of a well-known song, poem, lines, etc.

Ex. Water, water everywhere, but no water to drink. This was what the flood
victims found to their dismay.

h) Punch lead – a short, forceful word or expression. It is rarely used.

Ex. Victory day!

Magsaysay High School celebrated March 18 its 5 th victory in the city-wide
journalism contests.

i) One-word lead – (self-explanatory)

Ex. March!
Thus ordered Hi-Y president Joey Lina Jr. of Osmeña High School to start the
“Walk for Health” fund-raising drive.

j) Quotation lead – consists of the speaker’s direct words which are very striking
and which are usually quoted from a speech, a public address or an interview.

Ex. “The youth in The New Republic have become partners of the government in
its struggle for progress and advancement,” thus spoke PNU Vice-President Lillia
Garcia, to some 400 student delegates to the 1994 Hi-Y-H-teens Leadership
Training Seminar held December 26-30 at the College Auditorium.

k) Question lead –an answer to a question which is the basis of the news story.

Ex. Who will reign as Miss Intramurals this year?

This will be known Aug. 8 after the final screening to be held at the PNU
Gym
and Performing Arts Center.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila.

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Telefax: (082)553-2914

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Identify what is asked in the following statements.
____________1. An element of news that refers to geographical nearness as well as
the nearness of kinship or interest.
____________2. This element of news refers to strange or unnatural events, objects,
persons, and places.
____________3. This element of news emphasizes the newest angle of the story.
____________4. A type of news in which the report of events take place within the
immediate locality.
____________5. A news that consists of facts given straight without embellishment.
____________6. A news that takes place outside the country.
____________7. This is a plain exposition setting forth a single situation or a series of
closely related facts that inform.
____________8. It is similar to the lead of a straight news story. Its aim is just to give
the gist of the news.
____________9. Accident, fire, calamity, crime stories, etc. are examples of _____.
____________10. A news story usually written from a public address, talks, and
speeches.

Activity 2.Tell what kind of lead is used in the following:

__________1. Supt. ErlindaLolarga was the guest speaker during the investiture of Boy
Scouts held January 15 at Carlos P. Garcia High School.
__________2. They shall not win!
This was announced by Roxas High School basketball coach Gerry
Misajon when he spoke to his team before they left for the games.
__________3. He used to be a mechanic. Now he is president of the college.
__________4. Who do you think will be elected Miss High School? This, everyone
wants to know as Torres High School Day fast approaches.
__________5. To upgrade the teaching of journalism, the Torch bought 20 volumes of
journalism books recently.

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__________6. Dressed in caps and gowns, and with a diplomas in their hands, the
graduates sang their farewell song to their alma matter.
__________7. “This year is indeed Roxas High School year!”
Thus spoke Asst. Principal Adela Mejorada as she received from DCS
Asst. Supt. Emiliano Rafael the trophy won by the school in the National Weight-lifting
tournament.
__________8. There was food and fun galore!
The student body of Recto High School held an excursion in La Mesa
Dam last Sunday.
__________9. Having written the best essay on Animal Week, Rosita Limcolioc of
Laurel High School received the DCS gold medal from Principal DominadorWingsing.
__________10. Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink. This was the sad
experience of Tondo residents when flood waters cover the whole area of the district.

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1.Lead Writing
1. Write a quotation lead based on the following facts:
Mr. Alfredo Duque teaches graphic arts. He said that the month of October is a
busy one. Christmas motifs were made for the departments and clubs. Students
did the job. In all, 25 motifs were completed.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

2. Write a summary lead based on the following facts.

A party will be held at the Normal Hall. Atty. Lilia Garcia, Vice President, will be
the guest speaker. The PNU Faculty Association is sponsoring the party. It will
be held in honor of Dr. Fe Otanes, Dean of Graduate Schools, who will be retiring
in July.

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________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

3. Write two (2) infinitive leads on any news events that took place in your school
this month.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

4. Write a punch lead from the following notes for your school paper.
- Your school paper
- Champion in this year’s Regional Secondary Schools Press Conference
- Held in your region
- Oct. 5-6, 2020

In a Nutshell
Your Task. Cite three important things that you learned from this lesson.
Elaborate further the significance of learning them in writing a news story.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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3.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.
Do you have any question for clarification?
Questions/Issues Answers
1.

2.

3.

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4.

5.

Big Picture
Week 4 to 5: Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO): At the end of the unit, you are expected to
a. Discuss the form and structure of a news story.
b. Master the headline vocabulary and the ability to use headline terms for the sake
of simplicity, brevity and easy reading.
c. Familiarize the qualities and characteristics of a good editorial and write different
types of editorials.
d. Determine the uses of editorial columns and learn to write editorial columns.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Discuss the form and structure of a news story.

Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn the form and structure of a news story, the
variations of the news story, also you will learn how to write a straight news story and
news-feature story.

Essential Knowledge

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The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

“I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is

a more immediate short-term weapon.
- Tom Stoppard

Writing the News Story

News should be factual, accurate and truthful. Therefore, in writing his story, the
reporter should study first the data he has gathered, arrange or number the facts
according to their importance, and eliminate all unnecessary details.
Next, you should bring out the lead facts and put the best W or W’s forward. The
kind of lead he should use depends upon the type of news story he has to write.
Finally, he writes the body or text of the story. In doing this, he should:
1) Write the story right away.
2) Play up the dominant points.
3) Be accurate and truthful.
4) Avoid editorializing and writing libelous materials.
5) Give the source (attribution) of the news.
6) Write names in full when these are mentioned for the first time.
7) Identify the names mentioned.
8) Watch out for errors of fact and grammar.
9) Observe the guidelines of clear and effective writing.
10)Adopt a paper style sheet for consistency.

In preparing his copy, the young writer may follow these suggestions:
1) Type copy on standard-size copy paper, double or triple-spaced to give room for
the proofreader’s marks.
2) Write a one or two-word slug in the upper left-hand corner to indicate the subject
of the story.
3) Complete sentences and paragraphs on the same sheet of paper.
4) Avoid splitting words at the end of the line.
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5) Write more at the end of every sheet, except the last one which should be
marked # or 30. These marks, together with the slugline should be encircled.

Various Types of News Structure

As explained earlier, there are different kinds of new structures. The most
common among them are diagrammed and explained as follows:
1. Straight News Story
a. The summary need answers the
most important W’s depending on
which of the devil uses the most
prominent among them.
b. The body consists of the elaboration
of the W’s and the H.

The Torres Goldies ripped Laurel Greenies last week at the Torres High
School oval because of better teamwork, 65 -60. (Lead)
The Torres team was composed of Antonio Oropeza, captain; Rogelio
Romero, forward; Seki Santos, and Dioscoro Reyes, guards. (elaboration of the
WHO)
The game was held in the evening of September 10 in connection with the
celebration of Barangay Day. The Greenies’ defeat was the first they suffered in
the current invitational games. (elaboration of the WHEN and WHO)
The Goldies played smoothly. They did not shoot for the basket until they
were near it. The cheering squads kept the players’ morale high. (elaboration of
the HOW)
Although the final score was 65-60, there were times when the lead of the
Goldies was as much as 10 points. (further elaboration)

2. News-Feature Story
News-feature should not be confused LEAD
with feature articles (features) which are
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NARRATIVE
 SURPRISE CLIMAX

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sometimes called special features and printed in the feature sections of the newspapers
or in magazines.
Human interest and news feature stories are classified as news since both are
gathered and written daily by reporters as their regular assignments. Furthermore, both
emphasize the elements of timeliness or immediacy which distinguishes news from
other types of reading, although they differ in important respects from the straight news
story.
Examples:
The Yuletide season danced into the school campus in a riot of
multicolored lights and Christmas decors hung upon everywhere and every way.
However, the Christmas celebration reached its climax when the traditional
lantern parade participated in by students, teachers, parents, community and barangay
members was held.

To make the location more symbolic and relevant, each unit carry its own placard
for identification while the members carried with lanterns, torches and whatever motif
they wanted to depict such as the nativity, the visit of the Magi, and the Hegira.
The objectives of the College such as the CLEAN and beautification drives were
also portrayed.

Since 1987
The revival of the lantern parade started in December, 1987 when the school
also revived the holding of the duplo and the comedia.
Since then, the lantern parade has been held annually. However, it was only this
year that the parade was most colorful in consonance with the City Mayor’s aim to
revive and preserve beautiful Filipino culture.

3. Fact Story
This is a plain exposition of a simple
LEAD FACT
situation or of a series of closely related events
which conform to the inverted pyramid design
more closely than any other kind of news. The SECONDARY FACT
component parts are the series of facts that
FACT III
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FACT IV
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may be likened to rectangles of diminishing length arranged one after the other in order
of their importance.
The key to proper arrangement consists solely in judging the relative value of the
data at hand an in grouping them in their respective order.
Example:
Kabataang Barangay leaders in Zone 15, Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila met at
Osmeña High School and launched “Operation Ugnayan”. The project aimed to curb
community problems caused by juvenile delinquents, and to reactivate community
project started by the City Council but which had slackened due to lack of leadership.
Present in the youth meeting were school administrators, teachers, and adult
Barangay leaders acting as advisers. (Lead facts)

Reports reaching the KB concerning drunk outsiders, dope pushers, extortionists

and vandals molesting students spurred the youth barangay officers to meet and to offer
solutions to the problems.
School officials confirmed to the youth leaders the truth of the reports.
(Secondary facts)
Kabataang Barangay chairman Reynaldo Malonzo suggested the organization of
rondas to curb the theft, robbery, holdup, and bag snatching operations that have
surfaced in the community.
Principal Mabini S. A. Gonzales lauded the youth leaders. She asked them to
help solve the deteriorating peace and order condition in the community.
“You are their peers,” she said, “and you understand their problems better.” (Fact
III)
Besides tackling the peace and order problems, the youth leaders also mapped
out plans to reactivate the different campaigns launched with the MMC such as the
Green Revolution, food production, and the CLEAN and beautification drives.
KB 176 chairman Carolina Zamora suggested a house to house campaign to
induce the residents to get involved in the various community projects. She also batted
for the holding of sports activities “to divert the youths’ attention from mischief.” (Fact IV)

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4. Action Story
This is a narrative involving not merely simple facts, but
Lead Incident Told
dramatic actions – incidents, description of persons, perhaps
testimonies of witnesses, as well as explanatory data.
More Details Retold
In writing this kind of story, first write a summarizing lead
in any appropriate form. Relate the most important details in
narrative or chronological form. Tell the story again, giving More Details Retold
more details. But be careful not to begin the chronological
order just after the beginning. Give sufficient attention to the More Details Retold
elaboration of important information, background and
interpretation. Each unit must be closely interlocked.
Example:
Even before the elected officers of the Supreme Hi-Y Club were inducted into
office, we had rolled up their sleeves and begun implementing “Operation Linis”, one of
the compaigns launched by Mapa High School. (Lead incident told)
Armed with brooms, brushes, pails of water and soap, they gave the school a
fresh bath. Because of lack of water due to electric power breakdown, the local Hi-Yers
fetched water from nearby houses. (more details we told)
The work was focused on the rain-soaked rooms, the stinking toilets, and the
writing on the walls. They also removed all eyesores like the broken chairs dumped in
the corridors and repaired all broken window panes and doors. (More details retold)
After the work, the officers met in the office of the principal and decided to work
for the total development of students through a complete program of study, cultural
activity, sports, and physical development. (More details retold)

5. Speech, Report, Quote, and Interview Stories

The arrangement of a speech report, a quote story, and of an interview are to a
great extent similar.
A quote story may be charted as
alternating large and small rectangles of LEAD SUMMARY
diminishing sizes: summary, quote, summary,
quote, summary arrangement. The quotations QUOTE
may be direct, indirect, or a combination of
both. SUMMARY
In writing this kind of story, the following
suggestions may be helpful: (1) write a QUOTE

37
SUMMARY
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summarizing lead in any upper plate form; (2) write the body of the story in a summary-
quote-summary arrangement.
The lead maybe a summarizing statement – the gist of the speech, statement,
letter, or interview; or it may be the most important quotation in the story written as a
direct quote.
Example of a Quote Story:
“Ignorance, not poverty causes malnutrition in the child.”
This was the contention of Mrs. Gloria Gonzales, school nurse after she had
made a check-up of some sickly-looking students, July 23. She found out that 40% of
those examined were suffering from eye diseases caused by Vitamin A deficiency in
their diet.
“The students were not poor. The way they dressed and the way they talked of
their homes proved this,” the nurse said.
“Many parents believe that when they stuff their children with any kind of food,
they have already fed them,” she said. “They have a wrong concept that food value is
taken only from ham, eggs, cheese, milk, and salad. This is better procured from fish,
especially dilis, legumes, and vegetables which are relatively cheap at this time when
the value of the peso shrunk,” she added.
The nurse also added that it was only a matter of knowing what food to eat and
how much was needed for proper nutrition.
Mrs. Gonzalez lamented the fact that the diseases the students suffered from
were caused not by viruses but by ignorance. She said that they could have been
avoided had their mothers only known what kind of food they should have given to their
children.

Example of Speech Report

“I commend your objectives in molding the youth towards a true balanced
development of the mind, body, and spirit.
“But this kind of duty development is of no consequence if it is not the dedicated
to God, humanity, family, and the self.”
This was the message of the DCS Supt. Josefina R. Navarro when she talked to
the newly inducted officers of the Hi-Y board, Sept. 5 at the YMCA Forum Hall, Youth
Center, Manila.

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Dr. Navarro advised the board members to exemplify their faith in the oath they
had just read.
“Consider every student a potential contribution to the country. There is no such
thing as a stupid student. Each one was created in the image of God. Remind them,
lead them by the hand, show them how, and guide them,” the superintendent said.
The other hand, Dr. Navarro challenged the Hi-Y advisers percent “to carry on
your task with dedication and to learn to accept the demands of society.”
“Your responsibility to the students, to the parents, to yourself, to the country,
and to God is very important,” she added.
Finally, Dr. Navarro, who participated in the candlelight ceremony, commended
the principals and other school officials who attended the program.
The newly inducted board member officers were Carlito Reyes, president;
Ceciliano Jose Cruz, vice president; TitaPalad, secretary; Fructuosa Castro, treasurer;
and Ariston Corpuz, auditor.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
1. News should be _________, __________ and __________.
2. The main aim of news is to inform. Avoid _________.
3. News written from a given beat is classified as ___________.
4. I news feature is also based on facts, but it ________ more than it informs.
5. A straight news story consists of facts given straight without ___________. It
uses the __________ lead and is written using the _________ structure.
6. A __________ is usually written from a public address, talk, or speech.

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7. A short item of news interest, written like a brief telegraphic message, giving
mainly the result with detail is a ___________.
8. Depth news is the kind of news-feature that contains, _______, and _______
aside from the essential facts.
9. ________ reporting is more than the recital of bare fact but reporting news
refreshed with background materials to make comprehensible and meaningful.
10. Though it may answer any or all of the 5W’s, the emphasis is on the elaboration
of only one, the _______.

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Enumeration
A reporter covering a fire story should have at least six (6) basic facts in the
story. One of them is the exact location. List down the other five.
1) ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
2) ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3) ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
4) ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
5) ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Activity 2. Writing Activity

A. Write a fact story based on the following details:
- The Student Council will sponsor an acquaintance party
- The purpose of the affair is to welcome the new students of University of
Mindanao Digos College
- The party will be held at UM Gymnasium, Friday, 3:00 PM, January 15, 2021.
- Announcement of the activity was given by Mr. Canada, SSG moderator.
- The UMDC Chorale will provide music during the party
- The 3rd year BSED-English students will present a chamber theater, “Why
Women Wash the Dishes.
- Mr. Wilbert Rosalyn will render a couple of songs.
- Prizes will be given to the winners in the parlor games.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

B. Write an accident story based on the following facts:

- A Digos-bound bus turned turtle on Rizal Avenue Highway fronting Sunga
Hospital.
- The bodies of the victims were taken to the St. Peter Funeral Parlor, San Jose,
Digos City.
- Some of the fatalities were identified as Jose Reyes, 24; Juan Tamad, 18; Anna
Tabudlong, 45; Maria Lusyang, 60; Cardo Talisay, 12. They were identified by
Digos City high-way patrol.
- Fifteen passengers were injured and five were killed.
- The accident happened at 5:00 pm.
- Elevated boss was racing with another vehicle at high speed when the driver,
Ramon Garcia, try to avoid running over a dog that suddenly crossed the street.
- The bus with plate No. XM-006 belongs to Yellow Bus Line.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

C. Write a fire story based on the following facts:

- A fire broke out in a commercial building in Digos City.
- The cause of the fire is undetermined.
- It happened on December 25, 2020 at 1 PM.
- Three persons died and five were reported injured. (supply the names and ages
of the fatalities and the casualties)
- 2.5 M Worth of property was damaged.
- (add more facts if you please)
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

In a Nutshell
Your Task. Cite three important things that you learned from this lesson. Elaborate
further the significance of learning them in writing a news story.

42
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1.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.
Do you have any question for clarification?
Questions/Issues Answers
1.

2.

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3.

4.

5.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Master the headline vocabulary and the ability
to use headline terms for the sake of simplicity, brevity and easy reading.

Metalanguage
In this section, you will appreciate the values of headlines. You will also learn the
different types of headlines and how to write them.

Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

Writing Headlines

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Every new story has a title of its own called a headline. This headline in printed
type is much bigger and bolder than its body which is the story itself. The headline of
the Number One story on Page 1 is called a banner. If it runs across the page it may
also be called a streamer.
Among the important functions of the headline are the following: (1) to tell in
capsule form what the story is all about; (2) to grade the news as to importance, (3) to
make the page look attractive.
While the lead summarizes the story, the headline, on the other hand,
summarizes the lead.

Structure of Headlines
There are different kinds of headlines according to structure. However, for the
sake of consistency, only one kind should be adopted by a newspaper. Common among
these are illustrated and briefly explained as follows:
1. Flush left – both lines are flushed to the left margin. Family planning
This is also true with a one-line headline. This has no exact seminar held
count for the units in each line.

2. Dropline or Step Form – first line is flushed left while the

second is indented. It may consist of two or three and Local boy scouts
sometimes four lines of types of the same length, somewhat bleed for a cause
less than a column in with, so that the first line is flushed to the
left, the second centered, and the third flushed to the right.

School launches
3. Inverted Pyramid – This is self-explanatory. Each of the kalinisan
three or four lines in this head is successively shorter than the drive
line about it.

Chief editor
4. Hanging Indention – the first line is flushed left. This is bats for more
followed by two indented parallel lines. development news
5. Crossline or Barline– one-line headline that runs across the
column. The simplest form, it is a single line across the allotted space. If it runs across
the page, it is called a streamer.

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Ex. Local students join CLEAN drive

6. Boxed Headline – for emphasis or art’s sake, some headlines are boxed:
a. Full Box Community involvement
science camp theme

b. Half Box Campus papers catalysts

for national development

c. Quarter Box Local students, teachers

bleed for a cause today

7. Jump Story Headline – A jump story (a story continued on another page) has a
headline of its own. This may be the same as the original headline or it may just be a
word, phrase or a group of words followed by a series of dots.
Example:
Local students. …From page 1)

Do’s and Don’ts in Writing Traditional Headline

A. Do’s
1) Make your headline answer as many W’s as possible.
2) The headline should summarize the news story. It should contain nothing that is
not found in the story.
3) Positive heads are preferable to negative ones: School physician allays flu fear is
better and shorter than Flu epidemic not rampant in city.
4) Put a verb expressed or implied in every deck.
5) Omit articles like a, an, and the and all forms of the verb to be(is, are, be, etc),
unless needed to make the meaning clear.

Reclaimed unnecessary cause of recurrent flood

(Are before cause is not necessary)

Clinton is new US President

(Isis necessary to make the meaning cleaner.)

6) Use the strongest word in the first line as much as possible.

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7) The active verb is better than the passive or been headlines. Local Hi-Y aids
flood victim is stronger than Flood victims by Local Hi-Y. But, for variation, and
especially when the doer is unknown or not prominent, the passive verb may be
used.

Food production drive intensified

RP’s lost image abroad regained
8) Use the present tense for past stories and the infinitive form for future stories.

Archbishop Afablebats for national reconciliation

Lantern parade to cap X’mas affairs

9) Write numbers and figures or spell them out depending upon your needs for your
unit counts.
10)Use any of the following headline styles but be consistent once we have adopted
one.
a. All caps
CHARACTER, NATIONALISM VITAL VOGS IN EDUCATION

b. Cap and lower case

Character, Nationalism Vital Clogs in Education

c. Down style
Character, nationalism vital cogs in education

B. What to Avoid in Writing Headlines

1. Avoid the following kinds of headlines:
a. Fat head – a headline in which the letters and the words are so crowded that there
are no more spaces between them or that the spaces are so small that several words
read as one.
Ex. BSP LAUNCHES DRIVE
b. Thin head – the spaces between the letters of words, or the space after the words in
a line are so wide that the effect is ugly.
Ex. B S P L A U N C H E S D R I V E
c. Label Head – an incomplete headline, like the label of a product.
Ex. CHRISTMAS PARTY
d. Wooden Head – a very weak headline that is devoid of meaning, sometimes due to
the absence of a subject or the lack of a verb.

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Ex. TO HOLD EXCURSION

e. Mandatory head – it gives a command because it begins with a verb.
Ex. HOLD DIALOG WITH PRINCIPAL
f. Screaming head – it is a big and bold headline of a short and unimportant story. A
sensational head is another kind of a screaming headline.

2. Don’t tell the same thing even though you use a different word. Each succeeding
deck should contribute new information.
3. Don’t comment directly or indirectly. Avoid editorializing even in headlines.
4. Unless the subject is implied or has been mentioned in the first deck, avoid beginning
a headline with a verb.
5. Don’t end a line with a preposition. Neither should you separate a preposition from its
object. Don’t confuse a hanging preposition with a two-word verb that ends with a
preposition.

Wrong: Students vote for

SSG officials (“for” is a hanging preposition)
Right: Principal bats for
moral values (“bats for” is a two-word verb)
6. Don’t break off operations, names and hyphenated words.
7. Avoid repeating principal words regardless of the number of decks.
8. Avoid heads that carry a double meaning.
9. Don’t coin operations of your own. Use only those that are common to the readers
like PNRC, DECS, DCS, etc.
10. Don’t abbreviate days and months unless figures follow as:
Ex. Mon., Jan. 23

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Telefax: (082)553-2914

Headline Vocabulary
Heading writing is an art or a special skill. The copy editor who usually writes the
headlines should be able to tell in capsule form – simply, temptingly, yet understandably
– the most complex story with words that fit the limit of the unit counts.
To do this, he must have cartloads of special words to use for the sake of
simplicity, brevity, and easy reading.
However, certain newspaper terms used in headlines are not exact about writing
her usage, nor do they carry their literal meaning as in the case of idioms.
In the following headlines, the word or words in parenthesis my substitute for
those that are in italics:
1) Faculty club strengthened (beefed up)
2) Enrollment decreases (dips)
3) Science examinations announced (quiz, bared)
4) Contests highlight Animal Week (cap)
5) Dagotspeaks on UN theme (defines)
6) Santos urges for cooperation (bats for, calls for)
7) Student officials inducted in group (en masse)
8) The PNU Torch passes 46th year (milestone)
9) Dope increase in school noted (upsurge)
10)DECS Secretary disapproves tuition fee increase (bucks, hike)
11)The Blue and Whie wins 12 medals in press contest(bags, romps away with, tilt,
parley)
12)Malnutrition being discussed at DECS seminar (up at)
13)PNUFA starts work (buckles down to)
14)Nationalism a necessity in education (vital cog)
15)Principal praises Osmeña’s humility (lauds, extols)
16)Navarro keynote speaker at YMCA conference (keynotes YMCA confab)
17)Local staff dominates press title (rules, lords over)
18) Drive against dirty literature going on (vs smut on)
19) “Comedia” to be shown in August (booked for)
20) H.E. club holds contest in cooking (pits cooking talents)
21) Enrolment reaches 5000 students (hits 5000 mark)
22) Student writers prepare for journalism contest (scribes hone up for Press tilt)
23) Model platoon cops two places (posts twin wins)
24) Local baseball players retain championship (sluggers; crown)
25) Local volleyball players capture crown (spikers, netter; wrest)

A survey made by school paper editors showed that many high school students
don’t read newspapers because many of the headline terms are strange to them.

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The following italyzed terms or expressions are usually used in the metropolitan
dailies. Enclosed in parentheses after the headlines are their corresponding synonyms
or explanations.
1) US hits Russ nuclear test (attacks)
2) DECS acts to nip tuition hike (stop; increase)
3) Ramos’ nod expected (approval)
4) UNIDO prods Pimentel to resign (urges)
5) Narcotic gang busted (syndicate; ended)
6) Gloria seeks striking teachers probe (quiz, investigation)
7) Vacation plans scrapped (disapproved)
8) 20 donors boot fund drive (increase)
9) Gang chief falls (leader; captured)
10) Fiscal upholds budget proposal (approves)
11) Border dispute triggers war (starts)
12) Laurel winds up diplomatic tour (ends)
13) Nation rallies to beautification campaign (supports)
14) RP scores false news by Time (lessens)
15) PGH allays flu fears (lessens)
16) DECS buckstuition fee hike(disapproves)
17) NSTA backs science confab (supports; seminar)
18) Senate steps up slay probe (hastens; murder)
19)Scribes in libel row (newsmen)
20)Ople defended from Time yarn (lies)
21) Fiscal to quash rape rap (dismiss; charge)
22) RP-US accord inked (agreement; signed)
23) Import talks snagged (delayed; abolishes)
24) Slay suspect grilled (questioned)
25) Peru lifts martial law (removes; abolishes)
26) Eyewitness fingers murderer (identifies)
27) Notorious dip nabbed in Tondofest (pickpocket; arrested; celebration)
28) Ramos stands pat on RP-US tie (is firm)
29)Mercury dips in city (weather; is cool)
30) School heads bats for salary increase (urges)
31) RP eyes import hike (sees)
32) Election ban on campus (prohibition)
33) US gab donates blood (sailor)
34)Tondoamok hunted (mad killer)
35) Laborer runs amuck (goes berserk)
36) PNP nets dope pusher (captures)
37) City Hall shake-up eyed (revamp)
38) Gabfest tilt sked released (schedule)
39) Bank official on carpet (in trouble)
40) Pope given carpet in US (big welcome)
41) 456 hurdle bar exams in US (pass)

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42) Politics ruled out in slay rap (disregarded)

43) Classes slated to open in June (scheduled)
44)Lin fires 5 cops (dismissed)
45) PNB officials ousted (dismissed)
46) RP-Malaysia row solved (dispute)
47) Faculty club beefed up (strengthened)
48) Local orators honed up for gabfest (practice; speech tilt)

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
1) SC UPHOLDS CHAPTER LAW is an example of _______ headline (style).
2) SC Upholds Chapter Law is ______ style; while SC upholds chapter law is
__________ style.
3) When a 30-point Caslon head is placed side by side with another 30 point Caslon
head, the defect is called ________.
4) The _______ voice is preferred in headlines.
5) A __________ should not be left hanging at the end of the line except if it is part
of a two-word verb.
6) A ________ takes the place of and in heads to save on space.
7) A __________ is another term for deck to name a section of a headline.
8) When all the lines of a headline begin even or in line with the left margin, the
style is ____________.
9) Generally, the verb for the headline of a news story should be in the ______
tense.

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10) A headline that begins with a verb is called a __________ head.

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Improve the following headlines.
1) President Ramos talks
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
2) Mayor has returned
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

3) Three men injured in riot

________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
4) Future leaders
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
5) Meralco loss
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Activity 2. Give the correct form of the verb in the parenthesis. Write your answer in the space
provided.

1) CMLI contest winners (award) prizes

________________________________________________________________
2) Fugoso High (hold) writing tilt
________________________________________________________________
3) More rooms (paint)
________________________________________________________________
4) Backsiding officials (order) arrested
________________________________________________________________
5) Giant reservoir (break) ; (wreck) Nueva Ecija
________________________________________________________________
6) Child (fall) from bus; (rush) to hospital
________________________________________________________________
7) Rats (peril) rice bowl

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________________________________________________________________
8) 5 African hostages (free)
________________________________________________________________

In a Nutshell
Your Task. Share three important things that you learned from this sectionin writing
headlines.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.
Do you have any question for clarification?
Questions/Issues Answers
1.

53
 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

2.

3.

4.

5.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOc. Familiarize the qualities and characteristics of a

good editorial and write different types of editorials.

Metalanguage
In this section, you will realize that the editorial is the soul of the newspaper. This
section will let you appreciate the fact that the editorial writer needs extensive research,
wealth of facts, and impartial turn of mind, and more light than heat and current issues.
You will also learn here the qualities and characteristics of a good editorial, also you will
develop your ability in writing different types of editorials.

Essential Knowledge

54
 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

Writing the Editorial

Two prime functions of the newspaper are to inform and to interpret. It goes
without saying then that the two most important sections of the newspapers are the
news and editorial sections.
The editorial page is the demarcation line between news and opinions. The
news pages are for news – to give information while the editorial pages are for the
editorials, the editorial columns, the cartoons, and the letters to the editor – to give
opinion or to interpret the important events of the day which are usually reported on
Page 1.

Definition of Editorial
An editorial is the official stand of the paper on a relevant development or issue.
It is a personal commentary written by the editor who comments or gives the
newspaper’s or the staff’s opinion about various aspects of an issue which is of interest
and importance to the public. It is a critical interpretation of significant, usually
contemporary events so that the readers will be informed, influence, or entertained. It is
the stand of the paper, not of an individual editor.
Some authors give other definitions or explanations regarding editorials:
1. An editorial is an article in the newspaper giving the editor’s view or those of the
person or persons in control of the paper. A. Gayle Waldrop
2. It is the expression of the people’s conscience, cause, and convictions.Joseph
Pulitzer
3. The modern editorial includes analyses and clarifications, sometimes with no
opinion given. Arthur Capper
4. The editorial should provide the background in which the facts are seen in a new
perspective and should express its opinion. Rufus Terral
5. Bitterness, bias, and fear has no place in an editorial. They make for weakness
no matter how much they bluster. William Allan White
6. It is a presentation of facts and opinions in a concise, logical manner, or of
interesting significant news in such a way that its importance to the average
reader will be clear. M. Lyle Spencer

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Characteristics of a Good Editorial

Reddick gives three qualities of a good editorial: (1) interest, (2) brevity, and (3)
force.
Spears and Lawshe, on the other hand, characterize an editorial as one that: (1)
must have clearness of style, (2) has moral purpose, (3) has sound reasoning, and (4)
has the power to influence public opinion.
It can be added further that a good editorial must: (1) lead logically to a
conclusion, (2) present only one idea, (3) avoid wordiness, and (4) present facts and not
mere opinion.

Types of Editorials
The kind of editorial to be written depends upon the purpose of the writer –
whether to inform, interpret, criticize, commend, argue or entertain. These are explained
as follows:
1. Editorial of information – It seeks to give information and facts unknown to the
reader. It restates the facts of news stories are adds other facts with minimal
explanation. It may define terms, identify persons or factors or provide
background; e.g., Freedom of the Press.

2. Editorial of interpretation – it explains the significance or meaning of a news

event, current idea, condition, or situation, theory, or hypothesis. The writer
doesn’t argue nor criticize, but merely present both sides of an issue and leaves
the judgment to the reader. It merely interprets, say for example, the content of a
new memorandum issued by the principal; e.g., Freedom of the Press: Two
Schools of Thought.

3. Editorial of criticism – it points out the good or the bad features of a problem or
situation mentioned in the news. Its purpose is to influence the reader. It
suggests a solution at the end, e.g., School Administration Not Sincere in Press
Freedom Promise.

4. Editorial of commendation, appreciation, or tribute – it praises, commends, or

pays tribute to a person or organization that has performed some worthwhile
projects or deeds, or accomplishments; e.g., Laurels to Barangay Dance Troupe.

5. Editorial of argumentation – this is oftentimes called editorial of persuasion. The

editor argues in order to convince or persuade the reader to accept the stand on
the issue; e.g., Freedom of the Press not Violated.

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6. Editorial of entertainment –it evokes a smile, a chuckle, laughter, while

suggesting truth. Its main aim is to entertain. It is usually short; e.g., Miniskirt,
Anyone?

7. Mood editorial – it presents a philosophy rather than an argument or an

explanation. Oftentimes, the subject matter is nature or emotion; e.g., Those
Wonderful People Called Parents.

8. Special occasion – it explains the significance of a special day or occasion; e.g.,

The Significance of Chrismas; Au Revoir.

9. Pooled editorial - this is written by two or more editors belonging to different

newspapers which they publish in the respective papers at the same time; e.g.,
Stop Tuition Fee Increase.

How to Write an Editorial

In writing the editorial, select only one specific idea to develop. Be sure the topic
is of interest to the reader.
Organize your editorial in three parts: (1) the introduction, (2) the body, (3) the
ending. The first contains the newspeg with the reaction. It is usually one short
paragraph. (A newspeg is a brief statement about the news event at issue upon which
the editorial is based).
The body may take two or three short paragraphs that support or justify the
reaction. The ending, sometimes called the clincher, summarizes the editorial’s stand.
The following are examples of editorials’ introductions composed of the newspeg
and the reaction, not necessarily in that order. The underlined words are the reaction:
a) The new office policy of requiring tardy students to study their lessons in the
library while they wait for the next period is both timely and wise.
b) It is source of great pride and inspiration for our school to come out second in
NSAT region-wide.
c) Our general PTA is really generous and concerned for the stuents’ welfare. They
will donate labor and materials to improve the school gym.
d) The move of the DECS to revive Grade VII and to add one more year in the high
school is not the solution to the deteriorating pre-college education in the country.

The body should prove or justify the reaction or stand already made in the
introduction. In (a), the body should prove that the office policy is really timely (one
paragraph) and wise (another paragraph). In (b), the editorial should list reactions and
figures which make the school and the studentry proud of their athletic meet
achievement.

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Telefax: (082)553-2914

The end or last paragraph of an editorial is sometimes called the punchline or

clincher. But if the preceding lead and body have been well organized and carefully
written, the conclusion maybe omitted. The editorial also has a head.

Pointers on Writing an Editorial

1) Make the editorial interesting enough to read.
2) Develop it from one specific, limited idea, phrased in one sentence and expand it
into the body of the editorial.
3) Have a purpose well in mind which should be accomplished with sufficient data.
4) Organize all data into well-reasoned arguments, with each argument leading up
to the conclusion.
5) Peg the lead sentence on a recent relevant news for its impact value.
6) Present both sides of an issue and clarify tricky aspects with a widely understood
analogy or with an illustration that makes for easier understanding.
7) Direct the editorial towards the establishment of a consensus.
8) Is the writing sample, direct, clear, and forceful?
9) Does it not carry a double meaning?
10) Does it reflect clear, logical thinking?
11) Is the subject matter significant to the students, the school, the community, in
the country?
12) Are the sentences and paragraphs relatively short?

Editorial of Persuasion

SMALLER FAMILIES, A NATIONAL IMPERATIVE

Economist, educators, demographers, and other experts concerned with the problem of
population control have called the various mass media to the frightening statistics concerning
the already over-populated country.
To the readers of The PNU Torch, especially here in crowded Manila, such statistics
have very special significance.
Overpopulation has given rise to the environment crisis into a host of related social
problems.
Half of the country is now hungry; thousands of Filipinos die of starvation and
thousands more will be stunted mentally or physically by deprivation.

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Telefax: (082)553-2914

If the streets of the cities are crowded now, education, sanitation, and housing facilities
have become inadequate, imagine what will happen in 30 years.
These 80 million Filipinos have helped make their poverty a lifelong prison.
Overpopulation slams the door on decent housing, higher education and better jobs.
The poor know the meaning of overpopulation. One of the major problems is that they
have more children than they want. There are too many mouths to feed, bodies to clothe, and
minds to educate.
But it’s not only the poor who suffer. Look at what is happening in the cities. The
“haves” fight against traffic snarls. Besides the endless traffic, there are overcrowded schools
and overburdened public facilities; there are overloaded telephone lines, power failures, water
shortages, and brown outs.
There is inadequate housing yet. High-priced buildings sprouts like weeds surrounded
by urban blight.
The only way to limit population growth in the country, which relatively speaking, has
the 16 biggest population in the whole world, is for families to have fewer children than they
th

have now.
The more intelligent families should set an example to the others. It is extremely urgent
that from now on, families should have no more than two children.
This should apply to the wealthy as well as to the poor. Family planning should be the
concern of every parent interested in his child’s future with possibilities that his child will have
an opportunity to enjoy all the things that give life value and meaning.

Editorial of Information

BROWN RICE

Filipinos like their rice pearly white. Among the poor ones, the common saying is, if
they cannot afford to reach a variance they must at least have good, white rice. And this rice
is served in steaming platefuls. With a fish or two and some vegetables, the Filipino becomes
a contented man.
Most Filipinos do not know – or refuse to acknowledge – the fact, that brown rice, that
is, undermilled rice, is more nutritious and economical.
It is morning nutritious because the valuable vitamins are retained and it is economical
because there is less waste in milling.
The President was correct in ordering an information campaign to get the people to eat
brown rice.

Editorial of Argumentation

TIME TO LEAVE THE COCOON

One of the current national problems our political leaders are facing is the Russian
trade relations question. What really bothers our government leaders is not the economic side
of the question but rather the ideological face of it.
The Philippines has established the reputation of being the bastion of democracy in this

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Telefax: (082)553-2914

part of the globe. And our readers are very careful lest something mars this reputation.
What does the Russian question really mean? Will it have any effect on our country as
far as ideologies are concerned? Will it be putting the “bastion of democracy’ in Asia in a bad
light?

Editorial of Interpretation

A TALE OF HORROR: POPULATION EXPLOSION

Today, the Philippines has a population of 80 million. At the present rate of growth,
this small country, would have to support more than 150 million within 35 years.
This means that most of our high school students now, who would only be in their early
40’s or 50’s at the time, will be the ones to be most affected by the evil effect of population
explosion.
As of today, our basic problems are food, water, housing, education, and pollution.
Just imagine how these problems would be aggravated by the 150 million mouths to feed,
backs to clothe, headsto shelter, and minds to educate.
Also, today, the world has a population of 4 billion. These will double in 35 years’ time.
The world population is increasing at the rate of an additional 2000 million every eight years.
In 6 and a half centuries from now, there would be one person standing on every
square foot of land on earth. By that time, men would be devouring one another, for there
would be no more place for plants to grow.
The only way to avoid this situation would be through population planning. The first
consequence can be seen in the faces of hungry man. One half of humanity is hungry at this
moment. There is less food per person on earth today then there was 30 years ago during the
worldwide depression.
Political chaos is death through world wars, revolutions, aggression, rebellions, and the
like. The third and the best remedy is population planning done through family planning.
Family planning simply means the planning of the size and spacing of one’s family by means
of scientific knowledge and method.

Editorial of Criticism

A JUNE 12 THOUGHT: RESPECT FLAG RITES

A flag a ceremony, whether it be a flag raising or a flag retreat, is sacred. Therefore, it

should be observed with all the solemnity and sacredness a Filipino citizen can muster.
The National Anthem (PambansangAwit), like the national flag, should be treated with
ceremonial respect.
This, the anniversary of the declaration of independence in Kawit in 1898, it is perhaps
timely to remind all and sundry to behave during flag ceremonies.
Sad to say, many students, during the Monday morning flag raising ceremonies,
instead of standing at attention while singing the National Anthem, and while reciting the
patriotic pledge (PanatangMakabayan), move around, play, and have fun, completely

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Telefax: (082)553-2914

disregarding what is going on.

It is for this reason that we are calling the attention of all teachers, especially the
social studies teachers to give more emphasis in teaching values, love of country, respect for
the flag, veneration of heroes, and proper behavior during flag ceremonies.
If flag ceremonies cannot be held properly, why then do we hold them at all?

Editorial of Commendation/Appreciation/Tribute

WE ARE OUR BROTHERS’ KEEPERS

“And the Lord said unto Cain. Where is Abel your brother? And he said, ‘I know not. Am
I my brother’s keeper?’ – Genesis 4:9

This question asked millions of years ago in the garden of Eden has not lost its
meaning. This was the same question students of Osmeña High School had sought to
answer, and answered, when the biggest flood in recent years hit Central Luzon.
When the appeal for help was aired by the mass media, local student leaders
launched a three-pronged to drive to solicit relief aid for the flood victims. Majority of the
students belong to poor families. Most of them cannot even afford to buy more than a pair of
uniforms for their daily use. But when the appeal for aid was sounded, they lost no time in
finding ways and means to help their less fortunate brothers. They knew that they were there
brother’s keepers.
The hat was literally passed around. In no time, the sum of 20,000 pesos was
collected. Aside from this, canned goods, rice medicine and old clothes are also collected.
The drive, which started as a spark, soon grew and spread like wild fire: the teachers, alumni,
and former members of the editorial staff joined the “Help Our Brothers” bandwagon.
A part of the money was sent to the flood victims through the national dailies. The
rest, plus the relief goods, are personally delivered to them in Central Luzon during the height
of the floods by the student leaders.
The school’s aid may be just like a drop of water in a bucket. But true to what James
Russell Lowell said in his poem, “The Vision of Sir Launfal,”

Not what we give, but what we share,

For the gift without the giver is bare,
Who gives himself with this aid feeds three,
Himself, his hungering neighbor and me.

May these students from Osmeña High School serve as models for other students to
emulate. May their tribe increase.

Mood Editorial

THE CHALLENGE OF 1994

Old Year 1993 with knitted brow, limping and hungry, blackeyed by student demonstrations,

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social unrest, dirty politics, criminality, kidnapping, and rebellion has just departed, leaving
behind great problems to Youthful 1994.
All around the country are tensions, miseries, and starvation. Hunger stalks the land, as
different kinds of diseases inflict the people.
The poor and the unfortunate stage the same old story. The power of political struggle
in the growing trend of the NPA and the Muslim rebels have crept even into the once peaceful
barrios throughout the country, while countless of millions look up to the sky with hope for
order, peace and sobriety.
Now, that the new year is here, it is time to take stock of and adjust ourselves to a
brighter tomorrow. Let’s challenge the future with a renewed courage, faith in ourselves, and
greater love for our people.
God will always be with us. Let us stand firmly, for the future depends on how we
make it. All that we do is only a matter of trials, struggles, and sacrifices. But above all, let us
practice peace and love of God and of our fellowmen.

Special Occasion

VALENTINE IS …

When some students began decorating their rooms with Valentine trimmings, a critic
asked, “Is it necessary to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Is it not a good for nothing occasion like
Christmas?
Contrary to what the critics said, Valentine’s Day is not just a froth-and-flower occasion
devoid of any meaning at all. It has a distinct place and function in contemporary life,
otherwise its observance would have been dropped after the Vatican has declared St.
Valentine is non-existent.
In spite of this, people the world over have refused to stop celebrating Valentine’s Day.
To them, the existence of the patron saint is immaterial. What is important is, the people still
believe in the existence of love, love between lovers, love between children and their elders,
love among men, and love between man and God.
These kinds of love are universal. They are the ties that bind the world together to keep
it from crumbling into hatred and wickedness.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila

Let’s Check

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Activity 1. Write T if the sentence is true and F if it is false. In the latter case, change a
word or a group of words to make the sentence true.
____1. Accuracy is not so important in editorials as in news reports.
____2. A good editorial need not have a formal conclusion.
____3. To be effective, an editorial should not be preachy.
____4. Leaving the reader to form his own conclusion is a good practice for an editorial writer.
____5. The editorial writer must primarily be a reporter.
____6. The editorial page must not contain reprints from magazines, speeches, statement, etc.
____7. The first person (editorial we) is the preferred point of view in writing editorials.
____8. The most important asset of a campus editor is his exceptional knowledge of grammar.
____9. The campus editor’s primary duty is to see to it that the image of the school is always
held up unblemished before the community.
____10. Editorials may also be found outside the editorial page, like for example in the sports
page.

Activity 2. Completion
Fill in each blank with the word or group of words to make the sentence correct.
1-3 a good editorial should have a three part. They are the _______, the ________ and
the _________.
4. The _______ of an editorial should have a punch to drive home its message.
5. The ___________ is the expression of the paper’s conscience, courage, and
conviction.
6. A __________ editorial is the consensus, stand, or position of several editors on an
issue and this is published in all their papers at the same time.
7. ___________ is the pronoun (point of view) that should be avoided in editorials.
8. Because of the serious tone of an editorial, the ____________ type is preferred to
italics for printing purposes.
9. When the editorial is based on a news story, the first paragraph (introduction) is
called __________.
10. There are times when the subject matter of an editorial is nature. Such an editorial is
referred to as __________ editorial.

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Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Write editorials based on the following facts.
1) Write an editorial about the global health crisis the world is experiencing right
now because of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Use any of the types of editorials you
have learned.
____________________________________________________________________________
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2) An earthquake hits Davao Region. Many people suffered great losses. Write an
Editorial of Persuasion to appeal for financial aid from other people to help the
victims particularly in your locality.
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____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
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Telefax: (082)553-2914

____________________________________________________________________________
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3) Write an editorial of argumentation on an existing problem in your community.

Get all the information you can and assemble them in a logical, consistent
position on the question. Follow this with a presentation of a possible solution.
Close by summarizing the benefits that could be derived from adopting the
proposed solution.
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Telefax: (082)553-2914

In a Nutshell
Your Task. Share three important ways in writing a good editorial. Explain how each
way can contribute to your writeups.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________
2.
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3.
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____________________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.
Do you have any question for clarification?
Questions/Issues Answers
1.

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2.

3.

4.

5.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOd. Determine the uses of editorial columns and
learn to write editorial columns.

Metalanguage
In this section, you will be able to know the different kinds of columns and you
will also learn how to write them.

Essential Knowledge

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The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

Writing Editorial Columns

What makes a good columnist fast and Mark is it his closeness to his editor or his
advisor to make the assignment? Definitely not. You must have the following
qualifications before he can hope to become a columnist:
a) Ability to write good English or Filipino, whichever is his medium;
b) Ability to observe keenly. Many things around him are worth writing about for
his column but this may lie hidden if he doesn’t have a keen observation;
c) Clear, logical thinking. One of the most important purposes of the column is to
interpret news. He who can think clearly and logically has no business being a
columnist;
d) Wide background. He must have a knowledge of literature, the arts, history,
human nature, etc.;
e) Resourcefulness. Columns are opinions, all right, but the opinions must be
based on facts. And most of the facts are hard`1 to get. The colomnist must
therefore, be resourceful, and
f) Have a sense of fairness. A bigoted, prejudiced writer has no right to fill in the
seat of a columnist. Often, the columnist has to clarify some conflicting issues.
His job falls upon him to tell the truth. But how could you do this if he is
committed to some limited group of people or to an institution in which he has a
vested interest?

Purpose of Editorial Column

The columnist informs the reader of what you may not know – in the case of the
dopester. The columnist discloses what happened behind the closed doors of that
secret party caucus, the motivation behind thepolitical moves now in the headlines, the
undercover events which led to that momentous foreign policy decision, the existence of
a scandal or a racket, the commission of a wrong that must be set right. Or it may be
the heartwarming tale of how a man committed a private act of honesty that should be
upheld for the emulation of all, a great or little deed that might inspire others to do the

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same, a funny incident, the achievement of a dream against overwhelming odds – facts
and anecdotes that add up to these often-repeated words “human interest”.
Next, the columnist “forms” or helps to form public opinion when he comments
with logic, humor, or emotion on an issue of the day.
The main purpose of the column is to inform, to interpret and to a large degree,
to fiscalize.
The columnist features news that papers may have forgotten to report. He
presents tidbits of stories the reporter has failed to notice, to provide a background to
the main stories on Page 1.
As an interpreter, the columnist condenses the main rules in to clear, logical and
effective sentences or paragraphs to emphasize the meat of the story so as to form
opinion, to expose fraud wherever it exists, or like the main editorial, to teach, to attack,
to appeal, or to entertain.
As a fiscalizer, the columnist acts as an arbiter. In the political arena, he
fiscalizes not only the government and the ruling party but also the minority party.
A campus columnist, in the same vein, fiscalizes not only the administration but
also the faculty and the studentry. He analyzes the facts, interprets them, and forms
logical and informed public opinion. He gives insight information on what people do not
know, of the things they are not privy to, and all secret doings that are hidden from
public view.
The column has other purposes:
1) To explain the news – ordinary news stories usually give only the superficial
information regarding an event; only the immediate circumstances surrounding it.

2) To entertain the readers – this purpose of the column enhances the readers’
interest in the paper. When a reader picks up a newspaper, he does not only
want to be informed but also to be entertained. Some columns fulfill this desire of
the reader.

Form of Writing Used in Columns

The columnist, compared to a news writer, is free to use any form of writing. He
may use the essay or the story form; on certain occasions, he may even use a verse.

Kinds and Types of Columns

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You may notice that the following classifications are based on the daily paper.
This is done so because the daily papers have a variety of columns.
A. Types of columns according to purpose
1) Editorial Column – an editorial column is any personal column found in an
editorial page. This kind of column usually makes use of humor as a vehicle in
driving the columnist’s message. But at the bottom of this apparently humorous
column is invariably a serious matter to which the columnist wants to call
attention.
“Point of Order” by J. L. Guevarra of the Manila Bulletin is an example of this.
Editorial column writing in the Philippines is considered to be the highest
expression of press freedom.

The newspaper column started during the propaganda movement of the

revolutionary period. The journalist wrote hard-hitting columns against the
colonial masters.

This was true during the post liberation era. Some of the daring columnists also
made use of their pen “to fight oppression from within and without.” They were
Arsenio H. Lacson of the Philippine Liberty News with his “In This Corner”;
Armando Malay of the Manila Chronicle with his “With a Grain of Salt”; and I.P.
Soliongco also of the Manila Chronicle with his “Seriously Speaking”.

During the Commonwealth Period, the leading pre-war writers were Federico
Mangahas, Godofredo Rivera, and Rafael R. Roces, among others. These
columnists wrote about controversial political issues.

2) Reader’s Column – it is the column in which comments sent in by the readers are
placed. These comments may refer to any item previously carried by the paper,
or the topics that have not appeared on the paper but which the reader would
want to bring to the attention of the editor or the paper’s readers. Some
newspapers call it “Letters to the Editor”; others, “Dear Sir”.

3) Business Column –it contains materials about economy, trade, commerce and
industry. It is found in the business section of the paper.

4) Sports Column – this column deals exclusively about sports. It is found on the
sports page.

5) Art Column – deals mostly on painting, architecture, flower arrangement,

papermache, ikebana, etc.

6) Women’s Column – this column concerns itself about the latest fashion, beauty
tips, and anything about homemaking.

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7) Entertainment Column – this is all about music, theater, cinema, and the people
involved in them.

8) New Products Inventions – a science paper usually has a column about the latest
products and inventions, and the research is being conducted by some
prominent scientists.

9) Personality – this may play up a famous person, his significant achievements, his
activities, dreams, ambition.

10)Reviews – review of an article, a book, a movie, a drama, a painting.

B. Types of editorial columns according to content

1) The “Opinion” Column (also called the “signed editorial column) – resembles an
editorial in form but, in contrast with the editorial’s impersonal and anonymous
approach, carries the personal, stamp of the writer’s own ideas. (I hesitate to use
a local example, thus a safe one is Walter Lippman’s “Today and Tomorrow”)

2) The hodge-podge Column – where the author lamps together odds and ends of
information, a poem here, an announcement there, a pointed paragraph,
modernized proverb, a joke, or an interesting quotation.

3) The Essay Column (increasingly rare) – is a legacy from a more leisurely age
when writers could sit and scribble and muse in light or purple prose. (The
exponents of this form were Addison and Steele of the famed Spectator papers,
Charles Lamb, Oliver Goldsmith, G.K. Chesterton, and Christopher Morley. The
Filipino columnist for best approximated this type was Godofredo Rivera of the
Graphic).

4) The Gossip Column –caters to the inherent interest of human beings in human
beings. Unfortunately, the reader’s eyes light up more frequently when they spy
vices rather than the virtues of others. The society columnists (as well as the
other sober ones who occasionally dabble in small talk) chronicle here the facts
and foibles of the great and near-great, the social climbers, and the true
celebrities. The first example that comes to mind is Walter Winchell and his
“keyhole” journalism.

5) The Dopester’s Column – written by the columnist who also has his eye to the
keyhole but with a more serious purpose. He uses much the same technique as
the gossip columnist but rises above the chatterbox variety of news to poke into
the activities of the “men who make the decisions.” The “victims” are usually the
government’s leader politicians, congressman, senators, cabinet officials, titans
of industry and commerce, and institutions which have to do with national
international affairs. The columnist’s “pipelines” to sources of information often

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give him the ability to forecast news before it happens, bare still unannounced
plans and appointments, reveal secret facts, and labor the secrets of government
and finance open to public scrutiny.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

1) Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth

Edition. Sampaloc, Manila
2) A Handbook on Science Journalism produced by Workshop 1976, SFP
(NSDB) of which this author was a member.

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Identify what is asked in the sentence.
_________1. This kind of column usually makes use of humor as a vehicle in driving the
columnist’s message. But at the bottom of this apparently humorous column is
invariably a serious matter to which the columnist wants to call attention.
_________2. This is also called the “signed editorial column.
_________3. This may play up a famous person, his significant achievements, his
activities, dreams, ambition.
_________4. The main purpose of the column is to inform, to interpret and to a large
degree, to ________.
_________5. A columnist must have this characteristic because columns are opinions,
but the opinions must be based on facts and most of the facts are hard to get.

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Look for three (3) columns in any kind of newspapers (local or national).
Paste the columns in a separate A4 bond paper. Comment on the readability and
interestingness of the columns. Supply your answers on the questions below.
a) Whose styles are similar?

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b) Whose columns are generally of long paragraphs? Short paragraphs?

c) Who among them stimulates you to think further?
d) Whose columns are dripping with bitterness?
e) Which ones are more entertaining and thought-provoking than the others?
____________________________________________________________________________
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In a Nutshell
Your Task. After studying this section, share three important things you learned about
writing columns.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.

Do you have any question for clarification?

Questions/Issues Answers
1.

2.

3.

4.

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5.

Big Picture
Week 6 to 7: Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO): At the end of the unit, you are expected to
a. Determine how student opinion can also be expressed in campus papers through
the use of cartoons.
b. Develop an interest in feature writing by studying the good qualities of a feature
story.
c. Discuss the essential information that should be included in writing a sport story.
d. Familiarize the do’s and don’ts in laying out a page.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOa.Determine how student opinion can also be

expressed in campus papers through the use of cartoons.

Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn another style of writing which is more interesting and
easier compared to news story. You will know the similarities and differences between
news story and a feature article; and between a news feature and a feature article.
Furthermore, you will also learn the qualities of a good feature writer.

Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next

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two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

“Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its
greatest fault. It must speak and speak immediately, while the
echoes of wonder, the claims of triumphs, and the signs of horror
are still in the air.”
- Henry Anatole Grunwald
- (Managing Editor – Time Magazine)

Cartooning
Student opinion is expressed in the
newspaper through the lead editorial (editorial
proper), columns, letters to the editor, and
editorial cartoons.

An editorial cartoon is an editorial page illustration expressing opinion and

interpretation. The word cartoon is derived from two words: caricature and lampoon.
A caricature is an exaggerated description, generally by sketching. It is a
pictorial representation of a person or thing in which a defect or peculiarity is
exaggerated so as to produce a ludicrous effect.
Alampoon, on the other hand, is a piece of malicious writing, a personal written
satire that attacks and ridiculous.
The editorial cartoon is one of the oldest and most notable items in the editorial
page. The Chinese proverb that one picture is worth one thousand words is applied in
order to persuade.
Like the editorial proper, however, the editorial cartoon may also perform any of
the three functions of the newspress - to inform, influence, or entertain.

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A good cartoon appeals to the reader’s sense of humor in order to persuade him
to accept an opinion. It is an effective social force.
Also, a cartoon like the top editorial, should deal with only a single idea. While
the subject matter covers a wide range of topics and purposes, the typical cartoon is
about political and social conditions and problems. Some cartoons are good-natured
and humorous; others are serious and sophisticated.
Cartoons in campus papers need not be as professional-looking as those found
in national dailies. Ideas for editorial cartoons may be suggested by the editor or may
come from the cartoonist himself. At any rate, the name of the cartoonist is placed on
the cartoon, even if the idea is not his. After all, it’s probably harder to draw than to have
an idea. Cartoon ideas cover a wide range of subjects. Some may be:
Inspirational – e.g., the school represented as a mother taking care of her
children.
Satirical – e.g., the embarrassment of having girls wear miniskirts in the
classroom.
Correctional – e.g., problems involving people taking prohibited drugs.

Cartoon ideas must be carefully thought of. Campus cartoonists should ask
themselves the following questions:
1) Will the cartoon hurt someone?
2) Is it over-exaggerated?
3) Is the cartoon decent? Parts of the human body should not be drawn in style
of dirty tabloids. Remember, ours are campus papers where values and clean
living are to be developed.
4) Is the cartoon “corny”? examples are overworked ideas such as knights
fighting dragons or rescuing damsels in distress; a student climbing a stiff
mountain to reach a castle labelled “success”; or an erupting volcano labelled
“REVOLUTION”.

A cartoonist can think of new ways in rendering an old subject in a fresh way.

Suggestions for Cartooning

1) If you decide to use a cartoon, make sure that it is done in good taste and that it
should say something.
2) Like an editorial, it should deal with only one topic.

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3) The purpose of a cartoon is to visualize an idea; limit the use of words and
labels. Unlike a photo in the news page, a cartoon does not need a caption.
Remember also that a good cartoon, like a good photo, is worth 10,000 words.
4) You may use symbols like dove for peace, a Laurel leaf for victory, or a heart for
love. But be sure that the symbol is universal; i.e., it is easily understood even by
an ordinary reader. Just as in newswriting, “cartoonize” to express not to
impress. The message is more important than the drawing.
5) Be original. Don’t plagiarize. Develop your own style.
6) Cartoons, like headlines and captions, can also be sources of libel suits. The
pictures and the bubble may be funny but they should not defame nor expose a
person or object to hatred, ridicule, or contempt.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Write T if the statement is TRUE and F if the statement is FALSE.
___1. A lampoon is an exaggerated description, generally by sketching.
___2. Editorial cartoons can be found in the editorial page.
___3. Editorial cartoon can deal with more than one topic.
___4. The purpose of a cartoon is to visualize an idea so you have to limit the use of
words and labels.
___5. The name of the cartoonist can be placed on the cartoon, only if the idea was his.

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Cartooning Exercise

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A recent earthquake caused great destruction – devastating the whole province

of Davao del Sur, killing and injuring hundreds of people, destroying property and
leaving its wake unprecedented misery to the people, who now need your help very
badly.
As the cartoonist of your school paper, draw an editorial cartoon depicting the
tragedy and at the same time knocking the hearts of the readers, appealing to them for
all kinds of help you can think of.
Remember, this is not a fine arts contest. What is important here is your
message – how effective it is in soliciting aids – cash or relief goods, to alleviate at least
the sufferings of our less fortunate brethren.

In a Nutshell

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Your Task. After studying this section, share three important things you learned about
cartooning.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.

Do you have any question for clarification?

Questions/Issues Answers
1.

2.

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3.

4.

5.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Develop an interest in feature writing by

studying the good qualities of a feature story.

Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn another style of writing which is more interesting and
easier compared to news story. You will know the similarities and differences between
news story and a feature article; and between a news feature and a feature article.
Furthermore, you will also learn the qualities of a good feature writer.

Essential Knowledge

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Telefax: (082)553-2914

The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

Features and News Compared

It is hard to define a feature article because it can take many forms and can
cover many subjects. However, a reader may easily distinguish feature stories from
news stories through its different characteristics.
The main objective of news is to inform, while a feature article aims to
entertain. Feature articles may also instruct, advise, inform, and entertain at the same
time.
And like a straight news story, a feature article may be of any length ranging
from a rather long magazine article published, for example in the Panorama or
Reader’s Digest, to the short human-interest story published in the feature page of a
campus publication. They may or may not be timely. Side-by-side with an earthquake
news story may be a feature article on past earthquakes that had hit the country. This is
called a sidebar.
Also, a feature article may be written in any form and style. It rarely has a
summary lead. Instead, it usually begins with a novelty lead.
It is important to stress here that news feature, sometimes referred to as
featurized news, is not a feature article but a news story which is based on facts but
containing explanations, background, and impression of the writer, its main aim is to
inform. It can start in almost any manner and it usually appears with the author’s by-line.
A feature article, on the other hand, aims to entertain rather than to inform,
although it may do both at the same time.
Here is an example on how a feature article differs from a straight (factual and
objective) news story or from a news feature.
Supposed the school celebrates its Foundation Day. A straight or featurized
news story about this will say how the occasion was celebrated, who the guest speaker
was and what his message was about, the highlight of the activities and the different
contests held.

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A brief history about the school may be published as a sidebar to the banner
news. This is a feature article. Another feature article may be about the namesake of
the school, usually a national hero, which may be published in the features section.
It is interesting to note, however, that not all feature articles are related to the
news event which inspired the article. Even if it were not Foundation Day, the features
editors may write about national heroes whose birthdays or martyrdoms fall on the
month of publication. But whether tied up or not to a newspeg, the feature article is
interesting, thus entertaining because it reveals something new about people, things,
and events. Or it revives a memory.

Topics for Feature Stories

What should be written as feature stories? Using a cliché, a feature article, like
an essay, may be on any topic under the sun from A to Z.
For campus writing the following broad topics are suggested to feature editors,
for their features sections:
1. Personalities – this feature article, sometimes called a character sketch, is
usually short. It may be about a student leader, a successful alumnus, a teacher,
a school staff member, or even about an industrious janitor. The student to be
featured should not always be the campus doll, nor the dashing Romeo of the
class, but the achiever, the builder, or the innovator.
A community member who has raised the biggest squash or the fattest hog in his
backyard deserves to be played up. In writing a character sketch, the emphasis
should be on the person, what he says and thinks, and what he does for
development. His date of birth and a bundle of certificates he has accumulated
for attending seminars should take the backseat.

2. Experience and Adventure – supposed a group of science students had attended

a national science camp. Each one of them has an interesting story to relate –
the workshop seminar, the feasibility studies, the field trips, the socials, and the
putting out of the newsette. These may be summarized as one big adventure
story or may be written as separate featurettes. To make each story interesting,
the student should be made to write his story himself in the first-person point of
view. In such a case, the story should appear with his by-line. If he can’t do this,
a reporter writes the story for him. The by-line would then be written this way.

By Warner Castro
(as told by Clarence Manuel)

3. Description – there are many significant events and special festivities in the
school and in the community worth writing about. Also, there are interesting
projects made by the students in the laboratory and in their vocational and
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academic classes and by the community members in their respective homes that
need playing up. But in his description, the writer should as much as possible be
factual and original. Aside from this, you should use simple and concrete words
that are understood by the layman or by Mr. Average Reader.

4. Narratives – there are interesting stories to relate, especially historical ones. Not
all personal stories are on adventures and experiences. An old person in the
community may be asked to narrate how the district got its name or how in the
olden days people fished or washed clothes in a polluted estero nearby.

5. Backgrounders –there are feature articles that explain the history or the
background of a certain event. Say for example, that the model platoon of a
certain school wins for first place in the district competition. A feature story about
the organization of the pioneer platoon is a backgrounder.

6. Developmental Feature Articles – in a developing country like the Philippines,

student editors should keep in step with developments that affect mankind and
should steer away from routine reporting. They should not limit their stories to
student politics, Junior proms, and other school affairs. They should help
advance national, social, economic, and educational programs such as those in
social action, food production, fight against dope addiction, criminality and all
kinds of vices, and the implementation of the Green Revolution, clean and
beautification drives, and other kinds of community service.
There are other subjects or feature stories that interest readers. Some of these
are the latest fads and fashions; book, movie and play reviews, and the “How to”
articles. The last one explains the process or a method like “How to Raise a
Mushroom.” It tells, for example, how to conserve energy, how to fight pollution
or how to raise poultry in the backyard.

7. What to Do and How to Do Articles – there are also “What to” articles. There are
those that tell what to do during an earthquake, a typhoon, an emergency, or the
like. Some of these articles can develop the subject either by a series of rules
starting with “Do” or by having the writer describes the process in his own words.
Usually, these kinds of feature articles are accompanied by pictures or
illustrations.

How to Introduce the Feature Article

Unlike a straight news story, a feature article may begin in any form and in any
style. This depends on the topic or purpose of the writer. Most features, however, may
be introduced by any of the following:
1. Rhetorical Question

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Who says that age is an obstacle to education?

Take it from Danilo Marcelo of Arayat, Pampanga who stopped going to school
seven years ago after finishing the elementary grades. This year, at 24, he enrolled as a
first-year evening student at Abada High School.
Title: Age Not a Hindrance to Education

2. Startling Statement
“Hindi po kami laos!”
Thus explained the young once teachers, administrators, parents, community
and barangay members as they set aside one special day during the school celebration
of Community Week to have a share of the festivities, and of course to display their
hidden talents.
Title: Hindi po Kami Laos

3. Narrative Opening
Mrs. Adelfa Prado, a fourth-year evening student, sends herself and her six
children to school, acting as mother and father at the same time.
Every day, Mrs. Prado divides her time as half-time tinderatending her sari-sari
store during the day and as half-time student studying at night.
Title: Half Here, Half There

4. Quoted Remarks
“I earn while I learn.” He smiled at me as the interview reeled off. “How can you
work, have a part-time job, and at the same time go to school?” I asked.
“Well, it is easy,” he explained. “I don’t do all of these at the same time.”
Title: I Earn While I Learn

5. An Old Maxim, an Aphorism, or a Salawikain

“Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink.”

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This quotation from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge does
not hold true anymore. Today, even flood water can quench the thirst. How?
Title: Drinking Water, Anyone?

6. History or Background of the Subject

Muslims throughout the world, including our Filipino Muslim brothers, observe the
holy month of Ramadan starting September 17. Ramadan is the ninth lunar month of
the Muslim calendar. It is observed by Muslims just as the Lenten Season is
commemorated my Christians.
Title: Knowing Our Muslim Brothers

7. Problems to be discussed in the article or fact to be established.

There is an answer to the rising cost of vegetables: raise your own.
Title: Backyard Gardening
There is no end to interesting, effective openers of feature stories. There are still
many other ways. Study the feature pages of your exchanges and you will be surprised
to find this out.

Ending the Feature Article

Again, as important as the lead, is the ending. The last word or words impress
the reader as strongly as the opening sentences.
It may be any of the following:
1. A summary of the whole article
Take it from experts: Smoking is definitely harmful to health. Smoking may make
you feel manly, but you may not live long enough to be one.
Title: Don’t Smole Your Life Away

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2. An announcement of the main point for the first time

Therefore, a major part of the development communication effort should be
directed at strengthening the character of the people, and developing in them moral
values, particularly self-discipline, self-reliance, strength of character, and fortitude.
Title: Development Communication

3. A question left in the readers mind

The hands of the new Filipino toil for the love of creation. They turn the wheels of
progress and hold high the torch of freedom – freedom from want and hunger.
Do you have these kinds of hands?
Title: The New Filipino

4. Suggested results or significance

Let us conserve our forests now if you want to save the future of our country and
of our children.
Title: The rape of the Forest

5. A forecast or prophecy
In six and a half centuries from now, if population explosion would not be
checked, there would be one person standing on every square foot of land on earth. By
that time, people would be devouring one another, for there would be no more space or
plants to grow.
Title: A Tale of Horror – Population Explosion

6. A repetition of the introduction

Asked if he had any formal training in photography, DominggoLayson finally
answered, “Ah, it is now the reverse. It is here where I learn as they earn, not I earn as I
learn.” (The lead of the feature article is, “I learn while I earn.”)
Title: I Learn as I Earn

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7. A repetition of a sentence or slogan, or a reference to the title

After four years of working as a houseboy, working during the day and going to
school at night, Jose Fallar will soon graduate as a first honors student.
Now, who says that poverty is a hindrance to education?
Title: Poverty Not a Hindrance

8. An appropriate quotation
Nestor claims that he is poor. But when asked why he gave his centavo to the old
man, he answered:
“Not what we give, but what we share
For the gift, without the giver is bare,
Who gives himself with his alms feeds three
Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me.”
Title: Love thy Neighbor
Because feature stories are less stereotyped in form and in style than new
stories, the feature writer should possess the following qualities:
(1) a keen observation;
(2) an intellectual curiosity;
(3) ability to find features in everyday happenings;
(4) cupboards of descriptive words and everyday idioms;
(5) the skills to weave words into interesting sentences and paragraphs; and
(6) the ability to write effectively

Characteristics of a Good Feature Article

A good feature article should have the following characteristics:
1) It may inform, instruct, or advise, but its primary purpose is to entertain. It is
usually read after the news in a leisure moment.
2) It may be of any length - from a short human-interest story to a rather long
magazine article.
3) It may or may not be timely.
4) It may be written in any form or style.
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5) It usually uses the novelty lead rather than the summary lead.
6) The reporter may use any of the following devices - suspense, dialogue,
description, narration, exposition, argumentation, climax and the like in
presenting his story.
7) Although the writer applies his imagination to the facts, the feature story is not
fiction. It is based on facts.
8) It uses specific nouns, adjectives, and verbs to create vivid images, sound, and
feeling for the readers.
9) It applies the principles of effective writing to achieve unity, coherence, and
emphasis which are essential to all good writing.
10) It is written with friendly simplicity.

Example of Feature Writing

EVERYBODY LOVES CHILDREN

Butuan is a child. It is a little snot-noses, pantless, dirty-faced boy, with eyes open wide
in amazement. It is a little girl running barefoot in the grass, taking in the freshest of fresh air.
It is, with its many little shops filled with clutter that may never be bought, a boy, his pockets
bunched up with the snakes and the shells and rocks. It is people walking in the middle of the
roads and tricycles ever on the left side, forgetting red and yellow traffic lights – a child
forever disobeying his mother.
Butuan is a frank child. It is not grown-up enough to feel embarrassed when it lifts up its
skirt and visitors are around. It is captivatingly candid and open. It is Girl Scouts who come
into your room without warning and put up your mosquito nets. And Boy Scouts who knock at
your door at five in the morning to turn the faucets on in your wash stand. It is grandmothers
doing the jerk at formal balls unblinkingly.
Butuan is a trusting child. It is not an adolescent, confused and rebellious. It is no place
for revolutionaries. It takes you by the hand and looks up at you and says, “I like you. I like
everyone. I like the world.”
And Butuan is often a naïve child. With its nose running, it lifts up a corner of its T-shirt to
wipe away the dirt. But its shop girls who ask you, “What is U.P.?” It states at you in open-
mouthed wonder.
Then Butuan is a caring child. Its policeman answers you with a cheery salute “Are you,
all right? Do you want anything? Are you sure you’re not mad at me? What else can I do?” It
is always asking so very sweetly.
So Butuan is a child.
I love children.
Elenna Z. Rivera
School Paper: U.P Highlights
First Prize – Feature Writing in English (NSSPC)

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IS THIS BAGUIO?

A German gentleman had just arrived at famed Loakan Airport via a PAL HS748 flight
and was warmly greeted by a pretty Igorot receptionist. He is a member of an in Janere in
company that had been contracted to erect a noted the Pines and the wonderful order it
exudes.
The German made his way to the office and asked for directions, “Vherist der Pine
Hotel?” The officer in charge looked at him squarely and shot back, “Go take a taxi!” So, the
German took a taxi and directed the driver to “der Pine Hotel.” On the way, he saw Baguio’s
suburbia as an added attraction to the ride: flowers blooming, birds chirping, cones falling,
etc.
That a taxi stopped a short distance from the Pines hotel and the German asked for his
affair. The meter registered P11.95. “Mein gut gott!, the German muttered fishing out fifteen
pesos from his wallet. “Sir,” the driver side as he took the two bills, “Drivers in Baguio are not
the same as Manila. We take passengers shorter way possible.” He handed back two pesos.
“Thank you, sir,” he said promptly drove off.
The German shrugged his shoulders and made a beeline to the hotel, toting his Tupac
traveling bags. While waiting to cross the street, a knife I gently job at his side, and a husky
voice commanded, “Stay put, keep your hands to your bags.” The German was perspiring
and a chilly breeze, “Mein gut gott,” he could only mutter while the stick-upper helped himself
to the German’s wallet.
The traffic cleared and the German crossed the street, when a jeepney came helter-
skelter from nowhere and sideswiped him. “Mein gott, meingott,” the German this time
hollered. He picked up his ass and his bags when he saw several Burnham-boys in stitches
and laughing to their hearts’ content.
The German then stopped a passing teenager and inquired, “Bitte, vhereist der police
station”. The lad stared at him for a moment undeclared imperially, “Fascist pig,” and walked
away in a decorous manner. Left in trance, the German quickly recovered and was about to
stop a hulking lady but quickly changed his mind.
He preceded cautiously up the hotel ramp and arrived safely at his destination. The
guard greeted him with a smile, the German forced himself a reply and marched to the desk.
The desk-boy courteously asked, “if he wished to take a room?”
“Nein,” the German answered, “I just want to ask and rent der limousine and der
trusted driver who will take me to der airport.”
The German was now all smiles as he luxuriated in the soft cushions of the
limousine. In a matter of hours or a few days, he will be back to his glorious Deutschland. He
thought that it would be wiser and saner to lose money respectfully in this limousine then to a
one-armed bandit of ataxi-meter. The car stopped and the German smirked at a PTTA-PAL
posted that invites Filipino tourists to “Local Tourism for a Progressive Philippines.” The
German took a last look around – at the pines and the wonderful odor it exudes and reached
for his wallet to pay his due of one hundred and fifty pesos, curiously forgetting that he had no
wallet.

Armando G. Miclat
Philippine Science High School
School Paper: The Science Scholar
First Prize – Feature Writing (NSSP)

90
 UM Digos College
Department of Teacher Education
RoxasExtension, Digos City
Telefax: (082)553-2914

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Multiple Choice
Encircle the letter of your answer.
1. ______ leads are most commonly used in feature stories.
a. Summary b. Novelty c. Grammatical beginning
2. ______ is the adjective that characterizes best a feature story.
a. Informative b. Entertaining c. Instructive d. Advisory
3. A feature story that is based on the timely news happening is ______.
a. Historical essay b. News feature c. Personality sketch
4. A features story usually follows of the _______ structure.
a. inverted pyramid b. pyramid
5. Personality sketch should be _______.
a. directly descriptive
b. suggestive of the subject through an account of activities
6. Which one portrays the school principal as a humane person?
a. He married in his teens.
b. He is a disciplinarian.
c. He feeds a stray cat from his lunch.
7. A very good angle for a feature story on Andres Bonifacio in connection with the
celebration of Bonifacio Day would be _____.

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a. He is known as the “Great Plebeian.”

b. He wanted to be a priest when he was still a teenager.
c. He advocated reforms through violent means.
8. A brief history about the school may be published as _____.
a. side bar b. backgrounder c. interpretation
9. If you were to play up one person in the community, who would you select?
a. The most handsome guy
b. The rich politician
c. The farmer who has raised the biggest squash
10. A _____ publishes more feature stories than news.
a. newspaper b. tabloid c. magazine

Activity 2. TRUE OR FALSE

On the blank before each number, write T if the statement is true and F if the statement
is false.
____1. The chronological order would be better than the inverted pyramid order for a
human interest story.
____2. Inanimate object may be the subject matter for human interest stories.
____3. The appeal of feature stories is to particular readers rather than just to anyone.
____4. The perennial topnotcher who tops the honor roll again would command a better
future than a junior student who defended the owner of his widowed mother from a
neighborhood toughie.
____5. Dialogue should form part of a human interest story.
____6. If the story appeals to the emotions, the feature tends to sentimentalize.
____7. The appeal of the feature story leans on its dramatic quality.
____8. Emphasis on language in feature writing is not so important as in news writing.
____9. As in fiction, the feature writer may use devices such as narration, suspense,
climax, description, etc.
____10. Features do not follow any form or style.

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Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Write a feature story on your hobby during this Quarantine Period. Include
interesting descriptive matter and suggest a photograph that would go with the story.
Let your purpose be informative and your manner is appreciative.
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Activity 2. Write a news feature based on the following facts you have gathered as a
roving reporter:
A blind man was walking along a dark alley one stormy, cool evening
accompanied by his leader dog. The man slipped on a stone and fell unconsciously into
a canal. The rain was falling in torrents. As no one came to help, the dog lay down on its
masters body to keep him warm.
Many hours passed and the cool rain fell continuously on the unconscious man
and on the faithful dog. It was past midnight when a police patrol happened to pass by.
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The blind man was rushed to the emergency hospital for treatment. He survived and
was pronounced in good condition. But the dog, suffering from extreme cold, died.
(n.b.) Your facts were inadequate. Many important W’s in H’s were missing. So you
interviewed other people. Supply the missing facts and write a police news features.
Give it an interesting title.
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In a Nutshell
Your Task. After studying this section, share three important things you learned about
writing a feature article.
1.
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2.
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3.
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Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.

Do you have any question for clarification?

Questions/Issues Answers
1)

2)

3)

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4)

5)

Big Picture in Focus: ULOc.Discuss the essential information that should be

included in writing a sport story.

Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn the nature of the sports story and its types. Also,
you will discover the qualities of a good sports writer and this will also help you learn the
essential information that should be included in writing a sport story.

Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

Writing the Sports Story

Sports writing has become one of the most popular forms of modern journalistic
writing. More and more readers are now turning to the sports section before looking at
the more prosaic news of the day.

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But while many talks about sports, there are only a few who can write a sports
story. Even experienced beat reporters get lost covering games and writing about them
because it takes more than just answering the 5W’s to be able to come up with a
comprehensive sports news story.

Structure of the Sports Story

Sports reporting is news writing. The sports story has the structure of an
action story but with a greater freedom of style in writing. It is considered a specialized
field; therefore, the sports writer is expected to possess certain qualities not so common
among beat reporters.
From having a “nose for news” he should also (1) have interest in all sports
events, (2) know the rules and regulations of the events or game he is writing about,
and (3) have a working knowledge of the language and jargon of a sports writing usually
referred to as sports lingo. In this connection, you should avoid clichés (tired, old
phrases) that have seen better days. Examples of clichés are “swishing the cord,”
“hitting the willow root,” and “canning the birdie”.
Even when writing only for a school paper, the budding sports writer is expected
to possess the three characteristics of a sports writer just mentioned although he does
not need to be a star player of the game himself before he can write interestingly about
it.
Three types of sports stories can be written. These are the advance story, the
coverage story, and the advance coverage story.
The advance story, sometimes cold dope or prognostication, builds up
enthusiasm for coming events. It may be one of the three types: (1) straight news story,
(2) background story, and (3) prediction story. The coverage story is an on the spot
coverage of an actual game or events. The advance-coverage story includes the
information of the coming events as the first part of the story and the information on the
past event as the last part of the story.

Qualities of a Good Sports Writer

Aside from a working knowledge of the medium he is going to use in writing his
story, the sports writer should also have the following know-how:
1) Must know sports: rules, strategy, team and player’s records.
2) Must attend the games or meets as a reporter, not as a spectator or cheerer.
3) Must know coaches and players as intimately as possible.

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4) Must observe accuracy.

5) Must be able to take notes quickly without losing the sequence of the play.
6) Must be fair and unbiased in reporting, even though he has a favorite team.
7) Must not make comments without supporting them with facts on which they are
based, although sports writers have more freedom than any other news writers.
8) Must use the specialized language of the particular sports that he is reporting.
9) Must avoid sports slang and trite expressions which hack writers use today. He
should tell the story in plain, factual terms, that describe the action.
10) Most bear in mind that he writes for his readers and not for himself.

Writing the Lead of a Sports Story

Like any other news story, a sports story has a lead and a body. The sports lead
is the attention-getter, the news in a nutshell.
The classic “5W’s” appear in the sports lead as:
(1) Who won? The UMDC Tigers
(2) Against whom? poured 10 baskets in the last three minutes to edge
out CJC Sacred Hearts Team
(3) By what score? 65-63
(4) Where at the opponent’s home ground
(5) When yesterday afternoon
Philippines fought with a steel nerves and refused to be crushed by Giants 55-
points might to nip favored in North Korea 87-86, in its biggest triumph yesterday in the
Asian men’s Basketball Championship.
This kind of a summary lead may vary. The lead can also dramatize other elements like:
1) The key play

The Soliman High School sluggers bombed the Lakandula batters with six
runs in the third inning a nerve-fuzzlingLakandula rally, 14-12 as they clinched
the invitation game here, in connection with the celebration of the Foundation
Day of Lakandula High School.
Foreign Philippine masters champion George Olayban birdied two of the last
three holes for a four-under-par 67 yesterday and a one stroke lead over Robert
Pactolerin in the opening round of the P200,000 Philip Morris Long Golf Classic.

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2) The outstanding player

Romeo Reyes of UM Digos Senior High School, after almost 4 hours of

battle over the chess board, copped the most coveted YMCA trophy after
outfitting Ateneo de Davao High School chesser William Santos in 27 moves of a
Sicilian defense.
Ace striker RosselFilamer slotted home the priceless maker that lifted that
multi-titled NCR team to triumph over hard-fighting Cebu-Lhuiller, 1-6, to capture
the fourth Don Andres Soriano Jr. Football Cup before a big, enthusiastic crowd
at the Perdices Stadium in Dumaguete City.

3) Analytical approach – the outcome of the game is the result of a particular key
plan or action

Riding high on seasoning spikes and tricky placing, the MLQ netters
blasted the Laurel High Killers in the crucial third set to win 15-10, 11-15, 15-7 in
a mini district meet, Sept. 21 at the Torres High School Oval to celebrate the First
Filipino Thanksgiving Day.
Pumped-up Purefoods played solid defense to frustrate Diet Sarsi, 115-
105 last night and arranged a winner-take-all contest on Sunday for the PBA All-
Filipino Conference Crown at the Ultra.

Writing the Body of a Sports Story

After the lead, the other elements follow in ascending order. These will include:
1) Team and/or individual standing – if the event is part of a series of games, the
story must report how the teams or players stand in relation to their competitors.
2) Decisive play – this is the most crucial part of the game that gives a certain team
the winning margin.
3) Best scores for the day – the scores usually appear in the headline and in the
lead. However, the writer must not neglect the top scorer of the day.
4) Play-by-play – due to limited space, play-by-play has to be condensed. In top
boxing events, a separate round by round account is provided, describing the
progress of the fight in detail.
5) Quotation – it is customary for the hero of the day to have his sentiments
recorded for posterity.

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Sports Lingo and Crutches/Slanguage

It is important that sports writer master the language of a sports because only
when he has complete command of the lingo can he sound authoritative and convincing
to his readers. In fact, there are sports terms that enable a sports writer to explain in
only a few words certain happenings in a game.
Among these terms are:
1) Basketball – five, quintet, shot twinner, pivot, rally, rebound, technical foul,
quarter count, 15-foot line, hook shot, layup, icebreaker, tip-in, press, one
defense, man-to-man, 30-second rule, full court, gun time, lemon time, keywhole
area, long tom, tip-in, follow-up, trey, rainbow country

2) Basketball and Softball – diamond, pitcher, backstop, deep center, struck out,
lower fourth, shut out, heatless inning, hit a homerun, one-bagger, two-baggers,
forced out, scorcher, fly back, pitcher’s mound, upper third, lower fourth, flyers,
rolling ball, umpire, struck out, bunt, slide, shortstop, fielder, southpaw, no-hit run,
fanned, out-pegged at third, deep center, a scorcher to left outfield

3) Volleyball – spikes, neat placing, change court, Chinese kill, block, scored off,
straight set, two out of three, spiker, blocked his kill, booming service, net ball,
return play, three out of five

4) Soccer or Football – soccerites, goalie, full back, corner kick, centrada, penalty
kick, free kick, pigskin

5) Sipa – fancy kick, dead ball, ball on play, single, double, etc.

6) Track:Dashes –100-200-80-m; Runs-200-400;800 and 1500 m; Hurdles-110 m.

high, 400 m low and 80 m low; Relay – 4 x 100 m and 4 x 100 m; breasted the
tape, burned the cinders, clock a new record, bore down on him, home stretch,
photo finish, middle-distance runner, long-distance runner, anchor man, passed
on the baton
7) Field – heave the shotput, hurled the javelin, threw the discuss, hop step and
jump, broad jump, high or long jump, pole vault, Grecian disc

8) Tennis – best of three matches, surfeit services, straight set, singles, smash cut

9) Swimming – tanker, naiads, aquabelle

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There are aids (crutches) that may be useful in covering a game:

1) Basketball - FG (field goal) 2; Ft (free throw) x 1; PF (personal foul); TP (total
points); js (jumpshot); di (drivein); lu (lay-up); LT (long tom), etc.
2) Baseball and softball – ab (at bat); h (hit); rbi (run or runs batted in); e (error), etc.
3) Volleyball –p (placing); bs (booming service); s (spiker); bb (block ball); cp
(change of phase), etc.

Example of Sports Stories

MINDANAO LEADS NATIONAL INTERSCHOLASTIC MEET

Mindanao, sparked by Arsenio Jazmin’s victories in the 400 and 800-meter run, led in
the first day of the National Interscholastic Meet at the Rizal Track and Field Stadium
yesterday.
Mindanao garnered 23 points against second place Bicol’s 17. MPQCCAA scored 15
notchers for third place honors and with Southern Tagalog and East Visayas trying for fourth
place with 12 points each. West Visayas settled for sixth place with 7 points. Central Luzon
had 4 and 2 points, respectively.

LOCAL VOLLEYBELLES SPILL TORRES TOSSERS IN TWO SETS,

15-10, 15-8

Cool, ever cast aside, tweeted by intermittent showers spawned by Typhoon Iliang,
witnessed the conquest of the Torres High volleyball girls team, Goliath of District I by the
Osmeñatossers, 15-10, 15-18.
The location was an exhibition game held at the opponent’s home court, Aug. 16 in
connection with the 16th anniversary of “Araw ng Osmeña.
The irony of it was that the daughter school whipped her mother on the date of the former’s
Independence Day.

MLQ SLUGGERS OUTPLAY OSMEÑA BATTERS, 12-7

The Quezonian sluggers bombed the Osmeña batters with four runs in the fifth inning to
subdue a nerve fazzilingOsmeñan rally, 12-7, as they clinched the invitation game, Nov. 20 at
the La Loma Playground in connection with the celebration of Osmeña Day.
The cloudy overcast sky set a festive atmosphere for the hard-hitting and base-stealing
MLQ players as they mercilessly pounded Osmeñan pitcher, Hilarion Asilo with a barrage of hits in
the last part of a five-inning game.
A shaky start by the Osmeñan enabled the Quezonians to score ahead by two runs on the
long hits of Selga and their second baseman, Reyes.

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Osmeña’srealiable pitcher Asilo on the mound had difficulty in finding his range as he allowed two
walks in succession during the initial inning.
The score box for the locals remained 3 up to the third inning as the aggressive citywide
softball champions fired four runs and solid hits making the score 3-8.
It was only in the fourth inning that the Osmeña batters came to life, blasting 4 runs in the
studded inning after laboring hard on winning MLQ pitcher Hernandez, and put a resemblance of
a rally with 2 innings to go 7-8, as Asilo, Loto, Cruz and Burgarin, the so-called Murderers’ Row,
swung their booming bats with gusto to a 4-run Osmeña harvest.
After catcher Abraham smashed a deep center for a 3-bagger, and Asistio, not to be
outdone, divided a hog-grounder past-third, the cool calculating Asilo in a 1 and 1 all-hit before the
inning ended, making the locals earn 4 runs; and to catch up with MLQ sluggers, a zooming hit
sent Macatuno for a scoring position at the third base.
Before husky Aranzanse of MLQ served his bat, Reyes advanced to second base for a bait
with 1 strike and 2 balls for Aranzanse. Selga connected a hot roller off third, sending Macatuno
home for their ninth run.
Fourth batter Hernandez struck the ball hard sending three players at home base to win the
game, 12-7.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Before each word, write the sports in which the following terms may be used:
_______1. grounder _______11. breast stroke
_______2. rebound _______12. aquabelles
_______3. uppercut _______13. 4 x 100 m.
_______4. lay-up _______14. lemon time
_______5. cock swain _______15. eagle
_______6. baton _______16. racket
_______7. javelin _______17. single
_______8. zone defense _______18. halfback

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_______9. hole-in-one _______19. bunt

_______10. sprinter _______20. side out

Activity 2. COMPLETION
Fill in each blank with a word or phrase.
1) Basketball was invented game for high school is divided into ____ innings.
2) A regulation baseball game for high school is divided into ____ innings.
3) When an athlete plays for money, he becomes a ___________.
4) A sports story written ahead of its schedule is a _______________.
5) That which tells how a game was played is a ____________ story.
6) ________________ is the oldest athletic league of universities in the Philippines.
7) The ________________ is an international competition intended to develop
world understanding and sportsmanship.
8) There are ______ players in softball team. (Only those at the field at a given
time.)
9) The _______________ is considered as the most important player in a baseball
team.
10) Sports competition originated in __________ Greece.
11) ______________ is the king of homeruns. His counterpart in soccer is
________.
12) A woodpusher is a __________ player.
13) When the pitcher throws ___________ “balls” the batter is given 3 walk.
14) The runner to a base may ____________ to avoid being tagged out.
15) A basketball player is “graduated” after he has committed ______ personal
fouls.

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Write the name of the game or team referred to in the following:
_________1. A contest of speed at sea by manipulating a special type of boat.
_________2. A contest of speed by a group of rowers using long paddles.
_________3. The man who guides and controls timing of the rowers by either shouting
or beating a drum.
_________4. A contest of a speed through running by teams of four. Each member runs
a 100-m. lap.
_________5. The piece of wood passed from one runner to another in this game.

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_________6. A game played in an open field with 11 players to a team who kick or had
a ball through a goal to make a score.
_________7. A game played in an Open field with 11 players to a team who try to carry
or throw a ball through a goal to make a score.
_________8. A game played in an open field where the players strike a ball with a club,
intent on rolling this ball into a hole.
_________9. Particular place for the pitcher while he hurls the ball to the catcher.

Activity 2. Write the game or sports to which the following terms belong:
_________1. aqualads _________6. spike
_________2. putt _________7. on deck
_________3. tanker _________8. touchdown
_________4. halfback _________9. lemon time
_________5. shortstop _________10. booter

In a Nutshell
Your Task. After studying this section, share three important things you learned about
writing a sport article which you find as the most challenging part. Explain your answer.
1.
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2.
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3.
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____________________________________________________________________________
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Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.

Do you have any question for clarification?

Questions/Issues Answers
1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

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Big Picture in Focus: ULOd.Familiarize the do’s and don’ts in laying out a
page.

Metalanguage
In this section, you will learn to identify the different types of layout and its
principles on how to achieve effective makeup. Also, it is emphasized in this section, the
discussion of the “do’s” and “don’ts” in laying out a page.

Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

Layout or Makeup
If the page is the show window, and page one the main window, then the
makeup or layout is the window dressing.
It has been often said that makeup is a happy marriage of aesthetics and
mechanics. It is the arrangement of illustrations and types on a page or spread which is
to be reproduced graphically.
By all means, and newspaper should be carefully and properly laid out for the
following reasons:
(1) to give prominence to the news in proportion to its importance;
(2) to make the different contents easy to find and to read;
(3) to give the pages an attractive appearance, and

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(4) to give the paper a personality of its own

An effective makeup may be planned using two procedures: (1) by way of
headline and text arrangement and (2) by way of text and photo combinations.
1) Page make up is a matter of personal taste. There are no absolute criteria for
laying out the page or pages of a newspaper or a magazine; therefore, the layout
artist may experiment freely on page makeup until he gets the pattern that is
acceptable to him.
2) There are many forms of front page make up. It’s good to know them, but this
does not mean that the staff can’t device its own. Following ideal arrangement
patterns but they are not meant to be followed very literally.

Types of Front Page Makeup (By Way of Headline and Text Arrangement)
Scholastic Journalism by Earl English and Clarence Hach gives the following
types of front page makeup by way of headline and text arrangement.
1. Perfect Balance (Balance or Symmetrical) Makeup –a
large headline placed, for example in the right-hand
columns of a five-column front page, is balanced with a
corresponding large one in the first and second column.
Other headlines are similarly arranged. A one-column cut
at the top of column two is balanced with another one-
column cut at the top of column four. This kind of makeup
gives a static, monotonous appearance to the paper. It
should not be made from issue to issue although the New
York Times is noted for this.

2. Brace or Focus Makeup – headlines are diagonally

arranged from the upper left to the lower right-hand
corner or vice versa just like a brace supporting a house.
Balance is obtained by various devices such as two-
column heads, boxes, and cuts which are used to offset
the weight concentrated in the upper right or upper left-
hand corner.
This kind of makeup is desirable to use when one story is
more important than any other because the reader’s
attention is directed to the upper right-hand corner or
occasionally to the upper left.

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3. Broken Column Makeup – the page is broken into several units to give space to many
stories. Symmetry is obtained by carefully arranging the contents so as not to cancel
each other by their nearness. Large heads and cutsare placed where they give the page
a pleasing pattern. This kind of makeup is developed primarily to be able to print as
many short news stories on page 1 as possible.

4. Occult Makeup – type groups are arranged at varying

distances from the center like two boys on a see-saw. It
is sometimes calledoccult or hidden balance because
the type group with this headline may be balanced with
a picture, an illustration or a box, instead of another
type group. No attempt is made to achieve perfect
balance. This is one of the most popular kinds of front
page makeup since it permits great variety from issue
to issue.

5. Streamlined Makeup – the format is similar to that of the

contrast and balance makeup. However, the nameplate is
usually floated, headlines are flushed up in cap and
lowercase (clc) type, and large body types are often used.
Many closely cropped pictures are also used. Instead of
boxing stories in full, three quarter boxes are resorted to.
Often, bullets, asterisks, or jim dashes are employed to
introduce lead stories. This kind of makeup is more
commonly used by high school papers than by the national
dailies.

6. Circus Makeup – it is broken-column carried to the

extreme. The page is broken off with no attempt at
regularity, symmetry, or order. Many headlines of all

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sizes; boxes and cuts are scattered all over the page, each clamoring for attention, and
screaming as barkers in a carnival circus do. There is no focus of interest. This kind of
makeup is not desirable for high school papers. Peoples Journal, a metropolitan daily,
has adopted this kind of makeup.

Makeup by Way of Text and Photo Combination

1. The X Format 2. The Curve Format

3. The L Format

4. The J Format 5. The Umbrella Format

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Makeup of Inside Pages

While it is true that the front page of the newspaper is its show window, attractive
make up should not be confined to this page alone. The inside and back pages should
be given the same tender care, treatment, and attention by the layout artist.
The following pointers may be helpful to him:
1) For News Pages –inside news pages should be laid out as facing page units
rather than as single pages. The principles of contrast and balance used for front
page makeup should also be applied in planning the makeup of facing pages.

2) For Editorial Pages – these pages should have a distinctive, dignified, and a
formal appearance. The masthead or editorial box which should be relatively
small, maybe anchored in any corner as done in streamlined newspapers.
Traditionally, the editorials appear in the first two columns. They are of larger
types. Heads or titles of editorials, just like the headline of news stories should be
one of the masculine appearance, not the italic or the script type.

3) For Feature and Literary Pages – these pages must have a literary and feminine
appearance. The columns are often wider. Roman and italics pipes are used for
text. Feminine times like the coronet, mandate, and liberty families may be used
for headlines.

4) For Sports Pages –these pages have a bolder but more lively appearance than
other pages. Their makeup should suggest their content, action, speed and color.
Large bold heads, even streamers are used. If two pages are used and they are
opposite each other, they must be planned as a unit. Boxes and tabulations
should be used frequently to break great areas and to add interest.

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Principles to Follow to Achieve Effective Makeup

Scholastic Journalism by English Hach gives six (6) principles to achieve
effective makeup.
1) Unity – the content of every page and of every double page spread should
blend into a harmonious unit. No one part of the page should overshadow
another. The headlines should complement each other and the pictures
should not distract the eyes too much from the type.

2) Balance – balance should be achieved whether it be perfect or occult. This

can be done by having like or unlike units balance each other. A cut may be
balanced with another cut, or with a group of headlines, or with a boxed story.
I two-column head may balance a box and a single column head.

3) Emphasis – in order to achieve emphasis, news I should be displayed

according to importance. The news a value of every story must be determined
as to what page it should find a print, its position on the page, and the style
and size of its headline. News stories should be graded according to value or
importance to the public and should be given the corresponding size and style
of headline they deserve. The conventional way of positioning the news
stories after they have been graded is to place them in the order of their
importance: first, on the right half portion of the page above the fold; second,
on the left half portion of the page above the fold; third, on the right half
portion of the page below the fold; and fourth, on the left half portion of the
page below the fold following the big letter “S” shape.

4) Movement – there is no movement in perfect balance. With occult balance,

the eye is directed from one part of the page to another - from the most
important to the least important.

5) Proportion – the picture must to be sized properly to keep up with other

shapes on the page, Square cuts are undesirable. The length of the stories
should be considered. A long story may ruin the proportion of the page.
Although it is best to avoid jump stories, a jump story is better than a poorly
proportioned page.

6) Contrast – each story and cut should have an individuality of its own. This can
be achieved if units blend together as one. Every head and cut on the page
should contrast with adjoining materials. Contrasting adjacent headlines will
help emphasize the importance of each other. Boxes and pictures between
heads are sometimes good makeup devices.

Do’s and Don’ts in Page Makeup

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1) Avoid tombstoning; i.e., placing two or more headlines on approximately the

same level in adjacent columns specially if they are of the same point and types.
2) Avoid bad brakes - breaking stories to the top of columns. The top of every
column should have a headline or a cut.
3) Avoid separating related stories and pictures.
4) Avoid gray areas (sea of gray). Break these up with the use of a subheads;
indented, boldface paragraph; and the use of short articles with short headlines.
5) Keep long columns of six points types and tabular material to a minimum
especially on the front page.
6) Avoid using a banner headline unless the story deserves it. Screaming headlines
should not also be used. A screaming headline is one that is too big for a short or
unimportant story.
7) Don’t make the page top-heavy; i.e., making the top half of the page heavy with
carts and big headlines. A spread head beneath the fold will help prevent this.
8) Avoid many headlines of the same size on a page.
9) Avoid placing small heads on rather long stories.
10) The average number of stories on page 1 of a tabloid is from 7 to 9 stories.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Multiple Choice
Encircle the letter of your answer.
1. The trend is towards a ________ layout.
a. perfect balance b. streamlined c. circus
2. In a brace (right) makeup, the most important story is at the _______.
a. upper left b. upper right c. lower right
3. In a _______ layout, little or no grading is done.
a. balance b. brace c. circus
4. The _______ affords better reader comfort.

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a. sunken rule b. column rule

5. Skilled makeup editors prepare the layout
a. After copy for a given page has been selected but not yet set
b. When all the gallery proofs are in
c. As copy come to them
6. When a two-line (24 pts., rom) is placed side by side with another two-line (24 pts.,
rom) head, the result is ________.
a. symmetry b. contrast c. tombstone
7. In double spreads like pages 4 and 5 of an eight-page tabloid, Page 4 should _____
laid out independently of page 5.
a. be b. never be c. sometimes be
8. Italics (30 pts.) placed side by side a roman (30 pts.) head is an example of ______.
a. unity b. movement c. contrast
9. Allowing three columns for one story, two columns for another, and one column for a
third enhances _____.
a. movement b. unity c. emphasis
10. Seas of gray types are to be _______.
a. encouraged b. avoided c. tolerated
11. When a thumbnail cut (less than one column wide) is used, it is best to ______.
a. box or brace it with decorative lines
b. center the cut and leave the white spaces as is
c. move the cut to one edge and have typeset matter beside it
12. To catch attention, the school paper should scream with a banner _______.
a. in every issue b. occasionally c. never
13. Cuts in tabloids should be ______.
a. surrounded with body types
b. anchored at least on one or two sides
c. allowed to bleed
14. Subheads used to relieve seas of gray types should
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a. go with every paragraph

b. recur uniformly say after three inches
c. be at the discretion of the layout editor
15. The ______ is similar in use to the plan or blue print of a house.
a. dummy b. slugsheet c. headline

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Match Column A with Column B
1. widow a. Picture in profile looks outside the page
2. Jim dash b. A form of kicker usually bigger than the headline
3. fathead c. materials transferred in advertently; e.g., cutlines, captions,
names, titles
4. kicker d. inadvertent reversing of photographs
5. label head e. cuts or pictures that go over the column or sunken rule
6. flop f. same as flag, usually found in the masthead
7. logo g. short words or figures standing by themselves at the end of
the line or caption
8. bleeding cut h. a short horizontal line that separates decks of headlines or
items under a headline
9. switcheroo i. words in the headline are so crowded that there are no
more spaces between words
10. hammer j. a short line, part of a headline, placed at the upper left of
the headline proper
k. an incomplete head that is misleading

In a Nutshell
Your Task. After studying this section, share three important things you learned about
layouting a page which you find the most challenging. Explain your answer.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.

Do you have any question for clarification?

Questions/Issues Answers
1)

2)

3)

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4)

5)

Big Picture
Week 8 to 9: Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO): At the end of the unit, you are expected to
a. Develop the ability to use cuts effectively and properly and master caption writing
b. Determine the different methods of typography
c. Be acquainted with the Journalist’s Creed, the Code of Ethics of Mass Media and
the criteria of a good news paper
d. Master a number of fundamental rules that the school paper should go by

Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Develop the ability to use cuts effectively and
properly and master caption writing

Metalanguage

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In this section, you willbe aware of the editorial and technical values of pictures
and illustrations of a school paper. You will familiarize the proper use of photos and
graphs. Also, you will learn how to scale, crop, blow up or reduce the size of pictures
and illustrations, and make captions to every photo.

Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling

Photojournalism
The old Chinese proverb that one good picture is worth 1000 words still holds.
Even an illiterate can read a photograph. Good pictures aid in the effective presentation
of the news. They present the pictorial side of the events, enliven the makeup by
breaking up solid types, and give color and variety to a poorly laid out paper.

Picture Selection
The newspaperman has two things to bear in mind when selecting pictures for
publication. These are the picture’s technical value and editorial value.
The picture has technical value when it is technically perfect with proper light and
shadow, is free from smudges, and is clean and clear for publication.
A picture loses its a technical value as a result of poor screening by the
photographer, or maybe, the original picture was already dirty, faded or worn out when it
was submitted for reproduction.
A picture, on the other hand has editorial value when it tells a story at a glance
and when it shows live happenings and moments of truth and significance.

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The following are reminders culled from a Philippine Press Institute handout as
regards the proper use of photos and graphs:
1) The photo will not be reproduced as clearly as it was in its original form. Details
are lost in processing, accounting for smudges.
2) The photographer should be asked not to use a screen as intended for better
photos like the ones used in magazines.
3) Flat, smudgy, grayish pictures or soft prints that melts into the background should
not be used.
4) If the picture is great, it deserves to be played big; if the picture is ordinary, it
needs to be played big.
5) Action pictures are better than the “firing line” or “firing squad” and posed
pictures.
6) Get glossy prints, not matte.
7) Get big prints for reduction.
8) Don’t put pictures back to back.
9) Pictures have moments of truth such as the punch of Filipino boxer Frank
Gedano that knocked out Charlie Magri of Britain.
10) If you have to use group pictures, use it big to allow recognition of people in it,
unless it is a crowd scene where the crowd is more important than the
expression on the faces.
11) Even a crash scene looks dead with only the plane shown or the train wreck
pictured. People running away from it or people rushing to it for rescue would
make it lively.
12) Small pictures are ineffectual. Details and impact are lost.
13)A one color long picture can be very attractive. So can a shallow but wide picture
as outstretched hands dropping coins in a hat being passed around for the
earthquake victims in Laoag.

Use of Cuts
Good cuts help make pages attractive and interesting. They are effective in
developing contrast. As much as possible, large cuts should be used above the fold. No
cut should be placed on the fold of the front page. The reason is that newspapers for
sale on newspaper stands or on sidewalks are usually folded.
Cuts should be placed next to the stories to which they are related while
unrelated cuts should not be placed next to each other.

Cropping Picture
Pictures should be cropped tightly before they are sent to the photoengraver.
Cropping is the process of cutting off or marking out unwanted parts of a photograph or

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an illustration. Pictures are cropped for two main reasons: (1) To illuminate the portions
or details which are either undesirable or unnecessary and (2) To give more space for
displaying points of interest intended to be played up.
Cropping may be done through the following procedures: (1) by marking the front
of the picture using grease pencil or a soft China blue pencil (blue does not show on the
processed negative); (2) by cutting off the unnecessary parts, or (3) by using a window
to preserve the picture.
In cropping, focus the eyes on an important detail and eliminate the irrelevant
ones. For instance, you can eliminate the body and the other arm of a speaker to show
a clenched fist in the gesture.
To get the most important detail, divide the picture into nine areas by drawing two
vertical lines and two horizontal lines equally spaced. The strong points lie where the
lines crossed. These lines are called “dividing third”.
Too much cropping, however should be avoided. One needs an overhanging
branch in the foreground for better perspective. Also, a man in the desert deserves a
picture showing the vastness of the desert.
You don’t have to include the whole face in a portrait. You can take off the ear as
long as the attention is focused on the eyes which are the windows of the soul.

Enlarging or Reducing the Size of the Picture

After the picture has been scaled, the layout artist is desired column and depth.
The procedure is simple:
1) Draw a diagonal line in the area of the picture to be enlarged (C.B.). (See
illustration below).
2) Extend the base as to the desired width of the picture (C-G). The width of the
picture always determines it depth or height.
3) Continue the diagonal line up to F.
4) The point where F and G meet is the depth of the picture.

Illustration
The original size of 6” x 5” has been blown up to size 8 ½” x 6 ½”.

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Reducing the size of the pictures is as easy as blowing it up. The procedure is just the
reverse.

1) Draw a diagonal line from A and D of the original picture. (See illustration below)
2) Measure the required width on the base (A-G).
3) Draw a perpendicular line from G to F.
4) Connect E and F.
5) The distance between A and G is the width, while the distance between G and F
is the depth of the reduced picture.

Illustration
The original size of 10” x 8” has been reduced to 8” x 6”.

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Caption Writing
A caption is the text of the body type accompanying photos or art work or any
pictorial illustration. It is sometimes called cutline or underline. The title or explanatory
matter above an illustration is called an overline.
Captions should be closely related to the picture so that the reader may be able
to take in picture and caption at a glance. This explains why the caption should be
underneath the picture when there are other materials on the page. This caption can be
on the side when picture and caption are isolated.

Simple Reminders in Writing Captions

1) All rules in newswriting apply to caption writing.
2) Captions should be written in short, pithy sentences, say an average of 15 words
for a sentence.
3) The basic questions every caption was still of its picture are: Who? What?
Where? When? and Why? Who are in the picture? What are they doing? Where
are they doing it? When are they doing it? Why are they doing it?
4) Give the full Christian names or first names to identify everyone in the picture. Be
accurate. When you need people in the caption; make clear who is who. Of
course, this cannot be done for crowd scenes.
5) A gay picture should have a gay caption. A somber picture should not take weak
jokes. Match the caption with the mood of the picture. This is a question of
judgment.
6) A caption is conversational. It should exploit the picture’s potential interest, e.g.,
Queen Elizabeth wearing a special order while Prince Philip, her husband, the
uniform of an admiral. These should be mentioned in the caption.
7) Captions should supplement what is seen. They are not captions if they merely
tell the reader what he can see. A caption in the picture showing the principal
talking should not say “Principal Santos talking”.
8) The caption should not contradict the picture, e.g., ROTC cadets plant tree
seedlings in La Mesa Dam during the “reforestation drive.” But the cadets are
looking at the camera smiling and not planting.
9) Don’t begin a caption with the “Photo shows….” Specially if it really doesn’t or “In
the photo are….” This is totally unnecessary.
10) When a picture accompanies a news story, explain the picture in the captions:
“Mr. Pedro Reyes who first reported the fire.” But don’t repeat in the caption
everything that Mr. Reyes says in the accompanying news story.
11) Don’t write the news story as a caption. This merely wastes space without
adding information.

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12) Captions should be indented, say an em or nut at each side. Choose a different
type from the normal body type - a bold face or italics. But be consistent.

Overlines
The caption supplements what we can see with our eyes. The overlines never do
that. They Muni some of what we see or merely label the scene, as “Green Revolution.”
It must be brief. It is merely set in wide space or enclosed in a ruled bonnet. Avoid a
thin, spindly sans type.

The Staff Photographer and His Qualities

It is sad to note that most school paper staff members, especially those in the
provinces do not have cameras of their own. To have pictures for publication, they have
to invite commercial photographers to take pictures which they buy, usually at exorbitant
prices.
Every school paper staff should have a camera and a staff photographer who
has a working knowledge of his outfit.
Among the qualities of the staff photographer must possess are the following:
1) He must know a little of art, and have a notion for contrast, composition, and
shape.
2) He must have a nose for drama, oddity, rarity, action, and human interest.
3) He must be acquainted with the students who often break in to the news.
4) He must have diplomacy and tact which he needs when covering assignments
like riot and wild rallies.
5) He must be acquainted with libel law, since libel suit is also proceeding from
pictures.

The staff photographer may need any of the following problems: (1) High cost of
his outfit: camera, lens, film, bulb, printing and developing; (2) dangerous assignments
and hostile subjects; (3) libel suits caused by errors in writing captions, headline,
cutlines and switcheroos, and (4) need for speed in delivering the pictures to the press.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

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1. Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila
2. English, Earl and Clarence Hach, Scholastic Journalism the Active Newsroom,
IPI Manual
3. Castro, Jose Luna, The Manila Timea Journalism Manual
4. Malay, Armando, The High School Paper

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Completion. Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
1) ___________ pictures are better than posed ones.
2) A picture should be so placed that the person’s ______ does not look out of the
page.
3) A good picture should be placed ______ the fold.
4) All persons in a cut should be __________. See that all names are
___________.
5) Cutlines should answer the _____________, ______________ and the _______.

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1.Answer briefly.
1. Give three (3) uses of pictures and illustrations (cuts) in a newspaper.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________

2. Give five (5) qualities or characteristics of a good picture.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________

3. Give three (3) ways to crop a picture.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

4. What are the two reasons why pictures are cropped?

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

5. Give two expressions that should not begin a caption.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

In a Nutshell
Your Task. After studying this section, share three important things you learned about
photojournalism. Explain your answer.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.

Do you have any question for clarification?

Questions/Issues Answers
1.

2.

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3.

4.

5.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Determine the different methods of typography

Metalanguage
In this section, you will familiarize the different methods of types that are
commonly used for school papers.

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Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

Typography
A type is a letter in wood or metal for printing form. Typography is the art or
process of printing with a type.
Although campus journalists are more concerned with the putting out of the
school paper and not with the process of printing it, it goes without saying that a working
knowledge of typography will enable them to produce attractive and readable pages.
Also, besides making possible pleasant relationships with the printer, the student
staffers may do better headline writing jobs and correcting proofs intelligently.
A newspaper reader, if quite observant, will notice that the types that make up
the words are, like people, of a different heights (points); fatness (width); and
appearance (faces).
A type may be standing or slanting, may be square or pointed at the main stem,
or may resemble handwriting. This depends to what classification it belongs.
1) Roman type – the general type of letters in which most of our printing is done
today.
2) Italic – this is Roman type designed on slant to provide contrast with the
traditional Roman.
3) Boldface – a typeface with wide strokes heavier than the normal, but usually of
the same width.
4) Sans-serfi – Sans means “without.” Serifs are little crosslines and hooks at the
end of the main stems of each letter. Sans-serif gives the appearance of a
geometrically designed type face with a little variation in the width of the lines of
letters and without serif. The original sans-serif is calledgothic by printers today.
5) Square-serif – it resembles the sans-serif, but with the serif added.
6) Cursive (or script) – the type resembles handwriting.
7) Text – it is sometimes referred to as Old English. It carries the atmosphere of
Gothic architecture, with which it was originally associated.

Type Size

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The height of type is measured in points with a line-gauge from the top of an
ascending letter to the bottom of a descending letter. Each point measures 1/12 of a
Pica and 1/72 of an inch.
For body types, many newspapers it was from the 6-point type to the 14-point
type. Bigger sizes are used for headlines and display lines.
The American Point System was adopted in 1888. Before this, type sizes were
referred to by names, some of which are still in use:
1) Great Primer – 18 pts.
2) Columbian – 16 pts.
3) English – 14 pts.
4) Pica – 12 pts.
5) Pica small – 10 pts.
6) Long primer – 10 pts.
7) Bourgeois – 9 pts.
8) Brevier – 8 pts.
9) Minion – 7 pts.
10) Nonpareil – 6 pts.
11) Agate – 5 ½ pts.
12) Pearl – 5 pts.
13) Diamond – 4 or 4 ½ pts.
14) Brilliant – 3 ½ pts.

Usually, the 8-point and 9-point types are used for body types; the 10-point a
bold face, for captions and by-lines; the 12-point boldface for subheads; and the 14-
point boldface for kickers are taglines.
The 5 ½ and 5-point types do well for classified ads and fox box scores in
sports stories. These measurements vary, depending upon the stylesheet used by
the paper.

Leading Types
Newspaper type is often leaded. This means that a space of one or more points
is placed between the lines of type to make the sentences easier to read.
When two-point space is placed in between an 8-point type and another 8-point
type, this is referred to as “8 on 10”.

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Similarly, when a 4-point space is placed between a 10-point type and another
10-point type, this is referred to as “10 on 11”. When no space is placed between the
lines or slugs, the types are said to be set solid.

Popular Type Faces

Types are also of different appearances called faces or families. Type face is
the name of a particular style or type usually bearing the name of the person who
designed it. Some names merely denote the description of their appearances.
Some popular types of faces used by school papers in Manila are the Caslon,
Century, Garamond Oldstyle, CloisierOldstyle, Tempo, Gothic, Franklin, Radiant,
Lydian, and Mandate. The Bodoni and Cheltenham types are commonly used in
national dailies.
It is therefore advisable, that the school paper staff should get acquainted with
the type faces that are available in the printing presses they are working in.
These types of faces also vary in width. These are the Condensed, Extra-
Condensed, Standard, and Extended.
Many families include two type classes: Roman and italic. In these families, the
Roman type is referred to merely by naming the family series, as for example, 18-point
Cheltenham wide italic.

Sample Types for Headlines

30 pt. Bodoni Bold Expanded Caps

SCHOOL TO GET
NEW FLAGPOLE

30 pt. Bodoni Expanded Caps and Lower-Case

School to Get
New Flagpole
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Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Completion. Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.
1) It is believed that the _________ invented printing sometimes in 54 A.D.
2) A German named ______________ improved printing by using movable types.
3) From the earliest days of printing, type has been kept in wooden trays known as
______________.
4) In 1800, _______________designed the first hand press with an iron frame.
5) The first type-setting machine called the linotype was invented in 1890 by
__________, a Baltimore watchmaker.
6) _________________ is the art or process of printing with types.
7) The height of type is measure in __________.
8) Newspaper type is often ________, which means that a space of one or more
points is placed between the line of types to make the sentences easier to read.
9) Types are of different appearances called faces or _____________.
10) When no space of different appearance called faces or _______________.

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1.Answer briefly.
1. Why should be there be variation in the typography of the page?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

2. Observe your school paper’ latest issue, what type of faces are used for headlines? For the
body?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. If only one major family is used for headline type, how is variety achieved?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

In a Nutshell
Your Task. After studying this section, share three important things you learned about
typography in journalism. Explain your answer.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.
Do you have any question for clarification?
Questions/Issues Answers
1.

2.

3.

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4.

5.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOc. Be acquainted with the Journalist’s Creed, the
Code of Ethics of Mass Media and the criteria of a good news paper

Metalanguage
In this section, you be acquainted with the Journalist’s Creed, the Code of Ethics
of Mass Media and the criteria of a good newspaper.

Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and

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other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

The Journalist’s Creed (Walter Williams)

The Journalist’s Creed was written by the first dean of the Missouri School of
Journalism, Walter Williams. More than one century later, his declaration remains one
of the clearest statements of the principles, values and standards of journalists
throughout the world. Plaques bearing the creed are on display at the School, the
National Press Club in Washington, D.C. (since 1958), and many other locations around
the world.

I believe in the profession of journalism.

I believe that the public journal is a public trust; that all connected with it are, to the full
measure of their responsibility, trustees for the public; that acceptance of a lesser service
than the public service is betrayal of this trust.

I believe that clear thinking and clear statement, accuracy and fairness are fundamental to
good journalism.

I believe that a journalist should write only what he holds in his heart to be true.

I believe that suppression of the news, for any consideration other than the welfare of society,
is indefensible.

I believe that no one should write as a journalist what he would not say as a gentleman; that
bribery by one’s own pocketbook is as much to be avoided as bribery by the pocketbook of
another; that individual responsibility may not be escaped by pleading another’s instructions
or another’s dividends.

I believe that advertising, news and editorial columns should alike serve the best interests of
readers; that a single standard of helpful truth and cleanness should prevail for all; that the
supreme test of good journalism is the measure of its public service.

I believe that the journalism which succeeds best – and best deserves success – fears God
and honors Man; is stoutly independent, unmoved by pride of opinion or greed of power,
constructive, tolerant but never careless, self-controlled, patient, always respectful of its
readers but always unafraid, is quickly indignant at injustice; is unswayed by the appeal of
privilege or the clamor of the mob; seeks to give every man a chance and, as far as law and
honest wage and recognition of human brotherhood can make it so, an equal chance; is
profoundly patriotic while sincerely promoting international good will and cementing world-
comradeship; is a journalism of humanity, of and for today’s world.

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Ethics
A school paper, like all newspapers, should observe accuracy, fairness, and
good taste in reporting events. No story should be published which is based on rumor,
gossip, or unattributed opinion. Only statement of facts whose authority or source is
obvious will need no attribution. Obscenity should be absolutely taboo for the school
paper.
Words which show bias in the handling of news stories or other stories
concerning race, color, religion beliefs, or class should be avoided.
Stories concerning the morale of individuals should be avoided; no innocent
person should be needlessly involved in questionable or unpleasant incidents, or
exposed to ridicule.
A school paper should not as a rule print pictures which offend the sensibility of
the general run of readers. Example: photos of dead persons or murder victims which
emphasize brutality. Sex crimes are not the territory of the school paper.
The persons that can be held accountable when a school paper reporter commits
a breach of ethics or laws on journalism are the advisers, the principal, the school
journalism supervisor of the division, and the division superintendent (in the case of the
public high schools), heads of private schools or presidents of state colleges, as the
case may be, based on the principle of command responsibility.

Code of Ethics
In order to guide its members along the right path of good journalism, the
Philippine Secondary Schools Press Association (PSSPA) during the national
conference in 1948 at Torres High School, Manila, adopted a Code of Ethics modelled
after that of the Indiana Secondary School Press Association. This is their code:
Conscious of the honor of representing the student population of all public high
schools in the Philippines and the great responsibility that this honor entails, the
Philippine Secondary School Press Association pledges to do and uphold the following
Code of Ethics.
1) To cooperate at all times with the faculty in the improvements and betterment of
the school and to give only constructive criticisms in regard to any school
undertaking.
2) To reflect good sportsmanship in writing by disregarding personal grudge and
enmity.
3) To avoid ironic personal jokes.
4) To exclude from publication articles about the school that may draw wrong and
unpleasant conclusions from those unaware of the real situation.

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5) To extend full credit to the author of any borrowed article.

6) To be accurate and truthful in newspaper reporting.
7) To correct errors brought to the attention of the staff.
8) To strive hard for the best way of expression.
9) To practice teamwork and discard individualism.
10) To adopt new ideas and make changes whenever such will mean progress and
advancement.

Criteria of a Good Newspaper

The Associated Press Managing Editors Association (APMEA) conducted and in-
depth study to assess the newspaper as regards its responsibility in present day
society. Lasting for 10 months, the study yielded the varied criteria of a good
newspaper.
A good newspaper prints the important news and provides the information,
comment, and guidance most useful to its readers.
It reports fully and explains the meaning of local, national, and international
events which are of major significance in its own community. Its editorial comment
provides an informed opinion on matters of vital concerns to its readers.
By reflecting the total image of its own community in its news coverage and by
providing wise counsel in its editorials, a good newspaper becomes a public
conscience. It must also be lively, imaginative, and original; it must have a sense of
humor and the power to arouse keen interest.
To implement these principles of good editing requires skilled staff, an attractive
format, adequate space for news and comments, and a sound business foundation.
The staff must possess the professional pride and competence necessary to
breathe life and meaning into the daily record of history. Good writing must be combined
with a effective typographical display of copy and pictures to capture full drama and
excitement of the day’s news. Good printing is essential.
News and comment of most immediate interest and importance to the local
community shall have priority for the available space which will depend on the size and
resources of the newspaper.
To assure a financially strong and independent publication and one that is
competitive with other media, a good newspaper must maintain effective circulation,
advertising, and promotion departments.
Finally, a good newspaper should be guided in the publication of all materials by
a concern for truth, the hallmark of freedom; by a concern for human decency and
human betterment; and by respect for the accepted standards of its own community.

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A good newspaper may judge its own performance – and by judged – by the
following criteria:

Integrity
The newspaper shall:
Maintain vigorous standards of honesty and fair play in the selection and editing
of its content as well as in all its relation with news sources and the public.
Deal dispassionately with controversial subjects and treat dispute issues with
impartiality.
Provide a forum for the exchange of pertinent and criticism, especially if it is in
conflict with the newspaper’s point of view.
Label its own editorial views of expression or opinion.

Accuracy
The newspaper shall:
Exert maximum effort to print the truth in all news situations.
Strive for completeness and objectivity.
Guard against carelessness, bias or distortion by either emphasis or omission.
Correct promptly errors of facts for which the newspaper is responsible.

Responsibility
The newspaper shall:
Use mature and considered judgment in the public interest at all times.
Select, edit, and display news on the basis of its significance and its genuine
usefulness to the public.
Edit news affecting public morals with candor and good taste and avoid an
imbalance of sensational, preponderantly negative, or merely trivial news.
Accept when possible a reasonable amount of news which illustrates the values
of compassion, and patriotism.

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Clearly define sources of news and tell the readers when competent sources
cannot be identified.
Respect rights of privacy.
Instruct its staff members to conduct themselves with dignity and decorum.

Leadership
The newspaper shall:
Act with courage in serving the public.
Stimulate and vigorously support public officials, private groups, and individuals
in crusade and campaigns to increase the good works and eliminate the bad in the
community.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila

Let’s Analyze

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Activity 1.Clip a single newspaper item showing unreliability, superficiality,

sensationalism, obstruction of justice, and violation of rights to personal privacy. Write
your explanation under the image.

In a Nutshell
Your Task. After studying this section, share three important things you learned about
the ethics of newspaper. Explain your answer.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.
Do you have any question for clarification?
Questions/Issues Answers
1)

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2)

3)

4)

5)

Big Picture in Focus: ULOd. Master a number of fundamental rules that the
school paper should go-by

Metalanguage

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In this section, you will know the importance of a style guide, you will help
yourself master a number of fundamental rules that the school paper should go-by.

Essential Knowledge
The following essential knowledge that will be laiddown in the succeeding pages
will be able you to perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) in the next
two weeks of the course. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer
tothese resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and
other resources that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary,
search.proquest.com etc.

A Style Guide
Every newspaper, whether be a national, community or campus paper, should be
guided by the use of a style guide, usually referred to as stylesheet or style book, for the
sake of consistency and professionalism.
A stylesheet is a set of rules mainly on punctuation, abbreviation, syllabication,
use of figures, capitalization and spelling. For examples, enrolment and enrollment are
both correct. If paper chooses the first one, it should use this spelling throughout – in all
pages and in all issues. Similarly, UST or U.S.T. may be used. But as stated, only one
of them should be used. This is what we mean by consistency.
Most metropolitan dailies and school paper publications use The Manila Times
Style Book by Jose Luna Castro.
Included in the short list are those rules commonly used by school papers:

Punctuation – Use of Period

1) Omit the period in abbreviation of offices, schools and organizations:

WHO AFP BSP USSR PNU
2) Use the period instead of parentheses with numerals or letters accompanying the
enumeration:
1. not (1)
a. not (a)
3) Do not use periods in tabulated matter.

Punctuation – Use of the Comma

1) Use commas to set off identifications:

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Dr. Josefina R. Navarro, Superintendent, Division of City Schools, Manila

2) Do not use a comma if the identification is preceded by of:
Garry Pangan of 615 Bulacan St., Tondo, Manila
3) Do not use a comma between a man’s name and Jr., Sr., III, etc:
Fortunato Vendivel Jr.; Roberto Ruiz III; Sergio Osemeña Sr.
4) Omit commas in ages, times, distances, measurements, etc:
17 years 11 months 23 days
5) Do not use comma between two nouns, one of which identifies the other as in:
The noted lawyer Alberto Ad. Santos is president of Osmeña High School
Community Association

Punctuation – Use of the Colon

1) Use the colon to introduce a series of names, statements, etc:

The officiers elected were: Oliver Tejero, president; Ramon Lines, vice-
president; Liza Serrano, treasurer; and Ofelia Miranda, secretary
2) Do not use the colon together with the dash as in:
Elected were: -

Punctuation – Use of the Semicolon

Use the semicolon to separate series of names, addresses or identifications:
Rodrigo Cruz, San Miguel, Tarlac; Ernesto Baun, San Roque, Tarlac.

Punctuation – Use of the Dash

1) In a sentence containing commas, dashes may be used to set off parenthetical

expressions:
The household rushed to her aid, but Santos – the man who could have
prevented the incident – was nowhere in sight.
2) Use a dash in between two figures to indicate the inclusion of all the intervening
figures:
Jan. 15-23
Avoid such expressions as “From Jan. 10 to 14.” “From” and “to” are parts
of a balanced expression like “neither… or.” They have to be followed by
the same parts of speech. The correct form is: “From Jan. 10 to Jan. 14.”
3) Omit the hyphen in the titles vice president and general manager.
4) Use the hyphen in compound titles like secretary-treasurer and sergeant-at-arms.
Noted that editor in chief is now spelled without the hyphen.
5) Use a hyphen in writing figures or frations:
Twenty-four, three-fourth
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6) Use the hyphen in compound adjectives:

18-year old girl, so-called nationalist, jet-black hair, well-known actor.
Do not use the hyphen in compound adjectives the first word of which is an adverb:
newly elected barangay chairman.

Punctuation – Use the Parentheses

1) Use a parenthesis to insert a word within a title:

San Fernando (La Union) Lions
2) Use parentheses in a direct quotation to impart words which are the speaker’s:
“They (the 300 students who passed the NCEE) will be admitted at UP,”
said Dean Armando Malay.
3) Use the parentheses to indicate the antecedent:
Principal Mabini S.A. Gonzales told the visiting school administrators that
she would order an investigation of the students involved in what she
(Gonzales) described as a black mark on the student body.

It is better to rewrite the sentence to avoid the parenthetical material.

Punctuation – Use of Quotation Marks

1) Do not use quotation marks in names of newspapers, ships, or animals

2) Avoid using quotation marks in titles of motion pictures, books, operas, and
paintings.
They saw the film, The Three Musketeers. But – They saw the film, “Sa
Ngalan ng Anak.”

3) Use quotation marks in titles of speeches and discussion subjects which are long
and involved:
This year’s theme will be “The Role of the Youth in the Nation-Building.”
4) Use quotation marks to set off coined words or unusual words or expressions the
first time such words or expressions are used in the story.
5) Close quotation marks always come after periods and commas.
6) Use close quotation marks after the question marks, interjection marks, colon,
semicolon, and dash if such punctuation marks are part of the quoted matter;
otherwise, the close quotation mark preceded the punctuation mark:
Did you join the debate on “Family Planning, a Must?” Have you read the
article “Is God Dead?”

Punctuation – Use of the Apostrophe

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1) Do not use the apostrophe to form the plural of capital letters or the plural of
figures:
two ‘Ms, 1970s
but plurals of lower case letters need apostrophes: (p’s and q’s)

Abbreviation

1) Abbreviate scholastic degrees as follows: A.B., B.S., B.S. Ed., B.S.E., M.A.,
M.D., D.D., Ed.D., Ph.D., etc.
2) Abbreviate Company, Corporation, Incorporated, Brothers, Limited, at the end of
the name of a business enterprise:
Liwayway Publishing Co., Inc. Far East Ltd., Martin Bros.
3) The names of some countries may be abbreviated:
RP, US, UK, USSR
4) Abbreviate Saint, Santo, Santa, Fort, and Mount in names like:
Sto. Tomas, Sta. Maria, Ft. Bonifacio and Mt. Banahaw
5) Do not begin a sentence with an abbreviation. And do not, as a general rule, use
an abbreviation before you use the full name. exceptions are names of agencies
which are well-known such as PC, NAPOLCOM, etc.
6) Abbreviate street, avenue, boulevard, drive, road after a name as follows:
Bulacan st., Taft ave., Roxasblvd., Bonifacio dr., Kennon rd.
7) Use “percent” not the symbol % in body matter. The symbol may be used only in
tabulation. Use “and” not the symbol & except when a part of a name as in D & S
Restaurant. Also use “each” instead of @.
8) Abbreviate names of months (except March, April, May, June and July) then
followed by a date such as: Jan. 1, 2021, Aug. 4, 2019, etc.
Spell out when no definite date as follows as in December 2019. Do not
use a comma between month and year.
9) Titles are abbreviated when used before a person’s full name or before his first
name’s initial and his surname. Titles are spelled out only when the surname
follows:
Dr. Edel P. Dagot, Dr. E. Dagot, Doctor Dagot
10) The titles Dr., Mr., and Mrs. are always abbreviated. Mr. is used only with the
name of the President of the Philippines. It is omitted before other men’s names
except in case of a phrase like Mr. and Mrs. EdelibertoDagot. However, in
campus paper, the Mr., Miss and Mrs. are used for courtesy sake and to
distinguish between the teachers and the students.
11) The following titles are not abbreviated: president, vice president (no hyphen),
secretary, treasurer, director, governor general, ambassador, minister, mayor,
vice mayor.
12) In a list of names, use the titles singly:
Mr. Ariston Corpuz, Mr. Rogelio Espiritu, Mr. Dioscoro Vasquez and Mr.
Jesus Ayco. Mrs. Clehenia C. San Juan, Mrs. Liwayway Ocampo, Mrs.
Severina Cruz and Mrs. Loretta Fernandez.

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Not Messrs. and Mesdames followed by several names.

13) Abbreviate civilian tittles as follows:
Mr., Mrs., Dr., Prof., Mr., Mme (Madame), Gov., Supt.
14) Abbreviate ecclesiastical titles as follows:
Rev., Fr., Msgr., Bro.,
Papal Nuncio, Cardinal, Archbishop and Bishop are not abbreviated.
15) Abbreviate military tittles as follows:
Gen., Lt. Gen., Col., Maj., Capt., Sgt., Cpl., Pfc., Pvt., Adm.

Syllabication
The authority for syllabication is Webster’s New International Dictionary. The following
principles will be useful, however:

1) The word should be divided on the vowel: ano-malies, tre-ble.

2) A word may be divided according to its formation: mater-nity, auto-mobile,
Zambal-es.
3) The world may be divided between double letters, unless these double letters
come at the end of a simple form of the word: confer-ring, but tell-ing.
4) A word may be divided before the final ed, if the ed is not silent: best-ed, crest-
ed; but not pav-ed(silent e).

Figures

1) Spell out figures from 1 to 9; 10 and above it should be written as Arabic

Numerals. Note the exceptions below.
2) Avoid beginning a sentence with a figure. If you must, the figures should be
spelled out.
3) When the numbers are put together or juxtaposed, use the figure:
The vote was 53 to 8. The hen laid 3 eggs; the goose, 10.
4) Use figures for:
a) Time – 7 a.m. (not 7:00 a.m.), 12:05 p.m. do not capitalize a.m. or p.m.
b) Date – June 12, 2020. Omit the st, th, rd, etc. after dates.
Use figures for centuries, such as 20th century. In decades of years,
follow this form: the ‘30s, the gay ‘90s.
c) Money – P5 (not P5.00) The letter m may be used to signifiy million in
headlines. Ex. P1M lost in fire.
d) Weights and measures – 52 kilos, 26 gantas, 100 cc.
e) Street numbers – 13 Licost.
f) Ratio – the official rate of exchange is 2 to 1.
g) Scores – Philippines, 72, Red China, 60
h) Sports record – 10.2 sec.
i) Dimensions and stations – 4 x 5 ft. ; 36-22-36 (note hyphens)

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j) Age – 28 years old, 5-year old boy. But when year is used in other forms,
spell out the figure as: He is now on the fourth year of this term.
k) Degrees of temperature – 92F, 32C
5) Express a series of two or more years thus: 1989-90.
6) Spell out figures after nine if they are part of compound adjective is.
Thus: five-year plan, two-year contract, three-act play, five-man team
7) Fractions should be spelled out in ordinary reading matter.
Thus: one-half meter, one-fourth of an inch, one-half of one per cent, a
quarter of a century. But 5 ½ per cent.
8) When using round figures about the hundreds of thousands, follow this style:
P5-million budget, P10-million outlay (note the hyphen), 4 million men
9) In sentence requiring more than one numerical, one below and the other above
ten, use figures:
Winds of 5 to 15 miles an hour will blow.

Capitalization

1) As a general rule, proper nouns and proper adjectives are capitalized; common
nouns are not.
2) Capitalize the names of awards, trophies, medals etc:
Legion of Honor, Crisostomo Ibarra Trophy, Antonio Isip Medal.

3) Capitalize titles of books, plays, poems, hymns, paintings, addresses, songs, but
lower case articles, prepositions, and conjunctions, unless the title starts with
one.
4) Capitalize Chapter, Figure, Books, No., Room, when followed by a number or
letter:
Chapter VI, Figure 5, Book 1, No. 9, Room 19
5) Lower case city, district, province, etc., when these are not part of the name:
Manila city, Paco district, Pampanga province
But when these words are part of the proper name, capitalize them:
Quezon City, Mountain Province
6) Capitalize the scholastic degrees when abbreviated, but not spelled out:
Ph.D., A.B., doctor of philosophy, bachelor of arts
7) Lower case some common words although they were derived from proper nouns:
manila paper, plaster of paris, utopian, india ink. Prussian blue, herculean
strength
8) Capitalize accepted geographical areas:
Near East, Middle East, Western Europe, Southern Philippines
Also capitalize East and West when referring to the protagonists in the
Cold War. Lower case points of the compass: northwest, southwest
9) Capitalize Republic when it forms part of the country’s name:
Republic of the Philippines, the Philippine Republic
10) Lower case government, administration, nation, state, whether standing alone
attached to a name:
Philippine government, Marcos administration, Filipino nation, state official
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11) Lower case executive departments, bureaus, offices, legislative committees,

judicial courts
Department of foreign affairs, bureau of secondary education, Manila post
office, court of first instance
12) Capitalize names of special government agencies and commissions:
Social Welfare Administration, Rizal Centennial Commission, Commission
on Elections
13) Capitalize designation of era:
Stone Age, Dark Ages
14) Capitalize designation of historical periods:
Reformation, Renaissance (but lower case in their general meaning like
“renaissance of poetry.”)

15) Capitalize the Hegira, the Exodus, the Diaspora in referring to historical events.
16) Capitalize names of wars:
Thirty Years War, the Philippine Revolution, World War II.
17) Capitalize religious holidays and feast days:
All Saint’s Day, Good Friday, Holy Week, Lent, Yuletide
18) Capitalize secular holidays and specially designated days, weeks and years:
Labor Day, Mother’s Day, Mental Health Week, World Refugee Year
19) Capitalize names of the months and days of the week, but not the season of the
year:
June, Wednesday, summer
20) Lower case laws, acts, bills, treaties, codes, unless these are names after the
authors or the places:
Social security law, penal code, Laurel Langley agreement, Manila act
21) Capitalize the full name of an organization, association, club, store, agency,
school, bank, hotel, company, place, etc:
PNU Faculty Association, DCS Journalism Teacher’s Association, Central
Church, Green Room
But generic terms which are not part of the proper name are not capitalized:
Boy Scout organization, local Journalism club, a Red Cross chapter, The
Philippine Airline office.

22) Lower case college and university department, sections, etc.:

college of medicine, department of languages, institute of arts and
sciences
But university departments which are given special designations are
capitalized: Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center
23) Do not capitalize de, de la, von, du, in person’s name unless the person is
known to spell his name with these capitalized. Capitalize De when only the
surname is mentioned:
Rogelio dela Rosa, Dela Rosa, Charles de Gaulle, De Gaulle
24)Capitalize titles and positions of authority preceding a name:
Senator Joey Lina, Prof. Gil Fernando Cruz

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Do not capitalize occupation or profession preceding name:

soldier Salvador Lusterio Jr., architect Romeo dela Cruz

Do not capitalize titles when they follow the names as appositives:

Alfredo Lim, mayor of Manila; Juan Crisologo, judge of Ilocos Norte

25)The titles President and Vice President, Prime Minister are always capitalized
whether with a name or standing alone when they refer specifically to the highest
officials of the land. The first name of the Philippine chief executive is never
mentioned in a news story. It is presumed to be well known. All other official
positions take the lower case when mentioned without the name:
the judge, the chief of police
26) Capitalize ceremonial titles:
Your Majesty, Her Royal Highness, Your Excellency
These titles, however, are to be used in his writing, only if part of coated
materials. It is best to avoid it then, calling the British sovereign simply,
Queen Elizabeth II, without her ceremonial title, Her Majesty.
27) Capitalize Emperor, King, Prince, Duke, Duchess, etc., only if they precede
names. Standing alone, they take the lower case:
King George VI, the king

Self-Help: You can also refer to the source/s below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Cruz, C. (2007). Campus journalism and school paper advising. Fourth Edition.
Sampaloc, Manila

Let’s Check
Activity 1. Encircle the letter of your answer that follow journalistic style. The other
answer may be correct, too, but select the one commonly used by the metropolitan
dailies.
1) He graduated from
a. UST b. U.S.T. c. UST.

2) She sold the book at _______ each.

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a. 85 centavos b. P.85

3) On his last birthday, he was _______.

a. 17 years, 11 months, 23 days
b. 17 years
c. 17 years 11 months 23 days

4) The noted _____ is also interested in occult science.

a. sculptor, Tolentino b. sculptor Tolentino

5) The seminar will be held ______.

a. from Jan. 10 to 14 b. from Jan. 10 to Jan. 14 c. Jan. 10-14

6) Who do you think will be the next ______?

a. Vice-President b. vice-president c. Vice President

7) The two jeeps collided at the corner of _______.

a. Recto Avenue and Quezon Boulevard
b. Recto ave. and Quezon blvd.
c. Recto Ave. and Quezon Blvd.

8) The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor ________.

a. Dec. 1941 b. December, 1941 c. December 1941

9) The parade was held __________.

a. January 1, 1994 b. Jan. 1, 1994

10) The guest speaker was ________.

a. Prof. Sugue
b. Professor Florencia Sugue
c. Prof. Florencia Sugue

11) The visitors were _________.

a. Mr. and Mrs. Juan Ponce Enrile
b. Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and his wife

12) Dr. Charity Santos, _________ bared initial plans for the school’s Foundation
Day.
a. Principal b. principal

13) The meeting was held in _________.

a. Room 10 at 5 p.m. b. room 10 at 5:00 P.M.

14) When will ________ be celebrated?

a. Boy’s and Girl’s Week b. Boys and Girls Week

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Telefax: (082)553-2914

15) The news came from ___________.

a. Tarlac Province b. Tarlac province

Let’s Analyze
Activity 1.Style in Spelling
From the words in the parentheses, select the preferred word. Underline your answer.
1) The (employes, employees) of The Philippine Normal University are well paid.
2) We should not buy busy blue seal (cigarettes, cigarets).
3) Dr. Bonifacio P. Sibayan has (traveled, travelled) extensively.
4) There was a (kick-off, kickoff) party in his honor.
5) Those were the birthday (celebrants, celebrators).
6) Ten (per cent, percent) of those who took the NSAT failed.
7) How many students (enrolled, enroled) in journalism?
8) The school has a new (guidance counselor, guidance counsellor).
9) (Schoolyear, School Year) 2020 has ended leaving behind it more honors to the
school.
10) A new (editor-in-chief, editor in chief) had been appointed.

In a Nutshell
Your Task. After studying this section, share three important things you learned about
the Style Guide. Explain your answer.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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Telefax: (082)553-2914

3.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Q & A List
This section is a place for you to raise your questions and queries that you feel
the instructor should give attention to. Feel free to ask relevant questions related from
the course here. This Q & A portion helps in the review of concepts and essential
knowledge.
Do you have any question for clarification?
Questions/Issues Answers
1.

2.

3.

4.

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Telefax: (082)553-2914

5.

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