One of my early freelance jobs was writing news articles for a hybrid of a news and pop culture website. The website compensated writers via a revenue sharing program, which I usually steer clear of.
However, this particular publication had a high readership, and I knew how to make Google search work in my favor, so the gig was incredibly lucrative. Often, our content was syndicated to larger networks like Yahoo, which increased views and take-home pay.
Because of the website’s visibility, its editorial standards were pretty strict. There were only two types of content it published: news articles and op-eds. Every blue moon, a writer could get a listicle disguised as an op-ed published. But overall, news ruled the day.
So how did I, a girl who’d mostly written blog posts and listicles up to this point, land a two-year contract with them? Easy! I taught myself the structure of news writing — without taking a single class!
And you can do the same thing!
Don’t be fooled by elitists: you don’t have to be a journalist to get paid to write news articles. Like I’ve said, several times, with writing, skill often supersedes academic background. So, if news writing — specifically for the internet — is a skill that you’d like to learn, keep reading!
What Makes A News Article?
News writing is the most common form of journalistic writing. News articles make up the bulk of newspapers and online news organizations.
But what actually makes a news article a news article?
1. Facts Rule Over All
News articles focus only on the facts — that’s it. If a man kills an old lady, that’s obviously a heinous crime that’s deserving of a harsh punishment. But a news writer isn’t allowed to say, or imply, that.
Their jobs is to focus only on the facts of the case.
Better known as the who, what, when, where and, why. Here are two examples of the opening sentence, or lede, about the fictional situation above.