News structure

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Inverted pyramid

In news writing, the most common formula is the inverted pyramid or the arrangement of facts from the most important to the least important. The inverted pyramid has the following components.

1. Primary or main lead - usually a single paragraph. It contains the four W's and 1 H.
2. Secondary or support lead - this portion explains or complements the main lead.
3. Details or particulars - to give flesh to the story, all available facts are included here especially those answering "why" and "how."
4. Background - relevant past events are recounted and incorporated in the story. This portion may be deleted, if space is limited.

Advantages of the inverted pyramid

• It allows the hurried reader to grasp the essentials without going beyond the lead.
• It helps the headline writer
• It meets the cut-off test

Hourglass structure

The hourglass structure or when important facts are not written in the lead but it is scattered all over the news article. This is done to give interest to the reader all parts of the story and not only the lead.

• Lead
• Lead back-up
• Attribution
• Background
• Ending

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