The NEWS ARTICLE is the original article. Newspapers used to include news articles only. The purpose of the news article was and still is to report about current events, to present the public with the facts. To this intent, the news article developed a singular basic form used since the inception of newspapers around the world, a form that continues to be used today.

​

The Lead Paragraph: The 5 W’s (and H)

 

The most important constituent aspect of a news article are the 5 W’s: what, who, where, when and why, in no particular order. The H, how, was added over time and is now very commonly included. A reporter’s task is to find out and report about these information as accurately and neutrally as possible in his/her article. The norm is for the 5 W’s to be included in the lead paragraph of a news article. The purpose of the lead paragraph is to present enough information to keep the reader’s interest, without revealing the full measure of the news, something you find in the rest of the article.

 

A funnel structure: general to specific information

 

The remaining paragraphs of a news article also focus on the 5 W’s (and H), but seek to provide DETAILS about each of them, directing readers to read the complete article if they mean to get as much information as possible out of the news.