WRITING THE

SPEECH/NEWS

CONFERENCE STORY Organize a

news story

based on a

speech or

press

conference.

WHAT’S THE LEAD? •The lead summarizes the most

newsworthy or provocative point the

speaker made, usually presented as a

paraphrase or partial quote.

•The lead is NOT that someone spoke.

SAY-NOTHING LEAD (This is bad)

A Mizzima editor delivered a lecture

Tuesday at the National Management

College.

NOT MUCH BETTER A Mizzima editor delivered a lecture

about journalism Tuesday at the

National Management College.

YES! A Mizzima editor encouraged journalism

students at the National Management College

Tuesday to pursue internships now and “never

stop learning” once they graduate.

2d GRAF: SUPPORT IT WITH A QUOTE Theingi Htun, editor-in-charge of the Mizzima Myanmar website, said that the “digital revolution in media will force you as journalists to constantly update your skills.”

3d GRAF – WHERE AND WHY

The third paragraph explains where, when

and why the speech was given. What

should the 3rd graf for this story say?

Theingi Htun spoke in NMC classes at

the invitation of Professor Linda Austin

to give her students first-hand

knowledge of what working as a

journalist in Yangon is like.

WHAT’S THE REST OF STORY?

Quotes, descriptions, background

context and audience reaction to

convey the speaker’s message and to

characterize how it was received.

A

B

C

B

D

E

F

G