A fair and factual representation of a news story in no way should be made so factual that it bores the reader. While everyone is interested to know more about that important State Council meeting held yesterday, the writer need not elucidate on the agenda of the meeting which no one is truly interested. In stead, the writer should find some particular point in the news item which can be highlighted to make his article more readable and memorable. A twist in the tale, without sensationalizing the event can be the right approach for reporting a news event. Even very ordinary news articles can be adequately spiced up if viewed with a different perspective which makes the mundane event newsworthy!
The importance of Angles:
What exactly is an angle when it comes to story reporting? It is that aspect or that particular perspective which can add that extra punch to a boring event. Of course, all news stories can not be handled in a similar fashion, but adding a new angle to a story can always enliven things up.
Adding any interesting twist or punch to a serious news story can be risky. Most importantly, the story needs to be handled carefully. A serious event needs its due regard and should not be treated like a farce or a glamour event. For instance, the local municipality has increased taxes on real estate and it was decided at a publicly-announced meeting. You know that your readers are awaiting the outcome of the meeting with keen interest. There is no point in making the story like a doom premonition. Do not inject despair by telling your readers how much their new home is going to cost from next financial year, or how the increased taxes is going to spell disaster for the upcoming shopping malls in their locality. In stead, go deeper into the story and find out why the authorities decided on an increase in revenue in the first place. Do a survey of the local parks and recreational areas and show your readers the state of mismanagement in these places due to lack of funds. Show your readers that an increase in the revenue would finally be channeled into improving many infrastructural facilities which the authorities have already planned and finalized in the meeting. These types of inputs can add value to an otherwise boring or depressing news story.
The other way to give the story another angle is to interview some doctors and patients who have sustained injuries during road accidents caused by poor maintenance of the roads in the area. Interview some kids and their harassed parents regarding their views about the poor condition of the roads and parks and how they find them inconvenient for their daily jogging or playing. And then show your readers that this proposed increase in real estate tax will ultimately be used to improve the living conditions of the area and how everyone will benefit from it. Road accidents will reduce and injuries sustained at poorly-maintained play grounds will be eradicated. In case you find through your research that the increase in tax will not benefit the ordinary citizen of the area, it is your responsibility to say that too in your reporting. Give your readers enough evidence and back up through statistical data and analysis – this will make the whole story more credible and interesting.
How To Find The Right Angle: While every story has many angles to it, the ultimate choice of the right angle, would depend on your readers’ needs and the style of reporting your publication is used to. Here are some tips which could help you find the right angle for your story:
Learn to develop a keen eye for more details to every story than is apparent. Observe everyone involved in the story keenly and notice any unusual event or behavior. For instance, if all reporters are reporting the crucial civic body meeting, do not follow the rest of the crowd and do the same thing. In stead, look for something which others could be missing. Why was the deputy chairman of the meeting missing? Or, why were not the audited results of last financial year not cleared at the meeting? Did it meet with general consensus? Was the deputy chairman on a family vacation? Or is he planning to resign before the current term is complete? Probe with a prying eye and ear and surely you will find a radically different angle to the same story, which other reporters have missed out. Remember the juice lies in the extraordinary or out of the ordinary routine of events.
Keep your mind free. To gather interesting topics or angles to a story, do not shut your eyes and ears to people and situations. That painful bore that you bumped into at the last press conference could hold some vital clues to an underhand deal which the company has just completed; and you are supposed to report on the Board of Directors’ Meeting of the same company!
Stop trusting your memory and jot down everything. Facts and statistics can be plugged in later to your story. But those bits of conversation which you overheard at the cocktail party or press conference may hold the key to the development of another brand new story or could be important components to the story. A male writer writing about the health spas in his locality may come across incredible information at the Gents’ changing room!
Let the topic engulf you. Listen carefully at every word being said at an interview. Show empathy to your subject and try to feel the same way as he or she is feeling. If you do not get excited with a topic, how can you expect to pass on the excitement to your readers?
Everything said and done, remember a good news writer is one who can find new and innovative ways to narrate an old story. The world is full of vandalism, court cases, celebrity scandals and new taxes. Go deeper into each of these subject matters and find information which can turn an ordinary event into something which is completely out of the box.
