Ask around for story ideas, especially government officials and public relations representatives. [1] X Research source Scan the news to see what is already happening. This could lead to you finding other story ideas that are related. Search your city or county’s website or directory for local events that are coming up. Attend city council meetings to find out if there are any local issues happening in your area. Sit in on trials at the courthouse and see if anything interesting happens that you could report on.

Write down everything you see and everything that takes place. Record and take notes of any speeches that occur at events. Make sure to get the names of the speakers.

If the story is controversial or political, make sure to get both sides of the issue. Prepare sample questions, but don’t necessarily stick to them. [2] X Research source Think of an interview as a conversation. [3] X Research source Record the interview. Make sure to get the full names (spelled correctly) of anyone you interviewed.

Make sure you review your transcriptions to make sure they’re accurate. You don’t want to misquote someone.

The headline should be attention grabbing, but not exaggerate or mislead. Capitalize the first word of the headline and any proper nouns after that. If you’re having trouble coming up with a headline, you might try writing it last instead. It may be easier to think of a headline after you’ve finished your article. For example, your headline might read: “Armed robbery at Portland farmer’s market”

An example of a byline: Sue Smith, Staff Reporter An example of a placeline: EUGENE, ORE. [5] X Research source

Don’t include people’s names in the lead (save that information for later), unless everyone knows who they are (i. e. President Obama). For example: A Seattle man was caught selling stolen cars at his auto shop on Tuesday when a police officer posed as a customer.

For example: Mary Quibble has been the director of the children’s theater for six years. “I love the children and how much they care about these performances,” Quibble said. “There are 76 kids in the programs. They range in age from 7 to 16 years old. ”

For example: The woman ran out of the house at 11 p. m. when she heard the burglar enter, police said.

Speak in past tense when writing a news report. Start a new paragraph whenever there is a new thought (this might mean you have paragraphs that are as short as a sentence or two) Write your news report in AP Style. [7] X Research source