You Can Write News!

"News writing should be the foundation of all kinds of writing."
-- Jude Neal Christopher Galford III, seminar speaker.

I never thought about it this way before.

So many "non-writers" are afraid of writing news because of the difficulty in composing essays, reaction papers and short stories. Creative ways to start and end compositions are too daunting so we are resigned to believe we cannot write at all -- that writing, including news writing, is only for the few "writers" among us.

Straight news writing solves the problem. I have never been a great fan of formula and routine but I gladly concede to news writing's formula in Lead statements and the inverted pyramid structure.

As a teacher of English and campus journalism subjects to college students and as a publisher of a community newspaper, I found Jude Galford's thesis most compelling. After all, the established formula adopted in news writing has always been effective and unchallenged as the basic operations are in Mathematics.

CCM Education students huddled in a workshop activity

Facilitator & MT managing editor, Glorilyn Reodique with MNHS Editor-in-Chief, Angel Rose Arnaldo

If you can perceive and determine the whats, the whens, whos, the whys of anything, then you can write news. If you can write news then you have the foundation to write more complex and creative prose. Logical. Doable.

More than ever, they should now be confident that they CAN write news, regardless of their current writing proficiency.

We are so grateful to the 136 students and teachers who actively participated in the seminar-workshop and to their school administrators who supported them. Our gratitude also extends to the Community College of Manito (CCM) for partnering with us, to our Manito's Time writers (for all the hard work before, during and after the workshop), and of course to our Speaker, Mr. Jude Neal Christopher C. Galford III.

See you in our next workshop!