UDUS Campus Press Trains Members on News Writing

On the 28th of November 2021, the Vanguard Press, one of the most outstanding Press Boards in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto’s Campus, trained both new and intending members on how to write an enticing and captivating news report.

The training, which was held at Student Union Secretariat, was facilitated by the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and a Columnist with Ad–Daleel Press, in the person of Abdulganiyu Abdulrahman Akanbi.

During the training, Akanbi said that a news story is not a story that one will write without having facts or evidence at hand, it requires disseminating factual information to the public and the proximity must be considered. 

“A good news story must possess six core things which are ‘five W’s and one H’ ( who, what, when, where, when and how),” he said.

The facilitator then explained the structure of a news report which distinguishes it from other forms of writing such as essay writing, opinion, features and so on. He explained that a news report follows an inverted pyramid where the most important information comes first before other points.

Akanbi further explained the role of a reporter in an event, which is to inform the general public on what is happening and to make sure he/she quotes the person verbatim; as quoting word for word is important in every news report.

The former Editor-in-Chief, A. A. Zubair, added: “When you are reporting, don’t be sidelined. Don’t go for one person when two people are involved, that makes your report a balanced one to the public.”

The facilitator also advised members to consult other news formats to learn how it has been written, advising them not to make it lengthy, as a news story is not a “detailed story.”