How To Write a Journalistic Article

Storytelling has been part of human history since time immemorial. At the heart of how we tell the story of us and our surrounding world is valuable information collection. We then follow that up with information packaging and sharing, and that’s exactly what journalism is.

However, unlike fictional or creative writing, journalistic writing maintains one crucial ingredient: objectivity. The most common journalistic output is news writing, delivered by skilled journalists tasked with collecting, crafting and disseminating important information that keeps the public informed.

So, how do writers compose their journalistic articles to inform audiences, and what are the best ways to approach this skill? Our article contains tips and tricks for how to write like a journalist.

The Key Elements of a Journalistic Article

Journalistic articles have four main components that determine their ultimate structure and layout:

1. A headline: A short, sharp, captivating sentence or line detailing what the article is about.

2. A lead: A punchy opening paragraph capturing your piece’s news value and setting the tone for what readers can expect.

3. The body content: These are several paragraphs that unpack your article’s topic with relevant factual details, including quotes, links and all the necessary contextual information.

4. A conclusion: The article’s desired closing wraps up the journalistic piece neatly and should leave readers with valuable take-home messages.

Types of Journalistic Articles

There are 10 different types of journalistic articles you’ll encounter, each with its own distinctive purpose:

• News articles: Standard current event stories that detail the latest occurrences in the daily news cycle.
• Columns: Recurring or thematic publication pieces that express an individual contributor’s opinion with a news focus, featuring a clear byline.
• Culture stories: Journalistic articles with a strong culture angle, exploring fascinating cultural moments or happenings of public curiosity.
• Editorials or opinion pieces: Well-researched opinion offerings that are similar to columns but without a byline.
• Feature stories: Stories that build on a news article’s foundations with more detail, narrative, nuance and creativity.
• Investigative stories: Journalistic writing that delivers hard-hitting coverage about important phenomena, with a deeper dive into matters of high public interest.
• Long-form stories or essays: Similar in approach to a short story but with comprehensive topic exploration and extended content length.
• Profiles or exclusive interviews: Pointed one-person stories that cover a personality of interest (e.g. celebrities, public figures, international athletes, politicians, etc.).
• Reportages: Unique, in-depth think-pieces with set themes, covering greater detail than the topics of standard news articles.
• Reviews: Shorter journalistic pieces that are executed by experienced writers, offering balanced critiques for entertainment, lifestyle and special events.

How Journalistic Articles Differ From Other Types of Writing

The differentiating marker of journalistic writing compared to other types of content is impartiality. Journalistic writing is fair, well-researched and highly informative. 

While there can be subtle entertainment-inspired elements, light quirks and even touches of humor where viable, journalists apply a strict code of ethics to guide their final offerings. Take a look at this quick comparison between the four major writing genres.

Descriptive writing: Explores an interesting topic with vivid imagery to take readers on a journey. 

Example: A novel.

Expository writing: Informs and explains a concept, idea or tool to readers who share a common interest. 

Example: How-to manuals.

Persuasive writing: Presents a specific topic orientation to convince readers of a particular point of view. 

Example: Editorial piece.

Narrative writing: Conveys a meaningful story, often employing imaginative descriptions, colorful detail and emotive language. 

Example: Fictional storytelling.

How To Write a Journalistic Article Like a Pro

We understand; any new or unfamiliar writing process can be intimidating at first. Even experienced content marketers who haven’t studied journalism formally might feel a little nervous to see the words “journalistic article” flash across their task and project boards. But that’s why we’re here to help!

Ever heard of journalism 101’s classic 5 Ws + 1 H + 1 SW storytelling formula? If not, let’s bring you up to speed quickly:

• 5 Ws: What, When, Who, Where, Why?
• 1 H: How?
• 1 SW: So what?

This next section of our article details the four-step process you’ll execute for your next journalistic article to complete the big HOW in effective, impactful journalistic storytelling.

Step 1: The Headline

Think of your headline the way you would an attention-grabbing book cover. This is your first hook! You need a strong, powerful headline that acts as a head-jerker to the viewing audience. The aim is to pique the readers’ interest at first glance.

The ideal headline length is 6-10 words, bearing in mind a 50-60 character length range to play with creatively. Keep it short, sweet, sufficiently descriptive and catchy. Remember that if readers spot errors as early as the headline, this affects your writing credibility and sets the tone for their expectations of quality.

Step 2: The Lead 

Your lead paragraph is where you get to flesh the headline out by providing context. Write a compelling lead as an enticing introductory scene-setter. Aim to draw your readers in further so that the last thing they consider is looking, leaving or clicking away.

In the lead, you’ve got between 25-40 words to craft enticingly (1-3 sharp sentences) — depending on the brief you’re working with and the article-specific requirements you must adhere to (e.g. the prescribed style guide). Be direct, concise and informative.

Step 3: The Body Content

By step three, it’s time to have the journalistic writing fun you deserve. In a few well-structured sections, you’ll unpack the topic at hand with a set number of strategic paragraphs. Expound on the sentiments in the lead, provide detail and ensure relevant information guides the flow of the piece.

Your target word count and certain specifications, like imaging, will govern how many paragraphs form your body content. Lean toward a healthy amount of research and information refinement to complete this major section of the article.

Step 4: The Conclusion

You’ll wrap the article up in a strong, memorable conclusion that seals your story’s deal. Your closing needs to leave a lasting impression on the reader so that they come back and read more — especially for developing stories that have updates or multiple parts.

Good conclusions tick all the basic summative requirements, but outstanding journalistic articles take it one step further by leaving the reader with something to reflect on. This is a sure-fire way to invite readers to engage.

10 Tips for Writing a Journalistic Article: Considerations for Best Practice

No lucrative writing deed goes without the promise of reward. Many times, your take-home as the writer will be the pride and satisfaction of delivering a well-researched, beautifully-structured, informative piece. Readers, on the other hand? They should feel like they are empowered by factual, balanced information that helps them make better decisions.

But how does a good writer guarantee that both sides — writer and reader — get their take-homes? Well, you affect game-changing tips and best practices to create powerful journalistic articles consistently. Use these 10 tips to ensure your journalism-inspired stories hit the mark every time.

#1: Consider different audiences: To grab the right reader’s attention, you need to understand who you’re writing for. So, pay close attention to the needs, expectations, reading habits and preferences of different audiences. Certain requirements of your written piece (e.g. sourcing and referencing) will also need to adhere to the guidelines of your chosen publication platform.

#2: Open and close with a bang: While you’re nowhere near championing a creative writing exercise here, your opening and closing still need enough punch. Write short, simple sentences that prioritize essential information in both these article-making-or-breaking sections.

#3: Conduct proper research and cite reputably: Complete thorough research and absorb diverse, trusted information sources and interviews.

#4: Be intentional: Be decisive and purposive with your final choices of article structure, layout and information organization.

#5: Be consistent: Consistency is key in all written works, and journalistic articles are no different. Let your writing style and tone, paragraph sizes and choices, like using the Associated Press Stylebook, showcase your excellent relationship with consistency.

#6: Stay objective: Balance is everything in good journalism. Double-check your facts and avoid subjective details and descriptions.

#7: Use active voice: Activate your sharpest journalistic writing skills and prioritize active voice for authority and assertiveness.

#8: Remember the power of human interest stories: A compelling journalistic story informs, inspires, moves and touches readers.

#9: Proofread your article: Great journalistic pieces surpass mere information presentation and interesting details; they’re completely error-free.

#10: Invite reader engagement: Cue readers to engage further, which is easy (and fun) to do with trusty social media channels at the ready. Encourage audience engagement and open up the conversation by extending an invitation to readers to comment, share and subscribe.

Conquer Journalistic Writing and Thrill Your Readers

There you have it! Your starter pack for how to write journalistic and news articles that keep audiences in the know with factual, balanced, helpful information. With these tips for best practices and a simple step-by-step guide, you’re ready to add to your content creation skill set with proven journalistic writing tools.