The Fundamentals of a News Paper

1. Nameplate or Flag the name of the school paper

2. Folio Line contains the date, volume, and issue number; not more than
inch in height
a. Volume No. years of existence
b. Issue No. number of paper released within a year
3. Headline the title of the article; it sets the vision of the content
*avoid 2 headlines side by side
*do not use acronyms that are not familiar
*use sans serif
*Banner headline Headline of the biggest story
4. Deck or Subhead advertises the value of your story and its advocate
a. help the reader understand at a glance what your article is about and
what he/she can gain from each paragraph
5. Byline Name of the writer
6.
a. Cutline the caption of the photo
b. Photo Credit Photo by; Caption By;
7. Jump line where the article is cut and the continuation can be read in
another page. You may cut after the 4th/5th paragraph.
8. Gutter white spaces between columns; 1p
9. Index advertises the content of inside pages

10.Bastard Measure - a non-standard width for a column of text which gives a

sense of unpredictability; Gives emphasis to the article
11.Cut picture or illustration of a certain news
12.Cut off rule the use of vertical and horizontal lines
a. Horizontal line width 2pts
b. Vertical line width 0.25pts
13.Infographics - graphic visual representations
of information, data or knowledge intended to present information quickly
and clearly
14.Logo
15.Text - Body of the article; content
a. Font size 9-11; caption is minus 1 of the font size of the body
b. Use serif fonts (ex. Baskerville, Georgia, Rockwell)
16.Lift out Quote dramatic quotation
17.Indention 3-5 spaces
18.Margin 2 cm/ inch
Elements of News

Immediacy or Timeliness
Proximity or Nearness
Prominence
Conflict
Significance
Human Interest
Change or Progress
Numbers
Romance
Oddity

Characteristics of News

Accurate
o Statement

Qualities of a News Writer

-

Aware
Can do multitasking
Must have a nose for news
Must not be afraid of people
Must be able to finish
articles in time
Must be knowledgeable in
style

News feature based on

facts, described and
narrated without biased
opinion

Lead most important part

of the article; summarizes
the story
Bridge transition from the
lead to story
Body details of the
summary lead; generally,
less than 25 words each
paragraph

Parts

Kinds of News
-

Straight news consists of

fact reported without
elaboration

o Names
o Figures
Objective
o Fair, just
o Impartial
Balanced
o Correct Emphasis
Concise
o Short
Timely
o New
o Fresh
Factual
o Actual Person
o Actual Events
o Nothing is Invented

Page Layout & News Design

-

Bleed: Area outside the trim

area
Caption: is a mini-story that
answers all questions about
a photo
o caption all photos
possible;
o Add credits;
o Dont state the
obvious, tell more
than what the
photograph shows;
o try to avoid posed
pictures;
o make sure to identify
everyone by name,
grade or position.
Drop Cap: First letter of the
paragraph that is set in type
larger that the body copy
Jump line: - appears with
articles that continue from
one page to another,
especially when skipping a
few pages. The wording is
usually some variation
on see page 3 or continued
from page 2.
Pull Quote: A quotation from
a surrounding story that is
emphasized by pulling it out
and printing it in a larger
type.
End mark: Is a punctuation
that comes at the end of a
sentence to let you know
when the sentence ends.
Copy: Written materials
including headlines,
captions, and ads
o Type is the most basic
component of any
article
o Keep target audience
in mind when
choosing type

o
o

Generally, set body

type in 9, 10, 11 point
type, use 8 point type
for captions, and set
headlines in bold
Headlines should be in
a type most
appropriate for the
style of document
Arrange the stories
according to its
importance. The
headlines must have
different font size to
emphasize the bigger
stories
Every page should
have an advocate
story.
Use JUSTIFIED for
serious news or
straight news, LEFT
ALIGNED for slight
news

Font vs. Type Face

A font is what you use, the
typeface what you see
-

Typeface: a general term

referring to the appearance
of a type, especially with
reference to its shape form
and character.
Font Style: refers to the size,
weight, color and style of
typed characters. In other
words, the font style
changes the appearance of a
complete set of characters
that make up a typeface or
font. The font dictates point
size, typeface style,
italicization, boldface and
other ways characters are
manipulated in a word
processor.

grayscale before starting your

layout in InDesign.
Colours have meaning, do not
use them arbitrarily.
Use colours to highlight
important stories, or featured
articles.
Red, Blue, Brown and Green
(including other dark colours)
will look the same in Black and
White, if not properly converted.
Types of ***: Monochromatic,
Analogous, Complementary,
Split-Complimentary, Triadic,
Tetradic (Double
Complementary)

White Spaces
Sans Serif
-

Type designed without any kind

of decorative lines on the
letters.

Are usually used for headline

copy.

Serif
-

Decorative line on letters, such

as a tiny finishing stroke on
major lines.

Are usually used for body copy.

Colors
-

Background
-

Do not use more than three

colours.
Avoid interrupting any leg of
text with an art element.
Be cautious in using too much
black backgrounds or dark
pictures, as these may affect in
the final print output of your
campus papers.
Avoid using dark colours inside
box stories. Use only 10% shade
of any colour.
For the inside pages, convert all
the visual elements into

You should not be afraid in using

white spaces. But white spaces
should be used in the right
places to make the paper easier
to be read.
Avoid too much unnecessary
white spaces in the heads/
headlines of the stories.

White is still the best

background.
Avoid using dark backgrounds.
As much as possibleNever use
photos as backgrounds.
AVOID USING TOO MANY
DIFFERENT SHAPES THAT DO
NOT HAVE ANY FUNCTION
AND MEANING. These do not
contribute to the totality of the
page.
Avoid putting too many thick
lines.
Do not put lines on coloured
boxes.
Put only boxes in special stories.

RA NO. 7079 or the Campus Journalism

Act of 1991 states that All educational
institutions, elementary, secondary,
tertiary levels, public or private, are

encouraged to publish school

publications
Difference between Summary Lead
and Feature Lead