Story Components:

The main points of a story are usually told in the first couple of paragraphs. This is called the lead. This is so the reader can quickly glance at the first couple of paragraphs and decide if this "bit of news" is worthy of reading on about, or if it holds no interest. This style is also referred to as an inverted pyramid.

So why write the rest of the story?

The "rest of the story" backs up the initial writing. It gives the reader the details to support the main paragraphs.

Other important factors are the headline, a deckhead if there is one, a pull-out quote and the ever important pictures.

Headline: Jacci Howard Bear in "Copywriting Tips for Designers and Non-Writers" says, "The job of the headline is to get attention. A good headline makes the reader want to find out more by reading the article, brochure, or ad. ...
• Create curiosity
• Promise answers to a question or solutions to a problem
• Include a key benefit"

A headline is usually a short lead in large type, meant to catch the eye of the reader. Regardless of the number of columns of text for the story, a headline usually goes across the top of all of them. A headline is the first catch phrase that helps to define whether or not the reader will read on. Here's one example:

"Robber gives up $1 of loot to pay for spilled coffee"

Why did he spill the coffee? If he was a robber, why did he pay for the coffee? The headline is catchy enough to make the reader want to read more. Curiosity has been aroused.

Deckhead: Some, but not all, newspapers will also include a deckhead on their stories, at least in the printed version. If the headline catches the reader's attention, the deckhead is supposed to KEEP the reader's attention so they will read the whole article. A deckhead is usually a smaller type size than the headline, but still larger than the story type. It is usually positioned between the headline and the story. A deckhead is also usually between two and five lines long, but will only be the width of one column.

Picture with caption/cutline: The old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words," surely holds true here. Of course, the photo has to be great to capture the attention of the reader. Photographers have lots of sites to help them learn the best way to shoot the story. A photographer must be as ethical as the reporter, in portraying the news correctly through photos. The picture must be "true" to the story, not altered in any way that would affect the accurate reporting of the story.

A cutline or a caption is usually written below the picture. There is a credit for the photographer and/or agency who took the photo and then the actual cutline/caption text is a one or two short sentence description of the photo's contents.

(BOB LaPREE/UNION LEADER) Thirteen-year-old Julie Dubela of Stratham sings a rousing rendition of the national anthem as part of yesterdayís New Hampshire Day celebrations at Fenway Park in Boston.

Pull-out quote: This quote is in the body of the story somewhere. Depending on the style of the newspaper, this "pulled out" quote may be in close proximity to the actual quote in the paper. A quote of this type is another way to capture the reader's attention. As the reader scans the newspaper, if this quote contains an interesting comment, the reader may be drawn into the article.

While there are other components that can be used, these vary from newspaper to newspaper. The ones described above are the most "generic" and often used for style and content.

Things that change from newspaper to newspaper are the actual fonts, point sizes, number of columns, etc. Every newspaper has its own look and feel, but there is usually a design guide for the sake of continuity. The design guide link I've provided here is for the "redesign" of the Virginian-Pilot.

AP and others have put together some very good style guide books that go in to greater depth on this subject.

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