TYPES OF NEWS STORIES II:SIMPLE TYPES, ILLNESS, DEATH

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LESSON 08

TYPES OF NEWS STORIES II

SIMPLE TYPES

These are the news items which require a reporter to be bit interpretative while writing the story.

It implies that these stories need a little more interpretation and explanation about the personality or

accident or incident the story pertains to.

The following are the simple types of news stories.

ILLNESS

As is obvious, this news is about the illness of a personality who is enjoying prominence in a society. Since

the rapid and extensive emergence and growth of media has shrunk the whole world into a village, some

personalities are blessed with worldwide prominence and importance.

To quote the examples of such celebrities the apt names are of mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Jahangir

Khan, Imran Khan, Michael Jackson, André Agassi, and many more. So if any of such universally

acknowledged personalities or any of their close ones get ill, the news of their illness would be a part of

news bulletin.

While covering the stories of illness, following points must be given importance.

Name & identification of the person who is ill

Cause of illness

Nature of illness

Condition (fair, serious, critical)

Name of hospital ("local hospital" if private)

DEATH

Following are the essentials of death stories to be covered carefully:

Name and identification of the person died

Age of the person at the time of his death

Place of death

The Time and Date the person died

Cause of death

FUNERAL

Stories about the funeral of any person may be the Follow-up of illness story of the same person but not

always.

The following are the essentials of a death story to be covered by the reporters.

Time and date when the funeral ceremony is to be performed

Place of burial

Pallbearers

FIRES & ACCIDENTS

The essentials of the stories of fires and accidents are as under:

Place where the fire or accident took place,

Causalities

Injured persons

Damages to property

Escapes (experiences of escapes)

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CRIME STORIES

No such society exists on earth that is free from crimes. So to keep people informed, the coverage of crime

stories is very important.

The crimes normally found in a society are as under:

Homicide (Killing a Person)

Homicide is an act of killing any other person that is in contrast with suicide, that is, to kill oneself

intentionally.

Killing someone else may be of the following types:

Manslaughter

Murder

Assassination

a) Manslaughter

It is the crime of killing a person by someone who did not intend to do it. In Urdu it is called katl-e-

khataa.

For instance, you must have come across news such as an old man is run over by a car. Now the driver of

the car did not intend to kill the old man, so this is manslaughter. In court of law the driver will not be

sentenced to a punishment that is specific for planned killing of a person.

Or, someone was cleaning his gun and it worked itself killing a person present nearby. This killing, also,

cannot be termed as planned killing.

b) Murder

Murder is the crime of killing a person by someone who did it deliberately and knowingly. This killing is

with the intention of the person who did it and the responsible, if proven in the court of law, will be

sentenced to the punishment that is specific for a person who does so. In Urdu, this is called katl-e-amd.

Since killing a person is an established crime and this is something that creates disruption in the society, the

news of this incident will be covered in the news bulletin.

c) Assassination

Assassination is the crime of killing a famous or important person in a society for any of the reasons; may

be out of jealousy, or for money, or to accomplish some other interests.

It is normally a paid murder and the person who commits this crime is called assassin.

As it is a kind of murder in which an important person in society is killed, the news becomes of reasonable

magnitude and importance and it must appear in media, whether print or electronic.

Assault

Assault is a crime in which a sudden violent attack is made on someone. It may be for any reason.

Kidnap

Kidnap is the crime in which the criminal takes someone away by force, usually in order to demand money

in exchange for releasing him or her.

The one who commits this crime is called kidnapper and the money he or she demands for the kidnapped

one or ones is called ransom.

Larceny

Larceny is the crime of taking something that does not belong to the person who commits it; and it is done

without getting illegally into the place where the property, movable or immovable, is taken from.

Larceny is normally performed by altering the instrument of ownership. It is altered to change the

ownership of the property. It is to be noted that the instrument of ownership is the legal document showing

the legal ownership of a person or persons over any movable or immovable property.

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Burglary

It is a crime the committer of which enters a building illegally, especially after making a hole in the wall or

roof of the building, to steal things. The person who does it is burglar.

Robbery

Robbery is the crime of depriving someone of his belongings by the use of force or threat, physical harm

may also be given to the victim especially when resistance is offered to stop the robbers from the act of

robbery.

The person who performs the robbery is robber.

Embezzlement

It is a crime committed by people who or in business or in influential jobs. The person who commits it

secretly takes some of the money illegally that is officially in his control and care and that belongs to the

organization or business he works for.

Forgery

Forgery is the act of making an illegal copy of any document in order to deceive someone or law.

Arson

The act of putting someone's property deliberately on fire with an intention to damage or destroy the

property is called arson.

The person who does it is an arsonist.

Mugging

The depriving someone of his belonging forcibly in a public place is mugging and a person who does so is

called mugger.

Perjury

The act of giving false statement in court of law after promising formally to tell the truth is perjury.

Perjurer is the one who gives false statement.

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