This presentation shows journalism students how to use six boxes to organize a news feature.

1. ORGANIZE YOUR
NEWS FEATURE
Use six boxes to organize your news feature.
By Dominic Alves

2. Vocabulary review
A. Timely stories about events
that have just happened or
are about to happen.
B. News that entertains or
informs with an emphasis on
human interest and novelty
and less so on immediacy.
Often, inspires warm and
fuzzy feelings.
C. A story based on a breaking-
news event reported with
feature-writing techniques
and/or a human-interest
angle.
Hard news, soft news or news feature
1. Soft news
2. Hard news
3. News
feature

3. Hard news vs. soft news
Hard or breaking news
Timely stories about events that have just
happened or are about to happen.
• Photo by Steven Taschuk
Lead
Body
• Usually one sentence
• What the story is about
• Summary of the most
important of the
5 Ws and H
• Info in order of importance
• Explains and supports lead
• Details, quotes, background

4. Definition: Inverted pyramid
Hard-news structure
Story organization in which the most important information is
placed at the beginning, or in the lead, followed by
information that supports the lead, and then less important
information.

5. News feature
A story based on a breaking-news event reported
with feature-writing techniques and/or a human-
interest angle.
Lead
Body
• May be a description of a
person or place or a little
story, or anecdote
• Includes so what or nut
graph with news peg
• No more than four grafs
• Has a beginning, middle
and end
• Good descriptions and
quotes

6. USE 6 BOXES TO ORGANIZE
LEAD
• A description of a scene or person that draws people
in.
• No more than 3 paragraphs
NUT
GRAF
• The “so what?” graf that answers: What is this story about?
• Why is this important? Why am I reading this story?
POINT
1
• One important point or fact
• Could be context or background or a detail or quote
POINT
2
• A second important point or fact
• Could be context or background or a detail or quote
POINT
3
• A third important point or fact
• Could be context or background or a detail or quote
KICKER
• A good quote or another description of the scene.
• Do not end with your opinion on the situation.
News-feature structure

7. FIND THE SIX BOXES
You can hear them halfway down the street. Above the roar of the
traffic and the chatter of the tea shop comes the column of young people,
collection tins in hand, calling for donations for the victims of Myanmar’s
severe flooding.
“We get together once a week, usually for shopping and eating and
playing games on our phones,” said 18-year-old student Aung Min Hein. “But
not this time. This is the time to show our solidarity with others.” He wears a
jacket of plastic bottles to signify a life jacket, and a large bag to accept
money.
His group, called Donation Wave, has already collected K1,500,000,
but aim for a further K500,000 from their street-walking tours. The money will
go to flood victims in Hinthada District, Ayeyarwady Region.
They are one group among many in a spontaneous volunteer
movement that has inspired people of every age and profession.
Myanmarflood.info lists more than 100 groups aiding flood victims. People are
responding to the volunteers and handing over more money than they
thought they could spare. Underage tea shop waiters, trishaw drivers and
housemaids used to stretching a kyat as far as they can are dropping folded

8. FIND THE SIX BOXES
You can hear them halfway down the street. Above the roar of the
traffic and the chatter of the tea shop comes the column of young people,
collection tins in hand, calling for donations for the victims of Myanmar’s
severe flooding.
“We get together once a week, usually for shopping and eating and
playing games on our phones,” said 18-year-old student Aung Min Hein. “But
not this time. This is the time to show our solidarity with others.” He wears a
jacket of plastic bottles to signify a life jacket, and a large bag to accept
money.
His group, called Donation Wave, has already collected K1,500,000,
but aim for a further K500,000 from their street-walking tours. The money will
go to flood victims in Hinthada District, Ayeyarwady Region.
They are one group among many in a spontaneous volunteer
movement that has inspired people of every age and profession.
Myanmarflood.info lists more than 100 groups aiding flood victims. People are
responding to the volunteers and handing over more money than they
thought they could spare. Underage tea shop waiters, trishaw drivers and
housemaids used to stretching a kyat as far as they can are dropping folded

9. FIND THE SIX BOXES
Along with socializing, student Aung Min Hein and about 20 of his
friends founded Donation Wave and started working for charity when he
finished high school in 2013. They made donations at the pagoda on
weekends. Now they walk from Sule Pagoda to Hledan Junction on Pyay Road
asking for donations for flood victims.
Flooding caused by Cyclone Komen began on July 30. The
government said yesterday that 39 people had lost their lives over the past
week, and more than 200,000 people had been affected by flooding in 12 out of
the country’s 14 states and regions.
The students, dependent on their parents for pocket money, can’t afford
to give much themselves, but they have time and energy, and they can walk,
said one 18-year-old member.
“We walk, we shout, and we ask for money. We spend a couple of
hours doing this, but we’re not tired,” said Su Su, a student at West Yangon
Technological University. “This is nothing compared with what people in the
disaster areas have to put up with. They need our help.”
She rattles her basket at a passer-by. He drops in a K10,000 note. Su
Su smiles broadly, says thanks and resumes her cry for more donations.

10. FIND THE SIX BOXES
Along with socializing, student Aung Min Hein and about 20 of his
friends founded Donation Wave and started working for charity when he
finished high school in 2013. They made donations at the pagoda on
weekends. Now they walk from Sule Pagoda to Hledan Junction on Pyay Road
asking for donations for flood victims.
Flooding caused by Cyclone Komen began on July 30. The
government said yesterday that 39 people had lost their lives over the past
week, and more than 200,000 people had been affected by flooding in 12 out of
the country’s 14 states and regions.
The students, dependent on their parents for pocket money, can’t afford
to give much themselves, but they have time and energy, and they can walk,
said one 18-year-old member.
“We walk, we shout, and we ask for money. We spend a couple of
hours doing this, but we’re not tired,” said Su Su, a student at West Yangon
Technological University. “This is nothing compared with what people in the
disaster areas have to put up with. They need our help.”
She rattles her basket at a passer-by. He drops in a K10,000 note. Su
Su smiles broadly, says thanks and resumes her cry for more donations.

11. FIND THE SIX BOXES
Along with socializing, student Aung Min Hein and about 20 of his
friends founded Donation Wave and started working for charity when he
finished high school in 2013. They made donations at the pagoda on
weekends. Now they walk from Sule Pagoda to Hledan Junction on Pyay Road
asking for donations for flood victims.
Flooding caused by Cyclone Komen began on July 30. The
government said yesterday that 39 people had lost their lives over the past
week, and more than 200,000 people had been affected by flooding in 12 out of
the country’s 14 states and regions.
The students, dependent on their parents for pocket money, can’t afford
to give much themselves, but they have time and energy, and they can walk,
said one 18-year-old member.
“We walk, we shout, and we ask for money. We spend a couple of
hours doing this, but we’re not tired,” said Su Su, a student at West Yangon
Technological University. “This is nothing compared with what people in the
disaster areas have to put up with. They need our help.”
She rattles her basket at a passer-by. He drops in a K10,000 note. Su
Su smiles broadly and resumes her cry for more donations.

12. FIND THE SIX BOXES
Along with socializing, student Aung Min Hein and about 20 of his
friends founded Donation Wave and started working for charity when he
finished high school in 2013. They made donations at the pagoda on
weekends. Now they walk from Sule Pagoda to Hledan Junction on Pyay Road
asking for donations for flood victims.
Flooding caused by Cyclone Komen began on July 30. The
government said yesterday that 39 people had lost their lives over the past
week, and more than 200,000 people had been affected by flooding in 12 out of
the country’s 14 states and regions.
The students, dependent on their parents for pocket money, can’t afford
to give much themselves, but they have time and energy, and they can walk,
said one 18-year-old member.
“We walk, we shout, and we ask for money. We spend a couple of
hours doing this, but we’re not tired,” said Su Su, a student at West Yangon
Technological University. “This is nothing compared with what people in the
disaster areas have to put up with. They need our help.”
She rattles her basket at a passer-by. He drops in a K10,000 note. Su
Su smiles broadly, says thanks and resumes her cry for more donations.