How to Write Newspaper Articles
Newspaper Articles
While educating myself with a correspondence writing course, I wrote a number of articles for local newspapers. Although I always wanted to write fiction, the course advised starting with non-fiction and journalism. This is because it is a lot easier to sell a newspaper article than a book, especially if you're writing a piece of local interest and are approaching a local publication. The same can be said for most non-fiction, EG blog posts, online news articles etc.
Having an article published gives you valuable experience in dealing with editors and how they edit (or, in some cases, butcher) your work to make it fit the page.
Writing a gig or theatre review makes an excellent starting point. If the gig is local and you write well, a local paper is likely to use your work. That’s how I started – I wrote a review for a band I played in. Admittedly, this was a bit cheeky, but being in the band meant I knew the music and knew no one else from the paper was there to review the gig. This allowed me to write about the band and the performance convincingly.
To write an article, you need an angle. When the smoking ban was first introduced in the UK, I decided to do a piece on it as I had a friend who ran a local pub. I interviewed him and we talked about the impact it was having on his business.
The editor loved the local angle and the article went straight in the next edition. A really simple idea, but it worked. By using local contacts, you can produce something unique that no one else might have thought of or be able to write.
I can’t really talk in any great depth about this as fiction is my first love and I simply used article writing as a stepping stone to gain experience with having work edited and published. However, the experience I gained from doing this has proved invaluable. For any kind of writer, journalism makes an excellent starting point.
Below are copies of some of the articles I’ve had published in local press, like the Bristol Evening Post and the South Avon Mercury. They provide a good example of the types of article you can write for local newspapers.
Bristol Evening Post Newspaper Artilce – Valentine’s Day, February 14th 2004 by Christopher Fielden
Mercury Newspaper Article – Ye Gods! Gig Review, November 11th 2004 by Christopher Fielden
Mercury Newspaper Article – Smoking Ban Article, December 9th 2004 by Christopher Fielden
Mercury Newspaper Article – Brain Busters, February 3rd 2005 by Christopher Fielden
Mercury Newspaper Article – Valentine’s Day Article, February 3rd 2005 by Christopher Fielden
Bristol Evening Post Newspaper Article – Vic Du Monte, April 28th 2005 by Christopher Fielden
Mercury Newspaper Article – Vic Du Monte, September 29th 2005 by Christopher Fielden
Bristol Evening Post Newspaper Article – Vic Du Monte, September 29th 2005 by Christopher Fielden
Mercury Newspaper Article – Ye Gods! Album Release, December 8th 2005 by Christopher Fielden
Mercury Newspaper Article – Portishead Carnival Article, March 30th 2006 by Christopher Fielden
Mercury Newspaper Article – Lands End to John O Groats Charity Ride, June 2007 by Christopher Fielden
Conclusion
Since this website article was written, digital media has more-or-less replaced printed newspapers. However, you can still write for online publications in exactly the same way that I wrote for traditional newspapers. Many of them are online nowadays, instead of in print.
Find a topic of local interest that you have some experience with. Or think about contacts you have that you might be able to interview for a story. These two things can give you a starting point or an idea, allowing you to get your foot in the door and see your words in print.
You can find many more examples of my non-fiction writing in the about section of this website.
If you wish to research newspaper articles, try visiting Newspapers.com who provide the largest online historical newspapers archive.
More Writing Advice
I hope you found this "Newspaper Articles" article helpful. You can find lots of other writing tips and advice in the Advice section of this website.
