5 characteristics of a good news report Posted on October 14, 2013 by Sunil Saxena in News Writing // 1 Comment Each news report is different from the other. But to be considered good it should have the following five characteristics: # Fairness and balance As a reporter you must learn to get the other point of view. This may mean calling a person late at night to get his side of the story or even holding back an investigative story for a day. But you must do so. This is the best way to bring balance in the copy. There may be times when an individual may avoid making a statement. In such a case, state the point, indicating the efforts you made to get his point of view. Fairness requires that you don’t impute motives. Remember that your news report is going to be read by hundreds of people, and you can influence their thinking by using loaded words. It is always best to use neutral words. # Accuracy This is the first requirement of a good news report. You must get all your facts right, starting from the name and designation of the subject to the statements made by him or her. You cannot hide behind the excuse that that there was not enough time to cross check the facts. The facts that you need to check are: Names and their spellings Designations