What you can do
- Write a news report about the facts of a narrative you have been writing.
- Brainstorm the following for your report:
- What happened?
- Who was involved?
- When did the events occur?
- Where did the events occur?
- Why did the events occur?
- How did the events occur?
- What is expected to happen in the future?
An example
The following extract written as a fictional news report comes from a narrative titled The Maisy Hill Witch Trial, and is inspired by Arthur Miller‘s The Crucible, about innocent people being charged with witchcraft for heinous crimes. Fear of the ‘witchcraft ring’ is really a metaphor for fear of ‘terrorism’ in contemporary society. Report writing has been used in the narrative to accentuate the power of the media in positioning the reader to view people and events in a particular way.
MEN CAUGHT IN RAIDS TO BE TRIED FOR WITCHCRAFT
Three Maisy Hill men accused of planning a witch attack have been ordered to stand trial. The men are charged with belonging to a witchcraft sect. Two are charged with funding or providing support to a witchcraft organisation or possessing items connected with an act of witchcraft.
Their alleged leader, James Divine, 38, of Maisy Hill, is also charged with directing the activities of the alleged witchcraft cell and recruiting for the group.
After a six-week hearing, the magistrate, Donald Eggly, said yesterday there was enough evidence for convictions to be possible.
The men sat calmly as Mr Eggly announced his decision. One of the accused refused to stand when asked to by Mr Eggly, but the magistrate continued to read the charges and ask for their pleas.
Police say the men were in the early stages of carrying out an act of witchcraft when three of them were arrested in pre-dawn raids in Maisy Hill last December.
The arrests were part of a one-year counter-witchcraft investigation called Operation Eradication of Evil. An undercover police agent had infiltrated the group and discussed details of blowing up the barn of Mr Fraser, a respected farmer and local council member, the court was told.
The officer, known as “security operative 69”, had accompanied Mr Divine to his farm to witness a trial explosion, the prosecutor, John Darling, SC said.
Mr Darling said the group was inspired and influenced strongly by the witchcraft group and the teachings of its leader Nicole Carla.
All three men committed to stand trial pleaded not guilty. They are James Divine, 38, of Maisy Hill, William Cox, 37, of Lidcoat and Brian Fanning, 35, of Maisy Hill.
Outside court, Divine’s estranged wife, Alison Divine, said the men were innocent and the case was a “trophy trial”.
She said her estranged husband was a good father to his children and that he had been locked in solitary confinement for 200 days.
‘The local government has a lot to answer for,’ she said.
Several of the men would appeal for bail in the coming weeks, their lawyers told the court.
