Inverted Pyramid

The first is the inverted pyramid adopted by journalists. The most important information is placed first with the least important information is placed last. For example, you will see that news stories will list deaths first, injuries second and monetary loss third. This inverted pyramid was started in the Civil War because reporters had to move along with the fighting troops and they wanted to make sure that the most important information made the paper. This format also means that editors can cut stories from the bottom and not worry that important information was removed from the story. The story starts or opens with the climax - the most important point or points of a story and then the story unfolds to the least important points. This format is the dominant one for professional standards of multimedia writers.

Turn to this week's The New York Times and find a strong example of a print news story that is an inverted pyramid. Explain why this story is a strong example of an inverted pyramid.

Hourglass

The second most popular story format is the hourglass. This format is popular with sports stories, stories of conflict and feature stories. The hourglass after starting with a climax then offers supporting details before it builds back up and leaves the reader with another climax.

Now turn to this year's The New York Times' The Daily and list to a story that is a strong example of the hourglass format. List to the story and then explain why this is a strong example of the hourglass.