The 5 Ws

Journalists tend to include the 5W's in news articles so the are perceived to be the most significant elements of the story that the customer needs to know. Often the 5W's will appear towards the beginning of the news story as this enables the reader/viewer/listener to decide if the story will be of interest to them or not. Another reason why the 5W's tend to appear at the beginning of the story is that often stories may need to be edited and shortened at the short notice. Stories will be cut from bottom up and the inclusion of the 5W's at the beginning means the meaning of the story will not be fundamentally altered.

Who is it about?





What happened?

Where did it happen?

When did it happen?






Why did it happen?