A news flash is a quick piece of breaking news that interrupts radio or TV and updates listeners on current events. It can be local, national or international and is a great way to keep your audience informed on issues that directly affect them.
A good newsflash starts with a strong, attention-grabbing headline that accurately and enticingly reflects what the article is about. It should then include a lead – also called a led or a “flash” – that fleshes out the headline, giving more details and citing the source(s). You can even add a quote from an expert or witness to give credibility and perspective on the topic. Finally, the newsflash should end with a nut graph that ties all the facts you introduced in your lead into a bigger picture to show why the story matters.
Because of the limited length of a newsflash, it is important to skate over many details and only cover major stories. This is why it is crucial to have a powerful headline that grabs readers and entices them to stay tuned in. It’s also important to follow the inverted pyramid style: introducing the most important facts first, then adding more information and citations as you go along. Lastly, use transition phrases to make it easy for readers to move from one point to the next. This will ensure that they don’t lose interest or get confused. If you’re looking for an efficient way to write news summaries, try Flowchai – a Chrome extension powered by ChatGPT that makes it easy to create high-quality, readable articles in minutes.