A news flash is a quick piece of breaking news that interrupts radio or TV programming and updates listeners on current events. It can be local, national or international and is a great way to keep your audience updated about issues that affect them directly. A well written newsflash should last one to three minutes and start with a compelling headline that accurately and enticingly reflects the story. It should then include a lead paragraph that fleshes out the headline and cites the sources. Finally, it should end with a nut graph that ties the facts introduced in the lead into a bigger picture and explains why the topic matters to your audience.
When writing a newsflash, remember to use the technique of “show, don’t tell.” Instead of simply recounting what happened, explain how it felt for people who were involved. For example, rather than saying that Johnny ran up the hill, describe how his legs were aching and he was breathing heavily. This will give readers a sense of what the event was like and make it more interesting to read.
Also, since a newsflash is short, it is important to follow the inverted pyramid style. This means introducing the most important details in the first sentence and then adding more information and citing your sources as you go along. Finally, a good newsflash should have a forward looking statement that shows why the topic will continue to be relevant in the future. For example, “Monday’s complaint is just the latest in a long line of ethics violations by Zinke.”