A news flash is a short piece of breaking news that interrupts radio or television broadcasts. Usually lasting between one and three minutes, it contains the latest headlines from around the world and is an essential tool for keeping people updated about local events that impact them. A good newsflash will begin with a compelling lead that grabs the audience’s attention by being both accurate and enticing. It will then follow the inverted pyramid style of reporting by conveying the most important facts first before adding further information, and it will cite its sources. Finally, it will end with a forward-looking element that shows how the topic will continue to affect readers.
The newsflash has to skate over the details because of its short length; only major stories belong in this type of article. The anchor can give at most six to 10 news items, so it’s vital that they get straight to the point and don’t waste time on unnecessary information.
Let’s take a look at an imaginary news story about a woman named Denise Lace-Crawford from the town of Placename who has won a prize for her book on Victorian domestic poisoning, with the first par providing all the basic facts in a nutshell: