UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION
SECOND SEMESTER 2012/2013 TIME: 2h30m
MAC212 NEWS WRITING
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer Question 1 and any other two questions
1. Use the information in the passage below to write a straight news story:
Argentine footballer, Lionel Messi, is currently Word Player of the Year. He is reportedly one of the highest-paid athletes in the world and is backed by various high-profile sponsors, Messi is being investigated by Spanish authorities for alleged tax fraud. He plays for FC Barcelona. This information came from a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office in the Spanish region of Catalonia. The 25years is 10th Forbes’ latest of top-earning athletes. On top of his salary of over 15 million euros a year, he pulls in about the same amount in endorsements for sponsors including Adidas Pepsi CO, and P$G (HE is suspected of filing fraudulent tax claims from 2006 to 2009, with a discrepancy totaling over four million Euros
2. Define 10 types of leads with one original example of each
3. Distinguish between hard news and soft news with examples explaining how they differ
4. Discuss the guidelines for writing news.
5. Explain the rules for writing summary leads.
