What Reporters Do: Finding and Sharing True Stories

Have you ever seen a news story about something that happened in your town — maybe a fire, a new school, or a lost dog that was finally found? Someone had to go find out what happened and write it all down so you could read about it. That person is called a reporter, and finding and sharing true stories is their whole job.

By the end of this lesson you will know: 1. What a reporter does and why their job matters. 2. The five questions every news story answers. 3. The difference between a fact and an opinion. 4. How to write one simple news sentence of your own.

A reporter is someone whose job is to find out what is happening in the world and tell other people about it — truthfully. Reporters work at newspapers, TV stations, websites, and radio stations. Some cover big events like storms or elections. Others write about local things, like a new park opening or a school play. All reporters follow one very important rule: only write what is true and what you can prove.

Reporters use five questions — called the Five Ws — to make sure they have all the important information: **Who?** Who is this story about? **What?** What happened? **When?** When did it happen? **Where?** Where did it happen? **Why?** Why did it happen? Here is an example with all five Ws: 'The second-grade class at Lincoln School (WHO) planted a garden (WHAT) on Tuesday (WHEN) in the school backyard (WHERE) because they wanted to grow their own vegetables (WHY).'

A **fact** is something that is true and can be checked. Example: 'The school garden has twelve tomato plants.' You can count them! An **opinion** is what someone thinks or feels — not everyone would agree. Example: 'The school garden is the most beautiful garden in the whole world.' Reporters write facts. They can write what people say — 'Ms. Garcia said the garden is beautiful' — but reporters do not put their own opinions in a news story.

Reporters find stories by: - **Talking to people:** They ask questions and listen very carefully. - **Going to the place:** Being there lets you see and hear things yourself. - **Taking notes:** Reporters write down exactly what people say. - **Checking facts:** Before sharing a story, reporters make sure everything is correct. If a reporter gets something wrong, they must print a correction. Getting things right is the most important part of the job.