5 Ws and 1 H

               

 Reporting is a painstaking process that involves collecting facts and checking them carefully for accuracy. Journalists sometimes witness stories first-hand, but more typically they learn the details from others who have experienced something directly or who are experts in the topic. That information is reinforced or corroborated by additional sources, and checked against documentary evidence in public records, reports, or archives.

The information a journalist collects should answer questions that are commonly known as the five W’s and an H: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Depending on the complexity of the story, a reporter might ask those questions in several different ways.

WHO:

• Who is involved in this story?

• Who is affected by it?

• Who is the best person to tell the story?

• Who is missing from this story? Who has more information about this?

• Who is in conflict in this story? Do they have anything in common?

• Who else should I talk to about this?

WHAT:

• What happened?

• What is the point of this story? What am I really trying to say?

• What does the reader, viewer, or listener need to know to understand this story?

• What surprised me? What is the most important single fact I learned?

• What is the history here? What happens next?

• What can people do about it?

WHERE:

• Where did this happen?

• Where else should I go to get the full story?

• Where is this story going next? How will it end?

WHEN:

• When did this happen?

• When did the turning points occur in this story?

• When should I report this story?

WHY:

• Why is this happening? Is it an isolated case or part of a trend?

• Why are people behaving the way they are? What are their motives?

• Why does this story matter? Why should anyone watch, read, or listen to it?

• Why am I sure I have this story right?

HOW:

• How did this happen?

• How will things be different because of what happened?

• How will this story help the reader, listener, or viewer? The community?

• How did I get this information? Is the attribution clear?

• How would someone describe this story to a friend?

Many reporters use mental checklists like this one to make sure they have covered all of the important elements of a story.