News Writing Guide

Headlines

Usually, the first words a reader sees, a headline can make or break a news story. Headlines should grab a reader’s attention and give the right amount of information to make them want to learn more. Long, dull or unintelligible headlines discourage reading.

Things to Do

• Be brief. The ideal length of a web headline is 50 to 60 characters (including letters, spaces and numbers) or around eight words. Try not to use more than 12 words in a headline. Cision limits press release headlines to 100 characters.
• Write a headline that can stand on its own. Headlines are often read alone, so they should fairly convey what the story is about and include relevant context. Use words in the headline that are key to the focus of the story. While a good headline encourages audiences to read further, it also contains all essential information to communicate the main focus and takeaway.
• Think about SEO. What terms are average users searching for related to the story’s topic? Check what keywords are trending online that are relevant to the story and use them in the headline. Read more about Writing for the Web.
• View the story from the average reader’s point of view. Sometimes it’s challenging to write a brief headline when stories are multifaceted or the subject matter is complex. What would the average reader think is the most important or interesting part of the story? How does this topic apply to them — to their health, their finances, their community? The best performing headlines reflect topics readers care about and information they need or want to know.
• Be clever and funny, when appropriate. A headline’s tone should match the story’s tone. Not all topics are serious; it’s OK to write a fun headline on occasion. Prior to publishing a more lighthearted headline, consult with others to ensure it’s not foolish or in bad taste.

Things to Avoid

• Vagueness and ambiguity. While brief headlines are ideal, they should never be so brief or vague they lose the central message of the story, becoming confusing or open to interpretation.
• Unfamiliar acronyms. Acronyms such as CIA, FBI, FDA, IRS, NASA, NATO, NSF, STEM, UK and US generally are recognized by most readers and may be used in headlines (no periods). Acronyms most recognizable to members of certain groups in academia, medicine, business or government should never appear in headlines. If you’re not sure if an acronym is easily recognizable, ask people outside your unit or search online to see how major media outlets use it. Examples of acronyms used at Texas A&M that should not be used in headlines: AAAS; ACS; CPRIT; NAI; THECB; T3.
• Clickbait. Headlines should never sensationalize, mislead or overpromise.
• People’s names. Headlines should include people’s names only if they are highly recognizable by most readers.

Lead Writing and the Inverted Pyramid

Because many people only read the first few paragraphs of a news story, journalists use a method of organizing information called the “inverted pyramid.”

If you picture a pyramid upside-down, the widest part is on top and it progressively narrows. This is how information should be presented in news stories: the most important and/or interesting information is at the top of the article, presented in descending order of importance, narrowing to the least important information at the end.

The first paragraph of a news story is called the lead (sometimes spelled “lede”). The ideal lead is one sentence long, but some may be two or three shorter sentences, depending on the story.

Things to Do

• Think about the “who, what, where, when, why and how.” Include as many of these as possible in the lead. If including all of them in the first paragraph is too cumbersome, include the rest in the second paragraph.
• Lead with the most timely, interesting and/or important information. Like headlines, the most effective leads pull readers in and make them want to learn more. Lead with the most interesting or “need to know” parts of your story.
• Include a nut graph. Consider writing a “nut graph,” so-called because it’s a paragraph that contains the “kernel” or central idea of a story. It’s a way to transition from the lead into the rest of the story by letting the reader know what to expect if they continue reading. Learn more about writing a nut graph.
• Write for the layperson. In general, Texas A&M news stories should be written so they can be read easily by people who are not experts on the topic. The writer should not assume readers will understand complex ideas or subject matter terminology with no explanation. Writers work in tandem with faculty to break down complex research.
• Use words sparingly. Brevity is a skill. Don’t use a dozen words when you can say the same thing with fewer. Readers often want to learn information quickly; help them by communicating your message efficiently.
• Use hyperlinks. Long URLs are not only visually unappealing, but they also result in poor user experience for people who use screen readers. Instead, hyperlink two to five words that describe where the readers are going when they click.
  • Correct: Read more about student success from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences.
  • Incorrect: Read more about student success in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at atmo.tamu.edu.

Things to Avoid

• Burying the lead. A reader shouldn’t have to wade through several paragraphs to get to the focus of the story. Give them the most important information at the top, then provide background information and less important details in subsequent paragraphs.
• Jargon. “Jargon” is technical terminology used by specific groups of people (medical practitioners, engineers, scientists, etc.). Jargon is language not easily understood or recognized by the general public. It is the writer’s job to translate jargon into lay terms when writing for general audiences. Writers are encouraged to hyperlink to published studies in academic journals so readers can further explore complex topics.
• Long titles and unit names. At Texas A&M, people’s titles and the names of colleges, schools, institutes and centers can be quite long. If so, leave them out of the lead and work them into other sentences later on in the story.
• Listing collaborators. Newsworthy endeavors at Texas A&M can involve multiple people, campus units, other universities and external organizations. It may be tempting to give everyone credit early in the article. But long lists of collaborators make for cumbersome reading before the user has learned what they want to know. It is important to credit people and institutions, but do so later in the story, even in one paragraph at the very end.
• Linking to poorly designed and/or unreliable websites. When using hyperlinks in stories, be sure you’re linking to sites that meet the university’s standards. Don’t link off to sites that aren’t well-designed, accessible and factual. Stick to sites with .edu and .gov domains whenever possible.

Note: Not all stories lend themselves to the inverted pyramid style; for example, feature stories may open with background information or an anecdote before building to the story’s focus.

Source Approval

Texas A&M news stories require source approval. This means anyone who is quoted and/or has provided information to the writer for use in the article is asked to review and approve the story draft prior to publication.

Sources are asked only to verify facts and ensure they are not misquoted. Their final approval must be obtained in writing, via email, and should be archived.

All other story aspects — headlines, subheads, leads, organization, sentence construction, and grammar, spelling and punctuation — are the sole purview of writers and editors.

Writers must ensure stories are source-approved* prior to submitting content to Texas A&M Today, at which point Today editors may make style changes. If changes are substantial enough to warrant additional source review, editors will notify the submitting writer.

*If covering an event, there is no need to obtain source approval for quotes from attendees.

Write for Your Audience

These key audiences have been identified for Texas A&M news stories:

• Current students, faculty and staff
• Former students
• Media
• Donors and other stakeholders
• Legislators
• Funding agencies
• General public

Before deciding to write a news story, think about who your audience is and what interests them. Stories that are of narrow interest may be suitable for a unit’s website/social media only. Stories of interest to the broader university community may fit well on Texas A&M Today and university-level social media. And stories of interest to wider, external audiences (media, legislators, the general public) may be suitable for press release distribution.

Photo Captions and Credit

Photos and other graphics can add valuable information or clarification to stories, break up long blocks of text and make the reader experience more enjoyable. Most university news sites require at least one image in order to post a story.

Things to Do

• Write brief captions that explain or highlight information from the story.
• Write a full sentence with a period or a sentence fragment with no period.
• When appropriate, identify the people who are pictured. Example: (l-r) Professor of sociology John Davis, guest lecturer Sally Hayes and graduate student Donna Rodriguez at the poster event in the Memorial Student Center
• Include photo credit. Example: Photo by Lisa McKay, Texas A&M Engineering
• Include alt text to describe what’s in the photo/graphic for people who use screen readers. Read more about Accessibility.

Things to Avoid

• Writing captions that are too long can negatively affect the story’s visual appeal. Aim for 125 characters or fewer.
• Including too much detail, such as meeting room numbers or long titles/unit names.
• Unfamiliar acronyms — spell out in photo captions.

Boilerplates

A boilerplate is a blurb at the end of a press release that contains facts and information about the university and/or collaborating organizations. While not a requirement, boilerplates can be included to provide key facts to reporters and other readers.
Press releases distributed by Central MarComm contain the university boilerplate. Additional boilerplates in press releases may be used upon review by Texas A&M Today editors. Unit boilerplates may be used at the discretion of college/school/division communicators; just make sure they are kept current.

Example Boilerplate

About Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University was named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2025 by Fast Company Magazine and was the only university on the list. It is ranked by The Wall Street Journal as the best university in Texas and No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference. Texas A&M was recently recognized for having the highest return on investment for bachelor’s degrees among public universities in the state, according to The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. Texas A&M is named the most recognized university in the state of Texas, No. 2 among all U.S. public universities and No. 8 overall in the latest Global University Visibility rankings compiled by higher education research and consulting firm American Caldwell. U.S. News & World Report recognized the university’s biological and agricultural engineering program as No. 1 in the nation, and for leading the nation in engineering research expenditures.