A news flash is a short piece of breaking news that interrupts a radio or TV broadcast and keeps the audience updated on events. It may be local, national or international and can include a mix of hard and soft news. It can last between one and three minutes.
It’s important to note that a newsflash is not the place for presenting opinion, but rather facts about a particular subject matter. Because of its short length, the article has to skate over some details – only major stories belong in this type of report – and it’s also necessary to provide a clear and concise overview that can be easily understood by those not intimately familiar with the topic at hand.
The first paragraph – known as the lead, or the “flash” – is an anchor’s chance to grab readers’ attention and draw them into the story. It should be powerful, and it’s a good idea to use a narrative hook or anecdote to encapsulate the main subject. Then, it should introduce the story’s most important information using the inverted pyramid style – most important points first, with more detail added later on. It’s also a good idea to incorporate a nut graph that adds context and shows how the story affects people in the real world.
A newsflash often announces that a specific story will be developed at length in the midday or evening bulletin (to promote the bulletin’s work), and it can also give out practical info like traffic or weather, or highlight something funny or humorous – to entertain the audience.