# The 5 Ws of journalism: a news article template > Who, what, where, when, why and how: the method for writing a clear news article, a template to copy and a full example. Canonical: https://ntilia.com/u/davidherreman/en/5-ws-of-journalism-news-article-template Language: en Author: David Herreman (https://ntilia.com/u/davidherreman) Published: 2026-09-30T09:41:40+00:00 Last updated: 2026-09-30T12:20:16.968+00:00 Series: nTilia (https://ntilia.com/u/davidherreman/s/ntilia?lang=en) Tags: 5 Ws of journalism, how to write a news article, news article template, inverted pyramid, news writing, lede, field reporting, nTilia --- A reader decides within seconds whether to keep going. In those seconds, they want to know what happened, to whom, where and when. If the article doesn't tell them right away, they leave. That's what the **5 Ws of journalism** are for. It's the first thing you learn in journalism school and the last thing you forget under deadline pressure. Here's the method, a news article template to copy, a full example, and the mistakes that come up most often. ## What are the 5 Ws? The 5 Ws are the five questions every news story has to answer: - **Who** was involved? - **What** happened? - **Where** did it happen? - **When** did it happen? - **Why** did it happen? Most editors add an **H** for **How**, hence "5 Ws and an H". Some add "how much" as soon as there are figures, a toll or a cost. The idea wasn't born in a newsroom. Rudyard Kipling put it in verse in 1902, in the *Just So Stories*: "I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who." ## The 5 Ws and the inverted pyramid The 5 Ws tell you *what* to write. The **inverted pyramid** tells you *in what order*. 1. **The lede** (one or two sentences) answers the key Ws: the hard news. 2. **The body** adds details, quotes and figures, in decreasing order of importance. 3. **The background** comes last: history, secondary reactions, what to read next. A story built this way can be cut from the bottom without losing what matters. That's why wire services still use it: the copy desk trims the end, never the top. ## How to write a news article in 5 steps ### 1. Answer each W in one line Before writing a sentence, jot down a short answer to each question. No style, no transitions: facts. If a line stays empty, you already know what to check or ask. ### 2. Pick the W that carries the news Not every W weighs the same. In a crime story it's often the *what*. In an appointment, the *who*. In a schedule announcement, the *when*. That one opens the lede. ### 3. Write the lede One or two sentences, ideally under 35 words, containing the main W and three or four others. *Why* and *how* can wait for the second paragraph if they make the sentence heavy. ### 4. Unfold by importance Each following paragraph answers the question the reader is asking at that point. A quote supports a fact; it never replaces one. ### 5. Check every W Reread the story asking, for each W, **where the information comes from**. A *why* without a source is a guess: flag it as one, or take it out. ## News article template to copy This template follows the 5 Ws and the inverted pyramid. Paste it into any editor; the italic lines are instructions to delete. ```markdown # Headline: the main fact, present tense Subtitle: one sentence that completes the headline (the missing W). ## Prep (delete before filing) - Who: - What: - Where: - When: - Why: - How: - How much: - Source for each W: ## Story *Lede: 1–2 sentences, the main W + 3 or 4 others.* *Paragraph 2: the why or the how, sourced.* *Paragraph 3: a quote that adds a fact or a reaction.* *Paragraph 4: figures, details, consequences.* *Last paragraph: background, what happens next, next deadline.* ``` ## A full example (fictional) The answers first: - **Who**: the town council of Saint-Aubin, population 600. - **What**: the river bridge closed to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. - **Where**: on the county road, the only direct access to the hamlet of Les Faysses. - **When**: since Monday, for at least six months. - **Why**: cracks found during an inspection after the October flood. - **How**: a 14-kilometre detour, under a municipal order posted at the town hall. - **How much**: repairs estimated at €380,000. The story that follows: > **Saint-Aubin bridge closed to heavy vehicles for six months** > > *Cracks found after the October flood force vehicles over 3.5 tonnes onto a 14-kilometre detour.* > > Since Monday, vehicles over 3.5 tonnes can no longer cross the Saint-Aubin bridge, the only direct access to the hamlet of Les Faysses. The closure will last at least six months, according to a municipal order. > > The inspection carried out after the October flood found cracks in two piers, according to the engineering firm's report, which this publication has seen. > > "We had no choice: the risk was real," the mayor said. Deliveries and the school bus now take the pass road, a 14-kilometre detour. > > Repairs are estimated at €380,000. The town has asked the county for funding; a decision is expected in January. The lede answers *what*, *who* (the vehicles affected), *where* and *when*. The *why* comes in the second paragraph, with its source. Background (funding, next deadline) brings up the rear: you can cut it without losing anything essential. ## The most common mistakes - **Opening with background.** "For several years, the question of ageing infrastructure…": the reader is gone before the news. - **A vague *when*.** "Recently", "in recent days": write the date or the day. - **A guessed *why*.** If nobody said or wrote it, it isn't a fact. - **Cramming everything into one sentence.** The 5 Ws don't mean fitting everything into the lede; a 60-word sentence doesn't get read. - **Forgetting *how much*.** A cost, a toll, a duration give the news its scale. ## The 5 Ws beyond breaking news The method is just as useful earlier on: - **on assignment**, as a note-taking grid: every scene you note answers at least *where*, *when* and *who*; - **in interviews**, to prepare questions and spot what's still missing at the end; - **in press releases**, which reporters read looking for the 5 Ws in the first paragraph. ## In nTilia: the 5W template In [nTilia](https://ntilia.com), a new note can start from the **5W template**: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How headings are created for you, with date and place filled in when the device knows them. In the field, with no network, you fill in the lines as the day goes; back home, the note becomes the story in the same editor. Before publishing, the **Ready to publish** AI command runs a proofread and an editorial checklist: a figure to check, a repetition, a subheading to revisit. It doesn't rewrite the story for you. For the rest of the path (Missions, write mode, `.docx` export for the newsroom), see [A writing app for journalists: from field notes to copy](https://ntilia.com/u/davidherreman/en/writing-app-for-journalists). And for the raw material behind your quotes, the guide [Interview transcription: method, template, GDPR](https://ntilia.com/en/guides/interview-transcription). --- The 5W template is on the free plan, no credit card needed. Try it at [ntilia.com](https://ntilia.com), even offline. ## Frequently asked questions ### What are the 5 Ws of journalism? Who, what, where, when and why: the five questions every news story must answer. Most editors add how. The most important answers go in the first sentence, the lede. ### What is the difference between the 5 Ws and the 5 Ws and an H? The H stands for how. "5 Ws and an H" is the same method with the sixth question made explicit, since explaining how something happened is often as important as why. ### Do all 5 Ws have to be in the first sentence? Not necessarily. The lede should contain the W that carries the news and three or four others. Why and how can move to the second paragraph if the first sentence gets too long. ### What is the inverted pyramid in journalism? A way to order a story: the essentials first (the 5 Ws), then details in decreasing order of importance, and background at the end. The story can then be cut from the bottom without losing the main news. ### Is there a free news article template? Yes: the template on this page can be pasted into any editor. In nTilia, the 5W template creates the headings automatically in a new note, with date and place filled in, on the free plan. ### Do the 5 Ws apply to press releases? Yes. A reporter who receives a press release looks for the 5 Ws in the first paragraph. If they aren't there, the release is unlikely to be picked up.