Five Ws

The Five Ws is a checklist used in journalism to ensure that the lead contains all the essential points of a story. As far back as 1913, reporters were taught that the lead should answer these questions:

  • Who? – asking about a person or other agent
  • What? – asking about an object or action
  • When? – asking about a time
  • Where? – asking about a place
  • Why? – asking about a reason or cause

In modern times, journalism students are still taught that these are the fundamental five questions of newswriting. Reporters also use the "5 Ws" to guide research and interviews and to raise important ethical questions, such as "How do you know that?".

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.