These are the basic building blocks of a news story. A headline is the short title at the top, an article is the full piece of writing, and to publish means to make it available to the public. An editor is the person who checks and improves the writing and decides what gets published. Notice you read a headline and an article, but you publish the article (a verb, not a thing).
Writing the news
headline /ˈhedlaɪn/ — The headline in The Neshom Note caught Lars's attention.
article /ˈɑrtɪkəl/ — Amina wrote an article about the new library program.
publish /ˈpʌblɪʃ/ — The Neshom Note published Mei's article on Monday.
editor /ˈedɪtər/ — The editor at The Neshom Note approved Amina's article for Monday.
Not ""The newspaper headlined the story on Monday."" — say ""The newspaper published the story on Monday."". You publish a story to make it public; the headline is just its title, not a verb here.
Try it: Farid finished writing his story and now wants to make it available to everyone online. He is ready to ___ it. (publish / headline / investigate) Answer: publish — Publish means to make writing available to the public, which is exactly what Farid wants. Headline is the title of a story, not the act of releasing it, and investigate means to examine facts carefully, which comes before writing, not after.
Gathering the story
Before a story is written, journalists collect information. In an interview one person asks questions to get information or opinions, and to investigate means to examine a situation carefully to find the facts or the truth. To verify information means to check that it is true before you use it. These all come before an article is published.
interview /ˈɪntərvjuː/ — Yasmin gave an interview about the community garden.
investigate /ɪnˈvestɪɡeɪt/ — The reporter investigated complaints about traffic near Ghafwick Station.
verify /ˈverɪfaɪ/ — Reporters must verify the facts before they publish a story.
Not ""The reporter made an interview with Yasmin."" — say ""The reporter did / conducted an interview with Yasmin."". You do or conduct an interview, or give one if you are the person answering, not make one.
Try it: Police wanted to find out who started the false message, so they ___ where it came from. (investigated / published / followed) Answer: investigated — Investigate means to examine something carefully to discover the truth, which is perfect for finding the source of the message. Published means to release content to the public, and followed (as in social media) means to receive someone's updates, neither of which is about searching for facts.
News online
Online, news spreads through people, not just newspapers. Your followers are the people who choose to receive your updates, and when content goes viral it spreads very quickly because so many people share it. Note the fixed phrase: something goes viral, and viral is an adjective, not a noun.
followers /ˈfɑloʊərz/ — Sofia gained new followers after posting her study tips.
go viral /ɡoʊ ˈvaɪrəl/ — A video of the concert at The Ghafwick Playhouse went viral.
Not ""Diego's clip made a viral."" — say ""Diego's clip went viral."". Content goes viral: use the verb go; you cannot make a viral because viral describes how fast it spreads.
Try it: So many people shared the safety message that within a day it had spread everywhere online. It ___. (went viral / gained privacy / was censored) Answer: went viral — Go viral means to spread very quickly because many people share it, which matches the message spreading everywhere. Gaining privacy is about protecting personal information, and being censored means content was blocked or removed, which is the opposite of spreading widely.
Where the story comes from
A source is the person or document a journalist gets the information from. To broadcast a story is to send it out on television or radio.
source /sɔːrs/ — The reporter protected her source.
broadcast /ˈbrɔːdkæst/ — The station will broadcast the interview at six.
Try it: Before publishing, Hiroshi checked who had given him the information and whether that ___ could be trusted. (source / headline / editor) Answer: source — A source is where the information came from. A headline is the title above the story, and an editor is the person who reviews it, so neither one is the origin of the facts.