Med News Reporter

News Reporter — Professional News Writing

Overview

Condensed writing workflow from 26 journalism schools (NCCU, NTU, Columbia, Missouri, Medill, UC Berkeley, Sciences Po, CUHK, HKU JMSC, ...). Turns raw material — transcripts, data, event notes, direct quotes — into a publishable piece across four canonical types: breaking news, investigative, feature, and opinion.

IRON LAW: No Unsourced Facts

Every concrete fact in the finished piece — names, titles, numbers, dates,
places, quotes, causal claims — must trace to material the user provided.
Anything missing is marked [待查證: specific description] in the draft,
NOT silently filled in with plausible-sounding invention. This holds even
when the gap is small ("probably around 30%", "most likely Tuesday"):
either the source exists or the placeholder stays. A fabricated plausible
detail is a defamation / retraction / trust-collapse vector — treat it as
radioactive. When in doubt, ask the user before writing, not after.

Why this is non-obvious: LLMs default to "filling in" to make prose flow (a reasonable title, a round number, a smoothed quote). In journalism this is the single most common route to published falsehood. The Iron Law suppresses that default.

Rationalization Table — these justifications DO NOT override the Iron Law:

When to Use

Trigger conditions:

• User supplies raw material (transcripts, interviews, event notes, data, press releases, logs) and asks for it to become a news-like piece.
• User asks for a "news article", "report", "feature", "op-ed", "column", "commentary", "investigation", "profile", "long-form story", "稿件", "深度報導", "專稿", "評論".
• User paraphrases: "幫我寫成新聞稿", "潤成一篇報導", "整理成專訪", "寫一篇關於 X 的評論", "把逐字稿做成 feature".
• User asks to "rewrite a PR release as news" (specifically: taking PR material and producing journalistic-toned coverage).

Input signals:

• Presence of named people, organizations, times, places, numbers, or direct quotations — i.e., material that could appear in a real news article.
• Explicit or implicit publication intent ("for the newsroom", "we're publishing this", "要投稿到 X 媒體").
• Requests mentioning neutrality, balance, attribution, or fact-checking.

When NOT to use:

• Press release or announcement from the subject company's own voice → use pr-press-release.
• Marketing copy, ad creative, landing-page copy → use mkt-*.
• Social-media post drafting (short form, promotional) → use pr-social-copywriting.
• Internal meeting minutes / summaries with no publication intent → use ops-meeting-minutes.

Methodology

Step 1: Classify the Story Type

Pick one of the four types, then read the matching reference:

If ambiguous, ask the user — do not guess. If material spans multiple types, follow the user's specified type.

Step 2: Material Audit & Gap Identification

Before drafting:

1. List available facts: people, times, places, events, numbers, quotes from the material.
2. Tag source strength:
   • First-hand (transcript, original doc, on-site notes) → usable directly.
   • Second-hand (other-media relay, forwarded message) → must cross-verify.
   • Rumor / no source → unusable, or explicitly marked as "allegedly" / "unverified".
3. Tag gaps: which 5W1H is missing? Is there a counter-side? Do numbers have a source? Do quotes have context? Every gap surfaces in the draft as [待查證: specific description] or is asked upfront.

When source strength or verification method is unclear, consult references/fact_checking.md.

Step 3: Apply the Type Template

Iron Law check: only use names, numbers, and quotes confirmed in Step 2's material audit. Any missing fact → [待查證: description], not fill-in.

Write per the reference template loaded in Step 1. Cross-type principles:

• Lead: 30–50 chars; breaking news uses inverted pyramid, features may use scene / character / question leads.
• Attribution: direct quote 「…」王小明說。 / indirect 王小明表示…. Do not alter quote meaning; punctuation cleanup is OK.
• Anonymous sources: only when (a) the source faces real risk and (b) no alternative exists. State the reason ("requested anonymity to avoid retaliation").
• Numbers: always cite the source. Pair ratios with absolutes ("layoffs of 30%, about 1,200 employees"). Avoid misleading comparisons.
• Balance: when reporting an accusation or dispute, give the accused a chance to respond. If they refuse or are unreachable, state so ("reached X Company multiple times; no response by press time").
• Disclosure: sponsored content, affiliate interests, conflicts — disclose at the tail.

Writing-style defaults:

• Concrete over abstract: "月薪 3 萬 2 千元" not "薪資不高".
• Verbs over adjectives: "抨擊" / "質疑" / "譴責" beat "嚴重地反對".
• Active over passive: "警方逮捕嫌犯" — use passive only to emphasize the receiver.
• Short sentences: average ≤ 40 chars; >3 consecutive compound sentences is a warning.
• Forbidden: unsourced mind-reading ("他心中十分憤怒" → change to behavior: "他拍桌大聲表示…"); overcharged adjectives ("令人震驚"); stance leakage ("正義的警方終於逮到嫌犯"); hearsay ("聽說" / "有人說").

Step 4: Media Ethics Check (required)

YOU MUST complete every item below in references/media_ethics.md before producing the output. Do not skip on the basis that "this piece looks clean" — that judgment is exactly what this checklist exists to override.

1. Defamation risk? (unverified negative claims about a named real person)
2. Privacy breach? (disclosing private info without consent)
3. Source protection? (can an anonymous source be re-identified from details?)
4. Special-category topic? (minors, sexual-assault victims, suicide — Taiwan law has specific restrictions)
5. Undisclosed conflict of interest?
6. Image / material licensing?

If any item is uncertain, warn the user explicitly in the output. Do not silently pass.

Step 5: Media Literacy Self-Check (required)

YOU MUST complete every item below in references/media_literacy.md before producing the output. A piece that "feels balanced" is the most common failure mode — the checklist catches what intuition misses.

1. Does the lead overstate (clickbait)? Does the headline match the body?
2. Are facts and opinions mixed? Factual claims use declarative voice; opinions use reported voice ("critics argue", "experts say").
3. Is the piece appealing to emotion instead of evidence?
4. Could the data presentation mislead (base-rate, cherry-picked window, correlation-as-causation)?
5. Are source tiers marked (official / principal / third-party / anonymous)?
6. If AI helped generate or organize any content, is that disclosed?

Step 6: Output the Finished Piece

Emit per the Output Format below. If the user explicitly wants a pure article with no meta-footer, omit the footer but still complete Steps 4–5 internally.

Stop and ask the user when:

1. 2+ of 5W1H are missing from material.
2. Material involves minors, sexual assault, suicide, or medical topics with incomplete info.
3. Only a single source exists for an accusation against another party.
4. Type is unspecified and material spans multiple types.
5. Material contains contradictions (two versions of the same fact).
6. Requested length mismatches material volume (e.g., 3000-word investigation from 200-word briefing).

Ask all gaps in one message, not back-and-forth.

Output Format

# [Headline: ≤ 20 chars, concrete people/events]

**副標**: (optional, 15–25 chars)

[Lead paragraph]

[Body paragraphs…]

---

**稿件類型**: 即時新聞 / 深度調查 / 特稿 / 評論
**字數**: approx. XXX
**消息來源層級**: 一手訪談 N 則 / 二手引用 N 則 / 匿名 N 則
**待查證事項**:
- [ ] [specific item]

**倫理／識讀檢核摘要**:
- 平衡原則: ✅ / ⚠️ (reason)
- 匿名來源揭露: ✅ / N/A
- 利益揭露: ✅ / N/A
- 情緒化字眼: ✅ / ⚠️ (list)
- 數據來源: ✅ / ⚠️ (list)

Examples