There’s nothing like a practical example for learning a skill. So here’s a little example of how to take a story and then carefully apply journalistic skill and judgement to make it into one of those proper stories they put in newspapers. Or something like that 🙂

The core of the story is this: child climbs up tree, child climbs down tree, stranger walks up to child, school staff walk up to stranger, stranger walks off, police have a word with stranger.

Fact 1: “At no point was any child ever stuck in a tree”.

How do you report this? Easy:

• TEACHERS LEAVE BOY OF 5 STUCK UP A TREE (Express)
• A FIVE-YEAR-OLD pupil was left stuck up a tree (Sun)
• She spotted the stuck five-year-old at Manor School in Melksham, Wiltshire (Metro)
• TEACHERS refused to rescue a five-year-old boy stuck up a tree (Daily Star)

Fact 2: The child was in the tree for no more than “ten minutes”.

How do you report this? Easy:

• Half an hour (Daily Star)
• 45 minutes (The Guardian) [Update: as pointed out in the comment, the Guardian (now) also gives the school saying it was “less than 10”]
• At least 45 minutes (Telegraph)
• Nearly an hour (Express)

Fact 3: Because no child was stuck, there was no child to rescue.

How do you report this? Easy:

• Teachers leave boy, 5, stranded in tree because of health and safety (Daily Mail)
• A DAREDEVIL five-year-old boy who got stuck up a tree at school had to stay there for nearly an hour – because health and safety rules banned teachers from rescuing him (Express)
• A FIVE-YEAR-OLD pupil was left stuck up a tree at school because a bizarre health and safety policy BANNED teachers from helping him (The Sun)
• TEACHERS refused to rescue a five-year-old boy stuck up a tree because of daft health and safety rules (Daily Star)

Fact 4: A stranger walked up to the tree, by which time “the child was standing on the path, having exited the tree” on his own.

How do you report this? Easy:

• The boy was only rescued after 45 minutes in the tree when passer-by Kim Barrett, 38, noticed the child and helped him down herself (Daily Mail)
• The child was only rescued when a woman noticed him and helped him down herself (The Sun)
• The stranded pupil was finally rescued from the 20ft tree when passerby Kim Barrett spotted his plight and helped him down (Express)
• She came to the aid of a five-year-old boy who had been left on his own in a tree (Telegraph)

Fact 5: The child’s mother says, “I am amazed at the gullibility of the press and some of the general public. My child was never stuck in a tree and was very unhappy about a stranger approaching him in his school … The staff were doing their job and were fully aware that my son was there. They were also aware that a stranger was approaching him. They intercepted her to ensure there was no possibility of my son being removed from the premises.”

How do you report this? Easy:

• Err, you don’t.

Hat-tip: Andreas Christodoulou who in turn links to the further information on the story in the two letters here and here.