I actually take a journalism course, so I'll try my best to explain. In articles, journalists always try to use the least amount of words necessary to get a story across. Unlike writing, where you should try to expand as much as possible, in journalism, if you can tell something in one sentence, then one sentence you shall write.
The beginning of an article is called a lede, and it is usually one sentence long, attempting to properly summarize whatever is being covered in the article.
You should come up with a system of naming for your paper. With some papers, an interviewed person will originally have a full name, and then go by the last name from then on. Find something like this for how you keep names short.
EDIT: I just found this thread, right after I posted all of my current stuff on its own. *facepalm* Should I move it over here?