Download Week 4 Communication Media NEWSPAPER REPORTING

LANGUAGE OF
NEWSPAPER
REPORTING
Print Newspaper
O A print newspaper provides an array of
content—local stories, national and
international reports, news
analysis, editorials and opinion
columns, photographs, sports
scores, stock tables, TV listings,
cartoons, and a variety of
classified and display advertising.
PURPOSE
O To inform generally by
providing news and useful
information.
Other Purposes
O Educate
O Entertain
O Advertise
O Act as watchdog for the
society.
Other Purposes cont’d
O Allow public to express
views openly.
O To reflect society.
O To act as the government
mouth piece.
O To make a profit for the
owners.
News Items
O News items are divided
into two:
O i) Reports
O ii) Articles
Mode & Tone
O Mode – Written/print
O Tone -
- i) Report: Factual, Objective and
neutral
- ii) Article: Partially
subjective/biased
Newspaper Reports:
O Factual - formal, neutral language
O Tone -objective
O Begin with a ‘lead in- brief summary of
news item. Answers 6 questions: Who?
What? When? Where? Why? How?
O Many paragraphs: one paragraph =
one long sentence.
O Structure - inverted pyramid structure i.e
ranges from the most important information
to least important information.
Newspaper Reports cont’d:
Headlines:
i)
ii)
Bold print- eye-catching, capture interest &
attention of readers
Clipped & shortened – important words
emhasised , noun phrase with no verb e.g
Fiji Under Pressure from EEC
i) Use of 4 or nouns together -(Student Rep
Backlashes Leader)
ii)
Articles (a, an & the)– dropped in headlines.
e.g. President to choose Diplomat
Newspaper Reports cont’d:
O Time & Place- should be
accurate and explicit
Source: refers to the point or place
from which the reporter receives the
original report.
(Journo to indicate the source to ascertain the originality of their
information for clarity)
e.g. AFP- Agence- France Press, AAP- Australian Associated
Press, Rueters- An international news agency, PA – Press
Association
Newspaper Articles:
- Mostly facts, but few opinions (journo
priviledged to make biased and subjective comments)
- Slightly informal language & tone
- Use of favourable and unfavourable
words
- Use of sub-headings in longer
articles e.g feature articles.
- Use of pictures with a caption.
Common Features
O Every report or article must have a headline
– a short phrase, eye-catching, in bold
print, often ambiguous.
O Many paragraphs: one paragraph = one
long sentence.
O Frequent use of inverted commas (“ “) for;
direct quotation, indirect quotation,
highlighting or emphasising words if they are
used in a new or technical way.
Common Features cont’d
O Information written in inverted pyramid
structure i.e ranges from the most important
information to least important information.
O Use of dashes to mark parallelism – for
greater independence
Common Features cont’d
O Variety of sentences from simple to
complex.
O Adverbials of time (when?),
place,(where?) manner (how?)are
common. Need to be explicit to ensure
accurate reporting.
O Choice of words- reflects journo’s
attitude/bias towards subject/topic.
Common Features cont’d
O A)
Use simple words to avoid ambiguity
and also for public appeal.
O B) words or facts must be accurate and
verified or newspaper maybe sued for
libel.
O Omission of personal pronouns in
reports
O Use of stock phrases common e.g. “
“according to….”, “he said….”
Technical Terms
O Flag- Name of newspaper
- Dateline, Logo, Price, Logo
- Byline- name of the
journalist/reporter
Propaganda Techniques
Advertisers employ the following techniques to persuade
the public to buy or pay for products or services being
advertised:

Bandwagon -- the implication that "everybody else is
doing it."

Plain folks -- the implication that "users of this product
are just like you."

Card stacking -- distorting or omitting facts.

Name-calling -- stereotyping people or ideas.
Propaganda Techniques




Glittering generalities -- using "good" labels, such
as patriotic, beautiful, exciting, that are unsupported
by facts.
Testimonial -- an endorsement by a famous person.
Snob appeal -- the implication that only the richest,
smartest, or most important people are doing it.
Transference -- the association of a respected
person with a product or idea.
O The end