Journalistic Genres PDF

Journalistic genres Types of journalistic genres In journalism, genres act like frameworks. Genres are theory; they work as knowledge container categories. Is a relationship with the audience (the audience recognises them). 1. Informative genres:...

Journalistic genres Types of journalistic genres In journalism, genres act like frameworks. Genres are theory; they work as knowledge container categories. Is a relationship with the audience (the audience recognises them). 1. Informative genres: - News. Facts, Information about recent events deemed to be interesting, important or unusual enough to be newsworthy. It doesn't include opinion or interpretation. The main structure of the narration is the inverted pyramid/triangle (only for the printed press and certain online stories). - Objective reportaje. A deeper and longer treatment of the information than common news but it just presents the facts, without interpretation. 2. Interpretative genres: - Crónica. somewhat unstructured genre that combines literary aestheticism with the journalistic responsibility to inform. - Depth reporting. A deeper treatment of the information plus the reporter interpretation, his/her presence on-site and free structure and style. - Interview. According to its purpose, an interview can be informative, personal, emotional and interpretative. - Analysis. An expert or a journalist interpretes a story. - Survey. An examination of opinions, behavior...made by asking people questions and its interpretation. - Chronology. To show the order in which a series of events happened or a list or explanation of these events in the order in which they happened. - Dossier. A combination of different works/stories about the same issue.. 3. Opinionative genres: - Editorial. A leader column that offers what purports to be the opinion of the editor. - Comment. Generally is the opinion written by a journalist. - Article. Opinion written by an expert. - Review. Opinion about cinema, arts, video games… - Cartoons. Opinion through caricatures. - Letters to the Editorial. Opinion by the readers. 4. Diversional genres → provide entertainment Utilitarian genres → assists our decisions → CANUTAZO = doorstep interview (very informal) → DELIVERY = the performance of a journalist. Has to do with the voice quality, pacing and timing (130-180 wpm or tv and 150-190 wpm for radio), clarity and articulation, body language, emphasis and inflection, eye contact (only on tv), the position, breathing (the most recommending is the diaphragmatic breathing), the voice placement The history of journalistic genres By 1850, journalism can be divided into three periods: 1. Ideological journalism: from 1850 to 1st World War. It’s a doctrinaire and moralizing journalism, with the aim of proselytizing and serving certain political and religious ideas. The press of that period had many comments and not so many stories. During this period, gain importance the comment or opinionative genres. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was difficult to fill the newspapers with accurate and real stories. News was scarce and short. This lack of informative raw material boosted from the mid of the 18th century the 1 ideological journalism, which was hegemonic in the central years of the 19th century (in the Anglo- ‐Saxon area) and until the mid 20th century in the Latin European cultures. Many informative stories of that period were written chronologically but, at the same time, appeared the first stories following the inverted pyramid, mainly, correspondents’ ones. The inverted pyramid form of writing provides readers with immediate, relevant information unlike stories of the mid and late nineteenth century that employed a flamboyant, narrative style. The summary news lead was developed by progressive, educated, science-oriented journalists in response to social factors that went beyond the limitations of the telegraph during the nineteenth century. 2. Informative journalism appeared around 1870 and coexisted for a time with the ideological one. Informative journalism is based on the narration of the facts. Discoveries and novelties like the telegraph, news agencies, linotypes, rotating machines, photography and the railway allowed to increase the volume of the information and its capacity of circulation. Beside that, the more alphabetization of the citizenship boosted the number of readers. After World War I, informative journalism prevailed in the occidental world, and thus, the narration of facts and following the structure of the inverted pyramid or triangle. American news agency Associated Press experimented for the first time with the inverted pyramid around 1870. This formula was deeply embraced by American newspapers and the Anglo- ‐ Saxon world but had few effects in Italy or in Spain, initially. Americanization of Italian journalism didn’t happen until the end of World War II, when Americans reorganized Italian newspapers after the fascists’ defeat. This Americanization arrived later in Spain. There was an initial attempt around the 20s and 30s in Barcelona and in Madrid, but the Civil War stopped that. 3. Interpretative journalism appeared after World War II. Due to the competence of the audiovisual media (radio and tv), newspapers evolve and go on to explain the events rather than presenting them, to analyze their causes and to prevent their consequences. As new genres appear, depth reporting and interpretative chronicles. What makes news? News is anything which interests a large part of the community and which has never been brought to their attention. News value factors: - Timescale: the event must have happened very recently. - Threshold: the scale of the event. - Proximity/nearness News value factors: Criteria about the nature of an event - Unexpectedness: the more unlikely an event is, the more it will be news. - Elite: - persons - nations - organisations - Negativity / Positivity 2  - Conflict - actual conflict - politics - crime - natural disasters and accidents - Continuity: once an event or issue has become a news story it is likely to be covered some more. - Unambiguity: to get on to the news list the story needs to be easily understood. - Consonance: a story needs to fit with what the readers expect. - Suspense/Mystery - Emotions - Consequences News value factors Criteria about the treatment of the news - Composition. - Personalisation: seeing the story in terms of people. - Exclusivity - Human interest: -relevance to me -ordinary people. Broadcast journalism The inverted pyramid and the christmas tree Boris Johnson, then a Conservative MP and later Mayor of London, was accused in 2004 by a posse of tabloid reporters of having an affair. He told them their stories were an "inverted pyramid of piffle. He'd borrowed a phrase from the teaching of journalism. Johnson is a journalist; he was the editor of the Spectator at the time But most readers who saw the comment in the next day's papers would have been mystified by the phrase. In conventional newspaper writing, the facts are organized in order of importance. Less vital information comes last so the sub-editor can cut the story from the bottom to fit the page. This construction is known as an inverted triangle or pyramid. It works for newspapers because, as we've heard, people often don't reach the end of a story before moving on to something else in the paper. It doesn't matter if the sub cuts out the summarizing paragraph at the bottom of the story. But broadcasters have to begin and end well to hold the audience's attention throughout a programme. So let's suggest another model. What about a Christmas tree? Not a luxuriant Norwegian spruce but the type a child would draw - a simple diagrammatic representation. Think of the intro as the top of the tree. If it's bright enough you can put a star on it! Below the intro the branches flare out and then there's another narrow bit. This is the second place you have to put emphasis, the second opportunity to grab the audience. It's the start of the package or edited report. In radio, a package needs to start with powerful actuality, an audio clip or a telling introductory phrase in the voice-over. In television, it would be a strong opening picture, perhaps with dramatic actuality. Here the Christmas tree broadens to a wider base. This is where your story fills out. And the Christmas tree needs a solid base. That's your pay-off or outro - the final summarizing thought or phrase that rounds up the item or projects the story forward Remember, it's one Christmas tree. The link and the report, the top and the branches, are part of the same story. Nothing grates on the listener quite as much as hearing the same information repeated. We've all heard this sort of thing: - Newsreader: “Three people have been injured in a fire at a house in the LLandaff area of Cardiff. It broke out in the early hours of the morning. Jeffrey Walsh has the details” - Reporter: “The fire broke out in the early hours at a house in the Llandaff area. Three people were injured…” 3 Don't give the whole story away in the intro - save something for the reporter. Ensure that the last line of the link is different to the opening line of the package. Reporters should think about what the top line of the intro is likely to be and avoid that as their top line. When you are writing your own intro, write it first. The rest of the report follows from it. If it's a feature item, you may even be able to write your cue before you leave the newsroom. It saves time when you file your report or edit your package letter. News writing for broadcast journalists Peter Elliot (author of bb style guide. in 1979) 1. Tell it to you friends, speak to one person 2. Be concise.In a script, there is no place for padding or superfluous words a script has to sound right. Follow the rhythms of natural speech. Check It by reading the words out loud once they are written. 3. Keep it simple. Avoid complicated sentence structure and log words. Usually it is best to have just one idea in each sentence. 4. Accuracy. Check every fact, only use words you understand, check the spelling and the meaning of unfamiliar words, don't report rumors as fact, be bold -if you are sure of your facts, use them. 5. Keep it up to date. People expect to hear about what is happening now, nt what happened yesterday. It is important to keep information as immediate as possible, even projecting future events. 6. Attributing stories. In newspapers the attribution often comes at the end of the paragraph after the reader has read the main point of the story. form. It is not a natural way to speak. It's easier for the audience to give them the source of the information first. If we don't, the information may sound like the opinion of the newsreader. Avoid direct quotes. But in broadcast journalism (radio/TV) it's usually better to use indirect/reported speech. 7. Punctuation. Punctuation in a broadcast script should be kept to a minimum, to make it easy to read. Full stops and commas are essentials and, most of the time, nothing else. 8. Intros and outros. - Intros - Hook the listeners - Write the intro first - Include only the vital facts. DON'T GIVE THE WHOLE STORY AWAY IN THE INTRO. SAVE SOMETHING FOR THE REPORTER - Never repeat information from the link at the top of the package. - The pay-off or outro - A pay-off can summarize the story - It can tie up loose ends - It can project forward - Avoid obvious or bland statements - It's the last thing the listener hears, so make sure it has an impact. New sources - gathering the news - Sources: Social media, news agencies, events. - Materials from journalist for journalist: news agencies (EFE, that is public, EUROPA PRESS), press releases (previa). - Materials not journalistic: annual report of a big corporation, court resolutions, reports, white books (big dossier about the subject), Idescat, INE, EUROSTAT. - Check rival publications and different kinds of publications. - Direct observation of reality. 4  - Interviews. - Agenda made by the Government. - Off diary stories (stories made thanks to contacts beat). News structure 1- 5W: - who - what - where - when - why - + how 2- Any of above not in intro plus, perhaps, significance 3- How do I know this? 4- Quote (moves the story forward). 5- More details, related info, more quotes. 6- Points that have been left out. Intro checklist 1. Always count the words: aim for between 20 and 25, preferably in one flowing sentence. 2. Make sure it tells us the most important thing in the story. 3. If you had only those 25 words for the whole story, make sure your reader has been told something interesting. 4. Don't start with a subsidiary clause: go for the action point first, in case the train leaves before you can finish the sentence. 5. Count the number of main ideas and aim for three or two if the story is very dra- matic. Four or more different ideas make the intro indigestible. 6. The first 10 words are the most important, make sure they grab your reader. 7. Mention a person by name only if your average reader knows who s/he is. 8. Don't emphasize the negative: tell us something that did happen, not something that didn't. 9. Never begin with time or place: WHO? and WHAT HAPPENED? are far more important than WHERE? and WHEN? 10. Don't begin a news story with a direct quote. You rarely see this in news stories, although it can work in a report. If the actual news point is something someone said, it will be far easier to grasp in reported speech. 11. Use active rather than passive verbs: not 'A shop waS burgled last night but Burglars smashed into a shop. 12. Remember to use listen-to-me words (dynamic words, action verbs): not "Bloxwich Council is reviewing its policy on providing affordable housing for asylum seekers following.. but 'Homeless asylum seekers will get priority.. ('homeless' and 'asylum seekers' are both more attention-grabbing than 'Bloxwich Council' and reviewing"). 5  The informative style The main traits of the informative style are: - conciseness - clarity - naturality - catch the attention Characteristics to consider in the informative style - One thing to take into account is the structure of the sentences, what is good is a combination of different length sentences. - Avoiding necessary extra verbs is important to take into account. - Delete the words that directly don’t say anything. - Choose anglo-saxon words rather than latinate ones (build is better that construct for example). - Use verbs, not abstract nouns. - Avoid the passive voice. - Beware of lengthy substitute words for “said” like explain, assert, comment.... (In England it isn't a problem because saying the word “said” is more natural than sticking to some synonyms). - Be careful with police, council and health officials jargon. - Avoid poetic words and be careful with metaphors. This lenguaje can be used in other fields but not in the informative style. - The first person does not exist ever in the informative style. It is an objective text, written in third person. The first person of the plural (us, our team…) is used eventually when a cronica is broadcasting. - Avoid negative sentences. (“the project failed” is better than “the project was not successful”). George’s Orwell rules for writing 1. Never use a metaphor. 2. Never use a long word. 3. If it is possible to delete a word, do it. 4. Never use a passive voice. 5. Break any of these rules if they force you to say something barbarous. 6