Journalistic Genres and News Structure: Defining Media Content

Journalistic Language (Journalese)

Journalistic language, often termed journalese, refers to the specialized language employed in mass media. This usage is often combined with iconic messages (visual or symbolic elements).

Genres of Report

The News Story

The primary goal of a news story is to report a short, recently occurring event (suceso). The following criteria determine the relevance of an event and whether it becomes news:

1. Timeliness (Actuality): News refers to very recent events. Events that happened long ago quickly lose journalistic interest. Urgency addresses issues related to whether or not an event has already occurred.
2. Proximity: The closer the news is geographically, the more concerned we are. This explains why a major global event might be less prominent locally than a local issue, even if the global event is significant (e.g., a prize awarded in Japan vs. a local issue on the front page).
3. Scale (Impact): We consider a small earthquake in a local city newsworthy, but perhaps not in Korea, unless the Korean earthquake was the seventh major one, suggesting we give importance to the cumulative impact.
4. Human Interest: Any story that moves, excites, or surprises, regardless of its objective importance, can become news.

Structural Components of a News Story

5. Headlines (Holders): These use distinct typography to anticipate the content of the news. They are divided into:
   • The Main Headline (the essential part).
   • The Antetítulo (pre-headline).
   • The Subtítulo (sub-headline), which qualifies or clarifies the main title.
6. The Lead (Entrada): This occupies the first paragraph of the newspaper and highlights the relevant information (data, who, what, where, when, how, why). When these elements are included, they are known as the 6 Ws.
7. The Body: The rest of the information follows, organized in paragraphs from highest to lowest interest (inverted pyramid structure). Paragraphs should not be excessively long.

The Feature

The feature story is a narrative that is more extensive and developed than a standard news report. The issuing company often tells the story, sometimes exploring hypothetical scenarios, especially in audiovisual media.

The Interview

The interview is a dialogue between a journalist and a person. The journalist asks questions, and the interviewee answers. The goal is to obtain information or opinions on concrete, updated issues, or to delve into the interviewee's personality. Interviews often highlight the responses of opinion makers.

Opinion Genres

The Article

The article is a piece written on a topic of general, current interest, or one that addresses a subject subjectively. It is usually timely and carries the signature of its author, who may be a collaborative writer or a habitual columnist. It is typically an expository-argumentative text, well-structured but free in form, often following the inductive scheme of humanistic speeches. Linguistically, subjectivity is frequently expressed, and literary formal features are common.

The Editorial

The editorial is an unsigned article that expresses the official opinion of the newspaper on a current event or issue. It appears in a fixed location and is highlighted. This expository-argumentative text covers topics of current relevance and maintains a reflective linguistic tone.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor are short texts submitted by readers to the newspaper. They are used to comment on or clarify published information, or sometimes to condemn a specific fact or event. The themes and styles are diverse, reflecting the variety of their authors.