Press Roles, Publication Types, and Journalistic Genres

Core Functions of the Press

The functions of the press are to report and comment. The primary function is to inform readers in an objective and truthful manner. The secondary function is to comment on the present and thus help to form the opinion of the readers.

Common Publication Types

Publication types include weekly, daily, and monthly formats. The press is composed of newspapers that collect the latest news. Non-daily publications are often magazines, which can be published every week or every month. Examples of magazines include those focused on entertainment, cinema, music, and books.

Newspaper Organization and Design

In a newspaper, texts are distributed and arranged carefully in order to attract the reader's attention and facilitate the location of content that might interest them. The paper is organized into sections that group content by topics and approaches, such as economy, culture, events, sports, opinion, ads, and hobbies.

The paper is designed to draw readers' attention to the most important elements:

• Cover: Shows the main news selection.
• Relevant Content: Usually placed on odd pages and at the top of the page.
• Number of Columns: Has a direct relation to the story's importance.
• Images: Includes graphs, maps, and drawings.
• Other Information: Used to highlight a pulled sentence from the text, colors, and various body types.

Key Journalistic Genres

Information Genres: News and Features

In these genres, a journalist reports on the events of today in an objective and sober style. The feature (or story) is a broadening of the news; circumstances are explained in detail, which is necessary for rigorous research and documentation work.

Mixed Genres: Chronicles and Criticism

These report on events and, in addition, offer the author's personal impressions. Chronicles deal with political, social, and sporting issues. Critics are concerned with cultural events like concerts, art exhibitions, upcoming movies, or plays.

Opinion Genres: Editorials and Articles

These are opinion-making pieces in which a particular topic is discussed. In the editorial, the newspaper expresses its point of view; it is unsigned and presents a precise and direct style. The article expresses the opinion of its author; it is signed and usually has a style closer to literary language.