News Item

 

1. Definition

• News item is a factual text which informs the readers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.

2. Social Function

• The social function of news item is to inform readers, listeners or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.

3. Generic Structure

• Newsworthy Event(s): recounts the events in summary form. 
• Background Event(s): elaborate what happened, to WHOM, in WHAT circumstances.
• Sources: comments by participants in, witnesses to, and expert on the event.

4. Significant Grammar Features

• Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline 
• Generally using Simple Past Tense 
• Use of Material Processes to retell the event 
• Using Action Verbs, e.g.: were, run, go, kill, etc. 
• Using Saying Verbs, e.g.: say, tell 
• Focus on Circumstances 
• Use of projecting Verbal Processes in Sources stages

5. Some rules that can help to make newspaper headlines more comprehensible

• The passive voice is used without the appropriate form of “be”. 
• Example: Town ‘Contaminated’
• Complete Sentence: Town is contaminated.

• It is unusual to find complex forms, generally the simple present form is used 
• Example: Fire Destroys over 2,511 acres of Forest in 2003-2004
• Complete Sentence: Fire has destroyed over 2,511 acres of forest in 2003-2004.

• The present progressive tense is used, usually to describe something that is changing or developing, but the auxiliary verb is usually left out. 
• Example: World Heading for Energy Crisis
• Complete Sentence: The world is heading for an energy crisis.

• To refer to the future, headlines often use the infinitive. 
• Example: Queen to Visit Samoa.
• Complete Sentence: The Queen is going to visit Samoa.

• Headlines are not always complete sentences. 
• Example: More earthquakes in Japan. 
• Complete Sentence: More earthquakes happened in Japan

6. Example

Pamekasan student wins math contest in Romania

Alyssa Diva Mustika, a student from Pamekasan Junior High School, East Java, won the gold medal at the International Mathematics Contest held in Romania between March 22 to 29, Antara news agency reported.

Speaking to journalists, Diva said she was glad that she had been able to win the competition, which she said had been very tight. “Thank God I won. I will study harder,” she said.

Indonesia sent 10 students to the competition in Romania. Diva is not the first Pamekasan student to win an international science competition. Oktavian Latief, a student from SMA Negeri 1 Pamekasan won gold at the International Physics Olympiad in 2006. Another student, Shohibul Maromi, won the same award in 2010.

“I thank Diva for giving a good name to Indonesia and Pamekasan on the international stage,” Pamekasan Regent Kholilurrahman said as quoted by Antara.

•   Analyzed : 
• first paragraph : Main Events 
• second and third paragraph : Elaboration 
• fourth paragraph : Sources.

Did you know?
Newspaper language is not same as the ordinary English. They prefer words that are usually shorter and distinctive.