Journalism Subgenres: News, Reports, and Interviews
Subgenres of Journalism
Journalism is intended to inform readers and comment on a topic. Subgenres differ in their focus on information, opinion, and hybrid forms.
1. Informative Subgenres
A) News
News articles aim to present novel facts or events of general interest through a narrative structure. They can be brief or extensive. News articles typically consist of the following parts:
Body of Headlines: A set of statements that, like a title, appear in a different typeface, displaying the most important aspects of the journalistic text. Elements include:
- Heading: The title of the section including the text.
- Title: Uses the largest font size to highlight the fundamental idea of the information. It summarizes the contents of the news.
- Top Title or Subtitle: Uses a smaller font size and usually anticipates or places information or transcendent content to be developed later.
- Byline/Credit: Identifies the person responsible for the information and the place of origin.
Lead/Entry: Condenses the key information of the event, addressing the 6 W’s of journalism: who, what, when, where, why, and how. The journalist must decide what to include in the lead and in what order. In some cases, when the news is especially relevant, the lead may appear in bold and in larger print than the rest of the text.
Body of the News Article: The remaining paragraphs that develop and complete the events described. They may have different structures. One of the most common is the inverted pyramid structure, where content is organized into several paragraphs in order of importance, with the most important information appearing first. Other structures include:
- Chronological Narrative Structure or Climax: The story progresses chronologically from its beginning to the final outcome.
- Mixed Structure: A combination of the above. The first paragraph provides the key information succinctly, using the inverted pyramid structure. Subsequent paragraphs provide a chronological narrative.
In news articles about frequent statements, such as in national and international politics sections, the journalist merely echoes the statements of one or more individuals on a certain event. In these cases, the organization of the content can be both thematic and personal.
B) The Report
An informative account that is broader in scope than a news article. While news is characterized by urgency, the fundamental features of a report are the rigor of the story and the thoroughness of the data presented. The information is comprehensive and in-depth.
The report goes through the following phases:
- Selection of the Issue: It should be of interest to the reader.
- Documentation: Information should be gathered on different aspects related to the subject of the story.
- Research: Attempts to discover new research data in the same scene and by interviewing the protagonists or other sources.
- Verification of Sources: It is required to verify the accuracy of the information obtained prior to publication.
- Final Editorial: As it is a signed piece, both the structure and the style that the journalist will use are freer and more personal.
The report is the genre in which the information professional is given the most freedom and can utilize all the resources of their profession.
C) The Interview
There are two types of interviews: the report, which is conducted by a specialist on a topic of interest or current events, and the personality interview, in which the media’s interest is not so much on the subject matter but on the character being interviewed. Interviews are typically structured in two parts:
- Introduction: In the introduction, the interviewer indicates the importance of the subject they are going to discuss and highlights the authority of the respondent on it. In a personality interview, the interviewer makes an initial approach to the character, sometimes including references to the location, environment, or context of the meeting between the journalist and the interviewee.
- Development: Questions and answers are presented directly, with each turn leading to the name of the speaker or with the expressions “Question” and “Answer.” Sometimes, the editor inserts comments into the dialogue.