Print Journalism: Structure, Functions, and Genres
Print Journalism
The press offers multiple formats—written daily, weekly, graphic magazines, and trade press (athletic, musical, etc.)—whose structure depends on the content and the issuer’s intentions.
Journalistic Space
A newspaper is structured and hierarchical. Its external configuration provides a precise format organized into pages divided into columns. Inside, it is a complex entity divided into multiple sections (national, economic, etc.).
The newspaper’s ranking process prioritizes some information over others:
- The front page is most prominent, serving as a claim for the buyer. It publishes news highlights, the most striking picture, and a summary of other information.
- Odd pages are more important than even pages.
- On each page, information displayed in the top half stands out more.
- In a vertical division, the right half stands out more.
- Other hierarchical elements include the number of columns dedicated to information and headline size.
Functions of Journalism
Journalism meets society’s information needs and has three purposes: to inform, educate, and entertain.
- Information is offered objectively; events are sufficiently verified.
- Education results from interpreting events. The press analyzes reality and creates public opinion.
- Entertainment seeks to occupy free time.
Usual Journalistic Codes
Common codes in journalistic structure are:
- Linguistic code or common speech, with various registers (formal, colloquial, vulgar).
- Iconic code, including photographs (documentary or subjective), photomontages, comics, cartoons, etc.
- Paralinguistic code, employing printing techniques.
Journalistic Genres
Journalistic genres are expressive modalities resulting from information treatment. Although linked to the press, they appear in all media.
Journalistic articles are grouped into three genres: news, opinion, and mixed.
- Informative Genres: Offer new and relevant facts without value judgments. Language plays a predominant role. Examples include:
- News or story of a current event.
- Report: Expanded news with in-depth features.
- Interview: Dialogue between a journalist and a character.
- Opinion Genres: Interpret events, judge actions, or provide commentary. The expressive function of language predominates. These include:
- Editorial: The newspaper’s viewpoint on an event.
- Column: Personal approach of a regular contributor.
- Op-ed: Critical reflection of a non-regular contributor.
- Mixed Genres: Combine informative elements with personal assessment. These include:
- Chronicle: Narrative of a direct and immediate event.
- Criticism: Judgments about cultural or social events.
In every journalistic article, the author’s expression fits the content and intentionality, which determines the structure and final result.
The News
The news release is the key modality of information genres. It is a short story of a present fact based on factors like proximity, immediacy, relevance, protagonist, results, or curiosity.
News should collect six circumstances (the 6Ws): Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
News follows the principle of relevance and is presented in three parts:
- Headline: Encapsulates the central idea and summarizes the most important information.
- Lead: The start of the text, summarizing the news and addressing the 6Ws.
- Body: Provides details from the lead, including events, consequences, or reactions.
The headline performs three essential language functions: representational, appellative, and expressive.
The story takes the form of an inverted pyramid, with details presented in decreasing order of interest.
Reporting and the Interview
Reporting: Provides details of events. Its structure is similar to news, with slight variations: an attractive title, a lead with new formulas or quotations, and a body linked to events and consequences.
Interview: A dialogue between a journalist and a character. Its structure may consist of a headline (usually a quote), a lead describing the character, and a body reproducing the question and answer.
Opinion Articles
Opinion genres interpret events, judge actions, and provide subjective assessments.
- Article: A personal commentary by external contributors.
- Column: Personal opinion of a journalist on a significant event.
- Editorial: The newspaper’s viewpoint.
Linguistic Characterization of Journalistic Articles
Journalistic language has two styles: informative (news) and interpretive (opinion).
Informative texts have the following characteristics:
- Long formulations.
- Inversion of syntactic order.
- Mix of direct and indirect style.
- Influence of foreign languages.
- Use of paraphrasing.
- Removal of prepositions.
- Use of the conditional.
Language of Headlines
Headlines capture interest and offer specific linguistic forms.
Syntactic processing produces two types of headlines:
“Headlines spacious, with full syntax: 1.titulares spacious, with syntax described compelta: The EU plans to stockpile vaccines against smallpox. -Headlines concentrated by ellipsis of part of the message: Mamas from 50 años.tiutalres concentrasdos. “The attitude or intention of the issuer creates” Headlines objectives or aseptic, neutral information. and owners involved, the result of interpretation. 4.2 The general language of journalism journalistic influence in language, in addition, a number of factors that limit and invade your own space lexicon: 1.The touch with developments and technical progress (which require constant innovation lexical) 2. influence of oral-based language (with the danger of the use of phrases or popularization) 3. Infection with other types of discourses: the literary (with the risk of using literary resources in the treatment of today) or the bureaucratic and administrative (with the risk of bombast, periphrasis or circumlocution) of foreign 4.Introducción: compact, footing, casting, reality show.5.Neologismos consisting of: Derivation: decoder, mitinero, bridge , balseros.Composición: videoconferencing, trash TV, SCART, homofobla, Eurosceptic. -Use of abbreviations and acronyms: AVEVA, UVI, UN, NATO, VIP.Eufemismos: urban farm used by doorman, air raids rather than expressive resources bombardeos.mpleo seeking treatment or epic emphatic in the drafting of current facts: Metaphors: the summit on employment, direct action to dismantle the enemy’s strategy. “Impersonations: et flu next winter occupy hospital beds. Must step into the Pyrenees B AVE. “Metonymy: the fight against crime and drugs. -Hyperbolic: The whole of Spain will be at the stadium. -Paronomasia: landing or alucinaje ‘5 Advertising. – The advertisement is a form of communication that appeal to the receiver predominala. Its purpose is the sale of goods and services, but in their results, going beyond business: spreading ideological and social, and contributes to the so-called mass culture. “51 The communication process of advertising – advertising establishes a one-way communication in which different samples ^ jas language functions: 1. presents an object, which gives personality (referential function). . to draw attention of the receiver to establish contact with the message él2.proporciona an attractive character (poetic function) 3. It shows a transmitter that you value your product (emotional function). but this communication process is more complex: the issuer resource is the product associated with securities listed on society (freedom, prestige, etc.) and the receiver creates the illusion of getting them.
6. Structure .- advertisement advertisement offers a heterogeneous language that intertwine and support codes from different sources: the linguistic code, the code and the code iconic visual iconography. Furthermore, in the case of audiovisual media are incorporated into the picture or verbal sound effects (music, noise) .- The code uses an advertising message and innovative attraction is usually composed of two elements, the slogan or short text and the texto.1.Eslogan, or short text, sometimes reduced to a name brand, value and host identifier. He has to draw public attention and facilitate quick memorization. Sometimes, in a process of metonymic substitution, you can move to the generic name (cellophane, formica, paper mixed drinks). Example: Coca-Cola, the spark of life; Volvo. Answer segura.2.Texto in its various forms (narrative, descriptive, dialogue, expository or argumentative), which is based on two essential principles: the economy and proximity to receptor. “The voice message can have several functions: a function intrigue, with successive entregas.2.función identifying information, introducing the producto.3.funcion locator 4. complementary role.