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Introduction
to Newspaper Reading
Newspapers have their own style to present the news. The
style of writing is different than the usual prose writing of a novel or short story.
Elements of a newspaper:
- Front
page:
The front page is your window to the newspaper.
It’s what you see first and will make the impression on you when
you are deciding to buy a newspaper.
- Lead
story:
The top headline for the day of the newspaper.
- News
papers have sections:
A.
News: International,
National, Province and local
B.
Business: Technology, Science, Sports, Health, Education, Weather,
Obituaries, Opinion (Editorials, Readers Opinions, Public
Editor).
C.
Features: Arts,
Books, Movies, Travel, Dining, Home and Garden, Fashion, Cartoons, Week in
Review.
D.
Services: Classifieds,
Personals
- Newspapers
have a slant or bias. It
may be from the newspaper policy or the interpretation of the
reporter. The paper may have a self-interest
in one way or another for the following reasons: political, monetary,
Newspapers have the following general
3 elements that make up a newspapers style:
1. HEADLINE:
A short, condensed, attention grabbing headline.
- Written
for effect, to get your attention.
- Very
short to let you quickly know what the article is about.
- Not
the best English.
- There
are headlines for overall newspaper and headlines for articles.
Example, Boy bites dog. Magic
sinks 40. China EU row over
textiles.
2. LEAD: Summary
or overview first paragraph called a lead.
- A
newspaper lead is a special form of summary.
- A
summary and lead are different. A
lead is short and condensed and meant to give you more of an idea about what
is in the article body. A
lead lacks detail. Detail is in
the body.
- The
writing of a lead is packed with information points about the article
to give you the big picture understanding of what the article is about. It is important to understand that a lead and summary
are different. A summary
usually gives fuller detail about something in a short form. A lead only gives enough detail for quick understanding
of what is in the article and not intended to be a list of many details
about the article.
- Something
happened and that is stated but how and why are left for the article body,
not the lead. Only important
big picture information goes into the lead.
3. ARTICLE BODY:
The content or story of the news event.
- Usually
organized by the important facts first or big important ideas first.
- Loaded
with facts and details in a somewhat prose form but not the nice clear prose
of a novel or story. The
writing style is to get information stated in a quick and efficient way
where loading of facts and detail is more important than well written prose.
- Paragraphs
are usually short and factual describing detail of the main points in the
body. High style and quality
writing although important are of less priority than efficient writing.
- Details
of the article go in the body, not the headline or lead.
- Usually
no summary at the end.
The article gives the facts and stops.
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