A News It is a short journalistic text that portrays a relevant or novel fact of reality. The news cut out reality as it is considered interesting for a large part of the public. For example: “Salta: another Wichí girl died due to malnutrition and there are now seven minors who have died.”
A news item can be disseminated by different media (radio, television, newspapers, magazines) and in each one it follows particularities of content, form and length.
They can deal with broad topics (political, social, economic, sports) as long as they are relevant to the public.
News features
- Present. Being circumscribed to a recent temporal space.
- Brevity. Summarize the most important aspects of the event.
- Veracity. Not have fictional or speculative content.
- Objectivity. Do not include opinions or considerations of the journalist.
- Public interest. Contain information relevant to a large part of the population.
News content
All news must answer the following questions (known as the Ws, by their initials in English):
- What what). The event, fact, action or idea that encompasses the topic of the news. In the example above: the death of another child from malnutrition.
- Who (who). The protagonists of the news (those who carried out the action or those affected by the action). In the example above: the five-year-old girl who died of malnutrition.
- When (When). The specific moment in which the action takes place. In the example above: Friday in February (date of death).
- Where). The place where the news event occurred. In the previous example: the Misión San Luis de Santa Victoria Este community, a municipality in the northwest of the province of Salta.
- Why (why). The reasons why the event occurred. In the previous example: due to apparent malnutrition, which could have its origins in the lack of water that affects the area.
- How (How). The circumstances in which the event occurred. In the example above: the girl was hospitalized and had a critical picture of vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration.
Types and examples of news
According to the content of the news and the treatment given to it, different types of news can be identified:
Of future. They announce some event that is known in advance will occur or anticipate a change or transformation that is diagnosed from an event. For instance:
- Debt: with unanimous endorsement, the Senate will sanction the project this week
- The electoral cycle in the United States begins with the Iowa caucuses
- After Boris Johnson, Macron also receives Juan Guaidó
Immediate. They narrate the most recent events. For instance:
- Air Canada plane with engine and wheel problems made its forced landing in Barajas
- Two former ministers of the Government of Evo Morales take refuge in Mexico
- Two people died after the overturning of a long-distance bus
Chronological. They narrate the events in the order in which they happened. This way of presenting the news makes it easier for the receiver to understand the event in a more complete way. This category also includes the news that narrate the life and work, in chronological order, of a personality who has passed away. For instance:
- Brexit timeline: the most announced divorce
- This is how the alert for the Wuhan coronavirus has been expanding day by day
- Chronology of a crime: the day to day of the murder of the rugby players in Villa Gesell
Human interest. They are news that are intended to appeal to the emotions and feelings of the recipient. They seek to generate empathy or identification between the recipient of the news and its protagonists. For instance:
- Nkosi Johnson, the child with AIDS, an icon in the fight for life
- The drama of living in terror with her children by the blows and threats of her ex-partner
- “I’m desperate”: the drama of living with cancer and not accessing chemotherapy
Of ephemeris. They describe an important event or character and are broadcast on the anniversary of the character’s birth or death or of an emblematic event. For instance:
- From the joyous utopia to everyone’s voice, it is 90 years since the birth of María Elena Walsh
- Robledo Puch turns 48 today in prison: alone and with deteriorated health
- 50 years after Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge over Troubled Waters”, the most beautiful farewell in pop history
Of service. They disseminate useful information to the public. They are usually short and many times they are not narrated, but rather present the information in the form of a grid or list, as is the case with movie billboards or cultural agendas. For instance:
- Holidays 2020: what are they and where to go every weekend of the year
- Today’s street blocks, Friday, January 31, 2020
- Billboard
Complementary. They complement other news of greater relevance. Both are presented jointly. The complementary usually includes some color data or focuses on a particular aspect or on one of the protagonists of the main news. For instance:
- Main note: Debt: with unanimous endorsement, the Senate will sanction the project this week
- Supplementary note: Who is the senator who will lead the key session for debt and will be ‘president’ for 32 hours
- Main note: Claudio Bonadio, the federal judge who brought Cristina Kirchner to trial, died
- Supplementary note: “The last time I spoke with him he was fine,” said Judge’s secretary Claudio Bonadio
- Main note: China imposes censorship in the face of public anger over the epidemic
- Supplementary note: The doctor who launched the alert and is now one more patient
Of situation. They do not address an immediate event, but rather have a certain permanence in time and are of interest to society. They are news produced with greater dedication and that delve into the subject in question, approaching it from more than one approach and adding new data. His treatment invites the audience to reflect and draw their own conclusions.
- Neither alive nor dead: the journey of the seeking mothers of Sonora
- Living thanks to garbage: stories of those who work in El Borbollón
- Cocaine resurfaces and gets deadlier across the country