News Item

 

What is a News Item Text?

News item is a text which informs readers about events of the day. The events are considered newsworthy or important. News item is a type of the text that has the main function or communicative purpose to inform readers of listeners or viewer about events of the day that are considered newsworthy or important.

It means if there is an important event that should be known by many people, then this event deserves news. Well, the news text is called the news item text. However, if there are events that people do not deserve, then they are not definitely worth to be news.

The generic structure of news item has elements as follows. 

• Headline/title : the main point to report in reduced clause
• Summary of event : the summary of main event that is to be reported
• Background of event : the explanation about what had happened (who, what, when, where)
• Source : someone’s about the event

Purpose of News Item Text?

• to inform the readers about newsworthy or important events of the day
• to present information the readers about newsworthy or important events of the day

Generic Structure of News Item Text?

• main event recounts the event in summary
• elaboration (background, participant, time, place) elaborates what happened, to whom, and in what circumstances
• resource of information comments by participants in, witnesses to and authorities expert on the event 

Language Features of News Item Text?

• Focusing on circumstances
• Using material process
• Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline
• Use of Material Processes to retell the events (in the text bellow, many of the Material Processes are nominalised)
• Use of projecting Verbal Processes in sources stage
• Focus on Circumstances (e.g. mostly within qualifiers)

Tips of Reporting

We read a "news item" to find out specific information about an event reported in

the news. Every "news item" has to have the answers to the five WH questions:

• What : What happened exactly?
• Who : Who are the people and groups involved in the event?
• When : When did the event take place?
• Where : Where did the event take place?
• Why : Why did it happen? 

Example of News Item Text

Town ‘Contaminated 

Newsworthy events

Moscow – A Russian journalist has uncovered evidence of another Soviet nuclear catastrophe, which killed 10 sailors and contaminated an entire town. 

Background Events 

Yelena Vazrshavskya is the first journalist to speak to people who witnessed the explosion of a nuclear submarine at the naval base of Shkotovo – 22 near Vladivostock. 

The accident, which occurred 13 months before the Chernobyl disaster, spread radioactive fall-out over the base and nearby town, but was covered up by officials of the Soviet Union. Residents were told the explosion in the reactor of the Victor-class submarine during a refit had been a ‘thermal’ and not a nuclear explosion. And those involved in the clean up operation to remove more than 600 tons of contaminated material were sworn to secrecy. 

Source 

A board of investigators was later to describe it as the worst accident in the history of the Soviet Navy.

Video Material of News Item Text

My Video :

Excercise :

PH 4 :