News is a journalistic textual genre. It is a narrative and informative text, as it reports a fact and conveys information about a certain topic. The function of news is to inform current facts and facts of social interest.
The news also seeks to be objective and present the fact quickly, telling what really matters to the reader right at the beginning of the text.
The author of a news story has as main objective to write a fluid text, without repeating information. Your job is to tell clearly and objectively the important points about the subject you are writing about.
The text that follows the news text genre is unbiased. The author should not defend the A or B side of the topic he is writing, or talk about his position on the subject.
Another important aspect of the news is that the text is based on the inverted pyramid system: the most important information is given in the first paragraph. Therefore, the first paragraph of the news (known as LIDE) is one of the most important excerpts of this genre.
The themes of the news can vary in subjects such as economics, culture, politics, health, among others. This genre can be found in newspapers, magazines, internet and other media.
News Examples
Fictional news example 1:
State teachers in Rio de Janeiro receive salary adjustment
This Thursday, the Rio de Janeiro secretary of education summoned representatives from the area to present the new 10% salary readjustment.
In a press conference, held yesterday at Palácio Guanabara, the secretary of education of Rio de Janeiro informed about the 10% salary increase for teachers in the state. Ferreira explained that the decision has already been published in the Official Gazette and is of an emergency nature. The readjustment will be valid from January of next year.
Before this decision was taken, the secretary and some representatives of education professionals were trying to reach a salary adjustment agreement. The current government's first proposal was a 2.5% increase, which was denied by teachers. In protest, educators claimed that the increase was an “affront to the future of the country itself”.
Over the past five years, teachers in Rio de Janeiro have demanded the adjustment that has been promised by the current government since the beginning of their electoral campaigns. After numerous negotiations over the 3 years of office, the adjustment was approved in 10% for professionals across the state network.
Fictional news example 2:
Works on a decommissioned hospital are resumed in Belo Horizonte
This Thursday, the governor of Belo Horizonte advanced with the new project to reactivate one of the largest hospitals in downtown Belo Horizonte.
The Moacir do Carmo hospital, located in the center of Belo Horizonte, has been deactivated since 2014. According to the governor, the work will restart next Monday and should be completed in two years' time, with a total budget of 6 million reais. The goal is for Moacir do Carmo to return to more than 1000 patients a day, in its 100 ICU beds, obstetrics wards and emergency rooms.
The miners have already made numerous claims against the State of Minas Gerais for the reactivation of what was once one of the largest hospitals in the region. Moacir do Carmo was deactivated due to lack of funds to maintain professionals and all the structure that a large hospital needs.
After the governor's statement, residents were hopeful about the reopening of the hospital, which is essential for society in one of the most populous regions in Brazil. The governor also stated that every quarter, the engineers responsible for the project will disclose the results and progress of the work.
news structure
The news text is created in the text scheme called inverted pyramid. That is, essential information comes first. The text of the news has the following order:
- Title;
- Subtitle (use is optional);
- Cope (first paragraph);
- Body of Text (news development).
O title has the function of attracting the reader. In it, the author seeks to objectively put what that news is about, as if to arouse interest.
Example:
"Rio de Janeiro state teachers receive salary adjustment"
O caption is used to cover very briefly the main point of the news. It is often possible to know the main points of what will be covered in the news just by the subhead. However, its use is not mandatory.
Example:
"This Thursday, the secretary of education of Rio de Janeiro summoned representatives from the area to present the new salary adjustment of 10%."
O LIDE (or LEAD, in English) is the first paragraph of the news and seek to talk about all the most important information in the news. It usually answers the questions: “what?”, “where?”, “who?” "How? Why? and when?".
Example:
“At a press conference held yesterday at Palácio Guanabara, the secretary of education of Rio de Janeiro informed about the 10% salary increase for teachers in the state. Ferreira explained that the decision has already been published in the Official Gazette and is of an emergency nature. The readjustment will be valid from January of next year.”
O news body, is the development on the subject, presenting details about the subject. Usually, it is in this part of the news that the author contextualizes the subject, answering the questions: "how?" it's because?".
Example:
“Before this decision was taken, the secretary and some representatives of education professionals were trying to reach an agreement for a salary adjustment. The current government's first proposal was a 2.5% increase, which was denied by teachers. In protest, educators claimed that the increase was an "affront to the future of the country itself."
“Over the last five years, teachers in Rio de Janeiro have demanded the adjustment that has been promised by the current government since the beginning of their electoral campaigns. After numerous negotiations over the 3 years of the current government's mandate, the adjustment was approved in 10% for professionals from all of the state network.”
Characteristics of the Textual Genre News
- It presents clear and objective language;
- It's in third person;
- The tense used is the past tense and the present tense.
- Seeks to be impartial, impersonal and objective;
- The text is created with the inverted pyramid system: the main statements are given right at the beginning;
See too:
- What are text genres?
- What is news?
- What is reporting?
- What is information text?
