报刊英语知识点

As we can see, this passage is a disaster report on the American’s 911 event. Since this event is such a serious emegerncy that sweeps through the world instantaneously, the author adpots the most frequently used structure in breaking news writing—the inverted pyramid form. In this structure, events are written in descending order of importance. It’s known to us that most newspaper leads are summary news leads, which usually include all the 5Ws and one H of the news. However, in my perspective, at the begining of this passage, the author uses a suspense lead without providing the complete element of news for us, which adds suspense interest to the story.

After setting up a suspense lead, the author offers us the details in the following paragraphs which consist of the body of this passage. Using a large number of direct or indirect quotations can help to show maximum objectivity and to decrease the color of personal slant. In addition, the author also adopts interpretative way of writing such as the eighth paragraph which potrays a vivid scene before us.

Inverted pyramid style: it is the most frequently used structure in news writing.

In this structure, events are written in descending order of importance. First of all, a terse lead is formed. The lead offers the most essential elements telling who, what, when, where, why and how of the story. Advantages: First, it is convenient for editors to decide the news value and cut the news from the bottom; Second, it is convenient for journalists to meet the deadline without missing any key facts; Third, it can help readers to find the main facts of the news quickly. Disadvantages: First, the main facts all frequently appear in the headline, lead and body, which would be suffocative to most readers; Second, the writing is not tightly organized and fully deployed, what’s more, the style is top heavy and lack of suspense interest.

8. News value determiners

A: timeliness or freshness;

Importance/consequence/impact/significance; Prominence;

Proximity/locality/nearness

Unusualness/bizarreness/oddity/novelty

Human interest;

Conflict

大量事例的罗列Hard news (spot news/straight news): Events that are timely and are covered almost automatically by print and electronic media. They are often very serious and important news.

11. News structure

Pyramid style/the chronological style

It is composed by three parts, they are beginning, body and ending. To write a piece of news in pyramid style, a beginning is given first and events are written in time sequence. Writers can take advantage of narrative and descriptive writing, so it flows better and involves readers. At the meantime, it adds suspense interest to the story.

List technique

Wall Street journal formula: It tends to focus on individual.

12. Forms of reporting

Follow-ups/ follow-up stories (second cycle stories/ development stories)

Advantages: First, it attracts readers’ attention by accentuating on one important fact of the news; Second, it tends to fully deploy the news from different aspects, which can well make up for the contradiction in terms of freshness and integrity; Third, it helps to form the public opinion.

Content: Facts that are not mentioned in previous stories or some background of events.

The developments of the events;

Different opinions from people of all walks of life;

The prediction of the events;

Important facts that previously reported.

13.Features of leads

A: Succinct. A summary lead should outline a news story in no more than 35 words

Informative. A summary lead should contain the 5Ws of news.

Intriguing. Leads are sometimes called “grabbers”, which means it serves the duty to grab the readers’ attention. What’s more, leads should also be straightforward, varied, clear specific and active.

That’s why English journalists strugg le for the best wording and leave no stone unturned千方百计.

14.Types of leads

Summary lead/roundup lead

Main fact lead

Descriptive lead

Direct address lead

Quotation lead (full quotation lead/partial quotation lead) Suspense lead

Delayed lead/multi-paragraph lead

Contrast lead

Question lead

Anecdotal lead

Combined lead/multiple element lead

Label lead (empty lead)

17.Sources of news reporting

Accurate news sources: with the name of organization, people or agency;

Implied news sources: people who do not want to be told the name, or sources from nonsense people that readers do not have interest in, as used like “witness said”

Use fuzzy words to imply the sources such as “it is said”

18.Difference between feature and news.

A: Three differences.

First, their focus is not the same. News reporting provides all facts that are related. It tends to focus on inclusiveness and integrity of the news, while features only present the most characteristic and impressive episode of the story. A piece of news shows a panorama, but a feature gives an enlarged close-up.

Secondly, their writing purpose is not exactly the same. News only tries to inform the readers, while features try harder to attract the reader’s attention with more detailed and descriptive writing.

Thirdly, their composition structure is not always the same. News reporting for most cases adopts inverted pyramid form, but features follow no such rule. It can be very flexible in terms of structure.

Proper insert of backgrounds, it makes the news more understandable to readers and deepens the thesis of the news. There are contrast back-grounding, interpretative back-grounding and explanative back-grounding to be insert when necessary.

https://www.360docs.net/doc/f25157345.html,e direct or indirect quotations to show maximum

objectivity and to decrease the color of personal slant. Use dashes破折号to insert parenthetical附加说明的statement in order to give more background and show the opinions of people related,

Use figure of speech in a flexible way, which makes the story more readable, vivid and attractive. The common figures are: alliteration头韵, humor, contrast, exaggeration, witticism名言and so on.

20. Wording features

As in journalistic English, words of certain people often quoted, so there are various words used to express the meaning of saying, such as “allege”, “claim” and “argue” are often used.

Abundant vogue words流行字眼can be seen in journalistic English, their special meanings come into being in a certain current and disappear afterwards. “Trauma” is one of such kind of words. Use the words vividly to put the readers into action or gives them a feeling of participation.

21.First, most newspaper leads are summary leads, which include all the 5Ws of the news.

22. The disadvantages of the news just with objectivity

客观性only?

First, it pays too much attention to the clarity简明without considering the readers’ comprehension ability. Second, it neglects the journalists’ initiative.

So, reporters often use interpretative way of writing which will make up all those disadvantages.