Characteristics of different types of genres: newspaper article

 

Newspaper style, as it is evident from its name, is found in newspapers. The paper contains vastly varying materials some of them being publicist essays, some feature article, some scientific reviews, some official stock exchange accounts etc... 

When we mention "newspaper style" we mean informative materials, characteristics of newspaper only and not found in other publications.

In journalism, there are several different article or journalism types. Some of the best-known include news articles, interviews, features, reviews, columns and editorials.
A news article is the most important article type in journalism. Its purpose is to convey information by answering the questions of what, where, when, how, why and who as neutrally and objectively as possible. The purpose of news is to tell people what has happened.
The form of a news article is highly standardised and regularly referred to as a downward-facing triangle structure. The most important information is located at the beginning of the news article and, from there onwards, less and less important background information is provided. The style has become so standard, that the last chapter or chapters of a news article can be removed during the layout without it hampering the ease of understanding the article. The most important message in a news article is called a news lead. It is a brief, concise description of the article’s content.

A feature article is a longer article type than a news article. A feature should be fact-based, objective and accurate, but the genre also allows for more creative expression than a news article. While containing elements of news, feature writing provides scope, depth, and interpretation of trends, events, topics or people. It aims to humanise, add colour, educate, entertain and illuminate. Types of features can be, for example, news features on a topical phenomenon including the use of several independent sources, profiles and reportages.

The newspaper and magazine publishing industries are made up of several departments that work together to produce a publication, whether it is in print or electronic form. In most cases these departments are editorial, sales, production, circulation, and promotions, or marketing. Careers available in the newspaper industry differ from those in the magazine industry in content, but they share many common features. From writing a story to soliciting an advertisement, producing a newspaper or magazine involves a great deal of coordination. Following are descriptions of each department and how they differ in the newspaper and magazine industries.

Authors: Newspaper articles frequently do not list authors. Articles may be obtained from the various national and international wire services such as Associated Press and Reuters and may only reference the wire service providing the news article. Feature stories will normally attribute authorship. Editorials might attribute authorship or will imply that the newspaper editors are the authors. Letters to the editors will routinely provide the names of the readers submitting the letters.

Subject Focus: Newspaper articles typically report news on a wide variety of topics. Anything is fair game for a newspaper, from politics to science to art and music. Newspapers published in localities will typically have a section that provides national and international news coverage and additional sections that focus on local news and interests. Local papers also typically publish obituaries.

Illustrations/Photographs​: Newspapers make extensive use of photographs. Photographs might come from syndicated sources or from the paper's own staff photographers. Photos are typically in black and white, however some sections of the paper, such as the weekend comics, might make use of color.

Overall Appearance: Newspapers are normally printed on large sheets of newsprint and folded. Different newspapers might opt for varying size formats. Normally printed with black ink, some newspapers might use color to highlight specific sections of the paper or to publish important photographs.