Journalism is a diverse activity, which is reflected in the many genres used. The newspaper is the oldest type of media, therefore it was in newspaper journalism that the genre system of journalism was formed. The main techniques and methods of conveying information to readers were worked out. Today, newspapers are changing, trying to keep up with the times. Therefore, there are new types of newspapers - electronic. They will also include new genres. And we will talk about the traditional types of newspaper genres and their features.
The concept of the genre
In any kind of art, a genre is a stable form of a work. In journalism, a genre is a set of stylistic and plot characteristics, as well as features of information presentation. In the theory of journalism, different types of newspaper genres are distinguished, which differ in the amount of text and the way facts are conveyed and events are covered.
Despite the allocation of differentgenre forms, today you can see that there is a mixture of genres, and in their pure form they are found less and less. Genres are the result of the historical evolution of journalistic forms. And it is clear that this process has not ended, today the crystallization of new forms continues. However, the classical typology continues to be relevant today.
Types of journalism genres
There is a classic approach to the selection of types of newspaper and journalistic genres, it distinguishes information, analytical and artistic-journalistic varieties. There are also author's classifications, in which theorists focus on other characteristics of newspaper texts.
L. Kreuchik proposes to divide the genres into operational news, which are created "in hot pursuit" of the event, research and news, in which the event is analyzed and the journalist formulates his opinion and attitude to the event, operational research, in which the authors also analyze the fact, but they do it right in the course of covering the event, research and figurative, where the results of reflections and the author's analysis appear in a peculiar artistic form, and research texts that express the author's thought, the journalist's reflections on the event.
S. Gurevich offers a completely different approach to the selection of journalistic genres. Its typology includes news-informational, dialogical, situational-analytical, epistolary and artistic-journalistic varieties.
Publicistic style
The public sphere, the activities of the media are served by a special language style called journalistic. Its main features are:
- Use of different styles of vocabulary (literary, socio-political, vernacular, scientific, professional).
- Use of expressive-emotional language means (tropes, emotive vocabulary, stylistic figures, expressive syntax, diminutive suffixes, etc.).
- Use of intonational means expressing emotions (exclamations, rhetorical questions, constructions with dashes and dots).
The objectives of the journalistic style is to convey the image, emotions, impact on the audience. This style finds its expression in the system of journalistic genres. In domestic journalism, it is customary to talk about the special style of newspaper genres. This kind of journalistic style is used to influence the broad masses, to convey information to different segments of the population, and in this regard, a language with a special functionality is formed.
It is not in vain that researchers note that working in a newspaper leads to the fact that a journalist begins to use clichés. This means that he was influenced by the newspaper style of presentation. However, the authors, along with the possession of this style, must maintain their individual, recognizable style. It manifests itself, among other things, in the fact that journalists more often work in certain genres.
Features of newspaper genres
NewspaperIt is designed to promptly inform people about ongoing events. The signs of a newspaper as a mass medium are:
- Relevance. The newspaper should cover those events that are interesting to the reader, which somehow affect his life.
- Periodicity. The newspaper should be published with a given regularity, usually it is the most frequently published journalism publication. It is customary to talk about daily and weekly newspapers.
- Publicity or general availability. The newspaper is designed for a wide, non-segmented audience. Of course, there are newspapers for relatively narrow audiences - "Uchitelskaya" or "Literary". But they are also often read by the general public. And newspaper and magazine genres should take this feature into account in the first place.
- Official. Newspapers present the point of view of their founder, often they are administrative and government bodies. Therefore, the information in the newspaper has an official connotation.
Note
The most important of the information newspaper genres of journalism is a note. Its function is to quickly and efficiently convey information about an event to the reader. It does not imply any thoughts of the author, the expression of his own opinion. It is important to convey information promptly and objectively.
Another distinguishing feature of this genre is a small volume, it is no more than 2 thousand characters. The structure of the note is usually subject to answers to the main questions: what, where and when happened. The author of the note is not interested in the causes and consequences of the event he is talking about.
Interview
Another informational newspaper genre is the interview. This is a conversation recorded by a journalist with a person on any occasion. The journalist here acts not just as a recording device, his task is to get interesting information from his interlocutor. The art of the interviewer lies in the ability to ask an interesting question and create a special, trusting atmosphere in the dialogue.
The task of an interview (as a newspaper genre) is to find and convey to readers the point of view of some interesting person on a particular issue. It is important that the opinion of this person is relevant to the audience. There are several types of interviews: informative, expert, portrait, problematic. There are official and unofficial interviews, long and short.
Reportage
The next informational newspaper genre is reportage. It is also extremely popular, as it allows you to get information on behalf of an eyewitness to the event. In journalism, there is even a separate specialization: a reporter is a person who is only engaged in the creation of reporting materials. Signs of the reporting genre are its relevance and efficiency.
No one is interested in reading a report about the events of bygone years, at least in a newspaper. The reporter must create dynamic and interesting material, he can express his opinion about the event, talk about his feelings and impressions. After all, the main task of the report isthis is to create the effect of presence in the reader.
Report
And the last informational newspaper genre is a report. This is usually a large detailed material that tells about the course of some event: a congress, a marathon, a conference. It may include elements of reporting and interviews. The purpose of the report is to tell objectively and quickly about how the event took place. A journalist must observe objectivity, not express his opinion about what is happening. There are several types of reports: analytical, thematic, direct informational. The first two allow the journalist to express his point of view in a limited way.
Article
The main representative of analytical genres in journalism is the article. Distinctive features of this form of journalistic texts are small or medium volume, neutral style of presentation, objectivity and reasoning. The author conveys his thoughts about the event, looks for causes and consequences, understands the significance of the event. In journalism, there are problematic, informational, analytical, advertising, review and artistic and journalistic articles. In them, a journalist can express his point of view, but on an equal basis with other opinions, so that the requirement of objectivity is observed.
Editorial
Separately, theorists single out such a genre as the editorial. It is intended to express the opinion of the editorial board and the founder. That is why editorials in Soviet times were always full of ideological information. Feature of this articlethat it is necessarily located on the front page of the newspaper. This emphasizes the importance and relevance of the material. In such publications there can be no personal opinion of the author, it is always an impersonal, collective position. Editorials are always driven by the hottest events of the day.
Correspondence
A special analytical genre is correspondence. Its task is to highlight new trends and phenomena in public life. This journalistic text can be similar in its characteristics to a reportage or an essay, depending on the task facing the author. In correspondence, a journalist must meet the requirements of efficiency, relevance and objectivity. This genre is represented by informational or analytical varieties.
Sketch
An essay belongs to the artistic and journalistic genres of newspaper texts. This is a very variable and common form. Its task is not only to tell readers about the event, but also to reveal its social significance. This genre converges with fiction tests.
Essays must have plots, characters, the author tells about the event in an artistic form and reveals its characteristics through the created images. There are many types of essays: portrait, problem, travel. It is not in vain that they often talk about essay literature, and there is even such a specialization - essay writing, in which many outstanding writers worked: K. Paustovsky, M. Prishvin, E. Hemingway.
Feuilleton
Also, newspaper genres include another special formjournalistic texts - feuilleton. In it, the journalist in a satirical form denounces social vices. It belongs to the group of literary and journalistic genres. In feuilletons, the author in a bright, expressive form conveys the attitude to the situation being criticized. The feuilletons use sharp and expressive language to create images of characters.
