What are found in newspapers and their purpose is to inform readers of what is happening in the world around you?

Depending on the publication a newspaper article will be written about local, national or international current affairs/events.  

Introduction to Newspaper Articles

There are many types of newspapers, from school/university publications to large news outlets like the Daily Mail, or Guardian. Local papers will focus more on events in and around the community, for example they may cover community fates or markets. They’ll also have stories about local people. They will still be written in a professional and formal way but may have a more conversational tone. 

Unlike local papers, national publications will focus more on events that effect the wider populous. They will also report on noteworthy international events, such as crises and wars, but also sporting and entertainment events like the Olympics. They advertise to a much wider audience than local papers and need to relate to most of the population.  

Purpose of a Newspaper Article

News articles are written to inform and educate readers on current affairs/events. They are used to provide readers with information they need/want to know about the world around them. You will either be told what to write your article on or have a choice of topics related to the module this assessment is for.

Newspaper articles give as much information as possible at the time of publication; if a journalist writes about an ongoing case there may be limited information available, so they might interview people related to the case, or try find background information to help inform readers more.

News articles are written on a whole range of topics due to the large target audiences of newspapers. Most papers will have several sections ranging from current national and international affairs to sports and celebrity news. There are some papers, however which solely focus on a specific topic, therefore have a smaller target audience. 

Be sure of your topic and potential target audience. 

Example: there are sporting papers which mainly report on sporting events and news. Whereas some others focus on business and economic current affairs. 

The Reliability Spectrum

Normally when writing a public communication piece you want to be looking at examples to get a feel for their tone. However, with newspapers there is also a need to think about the range of reliability that they represent. 

When thinking about the press, we could look at it as a spectrum on the basis of reliability due to the variety of articles and news outlets.

If you are writing to inform, aim for your work to be on the objective end of the spectrum where you stay impartial, leaving personal opinions out of your work. Whereas, if you are writing to persuade or analyse consider moving down the spectrum. Here we find the likes of Letters to the Editor and Opinion Pieces; work that is critical and has more focus on the writer's opinions. 

When writing any form of article ensure that you are not creating fake news (false or misleading information presented as news). Use reliable sources and cite all references to keep your work credible, think of this as any other assessment. You will lose marks for not using and citing references correctly. Use our Referencing Guide to ensure you use the correct referencing system.  

The reliability spectrum can be highly influenced by politics and the political view points of journalists, editors and sometimes owners of publications which will determine the tone of their articles. Your assessment brief will determine where your work sits on the spectrum, depending on whether you've been asked to inform, educate or persuade. 

Example:  If you've been asked to persuade you may state your opinion, but ensure these are informed opinions that are backed up. 

A news article discusses current or recent news of either general interest (i.e. daily newspapers) or of a specific topic (i.e. political or trade news magazines, club newsletters, or technology news websites). A news article can include accounts of eyewitnesses to the happening event.

A news article is a gathering of facts written by journalist published in the news or the print media.

News reports are found in newspapers and their purpose is to inform readers of what is happening in the world around them. News reports have a certain structure that you need to follow. This structure is sometimes called the Inverted Pyramid.

News reports are found in newspapers and their purpose is to inform readers of what is happening in the world around them. News reports have a certain structure that you need to

follow. This structure is sometimes called the Inverted Pyramid. This is what it looks like:

1. News Reports begin with a catchy HEADLINE.
2. The LEAD PARAGRAPH informs the reader of the most important aspects of the story as soon as possible. The LEAD PARAGRAPH is often the only part of the story that people read. Use the 5Ws rule: •WHO (is involved) •WHAT (took place) •WHEN (did it take place) •WHERE (did it take place) •WHY (did it happen)

   •HOW (did it happen) – only include this if there is space

3. The BODY of the News Report gives more details and provides more information about
   the WHY and HOW of the story.
4. The TAIL contains the less important information which is often omitted by the newspaper editor if there is not enough space left in the newspaper. Hints•Your News Report should be easy to understand; every news story should be able to be read by a twelve year old! •Try to be fair – include both sides of the story and don’t let your personal opinion

   get in the way of reporting the ‘facts’.

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Answer:

News reports -are found in newspapers and their purpose is to inform readers of what is happening in the world around them.