We explained in our last article what journalistic writing is and in this article, we are looking at journalistic genres in journalistic writing. We will know what journalistic genres are, the types, and the examples by the end of this article.
The term “journalistic genres” refers to the various journalism styles, fields, or separate ways of writing accounts of various events. These journalistic genres include informative or news genres, Opinionative genres, Interpretative genres, Interactive genres, Non – journalistic genres. Let’s take them one after the other and know what they are;
Informative/News Genre
We discussed what news is and we know news gives information about current events to the public. This type of journalistic write-up gives information by acting as social surveillance. It serves as a watchdog or monitors and gathers information across the country. This type of writing brings news on events, issues, and personalities to the audience. Examples are; news, in brief, news reports, press releases, and feature articles.
Opinionative Genre
This genre help journalists express their opinions, and ideas about particular events or issues. This journalistic write-up creates a forum for ideas to be shared by individuals. It provides a subjective viewpoint on issues, unlike the informative genres that are objective. Examples are the Editorials, Columns, and Reviews.
Interpretative Genre
This type of genre gives the objective and subjective viewpoint of a political stance on contemporary issues. It is called mixed genres. It also educates and enlightens the audience about specific topics and issues. Examples are the Chronicles ( chronology) and Analytical.
Interactive Genre
This is from the word “interact”. This journalistic write-up opens the way for the audience to say their views on an issue. It gives platforms for the audience to share their views. Examples are the letter to the editor, The open letters, and Rejoinders.
Non-journalistic Genre
This journalistic write-up is mostly for entertainment and general day-to-day assistance. Examples are puzzles, riddles, jokes, gossip, advertising, marketing, promotion, birth, weddings, announcements, obituary, job vacancies, and many more.
The above are the types of journalistic genres. Let’s take a look at the examples of these journalistic genres under the informative genres.
News In Brief
News, in brief, is a short news story. An interesting story that highlights the news. This provides information about what happened without giving details and it usually answers the What, Where, When, Who questions. It doesn’t touch on the why and how. It is what is known as hardcore news. It gives objective and also the fact. It provides accurate, straightforward forward, and reliable stories.
News Report
A news report gives out the fact of a story that just happens. It involves finding, choosing, and giving the important facts and putting them together into an understanding story. It mostly covers events or issues that are of political, economic, social, and cultural importance. They focus on these four elements which are fact, context, impact, and emotion.
Press Release/Press Report
A press report is an official statement given to media houses to provide information about an event, circumstance, product launch, or other happenings. It is usually a primary source of news. Mostly, it is a business or organization that gives out a press release to the media through a variety of means.
Feature Articles
Feature articles are the main news-related article in a newspaper that highlights a particular person, place, or event in great detail. They dive deeper into a story than regular articles. It is a longer piece of writing and is considered soft news. We will delve deep into our subsequent articles.
Examples of Opinionative genres;
Review
Reviews are a staple of journalism. Almost everything can be reviewed: video games, films, products, books, music concerts, and many more. This is a clear example of a review. When you go to the play store or App store, you could see people writing about a particular product whether is good or bad. Under review, you give an honest critique of the object and make a recommendation to your audience. In review, you can be subjective, giving your opinion, and also more personal and informal because you want to create a rapport with your audience, unlike the news story where you must be objective.
Column
A person who writes a column is called a Columnist. A column is a viewpoint or voice of a columnist, not the newspaper and it is written using the first person singular or third person singular. Usually, a place is assigned in the newspaper for a columnist to write his or her viewpoint. It speaks about hot issues in society or politics or a particular issue. The reader is free to agree or disagree with the opinions of the columnist.
Editorial
An editorial is an article written by or under the direction of the editor of a newspaper or magazine, or a statement broadcast on radio or television. The editorial is usually written by the editor of a particular radio station or television station. The editor aims to sway and influence the public to side with their arguments. Editorials explain, criticize, and persuade and they are highly objective and talk about the facts.
The editorial is made up of the introduction/ lead, body, and conclusion/ end.
The introduction introduces the topic and states the stance of the paper. The body presents the argumentation to support the stand of the writer and the conclusion ends the article by focusing on the message the writer wants to put across.
After reading this article, try to answer these questions to help you understand it very well.
1. What are the differences between news stories and feature articles.
2. Columns are different from other journalistic genres. Why?
Thanks for reading.
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