Englisch

 

 

Newspaper Articles

 

To be kept in mind when writing an article

The communication model: sender  (writer in this case) - message - receiver (reader)

  • writer has an intention and in this special case a commissioner, a newspaper, magazine ... he is writing for, 
  • writer shares information 
  • that is presented in a certain way  (register, use of technical terms...)
  • and intends to awaken the readers interest by informing, entertaining, shocking or prompting the receiver to do sth. or to react in a certain way the writer needs to keep in mind the reader's disposition (what kind of readers will be reading the article? ...)

 

Start with the most important information

  • but not all agencies and writers apply that to the whole article and for each paragraph, this principle is most important for the lead

 

Structure of articles

 

German

English

characteristics

Überschrift/ Schlagzeile

headline

needs to catch attention and to sum up the 

    information

Unterzeile

byline

gives information about the writer

 

placeline

names the place, where it happened

Zwischenüberschrift

cross heading, subheading

structure articles, classically used for articles 

    comprising more than 300-500 words

Autorenzeile

authorline

names the writer often also the position or speciality

Lead

lead

1st sentence: who, what, when, where, 

 

Einleitender Absatz

introductory paragraph

2nd sentence: how and why

the information that is new, most important and   

    most interesting

Lauftext

body

main part of the article

Zitat

quotation

makes the news / the information more credible and 

    serves as a verbal illustration

Schlussfolgerung

conclusion

sums up, presents a final quotation, or  (depending           

    on the type of article, reveals the author's opinion).

Bildunterschrift

caption

gives information about the photo , cartoon, 

    picture ... and the photographer or cartoonist ...

 

 

Types of articles

 

German

Englisch

characteristics

Nachricht

news (article)

newsworthy

hierarchically structured (who, whom, what, when, where, 

    how, why)  => structured like an inverted pyramid

 

Bericht

news report

newsworthy

hierarchically structured (who, whom, what, when, where, 

     how, why) 

     => structured like an inverted pyramid

presents more details than the news article

 

Leitartikel

editorial

expresses the position the magazine, newspaper etc. 

    adopts concerning a certain topic

Interview

interview

short and precise questions, no comments

the interviewer plays the role of an advocatus diaboli, the 

    interviewer adopts a critical attitude

Feature

feature

newsworthy

contains facts! no comments or personal opinion

interesting and more lively than the news (adorned with 

    background information and anecdotes...)

easier to read and more entertaining, but based on factual 

    information

Reportage

reportage

the first sentence introduces the topic but also the 

     point of view and the tone of the narration 

it typically starts by depicting a scene that is 

    exemplary for the story that is told

subjective concerning the point of view and the 

     choice of information

but no work off of personal feelings 

the narrator is still expected stay in the 

     background, offering the reader the opportunity to 

     experience what the reportage is written about... 

    (there are exceptions, especially if the writer is 

    telling about a personal experience ...

it's narrative

 

Kommentar

commentary - opinion piece

reflects the author's view on a topic

Kolumne , Glosse

column, polemic commentary

it is a humorist or satirical comment on a topic

Harte Nachrichten

hard news

late-breaking news

politics, economy, up-to-the-minute events

=> focus on information

short and precise

Weiche Nachrichten

soft news

entertainment, lifestyle, art, culture ...

giving background information and stories of 

    human-interest

=> focus on entertainment and advise 

 

 

 

 

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