News Item: is factual text which informs the readers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.
Social function of news item is: to inform readers, listeners or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.
Generic structure:
- Newsworthy Event(s): recounts the events in summary form
- Background Event(s): elaborate what happened, to WHOM, in WHAT circumstances.
- Sources: comments by participants in, witnesses to and authorities’ expert on the event.
- Significant Grammar Features:
- Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline
- Generally using Simple Past Tense
- Use of Material Processes to retell the event
- Using Action Verbs, e.g.: were, run, go, kill, etc.
- Using Saying Verbs, e.g.: say, tell
- Focus on Circumstances
- Use of projecting Verbal Processes in Sources stages
There are some rules that can help to make newspaper headlines more comprehensible.
1. The passive voice is used without the appropriate form of “be”.
Example: Town ‘Contaminated’
Complete Sentence: Town is contaminated.
2. It is unusual to find complex forms, generally the simple present form is used
Example: Fire Destroys over 2,511 acres of Forest in 2003-2004
Complete Sentence: Fire has destroyed over 2,511 acres of forest in 2003-2004.
3. The present progressive tense is used, usually to describe something that is changing or developing, but the auxiliary verb is usually left out.
Example: World Heading for Energy Crisis
Complete Sentence: The world is heading for an energy crisis.
4. To refer to the future, headlines often use the infinitive.
Example: Queen to Visit Samoa.
Complete Sentence: The Queen is going to visit Samoa.
5. Headlines are not always complete sentences.
Example: More earthquakes in Japan.
Complete Sentence: More earthquakes happened in Japan.
