10. NEWS ITEM

Definition of News Item

News item is a text which informs readers about events of the day. The events are considered newsworthy or important.

Generic Structure of News Item

1. Main event

2. Elaboration (background, participant, time, place)

3. Resource of information

Language Feature of News Item

1. Focusing on circumstances

2. Using material process

Understanding News Item Text

What is a news item text? A news item text is a text which is grouped into the text genre of narration. The main function of narration is is telling stories or informing about events in chronological order. The order in the narration can be based of time, place and the events them selves.

Referring to the high school graduate standard, news item text should be completely studied in the first class with narrative and recount text. These three text types explore the way on how a story or event is retold to others.

News item text is written for public information of what is the newsworthy of the day. Basically, a news item text tries to answer the 5Ws and 1H questions; what, who, when, where, why, and how relating to the newsworthy.

Due to the different generic structure of text types, though news item is in one group of narration genres with narrative and recount, understanding the structures on how the news item composed is absolutely important for better understanding on text genres which are different from one type to another. The following example of news item text is taken from the jakarta post which is best in revealing what news item is and how it is structured.

Three Die after Attending Marriage Ceremony

Three residents were killed, while dozens of others were wounded after a pickup truck they were taking to attend a marriage ceremony overturned in Jingkang village, Banyumas Regency, on Sunday.

The pickup was carrying 30 passengers, mostly women, when it failed to ascend a steep road on its way back from the ceremony.

As a result, the passengers were squeezed. The wounded passengers were later rushed to the Ajibarang regional public hospital.

Local police are investigating the cause of the accident.

After reading above example of news item text, it is clearly that news item text is written to inform the newsworthy. It is socially important to know that there was an accident of pickup which caused three died.