The 8 parts of a news report (and their characteristics)

Summary of the parts of a news report, their structure and the information they contain.

News reports are informative texts in which an investigation or a more in-depth approach to an issue of public interest is presented.

This type of text can be shared on all types of channels and can deal with any topic, as long as it is interesting and captures the attention of the target audience.

There are several parts of a news report, which we will see in more detail below.We are going to see them in more detail below, as well as some of the main characteristics of these texts.

Characteristics of journalistic reports

News reports are informative texts that in themselves constitute their own journalistic genre. and they develop a specific topic of public interest, or they try to describe in as much detail as possible real events. The topics covered in them can be of any kind, including society, travel, politics, economics or sports, to name a few.

They are planned and organized planned and organized documentary works, in clearly distinguishable parts in which the journalist exposes the main subject matter of the same.. Since they expose a subject in its greater extension, they tend to be longer and more complete than the news that we can find in newscasts or newspapers. In addition, they are accompanied by visual resources such as images, graphs or maps, as well as the opinion or expert voice of testimonials, specialists or any person involved.

On the other hand, news reports have a series of characteristics that all of them are related to their parts.

1. They have a theme

The reports have a theme, which is specified in is specified in its own title, subtitles and opening paragraph.. This theme can be real facts, the answer to a problem of social interest or a human interest issue.

2. They arouse interest

Reports arouse interest so that whoever reads, watches or listens to them remains glued to them, extending the little data they may have on the subject and satisfying their curiosity. These texts get the attention of their audience by means of several resources, includingamong which testimonials and objective data cannot be missing.

3. Variety of channels

Reports are transmitted through a wide variety of broadcasting channels, which coincide with the ones used coincide with those used for both traditional and more recent media..

Among them we can find the written press, such as magazines and newspapers, radio, television or more modern and audiovisual media such as digital magazines or online video viewing platforms.

4. They use informative sources

News reports, at least the ones that have been properly done, are texts that use objective information sources since their objective is to transmit real, honest and objective information.. These sources can be testimonials, photographs, expert statements, videos, diagrams or any other resources, resources which are used in the body of the text.

The reporter may have taken certain creative licenses to present what he wants to explain in a way that induces some kind of opinion in his audience, but regardless of whether this is the case, a report must always be based on real data.

The parts of a report and its structure

Now that we know exactly what these types of texts are and what their main characteristics are, it is time to take a closer look at the parts of a report, it is time to take a closer look at the parts of a news report.. There are essentially four parts: headline, opening paragraph, body of the report and closing paragraph.

Headline

The first part of a report is the headline, as is the case with the news. This headline is accompanied by an antetitle and a subtitle in its written version.However, in the case of a radio report, it is mentioned orally.

In the headline, the information about the topic to be covered in the report is briefly presented in a single sentence. It is, so to speak, the cover letter of the article, that which gives us a first impression of the subject to be discussed, and for this reason it is essential that this sentence awakens the reader's attention and interest.

2. Initial paragraph or entry

After the title, subtitle and antetitle we have a first paragraph which is a kind of micro-summary of what is going to be discussed in the report.. It is a paragraph that expands on the topic introduced in the title but without revealing the end of the story. The purpose of this paragraph is to arouse even more curiosity in the reader or viewer after reading the headline.

To make it more interesting, this paragraph can include a quote that will appear in the body of the report, in addition to mentioning some of the most interesting issues of the main topic to be exposed in it. The name of the person to be interviewed can also be mentioned, especially if he/she is a celebrity or public figure.

3. Body of the report

After the initial paragraph we enter the most important part of the report, the body of the report. In this part the research or the exposition carried out by the journalist is exposed in its maximum extension.. It is in this part where the facts, data, testimonies or any other source and resource used during the realization of this work will be exposed.

Within the body of the report we can find different parts depending on the paragraph we are referring to.

3.1. First paragraph or lead paragraph

The first paragraph or lead does not always have to be in a report, since it is sometimes combined with the initial paragraph. If it is in the body of the story, this paragraph gives details about the main subject gives details about the main topic, details that have already been introduced in the previous paragraph.. It is also in this paragraph that the quotation of one of the interviewees or those involved in the work can be developed.

3.2. Introductory paragraphs

The introductory paragraphs introduce, as their own name indicates, the subject to be dealt with, in a limited way although with greater extension than in the lead paragraph. In this paragraph the points to follow in the report and, also, the perspective that the journalist is going to take in terms of gathering the information. as regards the gathering of information.

3.3. Contextualizing paragraphs

Contextualizing paragraphs provide us with the necessary information to understand the time and context in which the events took place, in addition to explaining the concepts necessary to understand what the story is about.

They can be more or less technical, but they are necessary for the audience to understand the topic being dealt with and to obtain the necessary information. and obtain the necessary information before getting into the story.

3.4. Information development paragraphs

As the name suggests, these paragraphs are used to develop the information. These paragraphs are the ones that occupy the largest percentage of the whole work, developing the topic and the research to the maximum. This is where we will find interviews, opinions, testimonies, graphs, archive images and some other quotes..

3.5. Conclusion paragraph

Lastly, and within the body of the report, we have the conclusion paragraph, in which the subject begins to close, but not in a clear-cut way.It will be in the following paragraphs that the report will be completely closed. A small summary is made of the topics that have been dealt with.

4. Final paragraph

Lastly, we have the final paragraph in which the report is closed. It is usually done in the form of a conclusion or inviting the audience to reflect on what they have just seen or read. There are different types of closing paragraphs depending on the type of research and the subject matter addressed..

The final paragraph can be found in the form of a conclusion, where the reporter quickly assumes the topic that has been covered in the report. It can also come in the form of a resounding closure, where the report closes definitively with a sentence or a few sentences and, even, some moral or brief final reflection can be added.

Bibliographical references:

• Ulibarri, E. (1994). Idea y vida del reportaje. Trillas.
• Herrera, E. (1983) El reportaje, el ensayo: de un género a otro. Caracas.
• Marrero Santana, Liliam (2008). El reportaje multimedia como género del periodismo digital actual. Approach to its formal and content features. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 11(63). ISSN: . Available at: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=819/81912006029.