The 9 journalistic genres (explained and classified)

These are the main types of journalistic genres, with their characteristics.

In newspapers we can find all kinds of information, both on recent events and on topics of interest or about public figures.

There are several journalistic genres, types of texts in which we can classify the articles we find in a newspaper or magazine, both in print and online, which bring together different degrees of objectivity and to a greater or lesser extent the opinion of its author.

Below we will discover what the main journalistic genres are.The main types of journalistic genres, in which groups they are included and what characteristics each one of them has.

The main journalistic genres

When we talk about the journalistic genres we refer to the different ways in which the same event can be communicated and reported..

It is considered that genres can be grouped into three large groups: informative, opinion and interpretative or mixed. Journalistic texts fall into one or the other group depending on the degree of objectivity taken by the author or whether he expresses his position on a given issue.

Originally, journalistic genres emerged from the written press, but with the development and expansion of the new technologies we can find these three types of genres in the form of different texts in digital and audiovisual media.. These can be found in a multitude of texts in different formats. Let's discover them.

Informative genres

Informative genres are characterized by exposing events based on specific data. The author must try to transmit the information as objectively as possible. Within this great journalistic genre we find mainly the news, the report and the interview.

1. News

The news is an article that informs about a recent, current and interesting event.. This genre is considered the most important and representative among the informative ones, and it can be said that journalism would be meaningless without news. Its content is very varied, being able to cover topics related to politics, economy, society, culture, the world of sports?

There are two characteristics that allow us to differentiate the news from other journalistic genres: brevity and objectivity. The objective of the news is none other than to inform about an event, without adding any type of analysis or commentary that suggests the position taken by the author on the matter. The wording of a news item should be as accurate as possible to the facts.

When writing a news item, the use of adjectives that denote subjectivity should be avoided, especially those that are prefixed, personal pronouns or first person verbs. In general, short, clear and simple sentences should be used.

The usual structure of the news is an inverted pyramid, in the sense that this type of text uses the technique of journalistic narrative, starting with the most important and concluding with what is of lesser importance. The following elements can be included in this journalistic genre.

The headline must use a typography that makes it stand out from the rest of the news.The headline should use a bold typeface and a larger font size. Verbal ellipsis (omitting verbs) predominates in them. It expresses the main fact of the news item.

The lead article is the first paragraph of the news item, which contains the main part of the body of information, but not necessarily a summary.It contains the main part of the informative body, but not necessarily a summary. It must be sufficiently complete and autonomous for the reader, when reading it, to get an idea of the main part of the news. It is in this part where the answers to the classic questions of what (what), who (who), how (how), where (where), when (when) and why (why) can be found.

The body of the news item is the news itself.It appears in a smaller font size than the headline and the lead. It is divided into paragraphs in which the information expressed in the lead is developed in more detail, including background information, consequences of what happened and the current situation of the issue addressed in the news item. The comments of those involved appear in indirect style and, also, in direct style between quotation marks.

2. The feature story

The reports are basically extended news, in which detailed information is offered about an event, analyzing its circumstances, background and consequences.In them, detailed information is offered about an event, analyzing its circumstances, background and consequences, and the opinions of those involved (witnesses and protagonists) are gathered.

They may include opinions or evaluations of the reporter, which gives the information a somewhat more subjective character, which is why some consider it a mixed genre.

3. The interview

The interview is the journalistic genre in which the reporter's conversation with a prominent person is reproduced verbatim.. Its two most common modalities are:

• Pure interview: the questions and answers are reproduced verbatim without commentary.
• Interview-report: the character is presented, his environment, his behavior and biographical data are added. The questions and answers are elaborated literally from the interviewer's observations and remarks.

Opinion genres

As the name suggests, opinion genres are those types of articles in which subjectivity predominates. The journalist, editor or specialist shows his or her point of view on a fact or event. They are also used to express the position of a media outlet regarding a phenomenon or news of interest.

This genre includes formats such as the editorial, the column, the critique, the letter to the editor and the opinion article. The comic strip or cartoon that many newspapers add to their pages to express in a humorous and sarcastic way a topic of interest can also be considered as part of the opinion genre, being often a resource where the author expresses his opinion in a graphic way.

The linguistic characteristics of opinion texts are close to those of humanistic discourse or essays.Therefore, it is common to see the following features in them:

• Presence of the sender in the text, using the first person.
• Use of expressive resources that embellish the style.
• The use of examples, anecdotes and quotations.
• Use of argumentation.

4. The editorial

The editorial expresses the newspaper's point of view on a current topic and usually appears in a prominent place in the publication, fixed and almost always unsigned.and almost always unsigned. In most cases, these texts are written by the editor himself.

It is an expository-argumentative text, in which the newspaper intends to make known its vision and assessment of the current events that condition public opinion. The seriousness of the presentation invites the reader to know what the newspaper thinks and, in addition, tries to convince the reader to, at least, take a reflective attitude.

On the other hand, the ideological line of the newspaper can be openly shown in the editorial texts, expressed using a very subjective language.expressed using a very subjective language, with features typical of argumentative texts. It should also be noted that the first person singular is not usually used, nor are humorous turns of phrase added, which are more typical of other opinion texts.

5. The opinion article

Unlike the editorial, the opinion article is always signed by. It defends opinions or points of view that do not necessarily coincide fully with those of the newspaper.

These texts consist of a critical reflection on current issues that the writer judges and evaluates, with a certain subjectivity, but expressing it using the journalistic style expected from a media worker.

6. The column

The column is a special type of opinion article. This text maintains the same general features, but it is characterized by its brevity and its periodic nature.. They are so called because their form of presentation is elongated and they are texts whose own style is very particular, almost literary.

7. The letter to the editor

The letter to the editor is a type of text in which the readers of a certain publication give their opinion about a fact explained in it.. They are short texts, usually limited by the newspaper in which they are to be published and can deal with different topics such as current affairs, denunciations, personal experiences, tributes, opinions. Whether they are published or not is at the discretion of the newspaper editor.

Interpretative or mixed genres

Interpretative genres are mixed genres, since we can find in them characteristics of informative texts together with those of opinion. They are characterized by describing a fact, but including at the end the personal assessment of the editor or journalist.. The most characteristic type of text among the interpretative genres is the chronicle par excellence, together with the interpretative interview and the interpretative report.

8. The chronicle

The chronicle is the type of text that offers a subjective interpretation of the events of a given day, which the journalist evaluates and interprets.The story is told from the place where it happened and in a chronological way. The fact is told from the place where it happened and in a chronological way.

This journalistic genre differs from reportage in the fact that the journalist is present at the event, and follows a time sequence while both the event and the reportage are taking place.and follows a temporal sequence while both the event itself and its consequences take place. It differs from the news in the fact that its author assesses the events, giving his opinion. It is usually elaborated by a correspondent or special envoy, approaching the literary narration.

9. Criticism

In the critique the author informs and evaluates some kind of artistic or cultural activitySuch texts usually appear the day after the premieres, presentations or celebrations.