CHAPTER III

3.Journalistic Genres

3.1. The journalistic genres today

Journalistic genres are forms that a journalist seeks to express themselves.

having to do it differently, depending on the circumstances of the news, its
interest and, above all, the objective of its publication.43

They are journalistic-literary forms since the language must be used in

in a special way or rather, with a style different from literary forms of
expression. This journalistic style is mainly characterized by the fact that its
the goal is the transfer of information and not necessarily aesthetic pleasure,
What is the case of artistic literature? It should be noted that it is not easy.
differentiate it, especially in recent times when the so-called
New Journalism, which uses information with refined literary techniques,
capable of turning a 'news' into a work of art.

Journalism has changed throughout its history; it has undergone a development.

very dynamic and constantly searching for new forms of expression. This has
it has been precisely one of the characteristics of this trade: the persistent refusal
to be confined to formulas.

The fundamental change arises at the moment when journalism becomes

transforms into industry, thanks to the development of new machines for
to manufacture paper in rolls, for printing (rotary), for composing types
(linotypes) and, simultaneously, the dizzying development of communications
(telegrafy), All this, in the first half of the 19th century. The second half of the
last century, journalism is already on the path we know today, in
the countries of greatest global development.

43 GARGUREVICH, Juan
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In the 19th century, Latin American journalism finds new forms and is
easier to differentiate. Normally a newspaper is divided into letters
submitted, dialogues, submitted article, communicated article and sometimes the already

forgotten allegories (dreams). The news properly speaking, are

contained in the statements. The influence of Spanish journalism is
directly, but it will decrease as all of America is subjected to the
growing influence of the United States, in every aspect.

The expansion of North American news agencies and, we repeat, a

growing influence, set the North American pattern in Latin America. The step
next, the one about the training of professional journalists, is more clearly
marked still: most basic journalism texts are
translations of American books.

Old journalism is characterized, among other things, by contempt for

the graphic forms; the articles were arranged in long columns, without
illustrations or very few. The news is equally long, told in
chronological mode (from beginning to end) and most of the diary is made up of
articles in which the personal tone predominates. They are all signed and seek
notable contributors in the literary field.

Modern journalism, inherited from the American, introduces layout design.

(layout), it despairs to illustrate news, increases the size of the headlines and
develop a new style for these, remove the personalization in the
writing of the news, leaving the identification for the editorial pages.
News is written in an almost telegraphic style and genres begin to
differentiate.

The newest techniques, implemented in America since the beginning of this century,
they entail a series of undeniable defects, but the truth is that, professionals
and readers enthusiastically embrace them, and the print runs begin to increase and are

advances towards the information industry.

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The American passion for 'objectivity', accuracy, reaches its climax.
in the 40s, to later begin, in the midst of World War, a slow
transformation towards more explanatory forms of journalism, that is, techniques
to draft that provides greater context information to readers. In
It is evident the influence that newspapers receive from the journalism called
"interpretive", which magazines like "Time" develop and achieve success
enormous, precisely because they meet information needs that
the diaries cannot cover.

It is the moment that daily journalism resumes, ancient genres such as the
chronicle, despised for many years, by those who cultivated the school
North American or at least banished to the Sunday supplements. And
the same international agencies are already dividing their daily dispatches among
informative notes 'new stories' and chronicles 'feature stories'. And they resurface

also forgotten genres like testimony whose technique, curiously,

Social researchers gather to give greater credibility to their work.

The development of graphic genres also exerts part of the influence on

the change then, the emergence of the famous text-image-design triangle, obliges
to ensure that the writing of that text has a different style, based on the
understanding that the reader is appreciating images that do not need to be
described. It is also the time for the development of the report: as a genre
maximum.

While it is true that there is currently a strong trend of recusal

from the American school as a reliable journalistic method, and that
advances towards new forms, those techniques that emerged at the end of the century
past and spread explosively, they remain essential for study
of journalism as a profession. In any case, its correct application depends on the
political viewpoints of the professional, of their seriousness, ethics, and preparation.

We will take a quick look at the prepositions of some authors of texts.

from journalism studies, in order to identify journalistic genres
modern
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María Julia Sierra distinguishes between news journalism and literary journalism. And
in the first group, place: Chronicle, column, interview, report, editorial,
background article and news. In literary journalism it proposes: essay,
portrait, story and true history (or story from real life).

The famous journalism teacher John Hohenberg does not explicitly identify
the genres that the journalist must handle and, consequently, must
to discover them through the careful reading of their book. Their classification is the
next: basic news (which grants the virtue of objectivity), news of
human interest, interview, popular biography, interpretative (subjective) news
specialized report, column, investigative report and crossover report (or
what we call in America 'campaign'.

Jonson and Harris are sparse in pointing out the genres: current news, chronicles
specials, human interest notes, social news (including here
personal, brief notes, entertainment, clubs, gossip social column
illustrations and editorials. By 'illustrations,' the authors refer to photographs,
cartoons, maps, diagrams, etc.

Siegfried Mandel identifies: news article, human interest piece, column,

chronicle, editorial, interview, and report. It is probably one of the few-
What we know - what makes a good differentiation of the report.

In his work on the techniques of journalism, the Brazilian Luiz Beltrao

identify only the four main genres, namely: basic news,
interview (as a basic instrument of the report), chronicle, report,
proposing three areas for this last point: a) routine or sector report, b)
human interest story and c) great report.

The Cuban José Benitez is even more reserved as he proposes only three areas:
news (or news report), interview, and feature article. Fraser Bond says: If it is done
An analysis of the modern newspaper will find that it is dominated by
fewer than five types of news: the interview, the report on speeches, the
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human interest news, the obituary, and the sports information. Each
one of those classes requires special preparation; each one demands a technique
distinct in its presentation. However, its list of genres is broader. In
the news article includes: interview, human interest story, but also
editorial, column, review, comic strip and graphic journalism.

The famous researcher Jacques Kayser finds, while preparing one of his
most well-known jobs, which can be distinguished in newspapers in three areas
fundamentals: a) information b) articles and c) mixture of information and
article. The articles are divided into editorials, unsigned articles,
signed articles and articles inserted under special mentions.

Then expand the list, mentioning that among the published material and
it was found that there were 'novelones' (referring to the classic feuilleton or novel)
published in daily installments), stories, press magazines, correspondence,
service texts, comic strips, and photo series. It should be noted that the
Kayser's classification does not necessarily refer to journalistic techniques,
or the identification of published material for measurement purposes.

Martín Vivaldi proposes in his Writing Course the news, the report,
interview, comment, narration or chronicle.

Journalism is practiced through various forms of expression called

genres. Journalistic genres are distinguished from one another by their character
informative, interpretive or hybrid in its contents.

Journalistic genres are shaken and even become enriched with

formal elements of other disciplines (short story, essay, novel). However,
It is always possible to determine the predominant genre in each text.
journalistic.44

44 LEÑERO Vicente, MARIN Carlos, Op.Cit.

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According to Leñero, the internal structure in the articles is the core part.
of the internal structure. The title of the article states the subject that is going to be
to deal with. The subtitle, which summarizes the content of the article, serves to capture the
reader's attention, increase their curiosity and drive them to read. Among the
articles stand out mainly: the editorial, the critique, the report, the
column, the chronicle, the interview, the survey and the essay. The concept of each
One of them will be seen later. All of them analyze and interpret facts.
already occurred.

3.2. Classification of journalistic genres:

Article
Opinions: Editorial

Hybrids: Chronicles
Column

Another proposed division:

News
News: Interview
Report

Opinion: Article (further divided into: Editorial, Chronicle, and Critique or review)
Informative journalism includes both news and reports (interviews),
also investigations and chronicles. This type of journalism tries to highlight
knowledge of the readers of events that have happened or could happen
come to happen. The resources most frequently used are
mission to create an effect of objectivity and a pretended illusion of truth
fidelity regarding the event. Among these resources, we can identify, among
others

Quotations

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 Physical descriptions of people and places

Dialogued Scenes

The goal of these resources is always to strengthen certainty in the reader.

of credibility. This does not mean that the reported event is false and
It is necessary to simulate the truthfulness; it is not just about a code between the

journalist and the reader in which it is implied that the content of the news
It is 'information' and not fiction, desire, or points of view.

Opinion journalism is reflected in editorials, columns, comments.

sports, literary or performance critiques. In this case, both the design
as their holder usually has a rather different appearance, it even includes the
label of 'critique' or 'opinion'. Even in some media, these texts are
exclusive to personalities or specialists. There is an ethical aspect to consider.
account regarding the articles that include opinions: this must be
directly consigned and without the intention of confusing the reader. This
front attitude is not always present in all media
Social.

In the journalistic field, it has its own genres: the chronicle, the article of
opinion, the editorial, film criticism, among others. But not everyone
journalistic genres have the communicative function (some transmit data,
other forms of opinion, others entertain) nor are structured textually from the
same way. We will see, next, two ways to classify them, according to
certain different ones

3.2.1. Another classification

Géneros informativos: noticia, reportaje

Opinion genres: editorial, article, column
Géneros mixtos: (información + opinión): crónica, crítica
The visual genres

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a) Pragmatic aspects

Sender: Collective. Even if it is a specific person (journalist,

editorialist, reporter, columnist) who creates the message, represents the
interests of a certain publishing group.

Audiences: A wide and heterogeneous public. It has no possibility of response.

In most cases, it cannot verify the truthfulness of the
information. The only way to have participated in the event they recount. Only
then one appreciates the distance that exists between the facts and the way in which
they present themselves. The obvious confirmation of this fact can be seen by observing the

different form and the different contents about the same fact in different
newspapers.

In a testimonial way, communication can be established through letters to

director, but it never implies a complete communicative process. They will be the
in charge of that section who select the letters that are published and the
no.

Channel: Print media and Internet. They involve very technical means and processes.

complex, which seem simplified to the receiver. Since the newspaper

it is prepared until it reaches the hands of the recipient, going through several processes,

saving very short temporal distances and very long spatial distances.
The errors in the information, in this sense, can be attributed to these
two factors.

Message: It is conditioned by reality, whether objective or subjective.

Only what is current appears in journalistic texts. Various
elements condition the current state of a fact:
The close one.
The importance according to political, social, or economic factors.
The fame of the protagonists.
Human interest.
The progress.
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The conflictiveness.
The unusual, uncommon.

Code: Mixed: mixture of linguistic code plus extralinguistic codes

(typography) and visuals (images).

Intention of the discourse: Each genre imposes the intentionality of the discourse.
There would be no problem if the opinion and informative genres were
they strictly maintained their limits.

Inform (Informative genres)

Forming opinion (Opinion genres)

Entertain (Various Sections)

b) Structural aspects

The contents of a newspaper are generally structured in a

next form:
Front page: presentation of the most notable events of the day, according to
each newspaper.

División en secciones: internacional, nacional, local, opinión, economía, Facilita

the location according to the interests of each reader.
In each section, each news item is presented differently according to:
Position within the sheet:
Even/Odd page.
Top/bottom of the leaf
Right side/Left side
Number of columns occupied.
With/without visual elements (photography, graphics, drawings, etc)

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c) Linguistic aspects.

Common characteristics cannot be established, as journalistic texts

They use language in a very varied way depending on the genres. The ideal is
summarize in the three 'cs': clear, correct, concise. Since the recipient is
universal, it would also require a cultured record, far from vulgarization and
the specialization.

However, these mistakes are often made.

Trend towards administrative language.
Trend towards literary language
Tendency towards vulgarization.

Basically, journalistic genres are divided according to their intent.

each case addresses the most notable aspects such as gender.

3.2.2. Journalistic Genres, communicative function:

Informative: the function is to transmit and form an opinion about the data, facts or
events (past or foreseeable) as information to the readers.

Chronicle
Information note
Interview
Research
Cover or front page
Documentary press photo
Color note
Fixed sections (press releases for shows, conferences, courses, forecasts)
meteorological, obituaries

b). Of opinion: the function is to convey and form an opinion about the data, facts
or events.

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Editorials
Opinion column
Analysis or comment
Political and Economic Panorama
Reviews (bibliographic, shows, sports)
Editorial photo.

c) entertainment: the function is to entertain or distract

Graphic humor
Verbal humor
Horoscopes
Games (crosswords, grids, mazes)
Literature (short stories, vignettes, excerpts from novels)

This classification, the communicative one, allows for very general distinctions.

practices. Between informative and opinion genres. On one hand, that distinction
it is made based on the explicit intended function, but does not consider the
implicit. On the other hand, a common semantic slip leads to associating the
informative with an objective character and opinion with a subjective character.45

Each newspaper selects the information to transmit not only based on a

relevance scale not only based on more specific interests of
nature for example, economic, according to the readers it is addressed to and to
who wants to sell the copies. That relevance granted by the medium
it is ultimately an implicit viewpoint about reality. On the other hand,
beyond the selection, even when two or more newspapers publish respective
notes about the same event will differ not only by the
general subjectivity of language, but also by the way of organizing the
narrative and descriptive segments, according to the order of the story in relation to the

chronology of events, the frequency with which the same fact is reiterated or

.Varios Autores, PERALTA, Dante, URTASUN, Marta, “La Crónica Periodística”, La Crujía
45

editions, 2003, Argentina, pp 15.

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given in the note, or for the granting of enunciative space to other voices. To this
It is necessary to add the subjective factors that intervene in the organization.
title, placement on the page in relation to the entirety of a copy of a
any diary. In conclusion, all informative journalistic genres
they convey implicit viewpoints about reality, so that not
it can be confused as if they were one, the informative character with the character
objective
Regarding opinion, on the other hand, the situation is different. According to the dictionary,

An opinion is a statement, judgment, or view, that is to say, it is a point of

view that becomes explicit, by relating facts and beliefs, relation to
from which conclusions are drawn from those facts. The discourse process
by which a certain conclusion is reached and defended or upheld, and that has
the purpose or intention of persuading, of convincing the reader, is the one that
commonly referred to as argumentation, and it is that discursive process that
they constitute the so-called genres of opinion.

It should be considered that in many cases changes occur in function.

Thus, in some headlines, for example, they are expressed - with greater or lesser degree

of clarification - viewpoints. Also, within the genres of

entertainment, some "jokes" do not serve the purpose of entertaining but rather the purpose of

express viewpoints on reality through humorous resources

3.2.3. According to the structural function

First, an analysis of journalistic genres was initiated from the

communicative, now according to the type of textual structure, of genres
journalistic according to textual types, discursive genres, speakers
they acquire practical knowledge about certain typical textual forms. A
the speaker knows that in certain communication situations they must argue,
for example, to your boss at work to convince him to grant you a
license. In such case, you will use the appropriate discursive genre, for example, note.

request. In another case, if you were a witness to a traffic accident, you know that
he must describe to the police the event he witnessed, and he will do so in a
testimonial statement. When we say that the speaker knows that they must
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to argue, to narrate or to describe, we mean that you know what genre to use
which allows him to develop a certain kind of text, even when he is unaware of it
that structure is called argumentation or narration. Probably, if it is
Question, he will say that he made a note, in the other example he gave testimony.

declared; that is, he will have knowledge of global structures even

when I recognize them by the discursive genre.
These different structures are called textual types and the various
existing classifications generally recognize the following:

a) Narrative
b) Descriptive
c) Argumentative
d) Explanatory
e) Diagonal
f) Instructional

Broadly speaking, some of the general characteristics of are anticipated here.

each one. Later, the relevant ones related to the chronicle will be developed.
The narration represents actions carried out by one or more subjects, which
they happen in time and space, and are related to each other.
The description represents the characteristics of any object: a thing, a
social atmosphere, a state of consciousness, a mechanical process.
The argumentation represents processes of drawing conclusions,
resulting from the correlation of one or more facts, data or
propositions with one or several general principles or beliefs.
The explanation represents the relationship between any phenomenon and the
determinations or causes of the same phenomenon.
The dialogue is the structure that represents, in a statement, the exchanges.
between two or more speakers
Each of the exchanges may be of one or more textual types. For
For example, in an interview, the interviewee, aware that their will be
published, will try to argue to convince us of their ideas, and also,
Due to certain questions from the interviewer, you may or must provide explanations. In

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In other cases, he/she may narrate something that happened to him/her or describe what he/she feels. But the

The set, as a text, will be a structure that represents those exchanges.

The instruction represents an organized series of steps or procedures.
for the receiver to do something (build, put into operation a)
device, kitchen

The instruction of discursive genres is usually heterogeneous, it is

to say, results from the combination of sequences of different types of text.
But generally, one of the types is the one that predominates and it is from that
type that is usually characteristic of the genre. Thus, one can speak, for example, of
narrative or argumentative genres. Among the first and in the field of the
literature, the short story can be found; in the journalistic field, the chronicle. But the
the fact that the narrative textual type predominates does not prevent that
let's find descriptive, dialogical, argumentative sequences.

3.2.4. Another textual classification:

From the perspective of textual types, it is possible to attempt, then, another

classification of written journalistic genres, but for this it is necessary
previously distinguish two categories of genres, which differ by the
nature of the code:

a) Genres in iconic + linguistic codes: the discourse results from

the combination of an iconic code (photography, graphics, drawings,
cartoons, etc.) with the linguistic code (the photo of presan is going to
accompanied by a caption, for example).
b) Genres in linguistic codes: They are those in which the
speech is a product, exclusively, of the setting in
functioning of the language.

a) Genres in iconic + linguistic code

Cover or front page
Photography (documentary or illustrative)

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 Infographics, graphs, drawings, and cartoons
Graphic humor (jokes) and comics
Games (crosswords, grids)
Vignettes
b) Gender in linguistic code
b.1 predominant narrative textual type

Chronicle
Informative note
Note color
Front page headlines
Research
Enclosed interview

b.2 of predominant argumentative textual type

Editorial Note
Opinion column
Panorama
Reviews (film critiques)

b.3 of predominant descriptive text type

Front page headlines
Color note
Press Releases
Obituaries
Forecasts

b.4 predominant diagonal textual type

3.3. Opinion genres

Journalists give their opinions on various current issues.

this is done through columns and articles. Many times, the

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opinion is in charge of a specialist who is knowledgeable about the subject, such as

for example, sports commentary or entertainment criticism.

When the purpose of the text is to give an opinion, it is assumed that it should
make it clear that it does not deal with objective information: it is not ethical to deceive the

reader, trying to subtly influence their way of thinking. For

example, in an apparently informative article about unemployment,
add a paragraph that says 'the harsh economic reality of families of'
the conurbation will not be favored by laws drafted in accordance with the
"ambitions of entrepreneurs", because it would be to present a point of view. From
there that opinion pieces are usually framed in a special way or
in a different typography, they are often subtitled as 'opinion' or 'editorial'.

3.3.1. Article

The article presents judgments, details, evaluations, references to facts already

events that are interpreted and analyzed. It is an exposition or argumentation
that contains the thought or opinion of a recognized personality, in
relationship with a specific topic.

There is a wide variety of articles: technical, literary, scientific,

sentimental, historical, in short, almost as many as human activities, because
a columnist focuses on any matter that is of interest or benefit to the
community.
In general, we can say that journalistic genres have a close
relationship with the final objective of the communicator. These objectives can be both
to inform, how to interpret (to give an opinion) or simply to entertain.

According to Daniel Prieto, the article is the classic informative genre. In the article the
journalist presents their opinions and judgments on the most important news
(editorial article) and general interest topics, although not necessarily of
immediate news (in-depth article).

The identity of the article is based on facts and on the transmission of

the same ones, but through the personal line or editorial line of the journalist who

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it carries out. What determines that its essence is qualitatively informative
of opinion" as it produces an informative commentary on the event.

We can consider that the essential difference between the article and the editorial is
that it is signed. The signed articles always identify personal opinion
of the journalist and, therefore, the legal responsibility of the person who writes them.

Fundamentally, we can distinguish the evaluative article that refers to

a current news story and the rest of the aforementioned. Additionally, it is possible
another classification between deep-dive articles and light ones.

Generic articles can be literary, philosophical, or cultural.

humor, short essays. All of them also form part of journalism of
opinion, although sometimes they are written by people who are not journalists and
they may correspond to works by authors who carry out their activity in
other professions such as writers, teachers, visual artists,
humorists or other parts. Although it has a high journalistic meaning, as
its essential purpose lies in the communication of opinions, assessments,
analysis and reflections of ideas based on issues of informative interest, the
it is true that they can also become a source of entertainment
Cultural thus encompasses multidisciplinary content of different kinds.

They can be determined from periodic or occasional publications but

They are not considered current information.

3.3.1.1. Characteristics:

a) Issuer: A specialized issuer external to the newspaper. Their opinion does not have

that does not necessarily coincide with the opinion of the editorial group. The

the article has been and is a valuable vehicle of expression, widely used by
the thinkers, politicians, sociologists, and literary authors from all the
times: Larra, Clarín, Cela, Umbral... Therefore, the predominant
subjectivity, as it contains the particular thought or opinion of a
person.

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 The thematic breadth is immense. It can be confused with a
humanistic, scientific, legal, literary text.
Structure: Totally free, at the will of the writer. Only in some
media occupies a prominent and preferred place. In other cases, it appears
always in the Opinion section. All the
varieties discursive narration description exhibition
argumentation.
d) Intention of the speech: To make known the author's opinion on a
determined theme. In many occasions, it responds to a purpose.
didactic, to the point of becoming true essays. Many
authors compile an essay book with a collection of articles
published in the press.
e) Linguistic aspects: As mentioned earlier, the peculiar thing about the article
it is the combination of a divulgative style (typical of journalism) with
the different textual typologies, especially the literary one.

3.3.2. The editorials

They form an aspect of opinion journalism that involves the media.

journalistic. In this case, the interpretation does not come from a journalist in
specific sino of the journalistic company (the newspaper, the magazine or the channel of
TV).
It has the characteristic of not bearing a person's signature, but rather represents
the ideology and institutional thought. It is an unsigned background article,
regarding a prominent current issue, presented with a seriousness that
invites to reflection. It is an unsigned in-depth article. In this sense, it would be appropriate

add the essential note of ideology understood in its broadest meaning, already
that, precisely, the reason for being the only work that is not signed is due to
what translates the set of fundamental ideas that characterizes the line
maintained by the specific newspaper in which it appears.

In this way, the opinions presented will be endorsed by the own

newspaper, magazine or ultimately informational medium. Let's not forget that the

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television channels and radio stations also have an editorial line,
understood in the least strict sense of the term.

Journalists who write editorials necessarily find themselves in

direct and guided service from the company they work for. They have to
write about the topics indicated and under the editorial criteria that
they are marked. Consequently, it seems logical to deduce that their ideas
they should be aligned with the newspaper's line because otherwise, they would be
producing work that is intellectually contrary to their thoughts or in
disagreement with them.

The publisher, just like all the solicitation journalism and

opinion, although in this case with special significance, must exercise a style
that contains dignity of language, clarity, and precision of ideas, highlighting
at its beginning and end, the special relevance of what one wants to signify and
having to be final, determinedly conclusive.

The dark editors would correspond to a lack of light and definition in the line.
from the newspaper, which would determine a lack of reliability for its audience. The
editorial, due to the characteristics of the work already described, seems to be situated as

the genre in which the clause seems to find greater application

consciousness.

Entertainment journalism can be observed both in drawings

humorous like in comics, games, entertainments, and literature. Great
part of entertainment journalism arises from a reworking of the
reality and in many cases reflects the editorial stance of the medium.46

The editorial is the genre by which the publication (the newspaper, the magazine) gives
to learn about their viewpoints on certain events of reality
actual. It tends to appear in a fixed location and is usually not signed, since the
the company is the one responsible for the publication.

CFT, GARCÍA GONZALEZ, Nieves, "Foundations of Journalism, Theoretical Concepts and

46

practical applications” Fragua Editorial, Madrid, 2005, pp 115.

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Editorials have a simple style, and their discourse is argumentative, it is
to say, they try to convince the reader of a certain hypothesis by resorting to
examples or comparisons. It is also common to use invocations that
involve the reader such as: "you may have already noticed that..." and
similar resources.

3.3.2.1. Characteristics:

a) Sender: The responsible party is the newspaper, although there is a series of

people who write it. It responds to the ideology of the newspaper.

It therefore lacks a signature.
b) Receptor: It does not always have a universal receptor. Sometimes, the
editorials are written with a specific audience in mind, such as the
Government, or certain sectors of public opinion.
c) Message: Current events
d) Structure: It presents a defined structure. Presentation of the staff
(editorial group to which it belongs with the main responsible parties) of
newspaper and the editorial proper. In the editorial, the predominance of the
expository speech, mixed with the argumentative: exposition of
facts and their assessment.
e) Intention of the speech: To form an opinion on a prominent topic.
the tone of the speech is always serious, inviting the receiver to reflection
about the facts.
f) Linguistic aspects: According to the tone, it presents a cultured style.
Despite expressing opinions, objectivity is intended. This fact is
sometimes supports with extremely skillful rhetorical resources
expressive. For this reason, literary resources are not foreign to it either.
g) The journalistic genres of an argumentative type explicitly express
the viewpoints of the medium or of the signatories, with the aim of
form an opinion.

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 3.4. Informative Genres:

The news briefs are based on events that are considered news.
and constitutes the basic genre of journalistic genres. Its only purpose
it is to make known the facts of collective interest. It is the least subjective of the
genders. The news does not provide opinions. It reports the facts and nothing more.
The news should be written without interpretation.47

3.4.1. The news or informative note

It consists of brief, clear, and concise information about an event.

recent that arouses interest or curiosity. The news is the account of an event
recent general interest. "There are no differences between information and news. In
reality, reporting something is equivalent to making a report: giving news of something

it amounts to informing. It happens, however, that when one speaks of news

journalistically, it usually refers to the most concise part of the information
to the most essential and indispensable aspect of a fact. Thus, when the news is requested
If something happens, it is understood that complementary details are not wanted, but
the substantial and sufficient for the reader to know, in a few lines, what they should
knowing about the fact, topic or problem raised. The information is the same
news, a little more comprehensive, with clarifying details or circumstances
accessories
Some definitions are:

News is everything the reader needs to know.

News is all that the public wants to talk about: the more, the better.
provocative comments hold more value. The best news is the one that interests
more readers. The news must be brief and complete to address six

47 PRIETO, Daniel, Op.Cit.

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fundamental questions: who?, how? where? when? and why?48
Modern journalism has also added the how? and how much?

The Characteristics of the Sender: It is not necessary for them to appear, although each

the name of the editor is increasingly present, as well as the place where it has been

drafted, all of it succinctly, in the body of the news.

49

The body is usually structured in the form of an inverted pyramid, from the most to
the least important. This structure is changing; before it obeyed to the
own way of composing the newspaper. If there was a need to 'cut' a news story
because there wasn't enough space, interesting information was not lost. Today
The media have overlooked this problem. However, it persists.
still in effect, as it facilitates reading for the recipients. (Cannot be
read all the complete news. Some only the headline)

a) Intention of the discourse: The ideal of objectivity should govern the work of
journalist, since their mission is to inform
b) Linguistic aspects: The impersonality, which imposes the 3rd person and
denotative lexicon

48CFT, VIVALDI, Martín, "Course on Writing, Theory and Practice of Composition and
style 33rd edition, Thomson, Paraninfo, 2003 pp 389.
49http://mimosa.cnice.mecd.es/~ajuan3/lengua/tperiod.htm

1150
3.4.2. The Report

It is a journalistic work of an informative and documentary nature, relating to a

character, an event, a discovery, or any other topic.
It is the highest genre of journalism, the most complex of all that is understood.
like a story, like a report, like the detailed and documented exposition
of an event, of a problem, of a certain social situation of interest
public. The report delves into the causes of the events, explains the
details, analyzes characters, recreates environments.

The report is a journalistic genre that contains in its text - or can

to contain-, all and each of the other genres. It is informative, but
it also incorporates elements typical of opinion texts. It may deal with
the present, although it also allows for the inclusion of some creative resources.
Many authors consider it a hybrid between informative writings and the
interpretative, but it is really about the fusion of all genres
journalistic. It is a work dedicated to delving into the inner workings of the
news, on the causes and consequences of a current event,
and to investigate unknown aspects based on confidential testimonies or to
through data search.

The report is a more subjective text than those strictly directed towards the
information, since, in addition to containing part of these genres, it includes the
interpretation of its author. This duality has motivated some authors to
define it as an exclusively interpretative genre, while others it
include in the informative genres, and even some claim that
"Reportage is equivalent to information." The journalist's explicit interpretation is
a distinctive feature, but without forgetting its informative function, since it is the
communication of a fact after being investigated, analyzed and
interpreted rigorously and exhaustively by its author.

The report differs from the news in that the journalist raises the
information instead of searching for it, since it is a journalistic text that, although

it is based on current information, explains its background and

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consequences, in addition to adding other relevant data related to the
the same. But moreover, the report is a genre in which authorship is
important. It can be defined as 'an informative narration, of a more elevated style'
less literary, conceived and created according to the writer's personality-
"journalist," as its condition as a freely created text is important with
literary resources. It can be stated that the report is a text that has
as the only limitation the creative capacity of its author.

All this diversity makes the report a genre of difficult definition, since
it is the journalistic genre that investigates with various degrees of depth,
making use of multiple sources and methods, about facts or situations of
public interest in making known its existence, relationships, origins or
perspectives, through the use of various structures and resources
expressive”. It is a genre that results from deep research
through which the journalist describes, explains, informs, narrates, analyzes,
compares and interprets, and also does so with a freedom of resource use
linguistic features that turn it into an authorial text.

The report encompasses the rest of the journalistic forms, although it is not the sum of them.

them, but rather a text with its own characteristics. We can define it as 'a
journalistic genre that contains the explicit interpretation of its
author, who, with literary style, signs a text that is characterized by the possible
admission into your body of any other gender.50

The characteristics are of the sender: the reporter. That is why it is signed,
mentioning the name of the reporter or reporters authors of the work and the place
from where the report has been written. There are multiple anecdotes, the
world of the press, that talk about 'reporters' who haven't even been in
the scene of the events. Today it would be a blatant mistake, which would violate the
professional dignity of anyone who incurs such an act. It becomes present
through subjective contributions.

50 http://www.ucm.es/info/especulo/numero34/reportaj.html
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The Message: Develop the news, trying to capture the atmosphere in which it has occurred.

produced, with:
Witness or involved parties statements
Description of environments
Description of witnesses or implicated individuals.

Structure: It always presents a different layout from the news. It stands out.
in multiple ways. Here, only a very usual one is reflected. It usually comes
accompanied by a photograph.
The holder presents literary characteristics
In the body, the beginning stands out (the data is not as important as...
try to capture the reader's attention) and the end (resources accumulate
literary). In the development, data can be provided (the five "w").

Intent of the speech: The report informs and entertains, as it provides the
particular vision of the reporter, in addition to using literary elements.
Linguistic aspects: Journalistic elements are combined with the
literary. The subjectivity of the author is present, more than in the use of the 1st
person (usually maintains the 3rd) in the assessment of the facts.
The presence of evaluative adjectives is often particularly relevant. They are not
foreign other literary resources such as parallelisms, anaphoras,
comparisons.

3.5.Hybrid Genres

It is considered hybrid because it does not have a definition and essence as such. It is a

mix between genres and depends on its functionality.

3.5.1. The Chronicle

The chronicle is an expanded news report, that is: the information about an event,
detailed and commented on by the journalist who reports it. Share
characteristics of the report, because it requires the presence of the journalist in it

place of the events.

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The word chronicle derives from the Greek 'kronos' which means 'time'. Hence,
the "chronicle" is a detailed account of events. It differs from the
news because what it tells at the beginning is the end, that is, it starts with the
the outcome and then continue with the events as they occurred
temporarily developing.

Variants in the construction of a chronicle:

a. Normal pyramid: Following the assembly to the letter

chronological. In this case, the narrative builds up to the climax.
b. Hammer: Summarize the main information in the first lines and
then narrating the events sequentially.

Some authors believe that the chronicle was the privileged journalistic genre.
until the inverted pyramid format (the brief news) invaded the
writings of the USA for considering it a much more agile style.
Currently, in Latin American journalism, the inverted pyramid has been
converted into the journalistic genre par excellence, although it is still used the
chronicle when the inverted pyramid proves insufficient.

a) Characteristics:

a) Sender: A journalist specialized in the subject matter being addressed

chronicle. It admits, therefore, subjectivity by incorporating one's own opinion of
journalist.
Recent current events. The topics are
very varied, ranging from bulls or football (the most common reports)
today ) even the chronicles of war or disasters.
c) Structure: The informational elements are combined with the opinion of
a very free form. In the case of bullfighting or football chronicles
(also sports, in general: basketball, cycling, motorsports, etc...)
its structure is similar to the critique: an initial card, with all the data
objetivos (público/toros/toreros/trofeos; campo/jugadores/resultado, etc)

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 highlighted especially (typography, boxes, or other resources) and
then the chronicle itself.
b) Intention of the speech

Meets the three stated objectives

a) Inform. It is not usually its main mission, since all the data
they can be known in advance by other means
b) Form an opinion. Recipients often follow various opinions of
the chroniclers, perfectly identified by their signature
c) Entertain. Variety in style is a fundamental characteristic.

Linguistic aspects: You can use literary language, since the

the author has no hindrance to endow the information with beauty
expository in its writing. Literary resources are especially rich in
the bullfighting chronicles, which generally require the receiver to have knowledge
preview of a lexicon, as well as specialized expressions; otherwise they are
hardly comprehensible for the general public.

3.5.2. Column

It is the writing that briefly deals with one or several matters of interest and whose

a unique characteristic is that it appears with a typographic presentation

constant, and it also has an unchanging name.

It can be a personal comment on a current topic or of a personal nature.

informative comment or criticism.

Columns are uncommon in organizational publications.

in our countries. They are even becoming rare in newspapers, although
there is a certain presence of magazines. It can be found in a newspaper,
mural by deliveries, in a magazine or in some system that constitutes a
more or less constant publication.

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The column has the advantage of creating an expectation of the interlocutor towards it.
That is, when it is distinguished to maintain a consistency in style and a
continuity in deliveries, people expect that material and in some cases
until the collection. The column is generally informative, without
embargo is presented as a comment and criticism. This is because it is based on the
the first two of a stance that may follow from a number to
another from the publication.

There are also humor columns, but they are very rarely used in the
materials of organizations. The constant, soft, and cheerful humor (not the one that
launch violently some massive programs, to ridicule
someone, putting them in a situation of anger and even violence, is the same as humor)
it is always attractive and helps to laughter and often to the understanding of a

problem.
The column is a fixed and periodic space in a medium. It is generally at
the role of a journalist, but it can also be written by a specialist
for example, a doctor or an athlete. Normally a column has the
the objective of showing viewpoints on a news story and I was able to express a point
from a different perspective on the editorial.

3.5.2.1. Author column:

Generally identified by the name of the journalist (sometimes even up to
with his photo), are based on the idea of creating some complicity between the author
and the reader given by the familiarity and the frequency with which they appear
comments.

3.5.2.2. Theme column:

In this case, they are not in charge of a single columnist but of several who contribute.

your opinion on the same topic. The topic can be sports, the news
international or a health or cooking supplement.

a) Emisor: Un colaborador habitual del periódico. No pertenece a la plantilla

from the newspaper, but maintains a close collaboration with it.
b) Message: The main characteristic of the column is the combination of
real referential elements with fictional elements. It is the genre that
combines journalistic reality with literary fiction. The literary does not
1210
 appears as a characterizing element of the style, but as an element
characterizer of the message content.
c) Structure: Absolutely free. Only its characterization could be made.
externally: brevity. It is called a column because it occupies the space of
a column.
d) Intention of the speech: Before presenting the author's opinion, the
The purpose is literary: aesthetic pleasure. But it deviates from the literary in
many occasions due to their pragmatism, of very diverse nature.
e) Linguistic aspects: They are the best manifestation of the particular style of
his author. All the resources that lead to humor are very present.
well understood): word games, irony, exaggerations.

3.5.3. The review and the critique

The review is a genre that allows for informing while also providing criticism.
This genre is widely used in show criticism. The journalist,
Briefly comment on the movie and then give an assessment.

The specialized critique, assigned to a connoisseur of a specific topic,

made comments on topics that require, in some way, a
special training.

The critique: Analyzes current cultural events. Sometimes it is difficult.

separate the chronicle from the critique, as they have broad areas in common, both in
the thematic aspects as structural and linguistic. The intention is
identical: it combines the informative, the opinion, and entertainment.

a) Sender: A person specialized in the subject. Just like the chronicle,

It accepts subjectivity. The critic is one of the professionals who enjoys
worse prestige, for their work has to mediate both flattery and
of severity. It is very difficult to find the middle ground.
b) Message: Defining the term culture would be too lengthy and,
probably, it would not be accurate.

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c) Structure: It usually has a defined structure: an initial card, with all
the objective data (movie/director/actors; dramatic work/author/director;
book/author/publisher) especially highlighted (typography, boxes, or
other resources) and then the actual critique.

3.5.4. The interview

It apparently reproduces a conversation between interviewer and interviewee.

However, it is not a casual conversation even though it often succeeds
create the illusion of making the reader a witness to a meeting between two people
socially significant. An interview is the result of a process
composed of different instances in which the dialogue with the interviewee is
only one of several steps.

i. The steps of an interview:

a) Preparation:

The first step is to choose the interviewee from the entire group of people.
interviewable.

b) Conversation:

At this moment a dialogue is taking place in which the journalist (interviewer)

he is the one who guides the meeting. He should be the one who outlines, throughout the
interview, the axes that the future note will have.

c) Writing:

It's not just about transcribing the interviewee's words verbatim,

but rather constitutes a creative act. The spoken material during the interview
(possibly recorded) it must acquire a new order, be selected or
shortened, and make a suitable adaptation that allows creating the illusion of
a live conversation.

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An interview consists of several parts. The headline, which summarizes an aspect or a
statement of the interviewee, the lead, which is a summary that introduces the main topic
central to the interview, it may include a description of the interviewee and
some phrases said by him and finally the body of the interview that usually
to be in the format of question-answer. Often the body of the
The interview is preceded by a brief narrative that introduces the information.

When an interview is published using the concept: question-answer

(sometimes called a report), resembles a theatrical performance as it
stage the situation, just like in theater, it indicates in parentheses the
moods and exclamations that took place throughout the dialogue with
the interviewee.

Genres have been categorized according to the type of text that predominates in each.
one of them. Thus, the chronicle, for example, presents a structure
predominantly narrative, even when we find sequences of a type
descriptive text or dialogical, and the interview, a dialogical structure,
although we find in both the questions and the answers
sequences of any other type. In the case of the glossed interview, the
we have framed it within the narrative genres, given that in most
the cases are built with the narration of the interview situation, and the
the interviewee's voice appears in various ways, either as a scene
dialogued, either as referenced speech or, well, narrated. The color note can
to have, as the predominant textual type, the narrative or descriptive. The genres
narrative-type journalistic pieces, although they inform, are constructed - like everything

speech - from certain ideological positions that manifest themselves.

3.6. Visual genres

Every photograph carries the photographer's intention to communicate something, for

the mere fact of choosing the elements that will be part of it, the angle
from which it will focus them, the intensity of the light and other elements, is
giving an idea of what this wants to convey to the public. Thus, the information,
just like the opinion, they are simultaneously present in the messages
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these writings or visuals, and in this the intentions of the sender are decisive.
Alongside the denotative elements (purely descriptive), the
iconic elements of connotation, that is, connotative values that in themselves
culturally possess the components of the photographic scene, and the
proper photographic elements that determine the scene, such as the
angle, the framing, the composition, the lighting, the shadows, the
contrast, the color, and that can be directed by the photographer with the intention
to produce a certain reaction, with which the opinion would be explicit, or
without intending to do so, therefore the opinion could be given without full awareness
from the photographer.

Daniel Samper (1984) points out that, "the great photographer knows how to incorporate and group

artistically and intelligently the elements that graphically narrate the

news." Thus, the photo ceases to be the simple informative complement of the
news, of the report or of the chronicle, to tell complete stories by themselves
to the reader, with or without the addition of a brief text.

3.6.1. The photograph

Photography has important limits for conveying information. It lacks

of a universalizing and conceptual capacity of the facts; it cannot
to rise to an abstract categorization of the data. For this, it needs
inexorably from the texts. Photography only offers fragments and moments
neither the previous action nor the subsequent one; in any case, it can resolve it
with the sequenced combination of various fragments and times
different. From this possibility derives its narrative capacity, although always
limited.

Informative quality photography has the ability to become news.

alone with its corresponding caption or integrated into a descriptive text and
contextualizer of the fact. The text provides the description and narration of the
data as well as the conceptual references; the photograph presents the version
realist of the details with all the visual components of it. The
news photography aims to gather as many responses as possible

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or at least the most essential ones. According to Cebrián Herreros (1992, 372), they can

differentiate the following:

What? The answer explains the instantaneous action stopped in time.

It gathers the essential element of every news article. It is usually the most
clear, that which the photograph is more likely to capture, within the
limits of the still image, although instantaneously, the event; to offer
the development of it can join others and establish some continuity of
narration. However, it will never be able to provide the answer to what has been said?

For this, a foot needs to be incorporated.

Who? Record the subjects of the action. The photograph can provide the
figures of the protagonists, witnesses or interpreters with all kinds of details
visuals. A good composition is one that highlights the aspects
important informatives without imposing the secondary ones. Despite the
the representative capacity of photography will require identifying the name or
names of the people who appear in it and, furthermore, to avoid
confusions, the order in which they are situated from the visual perceptive point
of the reader.

Where? Capture the specific place or setting in which the events take place.
It is difficult for photography to answer this question, but it is resolved.
indirectly framing the facts in such a way that at some point of the
the same appear buildings, statues or elements sufficiently known
by the recipient. Otherwise, it will be a piece of information that must be provided in the

pie.

When? It's another difficult piece of information to gather. Although a good framing
it may capture a clock or a calendar, however, it will need to be noted at the bottom
other identifying data. At most, the photograph can inform
when capturing outdoors, from the seasonal station by the clothing of the
protagonists, or the moment of the day by the projection of shadows.

How? Explain the way in which an event has occurred, although in a way
snapshot. The photograph captures an exuberant richness of details about the

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particular aspects of the facts. It is one of the issues that with the greatest
precision can be defined in the images. However, it will be necessary to
achieve the right framing to highlight the aspects that are best
explain how the events have occurred, otherwise it may lead to misunderstanding.
to a huge confusion. The sequential combination of several photographs
it allows to offer the evolution, although always through fragments
snapshots of a continuous action.

Why? It is a rational question that is difficult to answer.

photography lacking an abstract and rational discourse. However, it will be able to
report the causes linking to the photography of the events others in which
gather the visual clues from them.

There is a wide range of possibilities for the use of photography.

in the pages of a written diary. Among the most characteristic modalities
for the materialization of this visual genre, described by Mariano Cebrián,
we have the following:

3.6.1.1. The informative photographic portrait

It fulfills an identifying function of the main characters of the

facts that are reported or by witnesses of the events. It is usually the most photographed.

used because it is used to illustrate facts that are happening at that same moment
news. It is important to differentiate between an informative photographic portrait and the portrait

illustrative. In the first case, the photograph is used at the moment when the
a person for whatever reasons is news at that very moment, that's why
It carries a great original informative load.

The illustrative portrait is used to illustrate any news that refers to

that protagonist, that is why it is merely a repetition. The portraits can be both
close-up (or headshot), half-body, or group.

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3.6.1.2. The symbolic photography

It is generated when the photograph loses its capacity for immediate information for
to become a universal symbol of a reality, or as an element
comparative and metaphorical of situations, social debates, critique of
protagonists or parties, etc. The transitive sense that incorporates into the
information reloads subjective connotations. It serves a function
interpretative and evaluative of who provokes the symbol for the reader to
retain as a global image of a complex situation or fact.

3.6.1.3. The illustrative photograph

It only contains current informative content. It could have it at the moment.

in which it was captured, but with the passage of time or the change of the situation and

data has ceased to have informative validity. It is used as a break of the

monotony of the text, as a mere aesthetic resource, but without novelty. In fact
It is usually stock photography without a direct link to the fact that it
It is also reproduced quite frequently to accompany
different news.

It is a test of the little interest and informational importance that is sometimes given.

to photography as news content to highlight its purely

visual. It attracts the gaze of those who just glance at the pages, but it can
become counterproductive for those looking beyond appearances
a formal informative sense of it.

3.6.1.4. The denunciation photograph

Captures details, situations, encounters of personalities, gestures and

body expressions, etc. as testimonies of a presumably
criminal, regarding the cause of an accident, of building states or of roads
communication, of actions of protesters, of political abandonments, etc. with
the purpose of bringing it to the attention of the public and demanding the

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attention and decision of those responsible. The photograph adds realistic value,
testimonials and credibility are superior to that of written information.

With her, newspapers and magazines fulfill their role of monitoring and denouncing.
abnormal situations in society. It is an enormous function.
popular acceptance and success as long as the treatment responds to the
requirements of truthfulness and no ideological or partisan manipulations
interested.

3.6.1.5. The costumbrista photography

Collect facts from everyday situations to describe tasks.

diary, trades, customs, dances. The immediate present doesn't matter as much.
as much as the reflection of a usual situation. It can be published anywhere
moment, without the need to be linked to an immediate current event, although
It will always be preferable to have it to acquire greater informational value.

3.6.1.6. Humorous and Curiosity Photography

They refer to current events, but viewed from a humorous or

curiosity about some accidental circumstance of the reflected personality
like falls from a misstep, chance discoveries of intimate parts,
gestures or tics, etc. They awaken interest due to the curiosity of the situation, but their

Informative load is very secondary in relation to the fact that is presented.

They serve a purely entertainment purpose.

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3.6.1.7. Specialized photography

These are photographs related to events that have acquired a certain

informative specialization. Competitions for them are often even held.
As it concerns such repetitive actions, like football plays or the
activities of any sport, bullfighting performances, etc. they are sought in them
certain originality of composition, lighting effects, positions or movements
unusual, etc. to capture the reader's gaze, otherwise they would fall
immediately in the exhaustion of image and information, that is to say, loss
of interest due to its resemblance to many others on the same subject. Each field of

information specialization has quite differentiated treatments.

3.6.1.8. The photo news

An image that has informational validity by itself, without a broad

information that accompanies it. In these cases, the caption may be more
extensive (about 15 lines at most) and will have a title. This cannot
overcome a line of composition. The titles of the photo news should not have
necessarily informative character. As it is a photo as an element
Newsworthy in itself, the title can simply accompany the image. In
In this case, therefore, the writer has greater freedom to choose the
title.

Let's accept the definition that the Madrid newspaper gives of the photo news now.
what is the first instance of this term in the press of the Spanish state and
accurately collects some characteristics of an informational resource that the
newspapers have mimicked the way the Prisa newspaper did
since its inception in 1976. This does not mean that the photo news is a
creation of El País, since newspapers have always had this
eminently graphic resource. This newspaper collected an informative element of
everyday use, gave it a name, which was possibly already in use, and defined
the characteristics of the elements that compose it.

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Cebrián Herreros does not use the term photonews when classifying genres.
photographic although it is clear that it includes it within the section of 'the
"photography as news" when it states that "the quality informative photography
it has the capacity to become news on its own with its corresponding
or integrated into a descriptive and contextualizing text of the fact.

It would be a way to use photography that is newsworthy in itself.

same: with a short text and a headline that does not exceed one line
composition. This headline does not necessarily have to be informative. The
set can be surrounded or embraced by two horizontal fillets that
they delimit their space and highlight their presence on the page.

Now, most of the time when a photograph has characteristics of

news is included in the pages of a newspaper, accompanying the text of
comprehensive information and is supported by a simple one-line caption
extension, and in these cases it is not used as photo news. Thus, we must
to conclude that the photo news is a concrete way of employing photography that
it is news in itself, in which we highlight the graphic content about the
textual and we do it following the guidelines indicated by the book of
style of each newspaper regarding the length of the headline and the text.

3.6.1.9. Photography in the interview

In the section dedicated to linguistic journalistic genres we have

highlighted two types of interviews: the character interview, as a genre
with explanatory predominance; and the current or thematic interview, with a
more interpretative predominance.

The character interview aims to highlight the personality of the

interviewee. The center of the dialogue, the journalistic aspect, is the personality of the

individual. In this type of work, the interest is conferred by two

possibilities: The individual is what is called a "personality," or
he is simply an ordinary being, called a "type-character", but he has

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a personality with some special trait that makes it journalistically
interesting.

In this type of interview, one should also aim to make 'portraits'

psychological aspects," that is, through photography trying to penetrate into the aspect
interior of the person. For this, a lot of patience is necessary and to wait for the
moment to capture her when she is behaving just as she is in life
daily.

In the current or thematic interview photograph, the most important thing is that
The interviewee is a source of information that provides statements.
at a certain moment. The image serves the fundamental function of providing
truthfulness to the written text, that is to say, it is testimonial.

It is normal to show the source while it issues its judgments or opinions on

the subject of the work. Since the written part is more extensive in this type of
interviews that in the previous one, the space is larger. Consequently, it is
It is feasible to give more exposure to photography and even publish more than one.

3.6.1.10. The photographic report

It tries to reflect and concentrate the vision of an event of a certain

complexity developed in a place and over a period of time through a set
of photographs that offer a fragmentation and selection of spaces and data
significant in instant technical images. Neither the stage nor the time
are of free choice, nor do they adapt to the informative interest of the reporter, as
it happens with the artistic or advertising report. The reporter has to
adapt to the fleeting nature of events and their multiple circumstances.

The photographic report is usually linked to an informative reality.

immediate and, therefore, there will be barely any time for preparation
previous, or addresses current or historical facts that for some reason
circumstance or aspect acquires some novelty depending on the order or the
sequentiality with which they have been distributed.

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3.6.1.11. The photographic essay

The photo essay is an in-depth photo report, which consists of a

numerous group of images whose theme is very broad. Through it
they can address issues of a sociological, cultural, and even economic nature,
but it is also feasible to address more superficial topics and even
humorous. An essay is usually written to precede or accompany this genre.
photographic journalistic, which is said to be extensive, detailed and
incisive. While the photo report can be done in minutes, hours or
a few days, the photo essay takes several weeks, even though there are some
that can be done in a relatively short time.

3.6.1.12. The informative photograph

Photography has become today an additional informational resource within the

newspaper. It can be completed with the caption. It fulfills several functions:

a) capture the attention of the receiver

b) provide content instantly and globally

c) provoke emotions
d) bring visual dynamism to the newspaper

3.6.1.13. The photomontage

Current techniques allow for the modification of photographs to make them

more expressive or to distort and manipulate the reality they represent. It is lawful
when the receiver is warned of such a fact. This does not always happen this way,
especially in certain types of press.

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3.6.2. Graphic Humor

Graphic humor can have an informative or interpretative character. It

links to current issues. Two main forms are distinguished.

The vignette

The strip

3.6.3. The graphic joke.

It has no strict relation to the previous ones. It neither opines nor informs: it only intends

entertain.

3.6.4. The infographics

It is a drawing accompanied by brief texts that visually conveys

various information. They have replaced traditional drawing. Almost all of them
they are generated with computer procedures.

Julio Alonso (1998: 1) considers infographics a journalistic genre in which

privately the information, along with what it implies about truthfulness, accuracy, clarity

expository and speed of execution.

Add that this information is expressed in a visual language, of images, in

the shapes, the volumes, the interposition of planes, the angle of
perspective, as well as the lights and shadows, or the color, constitute their own
syntax. Finally, it asserts that the infographic is executed graphic information,
manipulated, stored and reproduced using computers.

Marta Botero argues that infographics are a new genre emerged from progress.
of information technologies and the need for newspapers to be more
visuals to adapt to the requirements of new readers.

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The idea is not to decorate graphs and data tables with drawings and icons, he adds,
without showing certain information graphically, whenever doing so
written form would be complicated and tedious.

Infographics can also be used, according to Botero, to contextualize a

information, when showing the location of the characters, the geographical aspect, or
the relationship of the actors. "The infographic must convey to the reader the
emotion of the event - precise - describe the places of the events, provide
data and relevant information to understand the context, and relive the scene.

José María Casasús and Luis Núñez Ladevéze conceive infographics as a

new journalistic genre formed by the convergence of "solutions"
photographic, informational, design, and content, which result in
a clearer, pleasant, quick, beautiful, objective, exact informative message
complete and, of course, more effective.

For José de Pablos, infographics are a new journalistic genre, "the last and
most novel of the genres of informative expression that can be established
with a firm grip on information technology, although not exclusively, because
there can also be handcrafted infographics.

Add De Pablos that 'one of these communication methods' may be the

mode of numerical representation 'in simple graphic figures and
traditional, bars, pies or other well-known varieties.51

3.6.5. The portraits

They are graphic representations of people or specific things. According to

Gonzalo Peltzer (1991,149), who cites USA Today, 'an artist can achieve
an image or a combination of images of people, editorialized or not,
what photography cannot do. With a good headline and a good composition
A complete account of a story can be obtained." The portrait can be,
well, editorializing does use some graphic elements that ultimately end up

51 http://www.ull.es/publicaciones/latina/2002abreujunio5101.htm
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to add information that is almost always ironic and clearly directed towards guidance
or simply descriptive, when their purpose is to illustrate a text
journalistic. They are widely used in the Sunday supplements of newspapers
most important of the State, and its use was frequent in some media
communication as is the case with ABC. Initially, they were made to
hand with watercolor, acrylic, ink, colored pencils, or various combinations of
they are always quick-drying. Currently, they are made through
computer.

3.6.6. The cartoons

A caricature is understood as the exaggeration of features and proportions in a

figure to ridicule a subject. It is a combination of what
grotesque and ingenuity, which makes humor an essential ingredient of
the caricature. To consider a drawing as a caricature, it is not necessary that it
they have exaggerated both the features and the proportions of the person
caricatured. This is so because one can caricature a person without
substantially alter the features of his face, but accompanying him with
certain garments that ultimately determine it substantially. The
the tendency towards distortion is the most characteristic trait of caricature, but not
It has to be exaggerated, since the degrees of distortion will depend on
always of each of the authors. As Gonzalo Peltzer states,
caricature is often a single figure, that speaks for itself in a
visual monologue, but it can also include additions for purposes
expressive or opinion-based, in this case we would start talking about a
editorial cartoon. The secret of a good cartoon, Peltzer asserts, is the
offer "an interpretation of a face that we will never be able to forget and that
the victim will always seem to carry, like someone under a spell." According to Román

Govern the cartoon was the raw material of the comic until the appearance of the
first adventure hero comics.

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3.6.7. Comic strips without textual support

It is also called comics. It consists of a series of panels in which

that narrates a story in a sequential and illustrated manner, with great content
scenic, according to cinematic codes and with a united plot. In
Occasionally, comic strips can also be serialized. In their minimal and most
common expression consists of three or four vignettes in which it is narrated of
Once upon a time in a small village, there was a baker known for his delicious bread. One day, he decided to bake a giant loaf that would attract customers from far and wide. He worked day and night, mixing flour, water, and a secret ingredient. The day of the big reveal came, and as he pulled the bread from the oven, it was enormous! Excited, he placed it outside his shop. People gathered to see the spectacle, but as he cut a slice, the bread suddenly started to grow again! The villagers laughed and cheered, although the baker was confused. The giant bread turned into a local legend, and every week, he had to bake new slices just to keep up with its magical growth. Soon, his bakery became famous not for the bread itself, but for the endless slices of the never-ending loaf!

It is called a comic strip when the purpose is the search for humor.
almost always mixed with irony.

There is also a type of comic strip with a clear editorializing component.

can be identified as a genre of opinion because its content is
it focuses on the complaint and social and political criticism. In this case, it
characterized by the presence of certain characters, almost always
recognized responsible for institutional, political, economic activities,
sports, social. Authors like Gonzalo Peltzer also recognize a type
informative comic or journalistic comic that they call and affirm
that "is an adaptation of the language of the comic strip to the information of the
current events. In this case, its function is more illustrative and its
more informative claim.

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