Amani Pritchard

Writing 2
Zack De Piero
April 12, 2015
National News Articles
For people living in the United States, major article headlines make daily appearances.
Whether it is an ad that pops up online or a paper showcased at a newsstand, national news
articles are very much paid attention to and for a good reason. These news articles inform the
public about pertinent events and situations taking place in our world that effect all of us,
either directly or indirectly. National news articles are an important genre because they are
unbiased reportings that cover the biggest stories of the day and explain what is going on in our
world.

Commented [ZD1]: This came across as a bit fluffy to

me, Amani. Can you capture all of this in a sentenceie, a
line or 2?

Take for example the recent announcement of the bid for president of Hillary Clinton;
numerous news sources across the United States rushed to publish the whole story for the
general public. Second Shot: Hillary Clinton running again for president and Hillary Clinton
launches second presidential bid were just a few of the many headlines for articles circling the
web. News sources rushed to post the story as soon as her first campaign video was released
on her website. These stories ranged in content but for the most part, hit very similar points
and kept the same conventions that almost all national news articles have.

Commented [ZD2]: This is effective, I think, if (1)

youre focusing on news article titles/captions and (2) its
about Hillary.

Commented [ZD3]: Im wondeirn

Commented [ZD4]: Im not quite sure what youre
arguing here. Remember: your reader is most likely going
to be expecting a thesis statement at the end of your Intro
(or occasionally 2nd paragraph) that clearly detail what
point/argument/stance theyre taking and what theyre
basing that on. Right now, I dont know where youre taking
me.

The sources analyzed in this paper include CNN, Napa Valley Register, and the SF
Gate. These sites are respected sources that have been reporting on the world for many years.
All three articles were published on the same day, April 12th, 2015, and reported on the

Commented [ZD5]: Whats up with the funky

formatting? This is a little thing but personally, I think b/c
its so easy to get right, you should.. get it right. (Remember:
Im just trying to help. My job is to get you
seeing/understanding what you might not be seeing.)

announcement of Hillary Clinton who reported she will be running for president in 2016.

Commented [ZD6]: OK, now were talkingthis is

fodder for your thesis statement. Im still wondering,
though what about these sources are you going to be
analyzing?

Besides the topic of the articles, they also had many other similarities. All three opened with a

Be specific.
Commented [ZD7]: What 3 articles?

statement announcing Clintons announcement, and as well included her quote Everyday
Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion, within the first paragraph. They
outlined her current supposed strategy and predicted what her next steps might be along the
road of her campaign over the next year and a half. There were sections mentioning her past
attempt at office and how she had handled herself as Secretary of State under President Barack

Commented [ZD8]: Youre changing gears here and

going from Im looking at 3 sources to heres how they
each opened up/started.
Thats worth changing gears. Each paragraph needs to
further your argument in a clear way. Think: build. How
can you build your argument? Paragraphs are your building
blocks. Use em!
Commented [ZD9]: This could be useful/important, but
Im not sure why its here. Why are you including this?
What are you hoping to accomplish by including this?

Obama. There was speculation on how much her campaign would cost and other challenges
she might face. Another large point that all three articles had was the recent responses to the

Commented [ZD10]: Is this furthering your argument?

If so, how??

Clinton announcement from members of the Republican Party. One article reported that the
party had spent $10,000 on internet ads pointing out Clintons incompetence as Secretary of
State, while another had a quote from former Florida gov. Jeb Bush saying We must do better
than the Obama-Clinton foreign policy that has damaged relationships with our allies and
emboldened our enemies (Julie Pace).
There is a definite reason that all the articles had very similar content and it was
not due to plagiarism. National news articles constitute their own written genre and with that
come with their own set of rules for writing such an article. For these big stories, it is imperative
that the reporter write the entire story. This is because the articles are directed at the general
public and the point of them are to inform the people without bias. This is shown in the Clinton

Commented [ZD11]: OK, this is important, and I think

itd help me (your reader) to know this upfront, from the
get-go.
Commented [ZD12]: Im not sure what you mean by
this. Whats the entire story mean?

announcement articles by mentioning the democratic side, the republican side, and the history
of the whole situation. This method gives the readers a complete perspective on the reported
story.
Many of these articles are also similar because the point of them is the report on the big,

Commented [ZD13]: OK, so youre saying that the part

of the conventions of the news article genre is to give the
complete perspective? What do you mean by that? Could
you get more specific? (And tell your reader within your
paperyo, this is X part of the story; this is Y part.)

flashy, important topics coming up in our society from day to day. This is noted in the tone and
style of the articles. The authors of these national news articles use rhetoric to write
appropriately for a given situation, one that is determined by the expectations of the
audience,(Boyd). Therefor they are usually reportive, exciting, and factual. It is important for

Commented [ZD14]: Two things:

news sources to have their facts of stories correct as it is a big faux pas to report

1, Youre jumping around a lot so far in this paragraph.

Think to yourself: what am I trying to accomplish/do in this
paragraph?

misinformation. The reporters also have a way of organizing the stories. First, a hook to catch
the readers attention of the story is accompanied by a colorful picture that relates to the issue.
Then they back up just a little bit and give background information on the story just in case the

2, Arent exciting/factual two different things?

Commented [ZD15]: Can you give an example(s) of
this? I need to be able to believe youyouve got to prove
it (ie, with textual evidence).

reader is not familiar with the issue. Then they report the details in chronological order and in
order of importance. In the Clinton announcement example; first came the news about her
video announcement, then predictions on her campaign and possible challenges, followed by
the contradicting opinions of her opponents.
These conventions of national news stories are essential for the genre because they
guide the readers through the stories. These readers are everyday people who simply want to
know more about what is going on in the world. The readers want well-written, intelligent, fair,
and honest articles when they open their papers or log onto the websites for their news.
National news articles make up a genre that is extremely important in our modern world. By

Commented [ZD16]: So the readers of each of these

sources are all the same? And they all want/expect the
same thing? Are you sure? If so, based on what?

understanding this genre, consumers of the news can understand the effort that goes into
reporting these stories day after day.
When people understand genres, they can consume the information more easily and
appreciate the flow and work of written pieces. For instance, if a person picked up a copy of the
SF Chronical and read about Clintons announcement without understanding national news
articles or genres in general, they might not absorb the information or they might even wonder
why many news articles are so similar. Many people are usually familiar with the genres of
movies. They have their preferences between horror and romance, or comedy and
documentary. However, many people do not realize the written genres that are everywhere in
the written world. National news articles are just one example. There are also obituaries,
opinion articles, and sports reporting just to name a few. By being educated on the topic of
genres and their different conventions, readers can be smarter about what they consume and
absorb that information more efficiently. Specifically in the pastime of reading the news, the
point of consuming the information is to have an informed outlook on what is happening. That
is why national news articles are such an important genre in that aspect, because they provide
the tools for the readers to achieve as much.

Sources
Merica, Dan. "Hillary Clinton Launches Second Presidential Bid - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News
Network, 12 Apr. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Pace, Julie. "Clinton Kicks off 2016 Campaign Online, Heads next to Iowa." SFGate. 12
Apr. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Thomas, Ken, and Lisa Lerer. "Second Shot: Hillary Clinton Running Again for President."
Napa Valley Register. 12 Apr. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.