##Types, Characteristics and Generic Structure of News##

Objectives
Analyzing social function, text structure and various types of news from printed media and news
broadcasting accordingly.

Let's think!
What do you read? What do you search in the internet? What do you watch on TV? What do you
listen to? If you are a kind of person who want to know what is going on in this world, your
answer will be: NEWS.
Yes, news informs us about events, disasters, festivals, celebrations, wars, parties, national
exams, general election, and many other things happening.

Learn about it!

In this lesson, we are learning the types, characteristics, and generic structure of news. Types of
news are basically divided into printed news and news broadcast.
1.NEWS
News is a text containing package of information about a new events happening in somewhere
else. News is spread out through mass media including newspaper, radio, online news, and even
mouth-to-mouth. Common topics for news are politics, war, business, entertainment, unusual
event, accident, and so on. Now read the following news.
###Car Accident at Setiabudhi Street Bandung###
Four people were killed and 5 people got injured in a collision between a minibus and a sedan at
2.30 A.M at Setiabudhi Street near UPI campus. The people killed on the accident were all
passengers in the sedan and all the people who got injured were the passengers in the minibus.
The accident happened due to the human error. The sedans driver did not give sign when he
wanted to turn left, at the same time a minibus coming from behind struck the sedan. A collision
could not be avoided. The driver of the minibus said that he did not see any sign from the sedan
so he did not know that the sedan would turn left. Based on the information from the police
officer, it was clear that the fault was with the sedan. It should have given sign if the sedan
wanted to change its direction.
2.NEWS BROADCAST
News broadcast can be found on TV and radio as well as internet news streaming.

###NEWS BROADCAST: SOLO FLOODED###

Solo- Widespread flooding inundated Solo, Indonesia, Friday night through Sunday night, and
more storms this week threaten to worsen the situation.
Flooding quickly ensued Friday night through Sunday night in Solo as persistent rain and
thunderstorms unleashed 300 to 450 mm (12 to 18 inches) of rainfall. On Tuesday, nearly 6,000
people were evacuated from parts of Solo.
Runoff from the rain flooded dozens of roads and severely affected public transportation.
Some train services were were disrupted because the rail track was logged by the flood. Flood
waters reached up to 60 cm around Mojosongo sub-district and brought a rapid rise on the
Bengawan Solo River.

3.STRUCTURE OF NEWS
If we are used to reading newspapers and online news media, of course we will find the
similarity of the structure of how the news is written. The news writing structure is called generic
structure. Keep in mind that the structure of each type of text will be different from others. Here
is the structure for news item text.
Newsworthy Event: Newsworthy event contains an introductory paragraph(orientation) of who,
what, where and when is the event. Newsworthy Event will answer briefly Who, What, Where,
and When event happens.
Background Events: Paragraphs in a news Item text which contain background events explain
more about the event mentioned in the first paragraph (Newsworthy Event). This can be one
paragraph or more that contains the background to the events that is made to as supporting
information. Background Events usually consists of several events that become the background
and is written to clarify the chronology of the newsworthy event. In summary, the background
events explain the How and Why of the event.
Source: The last paragraph(s) a news item text contains news sources. Source is a statement
from the expert or the victim of events, news witnesses, and statements from authorities in such
events.
4.CHARACTERISTICS AND LANGUAGE FEATURES OF NEWS
The first characteristics of news is using specific language features. Learn the following:
1. uses present perfect tense
Examples:
There has been bizarre twist to the story .

2.
At the time the medical examiner has speculated that his death was from natural causes, .

3. uses past tense

Example:
The daughter, Geneva, held a press conference and made stunning allegations involving
drugs ....
4. uses passive voice
Example:
The Governor of this State was found dead .

Keypoints
1.In news, there are some important points that need to be underlined:
What was it about?
Who involved?
Where did it happen?
When did it happen?
Why did it happen?
How did it happen?
2.Use effective and efficient choice of words in news.
3.The question HOW is important to keep in mind when making news script concept, since it
gives you a picture of how the news will be presented.
Read the news and answer the question.
A mini truck lost control while speeding on the Lettu Sutoyo road, Kartasura and suffered serious
accident. The truck crashed a motorcycle that came from the opposite direction. A pedestrian
who saw the incident said that the mini truck was seen speeding then all of sudden swerved and
hit a motorcyclist who came from the front on 27th of June 2015.
This incident made the motorcycle rider was killed instantly after being hit by the truck while the
truck driver suffered serious injuries to the chest and head.
30 minutes after the incident, the police came to investigate the accident. After doing
investigation, they found the cause that the driver was sleepy when driving the truck. In addition
to the brake that didnt work, so he couldnt control his truck and hit the victim. The current
truck driver had been taken to PKU Muhammadyah Kartasura hospital to be treated.
The correct picture which can desribe the news is ....

Correct!
1
The news is about the traffic accident.
2
3
45
Question 2
**Read the news and answer the question.**
A mini truck lost control while speeding on the Lettu Sutoyo road, Kartasura and suffered serious
accident. The truck crashed a motorcycle that came from the opposite direction. A pedestrian
who saw the incident said that the mini truck was seen speeding then all of sudden swerved and
hit a motorcyclist who came from the front on 27th of June 2015.
This incident made the motorcycle rider was killed instantly after being hit by the truck while the
truck driver suffered serious injuries to the chest and head.
30 minutes after the incident, the police came to investigate the accident. After doing
investigation, they found the cause that the driver was sleepy when driving the truck. In addition
to the brake that didnt work, so he couldnt control his truck and hit the victim. The current
truck driver had been taken to PKU Muhammadyah Kartasura hospital to be treated.
According to the news, the mini truck crashed ....
Correct!
1 a motorbike
The second sentence of the news explains that the mini truck crashed the motorcycle.
2 a car 3 a bike 4 the pedestrian 5 a bus
Question 3
Read the news and answer the question.
A mini truck lost control while speeding on the Lettu Sutoyo road, Kartasura and suffered serious
accident. The truck crashed a motorcycle that came from the opposite direction. A pedestrian
who saw the incident said that the mini truck was seen speeding then all of sudden swerved and
hit a motorcyclist who came from the front on 27th of June 2015.

This incident made the motorcycle rider was killed instantly after being hit by the truck while the
truck driver suffered serious injuries to the chest and head.
30 minutes after the incident, the police came to investigate the accident. After doing
investigation, they found the cause that the driver was sleepy when driving the truck. In addition
to the brake that didnt work, so he couldnt control his truck and hit the victim. The current
truck driver had been taken to PKU Muhammadyah Kartasura hospital to be treated.
The cause of the accident is ....
Incorrect!
4 The driver was sleepy.
After doing investigation, the police found that the mini truck driver was sleepy.
1 The motorcycle speeds fast. 2 The pedestrian didnt notice the horn. 3 The mini truck driver
was sleepy. 5 The rider was sleepy.
Question 9
Read the following news script of a radio broadcast, and answer the question.
Indonesians should be proud and happy because Indonesias representatives have won 10 gold
medals in the first week of Sea Games 2014.
The representatives who won the gold medal were from badminton, archery, running, tennis.
Five gold medals were achieved by badminton players, three gold medals from tennis, one gold
medal from running, and the rest from archery.
The minister said that all achievements gotten by the athletes were because all the athletes have
prepared themselves months before the event. Indonesians are really proud of them.
The best title for the above news script is ....
Correct!
1 Indonesians Achievement in the First Week of SEA Games 2014
Because the above news item text is about the achievements gotten by Indonesias athletes in the
SEA Games 2014. Therefore, the best answer is Indonesians Achievement in the First Week
of SEA Games 2014.
2 SEA Games 2014 3 Indonesians representatives in the SEA Games 2014. 4 The Winners of
SEA Games 2014 5 Athletes who Won Medals in the SEA Game 2014.
Question 10

Read the following news script of a radio broadcast, and answer the question.
Indonesians should be proud and happy because Indonesias representatives have won 10 gold
medals in the first week of Sea Games 2014.
The representatives who won the gold medal were from badminton, archery, running, tennis.
Five gold medals were achieved by badminton players, three gold medals from tennis, one gold
medal from running, and the rest from archery.
The minister said that all achievements gotten by the athletes were because all the athletes have
prepared themselves months before the event. Indonesians are really proud of them.
The source of the news item above is ....
Correct!
4 The ministers statement about the achievement gotten by the athletes in the SEA Games 2014.
The source on a news item means comments delivered by participants/authorities on the event.
The source of the news item above was the minister who gave statement about the achievement
gotten by Indonesias athletes in the SEA Games 2014.
1 The total gold medals achieved by Indonesian athletes in the SEA Games 2014. 2 The tennis
players who have won gold medals in the SEA Games 2014. 3 The news about Indonesias
representatives who have won 10 gold medals. 5 Sports who have won gold medals in the SEA
Games 2014.
Question 3
Read the news and answer the question.
A mini truck lost control while speeding on the Lettu Sutoyo road, Kartasura and suffered serious
accident. The truck crashed a motorcycle that came from the opposite direction. A pedestrian
who saw the incident said that the mini truck was seen speeding then all of sudden swerved and
hit a motorcyclist who came from the front on 27th of June 2015.
This incident made the motorcycle rider was killed instantly after being hit by the truck while the
truck driver suffered serious injuries to the chest and head.
30 minutes after the incident, the police came to investigate the accident. After doing
investigation, they found the cause that the driver was sleepy when driving the truck. In addition
to the brake that didnt work, so he couldnt control his truck and hit the victim. The current
truck driver had been taken to PKU Muhammadyah Kartasura hospital to be treated.
The cause of the accident is ....

Correct!
2 The mini truck driver was sleepy.
After doing investigation, the police found that the mini truck driver was sleepy.
1 The pedestrian didnt notice the horn. 3 The driver was sleepy. 4 The rider was sleepy. 5 The
motorcycle speeds fast.
Question 5
According to the news, mass media users had made an effort to find Angeline by....
Correct!
2 Sharing her pictures.
The last sentence tells that mass media users share Angelines pictures to find her.
1 Reporting it to the police. 3 Announcing it in the news. 4 Calling a psychic. 5 Looking for her
in her house.
Question 7
Construct the following parts into a good news.
1. It has been running since last week as stated by the Mayor, "Starting from last Sunday we
started this event."
2. Sundays, in addition to that, can be used by employees to improve quality time with
family members.
3. Furthermore, the protocol is chosen because it is located in the region of Aceh's
government office that makes it easy to organize.
4. Car Free Day policy in Tengku Daud Beureueh is to free the street from roaring engines
of motor vehicles every Sunday.
The right arrangement is....
Correct!
34132
The news begins with general information to more specific details and it goes forward or just like
a narration. Hence, it begins with a statement about Car Free Day policy, then when it runs,
where and who.

14213243124412-3543-21

Question 6
The following statements are TRUE based on the news, except ....

Correct!
1 Angeline was found buried with her favorite doll.
The second sentence of the news tells that Angeline was found buried with her doll.
2 Angeline was reportedly missing since Sunday. 3 Angelines mother shared her pictures
to mass media. 4 Angeline had been hiding for several days in her backyard. 5 Angeline
is hiding from her mother.
Question 8
Read the following news script of a radio broadcast, and answer the question.
Indonesians should be proud and happy because Indonesias representatives have won 10
gold medals in the first week of Sea Games 2014.
The representatives who won the gold medal were from badminton, archery, running,
tennis. Five gold medals were achieved by badminton players, three gold medals from
tennis, one gold medal from running, and the rest from archery.
The minister said that all achievements gotten by the athletes were because all the
athletes have prepared themselves months before the event. Indonesians are really proud
of them.
The structure of the news item above is consist of ....
Correct!
3 Main Event Background Event Source

Therefore, the correct answer is Main Event Background Event Source

1 Main Event Newsworthy Event Source 2 Source Main Event Background event
4 Newsworthy Event Background Event - Elaboration 5 Background Event
Elaboration Source

Passive Voice in News

Objectives

1. Distinguish passive from active voice precisely.

2. Identify the features of passive voice accurately.
3. Write sentences in passive voice correctly.
Learn about it!

Yes, the first sentence is using active voice, while the second one is using passive voice. Our
focus in this lesson will be on passive voice. So, what makes passive voice different from active
voice? When should we use passive voice and when should we not use one?
You better keep reading if you want to know the answer to the questions.
Passive voice is used when we want to focus on the object (thing, person, or process) that
experiences the action, rather than the one who perform the action. In a situation where the
actor is not important or maybe unknown, passive voice can be used.
Lets take a look at the example again.
The Minister would give higher priority to the graduates of Fishery Higher Institute if they are
willing to work at the Maritime Affairs and Fishery ministry.
In the sentence above, we can see that the focus is on the subject (the minister).
However, it is different in the second sentence:
The graduates of Fishery Higher Institution would be given higher priority if they are willing to
work at the Maritime Affairs and Fishery ministry.
The focus in this sentence is on the object (graduates from Fishery Higher Institute). The one
who give the priority to those graduates is not mentioned in the sentence. It means that it is not
important who perform the action. The most important thing is who acted upon the action.

Hence, passive voice is used and the object in the first sentence (graduates from Fishery Higher
Institute) becomes the subject in the second sentence in order to give more emphasize on it.

Now, listen to the following news and find out how many passive voice used by the newsreader.
If you prefer reading the news to listening to it, you can find the excerpt of the news in the
following passage.
Stay in Indonesia, Susi tells fisheries graduates

The graduates of Fishery Higher Institute were inaugurated by Maritime Affairs and Fishery
Minister, Susi Pudjiastuti, on Saturday. There were 386 bachelor and 19 masters of fisheries.
The minister told them to work here in the country instead of working abroad. She explained that
the country needs them to exploit the potential of Indonesias fisheries.
I want you all working in your home country. Assist the government in carrying out its work,
the minister told the graduates in her speech.
Susi said that the graduates from STP would be given higher priority if they are willing to work
in her ministry.
According to Susi despite having one of the longest coastlines in the world, Indonesian fishing
industry only ranks third among Southeast Asian countries. She added in her speech that
although Indonesia had great potential, our country had not been able to optimize its maritime
resources. As a result, most fishermen live in poverty
The minister is known for her strict policy on foreign fishing boats which were captured while
illegally fishing in Indonesian waters. Lots of illegal fishing boats had been sank in recent
months.
In the news excerpt above, you can find several sentences with passive voice. Can you tell why
are those sentences written in passive?
You can also try to change the active sentences in the text above into passive.
Keypoints

Intransitive verbs cannot be changed into passive.

Only transitive verbs can be changed into passive.

However, there is an exception for certain verbs in active sentence that

cannot be changed into passive, for example the verb to have. We can say, I
have a new house, but we cannot say, A new house is had by me. Another

example is we can say, She becomes a pilot, but we cannot say, A pilot is
become her.

All news in this lesson were adapted from www.thejakartapost.com

Question 3

The following news excerpt is for Question 4 to Question 6.

However, the project was abandoned due to change of government last

year (last paragraph)

Identify the option that cannot replace the underlined word above.

Correct!
3 Avoided

Abandon means to stop something before it has been finished or to leave a place, thing, or person
forever. Neglect, desert, cancel, and ignore are similar in meaning to abandon. Meanwhile, avoid
means to stay away from something or to prevent something from happening.
1 Cancelled 2 Neglected 4 Deserted 5 Ignored
Question 5
The following news excerpt is for Question 4 to Question 6.

The sentence with passive voice is showed in number ....

Correct!
52
the project has been taken over by
Passive voices pattern always uses the combination be (was, were, are, is, am, been, be) + past
participle
14
21
33
45
Question 6
After two years in a state of uncertainty, the national car project, Selo, has now secured its
future (first paragraph)
Explain the above sentence correctly.
Correct!
3 The future of the national car project, Selo, has been secured.
The sentence means that Selo became a national car project two years ago. For two years, its
future was in a state of uncertainty. However, its future has now been secured. It is no longer in a
state of uncertainty.
1 The national car project, Selo, has been in a state of uncertainty for two years now.
2 The national car project, Selo, is now in a state of uncertainty.

4 Selo will certainly become a national project.

5 Selo has now become a national car project.
Question 7
The following are passive sentences except....
Correct!
1 The deal was a follow up to the previous meeting they had last year.
The deal was a follow up to the previous meeting they had last year.
2 Selo has been recognized widely in South-East Asia
3 The project has been taken over by a Malaysian investor, not Malaysian government.
4 This news has been reported for a year.
5 The meeting was emphasized on the Malaysian investor.
Question 8
The news excerpt below is for Question 8 and 9.

The most appropriate paragraph to complete the text is.

Correct!
3 The satellite was entirely produced in Indonesia by the National Institute of Aeronautics and
Space (LAPAN). LAPAN A2/Orari is a successor to its former satellite, LAPAN A1/Tubsat,
which was launched in 2007.

The news is about the new satellite LAPAN A2/Orari. The information related to the Satish
Dawan Space Center, the official ceremony, the history of LAPAN, or the previous satellite is
irrelevant.
1 The National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) was established by former
Indonesian president, Sukarno, on November 27, 1963. Its satellite programs including Palapa
A1 and A2, LAPAN A1, LAPAN A2, and LAPAN A3 (still in the experimental stage).
2 The launching of the satellite was attended by President Joko Widodo. The satellite was
officially sent off by the President during the official ceremony.
4 Satish Dawan Space Center is located in Sriharikota, India. It is a rocket launch center operated
by Indian Space Research Organisation. Its area is about 145 km2. It serves the role as Indias
primary orbital launch site.
5 The previous satellite, LAPAN A1/Tubsat, was made based on the technology development
from Technische Universitt Berlin, Germany. It was performing the technological experiments,
earth observation and attitude control experiments.
Question 9
Reporter: Is it correct that this satellite, LAPAN A2/Orari, was made in Indonesia?
Engineer: It is. The satellite was entirely produced locally by LAPAN.
Reporter: What is the most salient feature of this new satellite?
Engineer: .
Decide the appropriate response to complete the above dialogue. The suitable option is.
Correct!
2 It is equipped with sophisticated tool to aid disaster mitigation by monitoring floods,
measuring changes in the sea level, and observing movements of the population.
The reporter asks about the most salient feature of the satellite. Thus, the answer should be
related to the satellites quality or its important part. The possible answer is: It was specifically
set with automatic reporting system to observe land usage, ship movements, sea resources, and
fishing explorations or it is equipped with sophisticated tool to aid disaster mitigation by
monitoring floods, measuring changes in the sea level, and observing movements of the
population.
However, if we refer to the news, the former is incorrect because the automatic reporting system
is not used to observe the things mentioned. It is used to monitor floods, changes in the sea level,
and movements of the population.
1 It will be launched officially by the President on Sept 27. 3 The satellite was locally made by
LAPAN as the successor to its former satellite, LAPAN A1/Tubsat. 4 The earth will be orbited by
the satellite 14 times a day as it travels at 7.5 kilometers per second with an altitude 650
kilometers. 5 It was specifically set with automatic reporting system to observe land usage, ship
movements, sea resources, and fishing explorations.

Question 10
Construct a good paragraph from the following scrambled sentences.

Correct!
4 1, 3, 4, 5, 2
The news is about Lake Toba that is about to become a world-class destination. In writing news
item, the first paragraph should tell about the topic of the news, and the rest is the detailed
information related to the news. Therefore, the first paragraph should be number 1.
1 3, 1, 4, 2, 5 2 2, 5, 1, 4, 3 3 5, 3, 4, 2, 1 5 4, 2, 3, 1, 5