Language of Journalism

Introduction
The study of journalism's languages is a relatively new topic in the realm of journalism research.
Despite the fact that language lies at the center of journalism, scholars have only been interested in
studying its languages for the past 30 years or more. The combination of formal language features
like grammar, syntax, and word choice, as well as less formal features like storytelling frames,
textual patterns, and formulaic narratives, creates a multilayered system of information transmission
that has grown in complexity as journalism has expanded to include not only the printed press but
also radio, television, cable, and new media. Sound, still images, moving graphics, and interactive
patterns have all become part of the languages that journalists use to convey information today. The
notion of what constitutes a journalistic language has grown as journalism has progressed toward
increasingly complicated systems of increased capacity.
The Importance of language
As journalists, our primary responsibility is to assist people understand what is going on in their
communities, countries, and around the world. Because most readers or listeners will not be familiar
with your native tongue, you must simplify it for them. You should be able to deconstruct even the
most complex situations and occurrences and then transform them into language that your audience
can comprehend. People will cease buying your newspaper or listening to your radio or television
station if you fail to do so. Your employment will be a failure for you.
Today, English is the primary language used by many journalists in newspapers, periodicals,
radio, television, and the Internet. Because this book is written in English, the focus of these
chapters is on the English language. It's important to note, though, that even a widely spoken
language like English isn't precisely the same everywhere. There are distinctions between British
and American English, for example. Within specific countries, there are frequently variances in the
way English is written or spoken. It can be difficult to determine what is correct in the English
spoken in your nation at times.
Despite the fact that you are reading this in English, you may write in a variety of languages.
Many of the general points about writing style that we make will apply to these other languages as
well.
What language is journalism?
For many journalists today, English is the primary language used for news reporting on
radio, television, online, and in print. If you're an aspiring journalist you'll be expected to
have a firm grasp of the English language and its grammar rules.
What is journalism simple language?

journalism, the collection, preparation, and distribution of news and related
commentary and feature materials through such print and electronic media as newspapers,
magazines, books, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, social networking and social media sites, and e-
mail as well as through radio, motion pictures, and ...
What are the features of a journalistic language?

The hallmarks of journalistic writing are:
 Simplicity and Brevity.
 Precision.
 Objectivity and Factual.
 Fairness and Balance.
 Inverted Pyramid.
Why is language important in journalism?

The importance of language
Your main task as a journalist is to help people understand what is happening around
them; in their village, in their country and in the world. Most readers or listeners will not
have your knowledge of language, so you must simplify it for them.
Characteristics of Language Journalism

Style books
Your organization's style book may provide some guidance on matters like sentence length,
punctuation, and word usage. These are books that detail the language guidelines that must be
followed in your particular newspaper or television station. You should request a copy of your
organization's style book from your editor or head of staff. Many small or new businesses,
unfortunately, do not have their own style guide. We try to give you some broad rules for language
use and writing style in these chapters.
1. Short, Sharp, Clear Sentences
Whether you're writing for newspapers, radio, or the Internet, you should always strive for words
and sentences that give the most amount of information with the least amount of confusion. This
usually entails keeping sentences and words brief and straightforward. You can use long words if
you want to, but be sure they're performing their job.
N.B. Many words are like fat and lazy animals resting back in a canoe without paddles. Keep in
mind that fat and sluggish words have no place in your sentences. Throw words overboard if they
don't help to understanding.
2. Sentence Length
In news writing, there is no one-size-fits-all rule for sentence length, but you should set a goal
for the maximum number of words you utilize. Except in exceptional circumstances, we
recommend that you never use more than 20 words in a single sentence. If you follow this rule, your
sentences will be simpler, there will be less space for error, and you will be able to employ words
more efficiently.
Counting the amount of ideas or concepts you anticipate your reader or listener to understand is
another technique to determine the ideal length for your sentences. Compare and contrast these two
versions of the same story. Notice how version A tries to condense all of the concepts into a single
sentence, whereas version B breaks them up into three sentences:
Story A
Four aircraft passengers, the pilot and three people travelling in a car were killed when a twin-
engined Beechcraft Baron aircraft hit an electric power line and crashed near Nadi airport this
week.
Story B
Eight people died when an aircraft crashed near Nadi airport this week. The pilot and four
passengers died when their twin-engined Beechcraft Baron hit a power line. The plane then
crashed into a car on a road near the airport, killing three more people.
In Story B, none of the sentences are longer than 20 words. If you have someone read both stories
aloud to you, you will quickly notice that Story B is easier to comprehend.
The reason is straightforward. Story A is made up of six independent ideas that the reader or listener
must comprehend at the same time:
1. the people in the plane;

2. the people in the car;
3. the type of plane;
4. the cause of the crash;
5. the location of the crash;
6. the time of the crash.
In comparison, each sentence in Story B has fewer concepts. There are only four simple ideas in the
first sentence:
1. the total number of dead;
2. a simple description of the type of plane;
3. where it crashed;
4. when it crashed.
The second sentence tells us:
1. how the people in the car died;
2. where the car was;
3. how many died in the car.
You may claim that Story B, in addition to being longer, contains a total of ten ideas to comprehend.
Many of those notions, however, are not distinct. They are connected to the details in the previous
sentence. Understanding is typically aided by connecting ideas and repeating facts. More
importantly, those ten ideas are not presented to our audience in a single breath. The full stop at the
end of each sentence (which is represented by a pause on radio and television) gives the reader or
listener time to process one set of facts before going on to the next.
We propose that you keep each sentence to no more than three distinct ideas. You can employ four
ideas per sentence on rare occasions, as long as they are not difficult. We fitted four ideas into the
intro of Story B above because two of the ideas - the time and place - are very simple and easy for
the reader to understand.
3. Lively language
The language you pick will aid in making your story simple to comprehend. Some words should be
avoided, either because they are difficult to grasp or because they are fat and sluggish and do not
aid in the progression of your sentence.
Long words, as previously stated, are not inherently bad if they are the only words available to
correctly describe a specific meaning. However, because the English language is so big and
diverse, there are usually shorter alternatives which do the job just as well as long words.
Some journalists also believe that they can only add drama or depth to a story by adding
words.
We get sentences like:
The man ran swiftly across the street to help the defenceless boy who was being brutally beaten.
Take out the adjectives and adverbs in italics. They are unnecessary and only slow the sentence
down. The word swiftly is unnecessary because people do not usually run slowly. The boy is
obviously defenceless, otherwise he would not be being beaten. And the word brutally is
unnecessary, as most beatings are brutal. The sentence is now much livelier and sharper:
The man ran across the street to help the boy who was being beaten.
The most effective way to add drama to a sentence is to choose the verbs carefully. For example, try
changing the verb ―ran‖ to ―strolled‖, ―walked‖, ―flew‖ or ―thundered‖. See how they alter the
whole picture of what happened. We do not suggest that you change verbs simply to add
drama. Every word must accurately describe what happened. But it is better to choose the correct
verb than to add unnecessary adjectives and adverbs. The use of a variety of verbs is most
common in sports reporting, where we read of players kicking, shooting, powering or
rocketing the ball into the net.

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Introduction

What is journalism simple language?

What are the features of a journalistic language?

Why is language important in journalism?

Characteristics of Language Journalism

1. the people in the plane;

1. how the people in the car died;

2. where the car was;

3. how many died in the car.

We get sentences like:

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