Primbon English Kelas X Chapter 9

Chapter 9

#   News Item   #

News Item is a factual text informs readers event of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.

The generic structure of news item :

1. Newsworthy Events

Function : Recounts the events in summary form.

1. Background Events

Function : Elaborate what happened, to whom, and in what circumstances.

1. Source

Function : Comments by participants in, witnesses to, and authorities expert on the event.

The languages features of news item :

• Short, telegraphic information about story summarized in one-sentence headline.
• Use of material or action processes to re-tell story.
• Use of projecting verbal processes in source stage.
• Focus on circumstance meanings
• Often dramatic use of participant structure.

There are some rules that can help to make newspaper headlines more comprehensible.

1. The passive voice is used without the appropriate form of “be”.

Example:  Town ‘Contaminated’

Complete Sentence:  Town is contaminated.

1. It is unusual to find complex forms, generally the simple present form is used

Example:  Fire Destroys over 2,511 acres of Forest in 2003-2004

Complete Sentence:  Fire has destroyed over 2,511 acres of forest in 2003-2004.

1. The present progressive tense is used, usually to describe something that is changing or developing, but the auxiliary verb is usually left out.

Example:  World Heading for Energy Crisis

Complete Sentence:  The world is heading for an energy crisis.

1. To refer to the future, headlines often use the infinitive.

Example:   Queen to Visit Samoa.

Complete Sentence:  The Queen is going to visit Samoa.

1. Headlines are not always complete sentences.

Example:  More earthquakes in Japan.

Complete Sentence:  More earthquakes happened in Japan.

The example of news item :

Dogs to Herd Geese From Central Park

Newsworthy event	NEW YORK (AP) — City officials will use border collies to drive geese away from Central Park’s lawns and meadows next month.
Background events	A Howell, N.J., company, Geese Police Inc., employs dog handlers who are educated on the behavior of Canada geese and their migratory, nesting and breeding habits. The collies, bred to herd sheep, have a natural instinct to round up geese. The Geese Police pilot program, funded by the New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation and the Central Park Conservancy management organization, will last through April. As with all wildlife that inhabit or migrate through city parkland, Canada geese are protected from hunting and attack by humans, parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said Monday. But their increasing presence can damage grass and leave parks fouled by droppings, Benepe said.
Sources	“The Geese Police pilot project is an innovative and humane effort to manage the growing geese population in Central Park,” he said.