Forgetting about blog writing, there are still various types of writing published on a news site. These commonly include opinion, analysis, commentary and editorial.
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Opinion writing
What does it look like when someone expresses an opinion?
Tibet should be free. The Senkaku Islands are the territory of Japan. Police should wear body cameras. Politics should be transparent. We need to do more about the environment. The prime minister was just plain wrong. The president spoke sadly.
These are all opinions, whether they may be true or not. If you don’t think so, how would you feel if you read a news piece stating, “Tibet should not be free. The Senkaku Islands belong to China. Police should not wear body armor. Politics should only be done behind closed doors. We shouldn’t worry about the environment. The prime minister was correct in his statements today. The president spoke indifferently.”
These are all statements. Are there statements that are not opinion?
Tibet lies north of India. The Senkakus are islands. Police are equipped for doing their job.
Most people would not disagree, and we can consider these to be facts. Here are some more statements, that we may also consider facts for our purposes:
Tibetans are not permitted to communicate freely or express opinions not favored by the Chinese government. Japan has administered the Senkaku Islands since the late 19th century without any claim being made by China until the 1970s. Many think outfitting police with body cameras could reduce abuse by police officers. The president cried during his speech. In most of these cases, if the statement was controversial we would link the text to a related article.
A fact, for our purposes, is something no one will disagree with. A fact, for our purposes, can also be something that some people will disagree with, but which is supported by a newsworthy source. If it is debatable or controversial, it is better–and sometime necessary–to include a source. If a statement expresses the belief of the writer, but this belief is not considered to be a fact for the purposes of news, even if many people share the belief, it is opinion.
Let’s look at an opinion writing now.
I never wanted to hear the Prime Minister speak, but when I heard what he said Saturday, I could see that we must do more about climate change. In fact, we must, as he said, start immediately. It is clear that climate change will improve the lives of our children and our children’s children.
Here, each sentence is an opinion statement.
Let’s write it as news.
Prime Minister Bill Mulroney spoke Saturday on climate change. Political commentators agreed that the speech was one of Mulroney’s best, and that the speach may set off a renewal of our recently flagging conversation about global warming.
The first statement is fact. The second statement is also fact, but it will need to be proven by giving convincing examples later in the article. The political commentators who agree will need to be quoted, and the source cited. Some backstory or related material will also be required in the article, in order to give the reader an idea of the trends in the global warming conversation and support the veracity of the third sentence.
Another thing to watch out for is strong language:
The move will be a great change…
Write a letter to your leader to ask him to support…
It is clear that…
A writer can remove the opinion bias of these statements thus:
The move will be a change from the policy of the last two years, which included regulations forcing…
The organization called for citizens to write letters to their elected representatives to ask them to support…
The scientist said that it was clear that…
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Analysis
News analysis is an essay with a central theme. The theme includes facts and statements that are attributable to sources. But the analysis also uses statements that are not facts or attributable statements. It does not just report the news–it discusses the news, and the style is more literary than straight news. Analysis often interprets the news or explores the motives for actions, discusses consequences, points out inconsitensies, explains purposes, and provides perspective.
It does more than news does, and is therefore not as truthful or reliable as news.
Analysis is different from opinion because it does not necessarily express the writers opinion or position.
In general, a news analyist should be someone who is expert on the subject to which belongs the matter being analyzed.
A common placement on a news site for analysis is beside a news piece. The two well compliment each other.
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Commentary
A commentary is written to assist readers in understanding a subject covered by news. It explains the subject.
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Editorial
Editorials are written by the news site. They represent the views of the news site on major issues, such as policy.
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Columns
A column is not a style of writing. It is a collection of articles by an opinion writer on a given subject.The column recurs regularly on the site, and is usually personality-driven. Some common types of columns include advice columns, book reviews, food column, humor column, music column, community correspondent, various critic columns, and editorial columns.
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Now lets take a look at a few examples of opinion writing, and a few examples of news writing, and see if things have become clear for you.
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2xL5p2oqTc&list=UUFIszO8mcNrq9ENN-cGxf6w”][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KTpIHL6FgE”]VIDEO[/su_youtube]
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G71RRID5Q2k&list=UUFIszO8mcNrq9ENN-cGxf6w”][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KTpIHL6FgE”]VIDEO[/su_youtube]
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G0Uk2P0ZtY&list=UUFIszO8mcNrq9ENN-cGxf6w”][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KTpIHL6FgE”]VIDEO[/su_youtube]
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Now lets look at how a simple news article can be written to cover something as simple as a press statement issued by a human rights organization. You may see that the technique used here can be applied just as simply to just about anything that happens and is considered news. You may also see how news, rather than opinion, can be written on a controversial subject.
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOnInDb_kEk&list=UUFIszO8mcNrq9ENN-cGxf6w”][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KTpIHL6FgE”]VIDEO[/su_youtube]
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