In the course of time, journalistic practice has developed the
“five-w-and-h-pattern-rule”:
Who? – What? – Why? - How? – Where? – When?
In terms of grammar this fixed structure may be expressed in the following way:
subject > object > adverbial modifier of purpose > manner > place > time
.
(Statistics shows that this rule is violated in as many cases as it is observed.)
A BNI may consist of one sentence only. If there is more than one sentence, the initial one is called the lead. The lead usually contains the most essential information of the BNI. The rest of it supplies additional information of minor significance.
The bulk of the vocabulary of BNI is neutral and common literary. It is characterized by the intensive use of the following:
-
political and economic terms and
e.g. government, premier (P.M.), executive committee, strategic arms limitations, elections, production
non-term political vocabulary:
e.g. progress, opponent, peace, people, crisis, leader, campaign, unemployment, congress, alliance, etc.
-
newspaper cliches [‘kli ei];
e.g. cold war, urgent problem, vital issue, well-informed sources, to escalate war, to launch an attack, an offensive, an appeal, etc.
-
abbreviations:
e.g. EEC- European Economic Community
FO – Foreign Office
IMF – International Monetary Fund, etc.
Besides ‘permanent’ abbreviations that have become part of the vocabulary, there can be chance abbreviations, especially in the headlines, which are deciphered in the body of the BNI itself.
e.g. BNI
-
neologisms:
e.g. stop-go-politics (нерешительная политика), chunnel = channel+tunnel, etc.
The vocabulary of BNI is generally devoid of emotional colouring though some popular newspapers tend to introduce emotionally coloured elements into matter-of-fact articles.
Advertisements and Announcements
Advertisements and announcements made their way into the English press at an early stage of its development, in the middle of the 17th century. They are as old as the newspapers themselves.
The function of advertisements and announcements is like that of BNIs - to inform the reader. There are 2 basic types of advertisements and announcements in the modern English newspaper: classified and non-classified (separate).
(Advertisements are printed notices about things to be sold or wanted or about situations vacant.
Announcements – printed notices about what is happening or going to happen.)
In classified advertisements and announcements various kind of information is arranged according to the subject-matter into sections, each bearing an appropriate name, such as: business offers, deaths, marriages, meetings, exhibitions, holidays, schools, situations vacant, notices, events, etc. This classified arrangement has resulted in a number of stereotyped patterns regularly employed in newspaper advertisements and announcements. Their vocabulary is essentially neutral, but those in the personal section are sometimes emotionally coloured.
As for non-classified (separate) advertisements and announcements, the variety of subject-matter and language forms here is so great that hardly any essential feature common to all of them can be pointed out. The reader’s attention can be attracted by any possible stylistic means: graphical, lexical, syntactical. They are supplied with photos, drawings as the advertiser (announcer) can buy as much space in the newspaper as his purse allows.
The Editorial
The Editorial (передовая/редакционная статья) bears the stamp of both the newspaper and publicist style. The function of the Editorial is not only to inform the reader, but also to influence him by interpreting certain facts. The Editorial comments on the political and other events of the day. The purpose is to suggest that the editor’s opinion and interpretation (it is the editor or sub-editor who writes the editorial) is the right one.
The Editorial appeals not only to the reader’s mind but to his feelings as well. Hence, the use of emotionally coloured elements, both lexical and structural. Alongside with political terms, cliches, abbreviations, one can find colloquial words and expressions, professionalisms, and slang words, which strengthen the emotional colouring of the editorial.
The editorial also abounds (изобилует) in trite SDs, especially in metaphors, irony, stylistic use of word-building means, etc. Practically any stylistic device can be found in editorial writing. When skillfully used, SDs become a powerful weapon producing the necessary emotional effect on the reader. Yet, the role of EMs and SDs should not be overestimated – they stand out at the essentially neutral background.
The editorial in different newspapers varies in the degree of emotional colouring and stylistic originality of expression. While these qualities are typical enough of the popular newspapers, newspapers with large circulation intended for serious readers, the so-called quality newspapers, such as “The Times’, “The Guardian”, make a sparing use of EMs and SDs.