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Journal style is a style of writing that is used to report news stories in a variety of media
formats. This kind of writing style requires these 5 following features:
Journalists should write with simplicity--in such a way that audiences can easily
understand the content without having to read it multiple times.
Writing with brevity (short and to the point) helps create simplicity. The longer a
sentence is, the more difficult it is to understand. Also, audiences don’t like long
paragraphs because they look too overwhelming to read. Journalists therefore strive to
keep sentences shorter than 20 words, and paragraphs no more than 2-3 sentences, in
general.
“Ông Hà Sỹ Đồng, Phó Chủ tịch UBND tỉnh Quảng Trị, xác nhận với VTC News, vừa
xảy ra 1 vụ sạt lở đất đặc biệt nghiêm trọng tại địa bàn miền núi huyện Hướng Hoá, tỉnh
Quảng Trị. Khu vực sạt lở xảy ra ở địa bàn đóng quân của Sư đoàn 337. Hơn 20 cán bộ
chiến sĩ của sư đoàn này nghi bị đất vùi lấp.”
“Lãnh đạo tỉnh Quảng Trị thông tin hơn 20 cán bộ chiến sĩ của Sư đoàn 337 (đóng quân
tại Hướng Hoá, Quảng Trị) nghi bị đất đá vùi lấp sau sạt lở đất.”
Another way to achieve simplicity is by writing in the active voice, which simply means
using this format: subject, verb, direct object. For example:
Passive Voice: CNN bị ông Trump cáo buộc là đưa tin giả
Active Voice: Ông Trump cáo buộc CNN đưa tin giả
Passive voice sentences are avoided because they are longer, more difficult to understand,
and sometimes make it unclear as to whom did what. That can be particularly
problematic in journalism because journal is required to be clear to audiences who is
responsible (whether good or bad) for the events of the story.
b) Precision
Precision means that each word should be used as it was intended by its original
“dictionary” meaning. Meanings often evolve over time, but in journalistic writing, we
stay true to the book. There should also be no slang or abbreviations.
Gấu is a slang term for a lover, and dế, is a slang term for “a cellphone”
Journalists should therefore not use them unless for their intended meanings. When in
doubt, look it up: a dictionary is a journalist’s best friend.
Objectivity means the absence of personal opinion. A journalist’s writing should be based
on facts, observations, and interviews with expert sources, or those knowledgeable of the
issue. Write in third person (he, she, they), not first person (I, me, my, our, we), to stay
removed from the story in order to be fully objective. Don’t write about what you think,
believe, or feel, but what you see and hear. The only opinions which should be included
are the sources’ opinions, and you must attribute all opinions properly so that readers
know who said what.
Journalists avoid adjectives and adverbs because they tend to insert opinion. Instead,
writers should opt for specific nouns and active verbs that best illustrate the facts.
“Hàng thủ của Yemen khá vụng về và lúng túng trong khả năng tranh chấp và theo kèm
nên ĐTQG Việt Nam hoàn toàn có thể khai thác điểm yếu này.”
Vụng về and lúng túng are adjectives – not facts. What one person considers vụng về and
lúng túng are not necessarily true for another person. Also, “ĐTQG Việt Nam hoàn toàn
có thể khai thác điểm yếu này” is not a factual statement because there is no way of
predicting that. Instead, a journalist would focus on the facts, and let the reader form his
own opinion.
Example of objective writing:
“Do ảnh hưởng của không khí lạnh kết hợp với dải hội tụ nhiệt đới có trục đi qua khu vực
Trung Trung Bộ nên từ nay đến ngày 21.10 ở Trung Bộ tiếp tục có mưa to đến rất to.”
Every element of the sentence is now verifiable and factual, with no opinions.
Fairness and balance are achieved by ensuring that both sides of a story are addressed and
receive equal coverage. Some stories even have more than two sides! Journalists should
never take one person’s version of events at face value. Sometimes, of course, a source
on the other side of a story will either refuse to be interviewed, or won’t return phone
calls. Once a reporter has given every source ample time to respond, he can move on with
the story. However, he must include a disclaimer in the story, such as:
Repeated calls to Jonathan Windsor were not returned, or Jonathan Windsor declined to
be interviewed for this story, or when contacted for this story, Jonathan Windsor replied,
“No comment.”
Whichever statement you use, it musts be accurate. By including a disclaimer, you are
letting readers know that you made every effort to achieve balance and fairness in the
story. Based on that information, the reader will formulate his own opinion as to the
source’s motivation for not responding.
e) Inverted Pyramid
Journalistic writing is most often written in a format called the Inverted Pyramid, which
arranges the information in descending order of importance, or newsworthiness. The
most important information should come first, such as the Who, What, When, Where, and
How. The important details of the story should follow. After this, other general
information should be included.
Journalism helps to explain the events that impact our lives and is developed in a number
of forms and styles. Each journalistic form and style uses different techniques and writes
for different purposes and audiences. There are five principal types of journal style:
investigative, news, reviews, columns and editorial.
a) Investigative
Investigative journalism aims to uncover the truth about a particular subject, person, or
event. While investigative journalism is based on the basic principle underlying all
journalism-verification and accurate presentation of facts-investigative reporters must
often work with uncooperative or recalcitrant sources who do not wish to divulge
information.
E.g.:
1 năm theo đuổi đề tài, kinh qua nhiều công This article revealed the truth about a
ty kinh doanh thực phẩm chức năng với các company which deceived customers.
chức vụ khác nhau, nhóm PV Lao Động đã Thanks to investigative reporters, the
lột trần những chiêu trò quảng cáo, bán company’s tricks was exposed
hàng đầy dối lừa nhằm móc túi người bệnh
của những doanh nghiệp này
(laodong.vn)
b) News
News writing attempts to answer all the basic questions about any particular event—who,
what, when, where and why (the Five Ws) and also often how—at the opening of the
article. This form of structure is sometimes called the inverted pyramid, to refer to the
decreasing importance of information in subsequent paragraphs (main points first; less
important supporting material added later).
E.g.:
Cụ thể, đối tượng Nguyễn Chí Vững (SN The article answer the basic questions
1981, ngụ huyện Đông Hải, tỉnh Bạc Liêu), about the event such as who (Nguyễn Chí
vừa bị TAND tỉnh Bạc Liêu tuyên phạt 6 Vững), when( 4-5 đến 31-8-2018), how (tổ
năm tù về tội “Làm, tàng trữ, phát tán, chức livestream, xuyên tạc kích động),
tuyên truyền thông tin, tài liệu nhằm chống where (Bạc liêu), why (chống phá Nhà
Nhà nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt nước).
Nam.”
c) Reviews
Reviews are partly opinion and partly fact based. The review needs to accomplish two
things: one, accurately describe or identify the subject being reviewed, and two, provide
an intelligent and informed opinion of the subject, based on research and experience.
E.g.:
Các bài kiểm tra kết luận rằng màn hình � In this article, the iphone X was
iPhone X, Face ID và kính trở nên dễ bị tổn described as “chiếc kính bền nhất
thương nếu bị rớt, nhưng màn hình hiển thị dành cho điện thoại thông minh”.
lại là thứ được các chuyên gia đánh giá là However, through some research
tốt nhất trên chiếc điện thoại thông minh and experiments, it was reviewed as
này. “dễ vỡ”, “giá cao” and “chi phí đắt
nhất để sửa”.
Mặc dù tuyên bố của Apple về chiếc
iPhone X là có "chiếc kính bền nhất dành
cho điện thoại thông minh", nhà cung cấp
dịch vụ bảo hành và nhà thử nghiệm
dropdown của SquareTrade đã kết luận sau
một loạt các thử nghiệm thả rơi và thử
nghiệm khoảng 1,8 mét (6ft) "Dễ phá vỡ
nhất, giá cao nhất, chi phí đắt nhất để sửa
iPhone bao giờ hết
d) Columns
Columns are based primarily on the personality of the author, allowing him or her to
write about subjects in a personal style. Column writers can take a humorous approach, or
specialise in a particular subject area or topic. It’s important for columnists to develop
their own voice that is recognisable by their readership. Columnists can interpret events
or issues or write about their own personal experiences or thoughts. Columns are usually
published weekly.
E.g.:
'Cõng chữ lên non' - tấm lòng người thầy � The author showed her writing style
vùng cao qua nét nhạc in this column. The readers can feel
the genuineness in it. She also
showed her feelings and remarks on
…. the song by her personal experiences
and thoughts.
Tôi cũng như bạn, từng nhiều lần nghe
những bài hát về vùng cao, về núi rừng
biên cương và lần nào cũng thấy xốn xang
tiếng khèn, tiếng rừng, tiếng suối, tiếng
chim rừng. Nhưng, hãy một lần ta đặt chân
lên những vùng đất ấy sẽ thấy thương mến,
trân trọng con người sống ở nơi đây, và
càng trân trọng những người vì nơi đây mà
cống hiến tuổi trẻ và sức lực của mình.
…..
e) Editorial
An editorial is an article that presents the newspaper’s opinion on an issue. It reflects the
majority vote of the editorial board, the governing body of the newspaper made up of
editors and business managers. It is usually unsigned. Editorial writers build on an
argument and try to persuade readers to think the same way they do. Editorials are meant
to influence public opinion, promote critical thinking, and sometimes cause people to
take action on an issue. In essence, an editorial is an opinionated news story.
Editorials may also be in the form of editorial cartoons typically, a newspaper’s editorial
board evaluates which issues are important for their readership to know the newspaper’s
opinion. Editorials are typically published on a special page dedicated to them, called the
editorial page, which often also features letters to the editor from members of the public;
the page opposite this page is called the op-ed page and frequently contains opinion
pieces by writers not directly affiliated with the publication. However, a newspaper may
choose to publish an editorial on the front page.
Xã luận: Tự hào vững bước dưới cờ Đảng On the 90th anniversary of the
quang vinh establishment of Communist Party of
Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam ra đời là tất yếu Vietnam, this editorial was published to
lịch sử, là bước ngoặt vĩ đại, điểm mở đầu celebrate the event. Writers delivered a
quyết định cho thắng lợi của cách mạng powerful argument with facts and historical
Việt Nam và sự phát triển của dân tộc; events that can boost our national pride and
chấm dứt sự khủng hoảng về đường lối cứu encourage people to be grateful to the
nước và tổ chức lãnh đạo của phong trào president HCM and those who contributed
yêu nước Việt Nam đầu thế kỷ 20. Đảng ra to the cause of constructing and defending
đời là thành quả của sự kết hợp Chủ nghĩa our nation. It also persuades people to
Mác-Lênin với phong trào công nhân và believe in the guidelines of the Party and
phong trào yêu nước Việt Nam; thực sự là the State.
đội tiên phong của giai cấp công nhân,
nhân dân lao động và dân tộc Việt Nam.
……..
(Theo QĐND)
https://study.com/academy/lesson/journalistic-writing-characteristics-
functions.html#:~:text=Journalistic%20writing%20is%20a%20style,to%20give%20the
%20story%20credibility.
https://writingcenter.ashford.edu/journalistic-writing
https://www.freelancewriting.com/journalism/different-types-of-journalism/
https://www.masscommunicationtalk.com/different-forms-of-journalistic-writing.html