Unit 3. The newspaper style

A newspaper is always very eclectic, from the stylistic point of view. So, obviously, everything that happens to be printed in a newspaper cannot be regarded as belonging to the newspaper style. Since the central function of the newspaper is to inform and influence the reader on certain matters we may speak about such parts of it that constitute the newspaper style proper as: 1) brief news items, 2) the editorial, 3) advertisements and announcements, 4) articles purely informative in character, of great importance are also, 5) headlines.

Brief news items are impersonal and objective. They present information compres­sed into limited space and should be clear, interesting and devoid of ambiguity.

The editorials are of analytical, generalizing character. They are the most imperso­nal for they are "the voice" of the newspaper itself.

The function of the headline is complex: headlines have to contain a clear and if possible intriguing message to arouse interest in the potential reader, to catch his eye, and the chief means of producing "eye-catching" effects is by making use of the full range of graphic contrasts - bold type, italics, different other kinds of type, subhead-lines. Besides, the headlines may intrigue the reader by their syntactic structure: nominal phrases, elliptical sentences, exclamatory or interrogative sentences, etc.

We should also note that the combination of expressiveness and standardization makes one of the important features of the style. Standard phrases, clichés make the contact with the reader easier. Brief news articles, for example quickly made should be devoid of extra words (for want of space too) and easy to understand. They are quicker understood in readymade blocks. So expressiveness very soon turns into standard and cliché when an apt phrase or word becomes proverbial.

The basic aim of the newspaper - to report or to inform is realised in its objective, documentary, impersonal character through the use of official, economic terminology, proper names, abbreviations, the passive voice, etc At the same time appeal in the newspaper is to feelings rather than to reason - hence the use of expressive means on different linguistic levels: phonology - alliteration, rhythm; graphitic means -men­tioned above; paragraphing; lexicology - careful choice of words-as there is always the need for compression of the information into a limited space, the need for clarity, the avoidance of ambiguity; various stylistic means making the style picturesque but ­creating no new image which would hardly be a good aid to readability.

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