NEWS ITEM

A. Definition
News item is a text which informs readers about event of the day. The events are
considered newsworthy or important.
News item adalah teks yang memberikan informasi temtang kejadian/peristiwa harian.
Definisi lain, News Item is news presented by a journalist, in print or broadcast medium.

B. Explanation
Text which contains news is categorized as news item text. This text supplies you up-to-
date information or the hottest issue of the day since media like newspapers are
published daily.

Generic Structure
The generic structure of news item consists of :

 Newsworthy event
It tells the main event which is considered newsworthy in a summary form.
 Background event
It elaborates what happened or explains detailed information of what caused the
incident. It can include the background, participant, time, and place relating to the
news.
 Source of Information
It contains comments which can be from the participants, witness, the official
authorities, or experts is the events.

Language Feature

 Using “action verbs” (hit, attack)

 Using “saying verbs” (said, added, claimed)
 Using passive sentences (Aceh was hit by tsunami in 2004)
 Using adverbs in passive sentence (the victims were badly injured)
 Using past tense. It is logical as the consequence of telling thing which happens in
the past.
C. Example

Indonesian’s Bali Raises Volcano Alert To Highest Level

Authorities on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali have raised the volcano alert to the
highest level as Mount Agung continues to churn and belch manacing-looking ash and
smoke.

Officials have ordered all people within 10 kilometers of the mountain to evacuate.

But while the activity on Mount Agung looks frightening, the head of Indonesia’s
geological agency, Kasbani (one name) says he does not expect a major eruption.

He says the alert was raised because the volcano began pouring out magma instead of
stream and that officials must be “alert and anticipate.”

Flights have been diverted away from the Bali airport and the airport on the neighboring
Lombok island wa closed. People looking to leave Bali were stranded because of flight
cancellations.

Bali is Indonesian’s top tourist destination, with its Hindu culture, surf beaches, and lush
green interior attracting about 5 million visitors a year.

Moount Agung began rumbling and sending ash clouds into the sky on Tuesday.

Idonesia lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where tectonic plates crash, which causes
frequent volcanic and seismic activity.

Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, killing more than 1.000 people.

Mount Sinabung on Sumatra island, active since 2013, is also at its highest alert level.
D. Exercise