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Amani Pritchard

Writing 2
Zack De Piero
April 12, 2015
National News Articles
For people living in the United States, major article headlines make
daily appearances. Many people read the news to inform themselves of the
current worldwide events taking place. National news articles are an
important genre because they are unbiased reportings that cover the biggest
stories of the day and explain what is going on in our world. By
understanding this genre, it is easy to see how the conventions of it
influence peoples opinions and thoughts about what is going on around
them.
Take for example the recent announcement of the bid for president of
Hillary Clinton; numerous news sources across the United States rushed to
publish the whole story for the general public. Second Shot: Hillary Clinton
running again for president and Hillary Clinton launches second
presidential bid were just a few of the many headlines for articles circling
the web. News sources rushed to post the story as soon as her first campaign
video was released on her website. National news articles constitute their
own written genre and with that come with their own set of rules for writing
such an article. These stories ranged in content but for the most part, hit

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very similar points and highlighted similar conventions used to inform the
public and make the information easy to understand.
The sources analyzed in this paper include articles from CNN, Napa
Valley Register, and the SF Gate. More importantly, the analyzation will look
at the similarities and differences of conventions used within the articles.
These sites were chosen because they are respected sources that have been
reporting on the worlds news for many years. All three articles were
published on the same day, April 12th, 2015, and reported on the
announcement of Hillary Clinton who declared she would be running for
president in 2016.
Besides the topic of the articles, they also had many other similarities.
All three opened with a statement announcing Clintons announcement, and
as well included her quote Everyday Americans need a champion, and I
want to be that champion, within the first paragraph. This is important
because it set the tone of the article, as well as introduced the strategy Ms.
Clinton was using for her campaign. They outlined the rest of her current
supposed strategy and predicted what her next steps might be along the
road of her campaign over the next year and a half. There were sections
mentioning her past attempt at office and how she had handled herself as
Secretary of State under President Barack Obama. There was speculation on
how much her campaign would cost and other challenges she might face. All
of these factors made up a solid foundation of reporting that is necessary for
major news articles to have so that they can produce a well-informed piece.

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Another large point that all three articles had was the recent responses
to the Clinton announcement from members of the Republican Party. One
article reported that the party had spent $10,000 on Internet ads pointing
out Clintons incompetence as Secretary of State, while another had a quote
from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush saying We must do better than the
Obama-Clinton foreign policy that has damaged relationships with our allies
and emboldened our enemies (Julie Pace). This move showed the opposing
side to the story presented in these articles and again, making it more well
rounded.
There is a definite reason that all the articles had very similar
content and it was not due to plagiarism. For these big stories, it is
imperative that the reporter addresses each side of the story. This is
important because the articles are directed at the general public and the
point of them are to inform the people without bias. This is shown in the
Clinton announcement articles by mentioning the democratic side, the
republican side, and the history of the whole situation. This method gives the
readers a complete perspective on the reported story.
It is important for news sources to have their facts of stories correct as
it is a big faux pas to report misinformation. The authors of these national
news articles use rhetoric to write appropriately for a given situation, one
that is determined by the expectations of the audience,(Boyd). The
reporters also have a way of organizing the stories. First, a hook to catch the
readers attention of the story is accompanied by a colorful picture that

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relates to the issue. As mentioned previously, all three articles used a direct
quote from Ms. Clinton to hook their audiences, as it was a powerful and
informative declaration. After the initial hook, the articles usually regress to
give background information on the story, just in case the reader is not
familiar with the issue. Then they report the details in chronological order. In
the Clinton announcement example; first came the news about her video
announcement, then predictions on her campaign and possible challenges,
followed by the contradicting opinions of her opponents.
These conventions of national news stories are essential for the genre
because they guide the readers through the stories. These readers are
everyday people who simply want to know more about what is going on in
the world. Though the sources cater to different demographics (i.e. small
town versus city), the readers are all interested in the same story. They want
well-written, intelligent, fair, and honest articles when they open their papers
or log onto the websites for their news. National news articles make up a
genre that is extremely important in our modern world. By understanding
this genre, consumers of the news can understand the effort that goes into
reporting these stories day after day.
When people understand genres, they can consume the information
more easily and appreciate the flow and work of written pieces. For instance,
if a person picked up a copy of the SF Chronicle and read about Clintons
announcement without understanding national news articles or genres in
general, they might not absorb the information or they might even wonder

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why many news articles are so similar. Many people are usually familiar with
the genres of movies. They have their preferences between horror and
romance, or comedy and documentary. However, many people do not realize
the written genres that are everywhere in the written world. National news
articles are just one example. There are also obituaries, opinion articles, and
sports reporting just to name a few.
By being educated on the topic of genres and their different
conventions, readers can be smarter about what they consume and absorb
that information more efficiently. Specifically in the pastime of reading the
news, the point of consuming the information is to have an informed outlook
on what is happening. That is why national news articles are such an
important genre in that aspect, because they provide the tools for the
readers to achieve as much.

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Sources
Merica, Dan. "Hillary Clinton Launches Second Presidential Bid - CNN.com."
CNN. Cable News Network, 12 Apr. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Pace, Julie. "Clinton Kicks off 2016 Campaign Online, Heads next to
Iowa." SFGate. 12 Apr. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
Thomas, Ken, and Lisa Lerer. "Second Shot: Hillary Clinton Running
Again for President." Napa Valley Register. 12 Apr. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.