INTERPRETIVE.—  In an interpretive story, the reporter attempts to give an in-depth analysis and survey of  the  causes  or  possible  consequences  of  important news events. SCIENCE.—  With  this  story,  the  reporter  attempts to   explain,   in   layman’s   language,   scientific   and technological news. CONSUMER.—   The  writer  of  a  consumer  story attempts to help his audience buy more wisely, maintain products and homes better, cook or garden better, and so forth. FINANCIAL.—  Writers of financial news focus on business, commercial or investment stories. Writers of these stories are usually expected to have an academic background or experience in their subject matter, as well as the ability to observe and write well. NEWS STYLE VS. LITERARY ENGLISH LEARNING   OBJECTIVE:   Recognize   the differences  between  the  news  and  literary English  writing  styles;  identify  the  ABCs  of journalism. Many  great  writers  have  been  known  for  their dramatic  styles,  vivid  descriptions  and  the  eloquent conversation  of  their  characters.  It  is  obvious,  however, that these great writers were not concerned with news style   writing   or   the   fundamentals   of   newswriting. Consider the following quotation for example: “It is a thing well known to both American and English whaleships, and as   well   .   a   thing   placed   upon authoritative   record   years   ago   by Scoresby, that some whales have been captured  far  north  in  the  Pacific,  in whose   bodies   have   been   found   the barbs   of   harpoons   darted   in   the Greenland seas. Nor is it to be gainsaid, that  in  some  of  these  instances  two assaults could not have exceeded very many days. Hence, the inference, it has been believed by some whalemen, that the  North  West  Passage,  so  long  a problem to men, was never a problem to the whale.” Perhaps this quotation is famtiliar to you. It is from Moby Dick, which is one of the greatest sea stories ever written. It was published more than 100 years ago and is  still  read  today.  Its  author,  Herman  Melville,  was known for his moving literary style. A   modern   journalist   writing   this   piece   for   a newspaper might put it on paper as follows: “The   Northwest   Passage,   long sought by man, maybe known and used by  whales. . “American and British sailors have reported finding the barbs of harpoons from Greenland in the bodies of whales killed  in  the  North  Pacific.  In  some cases, the wounds were only a few days old.   This   has   led   some   whalers   to believe   that   whales   must   use   some shortcut from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific.” The   preceding   contrast   shows   the   difference between literary writing of more than 100 years ago and newspaper  English  today. Media  writing  is  geared  to  the  public,  not  the professor. The purpose is to inform, not to impress. All the frills are stripped away. Unnecessary wording costs the media money in terms of time (electronic) or space (print). Newspapers  are  read  in  a  hurry.  They  are  read  at breakfast, on the subway, against the blare of radio or television, or over someone’s shoulder. Many readers scan the headlines and read only the opening paragraphs of a few articles. These readers have neither the time nor the desire to wade through literary writing. Many may have limited educations. Surveys show that the average newspaper   reader   has   the   reading   ability   of   a 12-year-old  child. Does  this  mean  that  you  have  to  write  for 12-year-olds? No, it does not. We are not speaking of the  readers’  ability  to  grasp  ideas,  but  rather  of  their ability  to  understand  difficult  words.  There  is  a  great difference.   For   example,   consider   the   following paragraph: Gravitation  is  omnipresent;  it  is exerted by every body on every other body, no matter how remote or minute. Between  two  given  objects,  its  force varies directly with the product of the two   masses   and   inversely   with   the squares  of  the  distance  between  their centers. Exerting itself throughout the 2-6