The genre of reporting has been unusually popular in the Russian and foreign press since time immemorial. No self-respecting publication can do without it, because the report opens up many informational and descriptive opportunities for the journalist, which help to convey to the reader the maximum amount of information about any actual social reality event.
The term "reporting"
The explanation of why the report is unique is contained in the definition of this genre. So, reporting is a genre of information journalism, which has as its main goal the transfer of relevant information directly from the scene, that is, the "eyes" of the author. This helps to give the reader the impression that he himself is present in the process of development of events, sees everything described in the report.
It should be noted that the term “reporting” appeared in Russian from the English report, which means “transmitting”. The translation of this concept in itself limits the reporting to the framework of the system of informational genres of journalism, because to transmit information does not mean to analyze it, look for relationships, find out the reasons and predict the possible consequences. The author simply needs to tell the audience what he sees, to notice some small but important details that will be invisible to the philistine eye and which will help the recipients to get the most clear idea about the event, about the people present at the scene, about the environment.
Story story
In its initial meaning, reporting is the notes of travelers, people who were present when a miracle was performed by the hands of God, in any catastrophes, etc. It was not a genre of journalism, but, one might say, was born before it, before how she took shape in a harmonious system.
One of the first involuntary creators of the report was the ancient Greek scientist and traveler Herodotus, who explored Asia Minor, the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East. He wrote down everything he saw. These notes subsequently compiled a travel journal, which, in essence, was a reportage.
With the advent of the printing press, the reporting has also changed. It was an almost-formed genre that journalists were constantly referring to. In the 18th century, in England, newspaper staff obtained the right to attend parliamentary meetings and transmit information “from the scene”. Correspondents stenographed the information they heard, took notes about the participants in the meeting, the atmosphere and wrote relevant material, naturally, in the genre of reporting.
At the end of the 19th century, there was a “golden age” of reporting in America and Europe. The genre finally took shape and acquired today's features. Journalists paid special attention to traveling to uncharted places of the planet (forests, jungle), as well as secrets of the surrounding society, the most egregious crimes that were difficult to solve. William Stead, Nelly Bly, Henry Stanley - these are just a few journalists who worked in the genre of "reporting". These were real masters of their craft, taking the most desperate actions to sort out a problem.
Reporting Types
The most striking, characteristic and frequently encountered types of this genre include event reporting, special reporting, investigation reporting and reporting commentary.
An event report is a narration of important and relevant incidents, as well as events in which their internal essence is important, and not just the external description. The author should not talk about everything that he sees. He needs to pick up the most striking facts and episodes. The most important thing in this report is to create a “presence effect”.
Special reporting is a variety that involves the development and description of a relevant topic, as well as introducing the audience to the results of a situation.
Reporting investigation involves obtaining information on a problematic issue from numerous sources, using interviews to clarify the whole picture of what is happening.
The reporting commentary is focused on a detailed study of the facets of the described event. The author must correctly and clearly explain every detail.
Functions, subject and reporting method
It is from the point of view of these parameters that it is necessary to characterize any journalistic genre. So, the subject of the report is a significant relevant event that will be interesting to the public. The function is the transfer of copyright impressions, a detailed description of everything that happens. The method is to create a “presence effect” in recipients.
