Identifying different types of news sources
Identifying accurate and verifiable news content can be a complex task, given the nuances between different types of sources. News content is divided into distinct categories which include: news articles, news analysis, editorials and opinions.
News articles provide impartial information on current events while opinion content attempts to persuade readers of a particular viewpoint concerning an event or current issues through (usually) well-reasoned arguments.
Newspaper Origami from Public Domain Pictures Used under (CC BY-NC 2.0); image resized from original
Subcategories of News and Opinion Articles from News or Opinion by Christine Photinos
(permission to use via Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
NEWS
| News Article | An article written to inform readers about recent events. The author reports essential information (who/what/where/when/why/how). |
| News Analysis | An article written to inform readers about recent events. The author reports and attempts to deepen understanding of recent events—for example, by providing background information and other kinds of additional context. |
| Feature Article |
Compared with news articles, feature articles are often more creative or exploratory and less focused on efficient delivery of essential information. Other types of news content that are generally categorized as “feature” writing include how-to-do-it articles (for example, how to shop for a new phone) and profiles (for example, an article about a movie actor starring in a recently-released film). |
OPINION
| Editorial |
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| Opinion Piece | An opinion article by a staff columnist or guest columnist. (If a guest columnist, the writer’s credentials will almost always be identified.) | |
| Review | An evaluation of a book, movie, album, live performance, etc. |
| Type of Article | Examples |
| News Article | Trump Impeached Again --- President is Accused of Inciting Insurrection; 10 Republicans Join Democrats in Vote, Wall Street Journal (CSUSM login required) |
| News Analysis | More Than Just a Tweet: Trump's Campaign to Undercut Democracy, New York Times (CSUSM login required) |
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Feature Article |
How to Save at the Grocery Store, New York Times (CSUSM login required) |
| Review | Immigrant Strivers' U.S. Rollercoaster; Yaa Gyasi On Her Intimate New Novel, 'Transcendent Kingdom', Los Angeles Times (CSUSM login required) |
| Editorial | Journalism Got More Dangerous in 2020--Including in the United States, Washington Post (CSUSM login required) |
| Opinion Piece | The Lies We Tell Ourselves About Race (NPR) |
| Letter to the Editor | Letters, October 31, 2020 (Los Angeles Times) |