A. Definition and Function of News Items
What is a news item? It is a text that provides readers with information about current events. News items highlight significant or noteworthy happenings that occurred today or in the recent past.B. Generic Structure of News Items
A news item typically includes:- Main/Newsworthy Event(s): Summarizes the key event.
- Background Events: Provides details about what occurred, who was involved, and the context.
- Sources: Includes statements from participants, witnesses, or authoritative experts related to the event.
C. Lexicogrammatical Features of News Items
The following characteristics typically belong to news items:- Concise, telegraphic information in the headline summarizing the story.
- Material processes to describe the event, often using action verbs that indicate an action performed by one entity on another (e.g., killed, searched, crashed, rescued).
- Projecting verbal processes in the sources section, representing acts of 'saying' (e.g., said, told, explained, informed).
- Focus on Circumstances, often conveyed through Qualifiers, providing details about time, place, manner, or reason.
D. Examples of News Items
News Text 1(Title/Headline)
(Summary/recount of the newsworthy event)
Search and rescue teams worked tirelessly on Friday to locate survivors buried beneath mud-covered hills after flash floods swept through East Java, claiming at least eight lives, according to the disaster management agency. Heavy rainfall on Thursday triggered the floods in Malang and the highland city of Batu, engulfing homes in mud and debris and destroying local bridges as water surged through the area.
(Elaboration/background events)
By Friday, emergency teams were still searching for missing individuals in Batu, as reported by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Rescuers managed to save six people from the rubble, while they retrieved six bodies in Batu and two others in Malang. The deceased were placed in body bags as the operation continued.
(Comments by participants, witnesses, experts. and/or authorities)
"We are still searching for three people who remain unaccounted for," stated Abdul Muhari, the agency's chairman. Landslides and flash floods frequently occur in Indonesia during the rainy season, which begins in September.
(Summary/recount of similar events)
Environmental experts attribute such disasters to deforestation and insufficient disaster prevention measures. Just last month, seven individuals lost their lives in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Sumatra. Earlier in April, Tropical Cyclone Seroja caused devastation in Indonesia’s eastern islands and neighboring Timor Leste, leaving over 200 fatalities and turning small villages into muddy wastelands with uprooted trees.
Title / Headline
(Summary/recount of the newsworthy event)
Jakarta (TEMPO.CO) – The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has issued a warning about the likelihood of extreme weather conditions this week, February 17-23. These conditions may include moderate to heavy rainfall, lightning, strong winds, and high waves, which are expected to affect various regions in Indonesia.
(Comments by participants, witnesses, experts. and/or authorities)
"We urge the public to stay alert and take precautions against extreme weather risks, including floods, landslides, and fallen trees," said Guswanto, Deputy of Meteorology, in a statement released in Jakarta on Wednesday, February 16. He further noted that the warning is based on the latest atmospheric dynamics analysis.
The BMKG emphasized that this extreme weather is primarily driven by the phase-3 Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) occurring over the Indian Ocean, which significantly contributes to the formation of rain clouds in several parts of Indonesia. This is further intensified by atmospheric phenomena, such as equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves, in specific areas.
Regions likely to experience moderate to heavy rainfall include Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, Bengkulu, South Sumatra, Lampung, Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, North Maluku, Maluku, West Papua, and Papua.
News source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1561699/bmkg-severe-weather-forecasted-this-week-for-parts-of-indonesiaE. Exercise Section
1. Part Identification
Direction: Identify the parts of the following news texts; Title/Headline, Summary/Recount of the Newsworthy Event, Comments by Participants, Witnesses, Experts, and/or Authorities, Elaboration/Background Events, and Summary/Recount of Similar Events.News Text 3
(...)
(...)
A recent study reveals that the destructive power of typhoons in the Pacific Ocean could double by the end of the century due to climate change. The study, conducted by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Weather Research Centre, projects that typhoons may last five hours longer, have 6% stronger winds at landfall, and travel 50% further inland.
(...)
These changes are already visible. Between 1979 and 2016, typhoons increased in duration by two to nine hours and traveled 30 to 190 kilometers further inland. The study, published in Frontiers in Earth Science, is based on a scenario where global temperatures rise by 3.7°C by 2100, a likely outcome if emissions remain high. So far, temperatures have increased by 1.2°C from pre-industrial levels.
(...)
The impact of stronger typhoons is already evident in recent storms like Typhoon Rai, which hit the Philippines on December 16. As of Monday, the Philippine government confirmed 388 deaths, with 60 more still missing and approximately 500,000 people left homeless after winds and flooding damaged or destroyed nearly half a million homes.
(...)
Francis Tam Chi-yung, the lead author of the study, warned that more inland regions in Asia could be exposed to severe typhoon risks due to climate change. Major cities like Hong Kong and Hanoi are expected to be among the most affected.
(...)
(...)
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The chairman of the Indonesian Pediatric Association (IDAI), Piprim Basarah Yanuarso, reported a significant rise in Covid-19 cases among children in the past month. This surge coincided with the return to full in-person learning (PTM 100%) at schools in early January.
(...)
""Pediatricians have reported a tenfold increase compared to January, which is alarming," he stated during the launch of the Covid-19 Guidelines Book, 4th edition, in Jakarta on February 9.
(...)
Yanuarso noted that the surge in child Covid cases began on January 24 with 646 cases, rising to 2,775 on January 31, and reaching 7,190 by February 7—marking a 300% increase.
(...)
This surge among students and teachers prompted the Education Ministry to issue a back-to-school policy limiting attendance to 50%. IDAI welcomed the policy, which also allows parents to choose a safer environment for their children.
(...)
Yanuarso believes this decision can help reduce infections among children. "Mild symptoms should not be overlooked, as severe cases in children have started to appear," he emphasized.
(...)
IDAI calls on parents to enforce health protocols for children, especially those over 2 years old. If symptoms like cough or cold appear, contact a doctor, as it may indicate Omicron infection.
2. Comprehension Exercise.
Directions: Choose whether each of the following sentences is TRUE or FALSE based on the relevant text.- These sentences refer to news text 1.
- The text is about a natural disaster.
- The flash flood killed eight people.
- When the news was published, six people were still missing.
- The flash floods happened in Malang and Batu following severe and heavy rains.
- Deforestation and poor mitigation planning may cause landslides and flash floods.
- The text is about a natural disaster.
- These sentences refer to news text 2.
- The text mainly talks about a warning of potential extreme weather in Indonesia.
- The public is expected to prevent the possible impact of hydrometeorological disasters.
- The impact of hydrometeorological disasters includes floods, landslides, flash floods, forest fires, fallen trees, and others.
- The warning was based on the latest analysis on atmospheric dynamics.
- Kelvin and Rossby are experts in meteorology, climatology, and geophysics.
- The text mainly talks about a warning of potential extreme weather in Indonesia.
- These sentences refer to news text 3.
- The news talks about the causes of climate change in Asia.
- A new study suggests that tropical storms in the Pacific Ocean could be much more destructive by the end of the century.
- Between 1979 and 2016, typhoons remained the same in duration and size of areas.
- According to studies, global warming, due to emissions of greenhouse gases, is the cause of extreme weather phenomena.
- Typhoon Rai hitting the Philippines on Dec. 16 killed at least 388 people and damaged more than 400,000 houses.
- The news talks about the causes of climate change in Asia.
- These sentences refer to news text 4.
- The news mainly talks about the increase of Omicron cases among the members of Pediatric Association.
- Based on the text, we can conclude that on-site learning activities, known as PTM 100%, contributed to the increase of Covid-19 cases among children.
- Covid cases on children increased by 300% during the month of January.
- The Education Ministry has applied back-to-school policy at 50% capacity as a response to the increasing Covid cases.
- IDAI makes phone calls to parents to ask them about the health protocols of their children.
- The news mainly talks about the increase of Omicron cases among the members of Pediatric Association.
