In many threads the topic of journalism is discussed in particular Dominican journalism and its flaws as compared to newspapers from other Spanish-speaking countries. However, I don't recall a thread dedicated solely to the discussion of the topic. In brief, the quality of a newspaper in Spanish varies within the same country as well as from country to country. In general, the quality of writing in newspapers to a certain extent is a reflection of the level of education of a certain percentage of the population. It has been said that most newspapers gear their writing towards an elementary level audience or grades three to five. Of course more upscale and/or business newspapers are available. However, the daily papers are for the general population.
Although I read the newspaper much less than ever before, thanks to the internet I can still read my preferred international newspapers at my leisure as times permits. If one chooses to use newspaper reading as a tool to improve in Spanish, it's a very recommended method to increase one's vocabulary, comprehension, reading ability and the ability to understand articles quickly will improve the more one reads.
1/ Is the caliber of all Spanish newspapers the same? -NO
2/ Do newspapers have grammatical errors? -YES
3/ Can newspapers improve one's level of competency in a language? -YES
4/ If one chooses to use the newspaper as an additional learning tool should one be selective as to which newspaper to read? -YES
5/ Although some people are more focused on the variety of the Spanish language can any newspaper in Spanish be read? - YES
- Just to support my answer to question five, here are sample phrases from four Spanish newspapers. Can you tell which country's newspaper it is? Probably not unless there's regional vocabulary and expressions which are the first indicators of the origin of the newspaper or the journalist.
Examples (some phrases may give an indication of the origin of the newspapers due to selected vocabulary but not because of the syntax, grammar etc.)
1/
Todos los ocupantes de la barcaza, que ha llegado a puerto a medianoche, son de origen subsahariano y se encuentran en buen estado de salud, aunque seis de ellos han tenido que ser trasladados a centros de salud cercanos con s?ntomas de hipotermia.
2/
Washington, (EFE).- Los ministros de Finanzas y gobernadores del G7 se re?nen hoy en Washington para estudiar como frenar el p?nico en los mercados en medio de una crisis sin precedentes y de llamamientos en favor de m?s acciones coordinadas.
3/
Los mercados burs?tiles se desplomaron ayer. Primero fue Asia y despu?s Europa y las Am?ricas. Cayeron arrastrados por el derrumbe de Wall Street, que tuvo la peor ca?da en toda su historia.
4/
Washington. efe, Reuters y AFP. Los jefes de las finanzas de las siete econom?as m?s industrializadas del mundo (Grupo de los siete o G7) anunciaron ayer un plan de acci?n contra la crisis financiera, en el que se comprometi? a usar todos los recursos disponibles para evitar la quiebra de bancos importantes y a garantizar que cuentan con suficiente capital.
From a Spanish language perspective comment on your observations as they relate to journalism and language.
-LDG.
Although I read the newspaper much less than ever before, thanks to the internet I can still read my preferred international newspapers at my leisure as times permits. If one chooses to use newspaper reading as a tool to improve in Spanish, it's a very recommended method to increase one's vocabulary, comprehension, reading ability and the ability to understand articles quickly will improve the more one reads.
1/ Is the caliber of all Spanish newspapers the same? -NO
2/ Do newspapers have grammatical errors? -YES
3/ Can newspapers improve one's level of competency in a language? -YES
4/ If one chooses to use the newspaper as an additional learning tool should one be selective as to which newspaper to read? -YES
5/ Although some people are more focused on the variety of the Spanish language can any newspaper in Spanish be read? - YES
- Just to support my answer to question five, here are sample phrases from four Spanish newspapers. Can you tell which country's newspaper it is? Probably not unless there's regional vocabulary and expressions which are the first indicators of the origin of the newspaper or the journalist.
Examples (some phrases may give an indication of the origin of the newspapers due to selected vocabulary but not because of the syntax, grammar etc.)
1/
Todos los ocupantes de la barcaza, que ha llegado a puerto a medianoche, son de origen subsahariano y se encuentran en buen estado de salud, aunque seis de ellos han tenido que ser trasladados a centros de salud cercanos con s?ntomas de hipotermia.
2/
Washington, (EFE).- Los ministros de Finanzas y gobernadores del G7 se re?nen hoy en Washington para estudiar como frenar el p?nico en los mercados en medio de una crisis sin precedentes y de llamamientos en favor de m?s acciones coordinadas.
3/
Los mercados burs?tiles se desplomaron ayer. Primero fue Asia y despu?s Europa y las Am?ricas. Cayeron arrastrados por el derrumbe de Wall Street, que tuvo la peor ca?da en toda su historia.
4/
Washington. efe, Reuters y AFP. Los jefes de las finanzas de las siete econom?as m?s industrializadas del mundo (Grupo de los siete o G7) anunciaron ayer un plan de acci?n contra la crisis financiera, en el que se comprometi? a usar todos los recursos disponibles para evitar la quiebra de bancos importantes y a garantizar que cuentan con suficiente capital.
From a Spanish language perspective comment on your observations as they relate to journalism and language.
-LDG.
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