Communication Competence In Drafting Headlines A Study In Measuring The Level Of Stylistic And Semantic Processing

Abstract

Measuring the level of communication efficiency in news headlines and the level of stylistic and semantic processing in their formulation requires the development of a quantitative scale based on the foundations of building standards and their levels. Judging the science of media studies lies in the possibility of quantifying journalistic knowledge, that is, the ability of such knowledge to shift from qualitative language to its equivalent in the language of preparation.[1]

News Headlines and drafting processing are one of the media knowledge that should be studied, analyzed stylistically and semantically, and extracted and expressed in numerical language.

This knowledge is divided into two types:[2]

First: Knowledge is related to the element of the medium, and it means the journalistic media medium, whether it is a magazine or newspaper.

Second: Knowledge related to the sender's elements, the message, the future, as well as impact and echo return.

The scale of news heading to be developed is based on the division of these kinds of journalistic knowledge according to the pillars of the communication process, which measures the efficiency of each of its components as follows:

1. The stylistic and semantic measurement of the media message of news headline formats, including a set of mathematical equations that adopt the ratio and proportionality system developed by the researcher to achieve the measurement of the effectiveness of the titles published in newspapers and the level of communicative competence. This measurement represents the journalistic knowledge represented by the message element.


2. Measuring the level of communication skills of press editors in stylistic and semantic processing in the drafting of news headlines, using the test model prepared by the researcher to achieve this measurement, which consists of twenty questions, and each question has a five-point rating. Thus, the degree of drafting skill of the news headline editors is determined, and this measurement represents the journalistic knowledge of the sender's component. The skill of communication corresponds to the craft of intelligence, which means upgrading the meanings with positivity, excitement, and brevity to reach a balance with the form of the medium used and to present the meaning in harmony and rhythm. Communicative skills mean speaking and writing skills on the one hand, and listening and reading skills, on the other hand, i.e. the ability of the sender or source to choose linguistic and non-linguistic symbols, as well as the ability of the recipient to transform the symbols he receives into meanings he understands and perceives, and this process is called coding skills.[3]


3. Determining the priority of formulations in news headlines resulting from the treatment taken by the editor, which attracts attention and arouses the interest of the reader, using the semantic differentiation form prepared by the researcher to determine the preference of the formulations used in news headlines among readers.


4. Identification of the newspapers whose titles are being studied according to the research plan and its objectives, measuring the efficiency of drafting titles and the way they are presented, and diagnosing the type of journalistic school to which they belong, and this measurement represents the journalistic knowledge related to the element of the medium.

[1] Farouk Abu Zaid, Introduction to Journalism, World of Books, Cairo, 1986, p. 12.

[2] The same reference, pp. 13-14.

[3] See Muhammad Abdul Hamid, Media Theories and Influence Trends, 3rd Edition, World of Books, Cairo, 2010, pg. 70, and Moataz Sayed Abdullah, fanatic trends, World of Knowledge series - 137, Kuwait, 1989, pp. 149-150, and Raed Hussein Abbas Al Mulla, Skills Mass Communication through the Language of Discourse, Journal of the Media Researcher, Issue 3, College of Mass Communication, University of Baghdad, June 2007, p. 109.