The document discusses the genre of news items. A news item reports newsworthy events to readers, listeners, or viewers. It recounts events in summary form and provides background details about what happened, to whom, and in what situation. It also includes original comments from participants, witnesses, and experts. As an example, the summary provides a news item about a nuclear accident at a Soviet naval base in 1986 that contaminated a nearby town but was covered up by Soviet officials.