Italian word of the day: 'Cronaca'
This Italian word is bad news.
Cronaca is one of those Italian words that doesn't translate cleanly into English, and the one-word dictionary definitions of 'news', 'narrative', or 'chronicle' don't really do it justice.
It's a word you'll come across frequently in newspapers and on TV news channels, and is most often used to refer to stories about crimes ranging from murders and kidnappings to corruption and mafia activity.
If you look for it, you'll see that almost every Italian news site and newspaper has a section given over to cronache (the plural of cronaca).
A journalist who reports mainly on these sorts of stories can call themselves a cronista, which sounds much cooler than being an ordinary giornalista.
But the uses of cronaca extend beyond crime stories.
News about deaths resulting from natural disasters or other accidents would also fall into this category.
An Italian friend studying for a journalism masters in Rome thought cronaca would best be translated as 'hard news', but it's not quite that either.
A report on Italy's negotiations with the EU over its latest budget proposals would be considered hard news, but it wouldn't count as a cronaca.
In the absence of a more scientific definition, I've come to think of a cronaca as a 'black tale' or 'dark news'.
Any story which your grandparent would shake their head at and describe as a 'bad business' is probably a cronaca.
It essentially refers to any news that is fundamentally and objectively bad or is about bad actors.
Sometimes to highlight that the story is particularly dark it's called a cronaca nera, appending the Italian word for black, which really does translate (approximately) as a 'black story'.
Meanwhile, a cronaca rosa (literally 'a pink tale' or 'pink news') is gossip or tabloid news.
So if you surreptitiously google your favourite celebrity while waiting for the bus, you'll probably end up reading a cronaca rosa.
The next time you browse your favourite Italian news site, keep an eye out for a cronaca.
Do you have a favourite Italian word, phrase or expression you'd like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
Comments
See Also
Cronaca is one of those Italian words that doesn't translate cleanly into English, and the one-word dictionary definitions of 'news', 'narrative', or 'chronicle' don't really do it justice.
It's a word you'll come across frequently in newspapers and on TV news channels, and is most often used to refer to stories about crimes ranging from murders and kidnappings to corruption and mafia activity.
If you look for it, you'll see that almost every Italian news site and newspaper has a section given over to cronache (the plural of cronaca).
A journalist who reports mainly on these sorts of stories can call themselves a cronista, which sounds much cooler than being an ordinary giornalista.
But the uses of cronaca extend beyond crime stories.
News about deaths resulting from natural disasters or other accidents would also fall into this category.
An Italian friend studying for a journalism masters in Rome thought cronaca would best be translated as 'hard news', but it's not quite that either.
A report on Italy's negotiations with the EU over its latest budget proposals would be considered hard news, but it wouldn't count as a cronaca.
In the absence of a more scientific definition, I've come to think of a cronaca as a 'black tale' or 'dark news'.
Any story which your grandparent would shake their head at and describe as a 'bad business' is probably a cronaca.
It essentially refers to any news that is fundamentally and objectively bad or is about bad actors.
Sometimes to highlight that the story is particularly dark it's called a cronaca nera, appending the Italian word for black, which really does translate (approximately) as a 'black story'.
Meanwhile, a cronaca rosa (literally 'a pink tale' or 'pink news') is gossip or tabloid news.
So if you surreptitiously google your favourite celebrity while waiting for the bus, you'll probably end up reading a cronaca rosa.
The next time you browse your favourite Italian news site, keep an eye out for a cronaca.
Do you have a favourite Italian word, phrase or expression you'd like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.