A tabloid newspaper Essays

A tabloid newspaper Essays A tabloid newspaper Paper A tabloid newspaper Paper Tabloid and Broadsheet Newspapers both report the same stories in very different ways because of the differing groups of readers they appeal to. I am going to compare the ways that the story of a woman who was shot is reported in two papers (The Independent and The Sun). Broadsheet papers tend to go into a large amount of background detail; the Independent said Mr Nuffer who was born in Canada, lived in Enfield, North London. He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1984 but decided to take a career break in July 1991 to go to Australia. Broadsheet papers do this to keep the reader reading on and to paint a fuller picture in their mind. They do this because the types of readers broadsheet papers appeal to like to know the whole story to be satisfied. Tabloid newspapers ten to go into little detail: the Sun says Dale a policeman in East London for six years. This is done so that the reader is focused on the real point and not swayed by extra information. This is because the type of reader a tabloid newspapers appeal to skims over stories for easy reading, and if the main point is not stressed enough it will not be taken away by the reader. What more in the tabloid newspaper the information given differs; the tabloid paper says he was a policeman in East London whereas the broadsheet papers says he was a policeman in Enfield, East London. This proves the amount of research and attention to detail that goes into each paper differs greatly. On the other hand broadsheets use basic captions underneath their pictures; the Independent said Susan Kirby: Travel round the World which doesnt give much insight into the story. This is done because broadsheet readers prefer to read the story through whereas tabloid readers tend to skim the story and only want to know the interesting parts. The Sun said Gunned down.. Susan. This attracts attention and adds drama with i. e. the dramatic pause. Another device that tabloid papers use is informal language; instead of calling Dale Nuffer by his full name they call him Dale. This familiarises the reader with the person in the story and makes the reader feel more emotion towards his problem. This would appeal to a tabloid reader. However the broadsheet paper calls Dale Nuffer by his formal name i. e. Mr Nuffer. This is done to gie the article status because the targeted audience prefer to address people correctly. Tabloid papers use strong headlines. The Sun said Hero PC grabs thief who shot tourist Sue. The word hero is used because it is a very dramatic work as well as grabs. These words attract large amounts of attention. This is done because tabloid papers are filled with lots of short stories that fight for attention. In opposition broadsheet papers use informative headlines. The Independent says English woman shot on round world trip. This emphasises the issue at hand rather than the hero that The Sun puts the emphasis on. This keeps more to the point rather than dramatising the situation. To keep to the point broadsheet papers use less opinion. This is because broadsheet papers like The Independent leave the readers to make up their own mind, as they are supposedly more intelligent. They do not make a heroine and a bad guy of the situation. The Independent said A man has been accused of the shooting whereas The Sun says Its a mad horrible world we live in. This shows more opinion and makes the story more personal to the reader. This quote is also an example of a hyperbole, which is very common in tabloid papers such as The Sun. Hyperboles exaggerate and dramatise the situation, which is why tabloid papers use them as they try to make the reader feel for the situation. In contrast Broadsheet papers use accurate statements. The Independent does this when it says An English woman was shot. This again lets the reader make up their own mind as to who is the victim, bad guy, hero and so on. This is because readers of the The Independent buy the paper so that they can be told the story and decide for themselves the biases and opinions they want to form rather than be led to them, which is what readers of The Sun, are looking for. Another way that tabloid papers put forward their biases is by using loaded words. The Sun said gunned down. This implies to the reader that a ruthless action took place, which left the woman down and helpless. The makes the readers biases god hand in hand with The Suns. The Independent on the other hand uses neutral language and states she was shot in the stomach. This does not put the blame on any party but simply states that the action taken place. This adds fluency to the story by not throwing the blame in one direction at a hasty speed then going neutral and then throwing blame at the believed guilty party as tabloid papers can do. Tabloid papers also use more monosyllabic words than broadsheet papers, which use more polysyllabic words. In The Sun it uses words like kill, mad, guy, rough stuff. Monosyllabic words are used more often in tabloid papers as it makes it easy for the reader to understand the plot and does not confuse them with in depth, polysyllabic words. This also reflects on the intended reader in that they buy the paper for a quick easy read rather than an in depth read. The Independent uses words such as visitors, English, fashionable, probably and this is because the target audience are looking for more of a challenging read than tabloid papers offer. Tabloid papers often use slang to relate to their readers. The Sun says British bobby which would appeal to an average tabloid audience. Whereas broadsheet papers use Standard English as it is accessible to the reader. The Independent says An English woman was shot with a small calibre pistol. This also makes the article more accessible to people who may speak English but are not familiar with British slang e. g. Australians, Americans. Tabloid papers are also very nationalistic. The Sun says British Bobby as the first two words in the article. Tabloid papers are written to appeal only to the British public and the British public that they appeal to are only interested in thing that may affect them or that they may know about. This makes them want to read on, as they want to believe that the British Bobby saved the day and reinforce their patriotic view that English people are amazing and heroic. In The Independent it says Mr Nuffer was born in Canada and lived in Enfield. This shows fore neutral nationality and makes it more accessible to all nationalities and doesnt glorify the British. Broadsheets also dont bend the truth to make the article more interesting to the British Public. Similarly broadsheet papers use bare facts or events. The Independent says twenty six year old Susan. This helps to build details and a full account of the occurrence so that the reader can make and informed decision by himself. Whereas tabloid papers use emotion e. g. The Sun says horrible. This is used as it makes the story more interesting and lets the reader connect with the article and the feelings in it. Tabloid papers do use humour. The Sun says rough stuff which keeps the reader feeling light-hearted and makes the article more fun and jolly, which a tabloid reader enjoys. Broadsheets tend to keep it serious. The Independent says the bullet cut into arteries and she lost a lot of blood. This gives the paper status, as it sounds like a doctor speaking or someone who knows a lot about medical matters and this appeals to their audience.