The four different news providers I will be looking at here are: Sky, The Independent, The Sun, and the BBC.
Serious Reportage- crime
'Hackney nightclub acid attack leaves at least 12 injured'- BBC News
'St Petersburg bombing suspect arrested near Moscow, officials say'- Independent
General Interest- sports & celebrity
'SEA-ING THE LIGHT What time is Brighton vs Wigan, what TV Channel is it on and what is the team news as Seagulls look to secure Easter Monday promotion?'- The Sun
'Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner "file for divorce" ' - Sky News
BBC News
The first story I have researched is from the BBC News, the headline being: 'Hackney nightclub acid attack leaves at least 12 injured'. Context This news article was on the homepage of the BBC News website. It required absolutely no effort to find, and I think this was done on purpose because extreme crime like this is very popular in terms of the articles people read, therefore it would make sense for the BBC to put an article that they know will be popular on the homepage. Therefore this is an easy way to gain views and statistics for them. It may also be because the BBC are a public service broadcaster, and so one of their roles in the media is to inform. So this could be another reason it is on the homepage, to make people aware and knowledgable of potentially dangerous situations. Although the BBC do not publish a newspaper, they do broadcast on the television and post online. I think the reason this article was published online is because it is more convenient as people can read about it on the go, so this would make it more widely available to everyone.
Audience As I mentioned previously, the BBC is a public service broadcaster, and therefore they cannot be bias and they main purpose is to inform. Because of this they don't fabricate their headlines with puns and cheesy word play like a newspaper such as The Sun for example. Therefore this headline is rather short, including just bare facts such as what happened, where it happened etc. I think this could be equally as engaging because people don't have to fumble through lots of words to understand what the article is about. The bluntness of the words tell the audience straight away what the article is about, the bold words and phrases are short and snappy. I think this is definitely more appealing to the BBC audience as the News company is quite formal and so probably appeals to well-educated middle class members of the public, and so a short to the point headline is great for people commuting and on the go etc.
Sensationalist Language and use of Speech The definition of sensational is causing very great excitement or interest with shocking details, and this is a technique a lot of newspapers use in order to sell their 'product' and make things more interesting and entertaining. None of this really applies to the BBC though because they don't work for money, and their sole purpose is to inform and so its quite rare to see sensationalist language within a BBC News article.
Imagery There aren't a huge amount of images in the article as it is quite small, but I also think it is because the BBC focus more on the text as this is most of the time more informative than images. However they can also help with the understanding of it all. There are three images in this particular article.
These images add context to the article but they're not eye-catching as such, so again I think they're just there to inform.
Core Content The core content of the article isn't riddled with adjectives and descriptions etc. It is quite bare in terms of that. I think the reason its quite short is because the content literally just covers the six main points; Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. It is enough to inform the general public of the news story and it ends at that.
Links to Other Media
BBC News used this tweet that was tweeted by a witness at the crime scene, as a quote in the article. This shows the relationship that technology and the media have these days. I think they used it in the article because it is an easy way of getting a first hand account, but also because the BBC can't write biased or with emotion, it injects some emotion into the article describing it as "scary" which helps people understand the horror of it, without breaking the codes and conventions of a public service broadcaster.
Paragraphing Used and Sentence Structure The article remains short and snappy throughout because it consist only of factual information. Therefore the paragraphs are incredibly short consisting of no more than one or two sentences in each one. I don't think the purpose of this is to necessarily add effect, but just to stick to the point of them writing the article.
Mode of Address Used As a public service broadcaster, the BBC's objective is to target a mass audience. Therefore, although their style of writing is formal, it isn't to complex so it caters for everyone. For this same reason the article isn't bias, partly because it isn't allowed to be, but secondly because by being bias, again it appeals to everyone. Link to article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-39618490
The Independent
The second story I have researched is from the Independent, the headline being: 'St Petersburg bombing suspect arrested near Moscow, officials say'. Context The Independent was the first national newspaper to embrace a global, digital-only future. Therefore this article was online. I think the reason behind this is that the increase of people using the internet for day to day life they saw this as the best way of distributing the article
Audience The Independent seem to have gone for the same sort of technique with the headline as the BBC. Its short but to the point and in a nut shell sums up what the article is about. I think this attracts the audience because their highest audience views are from over 35s meaning people at the prime of their career, they have families and jobs etc. and therefore don't have time to read a long winded article. This is why this headline is effective for the Independents audience.
Sensationalist Language and use of Speech There is very limited sensationalised language in this article and the sentences are very short. I think the point of this is to inform the audience about the attack simply and straightforward. There are however a few hints of it for example the word "blast" is used when talking about the article which gives it a little more colour but without it seeming dis-tasteful or straying from the point of the article.
Imagery I think visual descriptions of events are one of the techniques that the Independent uses to inform the audience of the news story. I say this because although there is only one image, there are two videos of the attack. I think using videos in the article can prove quite effective because it brings the 'print' aspect of the news together with the new digital side of it.
Core Content Again very similar to the BBC News article, the core content of this article isn't fabricated. It is straight, to the point, and thats it. The reason its quite short is because the content literally just covers the six main points; Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. It is enough to inform the audience and is perfect for the Independents specific audience demographic. Links to Other Media There isn't any social media that is involved with the article itself, but at the top under the headline there are buttons which allow you to instantly share the article. I think this works in the favour of the Independent because it means the potential for more coverage, but its also a benefit for the audience because it allows them to air opinions about the news story and the article.
Paragraphing Used and Sentence Structure The sentences once again are very blunt, as are the paragraphs. This is most likely related to the fact the article is more informative than anything else, but also to best suit the needs of the target audience. I think its also because of the nature of the story, a terror attack is a very delicate subject and so its not really something to be made more dramatic just for readership purposes.
Mode of Address The Independent is quite non-bias throughout this particular article. They make an effort to say "accused" when talking about what the supposedly guilty had 'done'. This shows that they don't want to seem prejudice towards one side or another so i'd say that this article isn't biased. This may be because they want to keep there readership statistics as high as possible and so refrain from opinion or bias as an attempt not to defer any potential readers.
Link to article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/st-petersburg-moscow-suspect-officials-arrest-bombing-attack-subway-a7687546.html
Sky News
The third article I have researched is from Sky News, the headline being: 'Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner 'file for divorce'.
Context Sky News is an online and on television platform. The reason it is online rather than being broadcasted on television is because it is regarded as 'general interest'. The news that they broadcast on television tends to be more pressing story and articles/ serious reportage. For the same reason, it was a little harder to find on the website as it wasn't so much "breaking news".
Audience The names of the celebrities are the first words in the headline, therefore this is instantly eye catching because the audience will be intrigued to know what the article is about as the people mentioned are in the public eye. And then the 'file for divorce' is almost dramatic because its three short words that are very abrupt. And when it comes to general interest articles drama is used a lot in terms of drawing in the reader.
Sensationalist Language and use of Speech There is a lot less sensationalist language in the article than I had expected. Although denied, admitted, and infidelity are used airing an unnecessary sense of guilt, which adds a certain tinge to the article that would not be there if less fierce words were used.
Imagery
The only two images used in the article are ones that show the couple looking happy and united together. This is a little surprising because articles like this normally tend to have a "before and after" photo, to add a depth of drama which invites more audience. It could however be an act of privacy and respect for the two so that people see it as respectful article, so it could work both ways.
Core Content Unlike the articles in the Independent and the BBC, this article is longer because it has some other slightly unrelated information in the article. For example describing where and how the couple met etc. which isn't really necessary for the article it just adds more context and more emotion showing that its more for entertainment purposes than anything else.
Links to Other Media
Much like the Independent, Sky News as buttons underneath its pictures that allow the audience to instantly share the images or article to all major social media outlets.
Paragraphing used and Sentence Structure Although the sentences are quite a bit longer in this article, they're still not incredibly lengthy much like the paragraphs. The reason they're longer is because they're a little more fabricated as its more of an entertainment article as well as an informative one, therefore theres more room to go off track a little bit and add context.
Mode of Address This article isn't necessarily informal but its a lot less formal than a BBC article. It has hints of a more chatty nature as its quite a bit more rambley than serious reportage would be. I think this is down to the fact Sky is more specialised in entertainment than news broadcasting and so the mode of address is a little bit more laid back.
Link to article: http://news.sky.com/story/ben-affleck-and-jennifer-garner-file-for-divorce-10836333
The Sun
The last story I have researched is from the Sun, the headline being: 'SEA-ING THE LIGHT What time is Brighton vs Wigan, what TV Channel is it on and what is the team news as Seagulls look to secure Easter Monday promotion?' Context The Sun is available in both newspaper and online newspaper form. This particular article was online. I think the reason behind this is that they have limited space in their physical papers and so they publish most sports articles online.
Audience The headline is very eye catching to the Sun readers, as statistics show that the highest percentage of readers are working class males. Therefore assuming that football is a popular hobby amongst The Sun's audience, it means that their needs and wants are instantly met as soon as they see the headline because it is very simple and talks of when, where, and why to watch football.
Sensationalist Language and use of Speech The word such as superior is used to describe the upcoming match, which is very appealing to the target audience demographic because it bigs up something they love and enjoy which is not only appealing but also entertaining. Its also described as the "biggest match in history", which is very sensational as its makes it seem like a very historical event that is very important, which it is for football fans, therefore generating a large group to read the article.
Imagery I think because the Sun is written so that the average six year old could read it, they aim to target people of even a very low educational level. Therefore I think that the images in this article are used to express it just as much as the words, to help people with a lower reading ability get a better grasp of it.
For example this is the first image in the article. To start with it is very bright and colourful meaning its eye-catching and easy to see. The faces of the people in it are also rather expressive making it easier for people to read their emotions.
Core Content When dissected there isn't actually a lot said in this article, its quite packed with words and phrases that don't really need to be there. The sentences are still rather short though, I think to keep it interesting.
Mode of Address The mode of address in this article is very informal. I think this is to cater as best as possible to a more working class audience. But also because its more of an entertainment piece than a serious reportage piece because it doesn't have to be formal.
Link to article: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/3338656/brighton-vs-wigan-tv-channel-live-stream-team-news-seagulls-promotion/
ANALYSE LINGUISTIC CONVENTIONS WITHIN DIFFERENT NEWS ARTICLES