| Compare 2 Newspaper Articles Essay, Research Paper
p>It is generally believed that the purpose of a
newspaper is to state the facts about what is going on in the world around us.
However, media has long been a way of manipulating the minds of the greater
population into holding certain values and opinions. Propaganda is used
frequently in everyday life to manipulate our thoughts, and despite what the
majority of us think, it does affect our opinions. In general, we believe that
what is potrayed as ?News? is fact, but often the facts are twisted to support
the political views of the Newspaper or journalist. This essay will explore the way in which this bias
is put across to the reader in the medium of Newspapers, by comparing the way
two newspapers, the Daily Mail and The Independent report on the same event.
There are two main types of newspaper, Tabloids, like the Daily Mail, and
Broadsheets, like the Independent. Tabloids are the most popular type of paper;
it is often smaller in size, more colourful and relies on page three girls and
other such shock tactics, to attract readers. Broadsheets are generally larger
in size, more serious and less colourful. The articles I will be comparing are about a
different approach to learning. They give their opinions on a trip organised to
Butlins, a middle class holiday resort, for school children to look at
different ways of learning maths by playing darts, for example. The article
printed in The Daily Mail (Article one), is dated 6th November 1987,
the second article (Article two) printed in the Independent is dated 9th
November 1987. Layout is an important clue as to the bias and
audience at which the article is aimed at. Article one at first glance is made
up of a third headline, a third picture and the final third, the written
section, in almost equal proportions. The headline draws attention to itself,
It is written in very bold and uncomplicated text. It reads ? Dodging lessons
at Hi-DI-Hi School?. It is quite obviously questioning the morals of the
venture and almost questioning its value. A pun is used to undermine the
thinking behind the move by the education system and almost poking fun at it.
The picture in the Daily Mail shows a group of school children playing darts
and sitting around a table doing nothing, almost portraying the scene that the
students are just having an easy time instead of learning. The caption beneath
the picture reads ? Darts and Arithmetic . . . but does it add up to education
?. Once again the newspaper is questioning this venture. Article one is aimed at very broad audience. It?s
simplistic enough to reach a wider audience, with short simple facts about the
situation. But crams in enough information in such a way to meet the needs of a
more intellectual person(s). In Article one the language is very simplistic, the
sentences don?t exceed 18 words, and the longest word is about seven letters
long. Again, this is because it has to be understood by a lower class person.
You don?t need to have a large attention span to read it and the first
paragraph usually gives a broad outline of the article.? The tone of the advert makes the whole content of
the article sound like a joke. For example, ? No marks at all for the local
education authorities who waste public funds on such tom foolery?. Maybe
implying that this whole scheme is to fill up gaps at Butlins rather than being
an educational holiday. ?I believe
that article one is biased against the holiday camp because of the political
party the newspaper supports, or because of the owner?s personal opinion. Nobody has been interviewed in article one. This is
probably because the people they interviewed didn?t have the same opinion as
the people at the Daily Mail. Article one has been written to make parents/people
aware that public funds are being wasted on ? such tomfoolery ? and that this
is not the way that children should be taught because it?s fun. Article two differs greatly in layout compared to
article one I layout. Article two has a small headline which does not drag
attention away from the rest of the text, the headline states the basic idea of
the article, which reads ? Pupils play to learn at Butlins ?, this headline
does not include a pun or a bias twitch which article one?s did. Accompanying
the headline is a small photograph, which illustrates the situation and a small
caption to explain what is happening. Also on the page is a large article in
small print, with the writer and writer?s position stated, which did not appear
on article one. This article (2) is aimed towards a more cerebral
type of citizen. This is because of the language. The language and word
structure in article two is much more intellectually based, for example ? As it happens an 11.000-bed out-of-season
holiday camp is a slightly incongruous place for a school trip?. The words
and sentences are longer and more complicated, the sentences also flow more
easily. Article two goes into great detail on the situation in hand, it
interviews many people and gives you more facts than you can handle. The tone of article two is a lot more serious and
informative, it states how the children?s beds were wet and smelled. E.g. ?At first she says the children were out into
a damp old chalets on the periphery of the camp were the beds were wet and cold?
. Which brings the article to another level of seriousness, because the
question crosses your mind that. Why are Butlins hosting such an event when
there not even prepared to take on five hundred students? This article does not seem to be biased at all. It
gives both sides of the argument a fare trial and leaves the article open-ended
so you can make your own decision. This article interviews many people from teachers to
students, of which they get a mixed response. Some people thought it was a good
idea that wasn?t going to take off, others said it was nothing but problems
from the second they got there. Some said there were plenty of resources,
others said that there was none. In this particular article there is no definite
message. As I stated earlier it is left remarkably wide open for your own
judgement.??? In my opinion I prefer the independent to the Daily
Mail because it?s more to the point. It doesn?t mess around with puns or large
flashy pictures, it gets to the point in great detail. It also gives lots of
opinions from lots of angles.
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