Comparing Tabloids and Broadsheets.
Comparing Tabloids and Broadsheets
First I compared the headline and sub-heading between the two newspapers. In the tabloid the headline is very dramatic to grab your attention so you want to read the article. An example of this is 'Wills fury over TV drama.' The tabloid has just one front page story and an offer on the front to sell itself so people get pulled in by the offer or want to carry on reading the main story. However the broadsheet also has a heading that catches you attention, but it gives more information than a tabloid heading, it doesn't need to attract people's attention because there are only a certain amount of people that read it and they know what to expect. An example of this is 'One night of Ecstasy may bring on Parkinson's.' It tells you exactly what it is about, where as the tabloid heading isn't as clear. Also the tabloid has one big heading on the front of the paper and the broadsheet front page looks the same as the inside pages, with lots of different articles on the page. The only difference between the front page and the rest of the pages is that it has 'The Times' printed on it. The sub-headings in both of the newspapers just give more information to the main headline, which also pulls you into the article.
Then, I compared the use of pictures in each type of paper. This differs quite a bit because the ratio of article to picture in the tabloid is about 25% article to 75% pictures. Where as the broadsheet has a ratio of about 50% article to 50% picture. The tabloid usually has four pictures for a big story. The pictures in the tabloid are used to fill up space so not as much has to be written, to attract people's eyes to the article and to illustrate the article. The broadsheet, however, usually has about one or two pictures to a story. They are used to illustrate the article, sometimes to break up all the text, and are not used to fill the extra space because the broadsheets have more to say as they have more factual information.
I then compared the columns used in the two newspapers. The tabloid has wide and short columns, which means that it has fewer columns than the broadsheet so less is written and the fact that the columns are short also adds to the fact that less is written than in the broadsheet. Also the use of pictures connects with this because the more picture that are used, there is even less space to write. However, the broadsheet has long, thin columns so more can fit on the page allowing for more writing. The fact that the broadsheet also has wider pages means that more columns can be fit on so more is written.
The paragraphs used in the tabloid were quite short, with some only three lines long. This makes it interesting to read and understand which makes it more interesting for the type of person that reads the tabloids. There are more paragraphs per article because there are a lot of short ones, although, there are some long paragraphs. The broadsheet has quite a few paragraphs per article, but not as much as tabloids. Although there are some short paragraphs, the majority of them are long, consequently more is written, giving more information.
In tabloids there are quite a few bullet points because it makes it simpler for the reader to read as it is made simpler. This appeals to the tabloid readers as they are generally not as intelligent as people who read broadsheets and simplifying some information just makes it easier for people to understand. Where as in broadsheets there are none because people that read broadsheets don't usually need things simplified.
The captions in tabloids are mostly brief, using only key words, such as 'TOMLINSON: Denied 'Whitewash'. Where as the captions in the broadsheets are normally at ...
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In tabloids there are quite a few bullet points because it makes it simpler for the reader to read as it is made simpler. This appeals to the tabloid readers as they are generally not as intelligent as people who read broadsheets and simplifying some information just makes it easier for people to understand. Where as in broadsheets there are none because people that read broadsheets don't usually need things simplified.
The captions in tabloids are mostly brief, using only key words, such as 'TOMLINSON: Denied 'Whitewash'. Where as the captions in the broadsheets are normally at least a sentence long and sum up the picture totally. An example of this is, 'Star quality: Tiger Woods and his girlfriend Elin Nordegnn at the Belfry before the start of the Ryder Cup there today'.
There is a big difference in the word length because in the tabloid the words are generally short, understandable words like 'That was good news'. This is because most of the people that read tabloids won't understand longer more complex words so it needs to be kept simple and understandable. Where as the broadsheet uses much longer, more complex words such as, 'In her latest disclosures'. This is because people who read this type of newspaper can understand the longer, complex words that are used as they are usually more intellectual.
The style of language between the two types pf newspaper is very different. The tabloid uses more slang terms and simple words which appeal to the 'normal' person. An example of this is 'Monica died in April last year after her car was rammed by an armed robber's hijacked car'. The broadsheet however, uses more complex words and sentences and doesn't use any kind of slang. An example of the use of complex sentences is, 'Medical school consigns cadavers to history'. The style of language used in the broadsheet is aimed for the more 'intellectual' person.
There are lots of emotive words in the tabloid because the articles are exaggerated so they are more interesting. They are mainly used to show people's feelings. Examples of this are, 'enjoyed, happy, joyous etc. The broadsheet doesn't have many emotive words because they don't write about people's feelings very much because the stories are not exaggerated as they are more factual.
In connection with emotive words is fact and opinion. The emotive words are used in the tabloid to make things more exciting, so they are exaggerated. This can dress up opinion as fact. An example of this is when some one has an opinion that cannabis is safe to declassify, they could write that cannabis is safe to declassify and dress this opinion up as fact. There is a lot more opinion in tabloids than in broadsheets because broadsheets don't have any emotive words and they don't exaggerate the story. If there is any opinion it is brief and you are shown both sides of the argument so no opinion is forced on you. It is mainly factual and just gives the information to people so they can make up their own minds.
Tabloids contain a lot of puns and alliteration, which are mainly in the headline to catch the reader's attention and draw you into the article. They are used to keep your attention on the article so you don't get bored. On the other hand the broadsheet rarely contains either of them as it is a more serious paper and gets to the point. The people that read broadsheets don't need to be kept interested by using puns and alliteration because most of the people would be interested in the article they are reading as it has effects in their lives and they generally are more interested. This goes for stocks and shares especially because the people that read the broadsheet probably have shares and are interested in how well it is doing, instead of the people that read the broadsheet that might not understand it or have any of their own so they aren't bothered by the subject.
Puns and alliteration make the article more exciting like imagery with pictures, similes and metaphors. There are not many similes in the tabloid, but there were lots of metaphors used such as, 'The tones were last night ripped apart'. The pictures also add to the ability to imagine what is happening in the article. However, the broadsheet contains few similes and metaphors because it doesn't need to make the articles more interesting as they are based on fact and fact isn't always very interesting.
The news content in the tabloid mostly consists of celebrities, politics and national stories. This is because people are interested in what celebrities and politicians are doing, which are often exaggerated so it is more interesting to the reader. The broadsheet on the other hand has reports on national and international occurrences. The reports are true and aren't very exaggerated because they don't need to be made more interesting as the people that read broadsheets only want to know the facts of what is going on.
The tabloid mainly consists of gossip because 'ordinary' people want to know what other people are doing especially if they are well known. An example of the gossip written in tabloids is 'Zara's one-legged, one-night stand'. People are nosey and are always interested in what other people are doing so this is a big selling point for tabloids. The broadsheet however, has articles that mostly true with very little gossip. This is because people that read the broadsheet only want to know the facts of what is going on, they don't want all the exaggeration and lies that the tabloid has.
The information in the tabloid is quite good, but most of it is on celebrities and politicians and not the more important things like national occurrences. You also don't know how much of the information you read is true so you can't totally trust it. In broadsheets there is a lot of information that is true and reliable. There are normally four or five articles to a page, which gives a lot of information. People that read this want a lot of information because that is mainly why people want to read the broadsheet.
The tabloid is very opinionated and usually only gives one opinion of the story, which is the one they want you to read. This is how they can make people sound good or bad depending on which one they want to show the person as. The broadsheet however, tells you what actually happened, not what they want you to think happened. They give both sides of the story so you can see what really happened and can make your own mind up about the person instead of it already being made for you.
In the tabloid there are lots of adverts. Every page has an advert on it which altogether adds up to about 250. This is so they can get extra money to the paper because companies pay to put their adverts in the paper. Broadsheets have lots of adverts as well, but not as many as tabloids because there were only about 100, which is under half the amount in tabloids. Broadsheets also have an advert on every page and a few pages with only adverts on, but not as much as the tabloids because it isn't as important to get the money from the adverts as they have more to write about.
There is a lot of political bias, with cartoons making fun of a politicians and the Prime Minister over something they did. Most of this is about the labour party as they are in power at the moment. The tabloids can make you like or hate politicians because they only give one opinion so you don't always get to know what is really going on. This can make people hated by the public because some people believe everything they hear, which is often either made up, it has been exaggerated or the tabloids have taken something totally innocent and turned it into a full blown scandal. The broadsheet however, has very little political bias because they give both sides of the argument and give you the truth and all the good and bad things about what is happening. This allows you to make up your own mind.
The tabloid audience is generally younger and not as well educated as the people that read tabloids. They have to have language that is quite simple so that they can read and understand it. It isn't as serious as the broadsheet which suits a lot of people. Where as the broadsheet audience is generally older, more intellectual people. This is because the language is quite complex and contains things like stocks, international occurrences etc in them that many people don't understand or want to read about. It is a more serious paper and is truthful which many people prefer.
The tabloid would interest a person because it is exaggerated which makes it exciting to read and appeal to readers. People are also interested to find out about celebrities and all the gossip that is written in the paper. The broadsheet might not have as many readers as the tabloid because it is very factual and uses long, complex words, which some people can't understand and so it can be boring for them. Although, there are still many people that do read the broadsheet often and is interesting for them as it includes articles that they like to read about.
In conclusion to this essay I think that over all, the tabloids and the broadsheet have similar layouts, with a few minor differences such as the size or amount of text written and the amount of pictures used. However, the language is very different as the broadsheet uses longer, more complex words than the tabloid that uses shorter, simpler words. This is because of the type of person that reads them as the people that read broadsheets are generally more intellectual than people that read tabloid therefore they can understand the complex language used in broadsheets. The tabloids have a large content of celebrities and gossip, although, it did have national news in it, which is very different to broadsheets. Broadsheets have international and international news and not as much written about celebrities and gossip. The broadsheet also tells the truth and gives both opinions of the story, unlike the tabloid which is exaggerated to make it more exciting and only gives the opinion of the story they want you to see. Therefore the tabloid is a lot more biased than the broadsheet. There is a lot of advertising in both papers, but the tabloid has more than double the amount of adverts in the broadsheet.
By Jade McGreevy
