A comparison between two newspaper stories, one from abroadsheet and one from a tabloid

A comparison between two newspaper stories, one from a broadsheet and one from a tabloid  

In this essay, I will compare two stories about the same story, the sacking of Glenn Hoddle, one from a broadsheet and one from a tabloid. I will look at the difference in the presentation and text of these articles, as well as more general things such as the conventions for the front pages, the purpose of each type of paper, and the issues involved in how a story reaches the front page.

On the front page of each newspaper there are certain conventions (things which are always there) such as the price, the paper's name and the main story. The price is in bold type so that it is easy to find, because people want to know how much the paper costs before they decide to buy it. Tabloids tend to be cheaper than broadsheets. The main story is on the front page so that people can see at a glance the most important thing (in the opinion of the paper) that has happened today.  The paper's name is usually very recognisable because it is one the first things that people look for. It presents an image of what the paper is like. For example the logos of most of the tabloids, such as The Mirror and The Sun, are written in a colourful and bold type which looks almost fun, whereas the logos of the broadsheets tend to be more sober and straightforward. This is because the purpose of most of the tabloids is firstly to entertain and then to inform, whereas the purpose of the broadsheets is to inform. This also means that tabloids are more likely to feature sensationalist, gossipy or human interest stories, while broadsheets tend to have more political stories and stories of national interest. Tabloids usually only have two stories on their front page. Broadsheets will have more, simply because their front pages are bigger, and they will be carefully chosen to cover as wide a range of interests as possible.