The sub heading is also is a subordinate clause on the newspaper articles; on the tabloid the font is bold and large. It is situated just underneath the title to help with the understanding of the article; it is read straight after the heading because it has been strategically placed there to help with the short title, which does not explain much. Although the sub heading is explanatory it is not a complex sentence, it does not contain many polysyllabic words.
The broadsheets sub heading is much longer and more detailed, it is above the title because is it a short summary of the health related article and it is more informative of the argument raised. It contains many polysyllabic words (i.e. sanctioning, controversial, criticised and hyperactive.) because it is aimed at intellectual people and others interested in the issues pointed out.
Both sub headings include the organisations that are to thank or blame for the drug increase. The sub headings subtlety makes the reader think why there has not been a solution to the problem before? Or why has there been such a problem getting the drug prescribed on the NHS?
There is no photo on the tabloid article, in my opinion this because the article is small and not seen to be that important by the newspaper editor.
The broadsheet has a large photo just by the side of the title in the centre of the page. The photo focus’ on Tony Bilbow and blurs the background to emphasis the importance of a parents point of view. Tony cares about his son’s health and would never give his son a drug that was unsafe; this makes other parents feel the same because Tony Bilbow looks like an honest normal father.
On the broadsheet there is also a second smaller photo of Joe Bilbow. This is to show who is being treated for the drug in the case study, he is not under 5 years of age and has benefited from Ritalin, we know this because of the caption below the photo ‘Joe Bilbow: now doing well at school.’
The broadsheet contains a large section which is an interview with a parent directly in contact with the affects of the drug, this is to include an average persons story so that it can help us make up are mind about the use of Ritalin. The piece is a positive view of the drug. This section of the article has a separate heading in the form of a quote by Tony Bilbow, ‘The change in him was amazing’ this title automatically tells you that it’s a positive interview about Ritalin. The title sooths the controversial argument about the use of personality changing drugs because a parent reading a case study of the drug in a positive light will think it is a safer drug than experts say it is.
The broadsheet also has smaller sections where they have chosen to quote thoughts and facts by experts throughout the article.
The tabloid does not have a case study of people taking Ritalin but does have short snippets of interviews with people in contact with the drug. In my opinion this is because this article has chosen a negative view on the drug on wants to choose what to include in the article to have the most impact.
The tabloid is a negative article with negative viewpoints and facts about the drug Ritalin. It does not contain much concrete evidence but can fool you into believing that there is by using phrases such as ‘claim, could, can rise, sometimes, only, alleging, possible.’ Although the article does end with a positive quote from an ADD sufferer it only gives a brief other side of the story because the tabloid wants people to be against the increase of children receiving Ritalin.
The broadsheet contains an objective article about the increase of Ritalin given to children although it does include a segment on the positive affects of Ritalin it has a large section just on facts and feelings of people educated on the matter. It contains 19 different statistics compared to the tabloids 8 because the tabloid is looking for a reaction from the readers rather than being factual. In my opinion I think it shows that the tabloid has been more selective about which statistics it wants to use so that the article has a bigger impact.
Both articles comment on the fact that there is an issue where it depends on where you live to be able to receive the treatment but it is worded differently. The tabloid uses ‘post code lottery’ which is a very harsh anger raising way of putting the situation because when the word lottery is mentioned you think it is a remote chance that you can receive the help needed. In the broadsheet it is less rationally put because it only tells you that the treatment is not evenly spread without raising emotions severely.
The basic structure of the tabloid is short paragraphs. The first being a brief review of the article, each paragraph deals with a different view/fact/point on the subject, these are manly negative because of the angle the article has chosen to write about. The article progressively feeds the reader facts about ADHD and Ritalin and ends with a positive interview with an ADD victim.
The broadsheet is similar in structure but is much larger, sentences are more complex with longer words, and the piece describes the symptoms of ADHD in more detail and gives you a more advanced understanding of the drug and behavioural disorder because it is a more impartial angle of writing. The article does have a negative point, which does stand out in the readers mind; this is the last paragraph of Tony Bilbow’s interview. Since Joe has been taking Ritalin he has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome this makes me think; did Ritalin cause the syndrome?
The language is more formal in the broadsheet article because it is a factual intellectual piece of writing informing you of the development of the use of Ritalin.
The tabloid is less formal because it focuses more on the emotive style of writing it is not as factual but does include a few basic points to help with the understanding of the article.
