Comparison of a tabloid and broadsheet article - Broadsheet and tabloid newspapers employ different techniques to appeal to their readership.

The articles to be compared are, ‘Harry Plotters Nicked By The Sun’ (by Tom Worden, written for The Sun) and ‘Four Held Over ‘Theft’ Of Harry Potter Book’ (by David Sapsted, written for The Times) and are on the same subject. This would make the differences between the articles evident to the reader. Both are about the robbery of four chapters from the new Harry Potter book, ‘The Order Of The Phoenix’ by J.K Rowling, to be released on June 21, and the attempt to sell them.

The tabloid headline, ‘Harry Plotter Nicked By The Sun,’ is typical, as ‘Harry Plotter’ is a play on ‘Harry Potter,’ which catches the reader’s attention. Informal language, ‘nicked’ has also been used to make the article suitable for a wider audience. The sub-heading, set in bold, is a basic summary of what the article is about, and has a slight use of sensational language, ‘A plot to sell top-secret chapters… has been foiled.’ Throughout the article, informal language and slang have been used, for example, ‘nick, flog, dodgy, beefy, lad and cops,’ to make the article suitable for an audience looking for an easy read and possibly relates to less educated readers. Worden has exaggerated the status of the Harry Potter chapters slightly by calling it, ‘… one of literature’s best kept secrets,’ which some could argue otherwise. The presentational devices used are in the form of photographs, five in all. Each has a certain impact that attracts the reader. One of the photos is of the writer of the article, Tom Worden with the recovered Harry Potter chapters, which gives the article a personal feel. Another of the photos is of Daniel Radcliffe, the boy who plays Harry Potter in the Warner Brother films. Although the robbery of the chapters has not much relevance to Daniel Radcliffe himself, the photo is used to interest the reader by connect the robbery with the £million movies, that are famously known worldwide. The remaining three photos are of the suspects, two of which their faces have been blurred out. This makes the men more ominous, and perhaps makes the reader curious of what they look like. As Worden experienced the ‘late-night sting’, which resulted in the arrest of the four people involved in the scam, he writes some parts, presented in italic, as if it is a diary entry, ‘We tipped off the police about the rendezvous…’ He also adds quotes from the ‘dodgy character’ who wanted to sell the chapters, “Money. Round about £20,000, if that’s not too much,” and the Det. Insp. Ian Addison, “ we are extremely grateful to The Sun for the professional manner in which they handled this.” At the end of the article there is a bullet point stating the outcome of the ‘late-night sting,’ ‘Three teenagers were accused of handling stolen goods.’ This would make it possible to read the sub-heading and bullet-point if the reader has little time.

The broadsheet article is very different, in both language and presentation. The headline ‘Four held over ‘theft’ of Harry Potter book,’ is formal and more to the point. Although the article doesn’t have a sub-heading set out as the other one is, it sums up the article simply, ‘A man and three teenagers were being questioned after… trying to sell the latest Harry Potter book to national newspapers.’ There is no need to read on because of the content of the ‘sub-heading.’ The article is formal throughout with no use of slang, as there is in the tabloid. The article is unsuitable for teenagers as some sophisticated language is used, ‘obtained, disclosed and declined.’ As the article has no pictures or photographs, it is less likely to catch the reader’s attention while they are flicking through. There is also a severe lack of evidence in the form of quotes to back up Sapsted’s article. The brief and less detailed style makes the article ‘boring,’ and even a more mature and educated person would have greater satisfaction from the tabloid article, although it could be argued it is too sensational.

In conclusion, the tabloid article has used emotive language throughout the article, whereas the broadsheet article is more mundane, with no pictures. The reason for this is that the tabloid article writers use events in any way linked with celebrity trivia and make a big deal of it, hence the photo of Daniel Radcliffe. The broadsheet article writers on the other hand, tend to stay away from any story linked to the celebrity trivia, and maintain their reputation as respectable current affairs journalists. This is why the broadsheet article is short, with no presentational devices. The tabloid articles rely heavily on presentational devices to draw in an audience, and the subject of the articles attracts those who enjoy voyeurism. It is quite incredible how an ordinary children’s book has become so famously known worldwide, and each book that is released is ‘hyped’ up enough to make people desperate, enough to commit a crime to gain the book a few weeks before it comes out.