For this essay I will be comparing the differences, similarities, structure, and content between a tabloid and a broad sheet that are both focusing on the same topic. How ever, although the tabloid and the broadsheet

Comparing the structure and content of two newspapers articles

For this essay I will be comparing the differences, similarities, structure, and content between a tabloid and a broad sheet that are both focusing on the same topic. How ever, although the tabloid and the broadsheet are both writing about the same event, they present their information in different ways.

One of the most distinctive things that we realise is the difference in headlines. The headlines for the tabloid are large, in bold, and really stand out, whereas the headlines for the broadsheet are much smaller. This clearly shows us that the tabloid wants to make a larger impact and to draw the attention of the reader. The headline of the tabloid is also a pun as the band of Pete Doherty is known as the Libertines. Also another point that backs this up are the fonts of each headline where the headline of the broadsheet has decorative points at the end of each letter, on the other hand, the headline of the tabloid doesn’t have that at all. Instead, the letters in the headline of the tabloid all have right-angled ends. This gives a hard feel to the words and helps to attract the reader’s attention and gives the words a big impact. Another difference between the tabloid and the broadsheet is that the tabloid has a sub headline that is short and catchy to attract readers even more as it makes them wonder exactly what happened, whereas the broadsheet has no sub heading. Also the strap line of the tabloid has another pun “he needed to keep his liberty”.

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Another interesting difference between the tabloid and the broadsheet is the choice of pictures. There are 3 pictures that are in the middle of the page showing some of the people referred to in the report. Two small pictures, one showing a drawing of Kate Moss and one showing manager Mullord, both them looking innocent whereas the slightly wider larger picture above them shows Alan Wass sticking two fingers up at the crowd, portraying him as a bad man. Then there is a large picture which takes up most of the background. This picture is a large drawing of Pete Doherty and it looks as if he is crying fire. Of course there is no such thing as crying fire but the image that shows fire on his face and on his shoulder gives an effect. Out of all the pictures that the editor could have chosen from they chose this particular picture in order to give readers who may not know much about him a negative feeling. Furthermore, the editor of the tabloid is trying to generate a feeling of hatred towards this person by readers that don’t know Pete Doherty, and they are also trying to amplify this feeling that the people (assuming they would usually read a tabloid as their only source of information) would have. This is a completely different case with the broadsheet as it just presents us with a picture showing Pete Doherty and Alan Wass at the Highbury Magistrates’ court. This picture is completely unbiased towards everybody as it doesn’t show anything negative or positive and so it doesn’t affect the way the readers may feel about any of the people accused. This is because broadsheets are aimed at a mature audience that prefers to read content that is unbiased and are more open minded. The reason why I say this is mainly because a broadsheet always reports events that are happening across the globe, whereas a tabloid reports small events which happen locally and only report international events if they see those events as of significant importance to the people.

A large difference between the tabloid and the broadsheet is that the tabloid uses many premodifications in order to conjure up an image in the reader’s head of the accused Doherty. The editor describes Doherty as a “Junkie” and “vilified” which immediately makes all readers think that Doherty is a criminal and that he is completely useless to society and to himself. This is completely different from the broadsheet which shows respect and sympathy for Doherty by referring to him as Mr. Doherty. The editor of the broadsheet leaves the readers to make up their own mind about what they think of Doherty although they do use some premodifications such as “troubled” in order to create a feeling of sympathy towards this person. The editor then calls him a “former choirboy” in order to make readers feel that he is not a very negative character as choirboys are young boys who would sing in churches. And in order to amplify the feeling of sympathy would already have had for Doherty from the broadsheet article, the editor goes on to talk about how Doherty had “vowed to kick his heroin habit for the sake of his………….girlfriend”. This makes us feel more sympathetic for Doherty as we would all think that he has become a “victim” of heroin and so it is quite logic that people would feel sorry for him. The tabloid article has a much more aggressive nature towards Doherty however. The editor shows this by using other phrases such as saying that “both the accused will ferociously deny the charges” in order to create an impact towards the reader.

It is also interesting how the editors of the two different newspapers show clues that give us ideas about the singer’s and maybe other people’s lifestyles. The editor of the tabloid shows this by putting a paragraph at the end where he talks about how a nude portrait of Kate Moss was suspected of bringing over £3.5 million at an auction and he also highlights the word “nude”. This shows us how she has a different lifestyle to that of the standards of society. The editor of the broadsheet tried to show this in a more subtle way by describing how the fans and admirers of Pete Doherty were dressed. “and admirers dressed in trendy drainpipe jeans and leather jackets”. However, if readers make their own opinion it will be seen as a stereotype. The editor tries to show another clue about Doherty’s lifestyle although this one isn’t as subtle. The editor uses a quote from Judge Dorothy Quick where she says “I do not imagine you client’s lifestyle is one which takes him to bed at 6pm”. This is a big clue as it hints to us that the singer usually stays up all night and may even go to clubs, which is a deviant lifestyle that is far from the normal standards of society.

In conclusion, both newspapers have some large and some small differences. In some cases, both newspapers may even agree with each other in some points. However we all know the main reason for the differences in things such as opinions, language, choice of pictures and the layout between these two papers. The main reason for the differences between these two papers is mainly because they are a tabloid and a broadsheet. Tabloids are aimed at local society who may want a newspaper that writes in informal English and presents reports of the local events happening. The tabloid is usually much more opinionated and based more on the opinions of the editor. The tabloid tries to attract the reader more by having a flashy headline and large flashy pictures and it is also much cheaper. The broad sheet however is aimed at serious people who usually want a newspaper that is very formal, reports events happening across the world, is unbiased, and is overall just presenting the information. The broadsheet is aimed at people who actually want to buy it. The tabloid newspapers try to lure people into buying them. We can see this as the broadsheets are usually much bigger and are sometimes more expensive but people still buy it, although it may be seen as a burden to carry around.

Ismail Youssef