The successive segment is about the Pentagon and its witnesses. It also mentions the killed workers and then makes reference to the insecure pieces of the Pentagon which are still standing. The final part of the article is on a sad note and mentions about the deaths of the citizens and how they may be shipped across the Hudson River. The inevitable addition to the article is at the end because, if it was in the middle, then people may not read on. It may also be that if someone is depressed then they may want to read another happier article.
The layout of the page is quite dull with the photo covering about the top third of the page. The article is on the right side of the bottom part with another article on the left hand side. They have kept the layout simple, I think, because no one can really be bothered with fancy layout when they want to read about something so significant.
Time magazine is printed and published in the USA but is distributed world wide. It is also published in Amsterdam so Europe have easier access to the magazine. The head office of Time magazine is in New York and there is one issue published per week. Its target audience is an international one.
The Time magazine is completely different to the Independent. Three quarters of the page is taken up by a photograph of three teenagers, all glaring at what we assume to be television footage of the adversity. It looks as though they do not want to look at it but on the other hand, they cannot tear themselves away from the television. This is similar all around the world when anyone has seen the footage. The reader can relate to the photograph. All of the teenagers have their hand covering their mouths in disbelief. I think that they chose three teenagers because they are the youth of America, and the odd number means that the girl in the center symbolizes the fact that they are in Iowa; ‘the heart of America.’ The female in the center of the page is very attractive which gets the readers attention, she looks very innocent just like the people who died were. Using Iowa as the picture has another meaning that it effects the whole planet not just New York, it’s an international tragedy. Time magazine is produced in America and sent all around the world, this is linked to the atrocity as the bad news was spread all across the world from America.
The beginning of the article starts off as the headline so if you read the headline then you are lead to the rest of the passage. To the right of the passage there is a black strip which may symbolize death. The photographer’s name is sideways, this may be a trick to get the reader to read his name.
The headline ‘if you want to humble an empire’ is in lower case and bold. It is spread across two pages with darker background on the second page. I think it is in lower case because it is in a sentence and if it was in capitals then it would be difficult to read the rest of the article. The second part to the article is in bold and lower case again, but a lot smaller. This gradually gets you to read the article. Once you have read the title and subtitle of the article, then you have already read some of the article. The sentence is not finished in the subtitle so if you want to finish off the sentence, then you are already in the main body of the feature. About a third of the way through the article, you reach the writers name. It is out of the way so that you are already in the passage before you are interrupted. I think it also gets your attention and everyone will probably the name Nancy Gibbs. This is underlined and in bold so that there is more chance of noticing it. It is on neutral background with a large gap around the size ten print of the article.
Underneath the piece there are three lines saying SHOCK IN THE HEARTLAND then explains the photograph. What struck me about this additional passage is that it reads ‘attacks on Washington and New York City’ firstly it does not say Washington City and the other is that they put Washington before New York! The New York disaster was far worse than the Pentagon in Washington, so why did they put it first? Is it because it is the capital or is it that it was military or was it the fact that the attack on the Pentagon effects the world more than the New York adversity? Also there is no full stop! Does this suggest that there will be more attacks?
The initial part of the article is using a similar theme; use of similes; ’the cracks spread in zippers through the walls,’ this suggests that America is revealing something, and that they want no one to see it! ’People in the sky’ is associated with heaven and that the people in the Trade Center were a little way to heaven. Also the word crumple suggests fragility like paper and how easy it was for someone to do this. ‘Bloodiest day’ is language of war and ‘anti Vietnam’ implies that this attack is completely different to the war with Vietnam. There is also reference to American’s weapons which makes the reader think that there may be a war. Also the word ‘planted’ may suggest a bomb, all words associated with war and violence!
It also mentions all of the heroism including a description about a man who put on a life jacket to help save lives! It also mentions all of the things which Americans love to do and how they were humiliated! The aim of the writer was that we should feel sorry for the Americans. By writing about additional things which the terrorists caused helps people to be on the Americans side.
The viewpoint which I thought the writer was trying to portray was that she is extremely annoyed and values all of the heroism a great deal; ‘ on a normal day we value heroism because it’s uncommon. On Sept11th, we valued heroism because it was common.’ The aims of the article is to show the American spirit and to boost morale, by reminding Americans what their true qualities are. Also her aim was to describe the effects of the atrocities on the whole planet.
The first difference between the Time magazine and the Independent is the layout of the page; in the independent, the photograph is on the top third of the page. In the Time magazine it covers two thirds of the layout. I think the Independent chose to only have a third of the page covered because initially it’s cheaper and the other reason is that newspapers are meant to be read and that is what the reader is interested in doing. In a magazine people often ‘look at the pictures’ and scan the pages. Also, the Time magazine is in colour so the photograph can be explored by the eye to a much greater extent.
The other thing I noticed about the differences of layout is that the Time magazine has decided to have a double page spread whereas the newspaper article is only across one. The only reason I can think of for this is that the Time magazine wanted the photograph to be noticed. The final point I have to make for this layout is that the Time magazine is for a wider audience and the article may not have been read if it was as long as the one in the broad sheet. Also the Independent, because of its size, has a few other divisions of the page.
The similarities of these two pieces are that they both have a large photograph and text. The viewpoint of the two writers is quite similar and also their choice of language. For example, metaphors and suggested words like Empire; which suggests size and power, or planted; which could suggest a bomb, both taken from Time. Fade, taken from the Independent, which may suggest the more time they search the less likely they are to find victims.
Now I am going to analyse, and compare, the BBC broadcast of September 12th, which was at ten o’clock at night. and the Channel Four news at seven in the evening that same day.
The first programme, which I saw, was the channel four news at seven; the bulletin started off with the headlines and behind the presenter there stood a photograph of the incident. He made an entry statement, then the theme tune of the programme began. Then a statement, then the same beats again. After the headlines are over then the main tune starts along with flying boxes of the headlines including the crash of both buildings and eye witnesses. Without any more words from the presenter, it goes straight on to amateur footage of the dust coming down on him, he was almost praying for his life! I think they chose this footage because it showed how scared he was and all he got was the cloud of smoke!
‘An attack on the US is on all of us’ is said. This keeps the viewer interested and eager to stay tuned.
The following section of the broadcast is another example of amateur footage looking up at the plane flying straight into the tower, leaving in the voice of a nearby pedestrian. I think they chose this footage because it has a strange camera angle and that, again, shows the fear of the public. This helps the viewer interact and identify with the feelings of the people who were there! The next part of the newscast is many angles of the attack. This is to help the viewer relate to the incident and helps us get to grips with the event. By having many camera angles helps one visualize the catastrophe. Also it just shows that whatever angle you see it from it does not get any better! It is also rather making a statement about the attack; it is not a Hollywood film, but an attack, with real people who died and cried because of it. That should help you realise the scale of it all!
The next statement you hear is;
‘It’s like a volcano had erupted in downtown New York’ and then a following statement from the same man;
‘I hope I live.’ This is just another method of how channel four have presented their news. Using similes suggests that it is unreal and helps us realise the scale. All of this footage is in first person tense and this helps us again to comprehend the size of the holocaust. I think that they have only focused on the twin towers because they were full of innocent people and even though the Pentagon came down this is more dramatic because of its military link.
After ten minutes viewing, it starts to focus on the families and an interview with a family helps other families around the world relate. It also focuses on the effect it has had on the children, this is extremely depressing and the aim of the interview was just that. Then straight on to a survivor which suddenly boosts the confidence of the public slightly. Fifty-seventh floor survivor reports for a long time about what it was like inside the building. This report helps the viewer to find out, a little, about what it was really like for some of the people trapped in the volcano.
After about seventeen minutes, Washington is finally mentioned. Also the word war is mentioned along with the reaction of parliament. After twenty-one minutes there is a topic change and the Pentagon is mentioned, also how the planes were hijacked; basically, a summary of the events which happened the previous day. I think they put a lot of information at the end so that if anyone wanted to purely find out the facts, then they would have to wait until the end, therefore watching the rest of the broadcast.
The next programme I watched was the BBC coverage of the event. This was shown at ten o’clock at night. The broadcast starts off with the headlines, Britain being mentioned straight away whereas the Channel Four news did not mention that once! Then says about the White House, which was not mentioned until late on the Channel Four broadcast, and then Tony Blair talks about making arrests and also makes reference to death. This is a completely different start as Britain are involved a lot more in this newscast than the last. British people may prefer to watch this one as they may feel more involved with the news. The main coverage starts with some eye witness reporting with the smoke and then for the second time in two minutes, Britain is mentioned. Shortly after the footage there is a police interview which there was not on the previous one. This could be very useful for other policemen and anyone else who is interested in the emergency services side of it all. Then, some slow motion footage of the second impact, repeating it self to help us realise the scale and for us to grasp the reality of it all. The Pentagon is then mentioned far earlier than the Channel Four coverage, along with a speech from president Bush.
Happiness has found its way into the broadcast! Children are shown, and singing is shown. A religious occasion has been raised. No mention of religion was made in the last newscast. Then something which shocked me a great deal;
‘British casualties into the hundreds’ there have been thousands of Americans killed and before any mention of that Stephen Evans, the reporter, says about the British casualties being in the hundreds! After that, the filming goes to London and a silence in memory of the deaths counted for in New York that day. This is just showing to Britain that we are not holding back and that we are doing our bit.
A change of topic and a highjack timetable, on computer, provides a visual location for the people who may not know Americans geography too well. This makes it very clear to the viewer what actually happened and in what stages, it certainly made me understand a lot more about where they flew from and when.
The final division of the broadcast is similar to the channel four broadcast where war is mentioned a lot and Jasser Arafat talks a lot about countries on Americas side. Also, which was not shown on the channel four episode, the military options were shown, which may invite a larger audience to watch the newscast.
As you have already discovered, there is a huge difference between the two broadcasts of the same day only three hours apart. In both of the showings there were dramatic camera shots, emotive reporting from the eye witnesses to help us relate to the adversity. I think that the pair of programmes did not show too much bias, although the first programme, Channel Four, only seemed to explore the American side of it, whereas what the BBC showed, explained it far more from a British point of view.
I have learnt a great deal about media coverage, and how visual and narrative coverage has been portrayed for the observer. Methods such as helping us to understand, and getting our attention or simply getting us to buy the text have all been illustrated in my essay. I also know now there are many different formats the media can be found in, such things as the internet, television, radio and even sms text messaging.
By Karl Knight * 11M