‘More of the same tired old rhetoric’
‘This is always issued by the IRA in the run up to a deadline in this process and they come out with more words and more verbiage but no indication that they are prepared to do anything in terms of action.’
Although these quotations are different in their structure and perhaps even their phonetics they have the same basic message. This repetition of opinions has the effect of swaying the reader to follow the thoughts of the public figures.
In contrast the broadsheet newspaper (The Guardian from the 20th of September 2001) takes the view that the story is of less consequence or interest, and places it under the heading of ‘National news’ even though the story contains the same quotations from the IRA statement it is written in a less dramatic and more formal way. This may be explained by the continuing news interest in the atrocities of September the 11th, however, it also shows the approach that the broadsheet takes as the Daily Mail had placed the same story on the second page.
Within the writing of the reporter there is a distinct fluency and by the careful choice and selection of quotations we can see the true intention of the article.
‘We need to move further away from terrorism and the apparatus of terrorism, and after the terrible events in Washington and New York there is a colder wind blowing and a growing intolerance of terrorism,’
This quote shows repetition of the connective conjunction ‘and’ which has the effect of almost obsessive persuasion it contrasts starkly against the concise English and the formation of words and sentence structure within the article which serves to give the reader security in the newspapers’ opinion and almost to accept that opinion s their own. This compound sentence structure may also be due to the spoken format, as complex sentence structures tend not to be absorbed as readily in a spoken mode, the use of metaphorical language provides a vision and compounds the challenging nature of the words spoken, the imperative tone also serves this purpose.
‘The IRA offer to step up discussions with General John de Chastilian’s decommissioning body in a bid to overcome the arms deadlock was not entirely unexpected. But it seems unlikely that it will be enough to persuade unionists, who want an actual physical start to the destruction of weapons, that they should keep the power sharing government afloat.’
This seemingly innocent statement contains complex sentence structure, which may have the effect of not allowing the reader to challenge the comments made. This is due to the continual clauses and factual evidence that has been presented clearly and concisely.
The continuation of the quote form politician, John Reid, shows again a compound sentence structure, but when spoken and viewed with prosodic features such as inflection and rhythm presents a distinct challenge to the listener.
‘There has never been a better time for those who wish to do so to come out of the cold. The door is open, people have to step through it.’
The use of a summarising passage before the quotations from politicians makes their statements concrete and place emphasis on the opinion that they have.
‘And while the Northern Ireland secretary, John Reid, stressed there were distinct differences between the Islamic fundamentalist, Osma bin Laden, suspected of being behind the US attacks, and the IRA, whom he said had been on ceasefire for four years, he said now was the time for republicans to show there was no going back, by starting to disarm.’
This passage from the article shows a complex sentence structure, continual clausing has the effect of slowing the sentence down. This suggests a lot of thought on the part of John Reid regarding the subject of decommissioning. We also see end focus as the main action and most important information is at the end – the need to disarm. The use of polysyllabic language within this extract shows importance, attracts attention and provides a confident and concrete standing in the words spoken.
In the same way that we can see that the sentence elements and complexity are both compound and complex within the tabloid newspaper. John Reid’s speech is again quoted from, although at a different place the same words are spoken and we can see from this that the repetition of concepts works well as a basic opinion former. The quotations used in both articles suggest that they are reporting factually but we can see in the tabloid newspaper a lack of trust in the IRA’s promise.
This is shown before the article has even begun with the heading:
‘IRA in ‘cynical’ weapons stunt: The men of terror offer new talks on decommissioning.’
The use of cynical in the heading shows the disbelief that the reporter has his opinion is obvious even from the very start. He is bias on the side of the unionist politicians who are quoted from repeatedly and in the majority; there is little reference in the story to the members of the IRA or quotes from their Statement.
A quote from lord Kilclooney also shows the political bias and serves the purpose of reinforcing the ‘public opinion’ that Sinn Fein should be excluded from the peace talks.
‘If we’re at war with terrorism it would be better to suspend the institutions indefinitely and hold a full review. The time has come for Sinn Fein to be excluded,’
The quote is a classic example of a compound sentence structure; the colloquial terms suggest a link with the common people. There is also end focus with the request for Sinn Fein to be excluded.
In this article we see that the paper abuses it’s right to speak for the people by taking the content of the IRA statement and creating a parody, which leads to the situation not being taken seriously.
‘The IRA blamed ‘the setting of further preconditions and the outright rejection of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning statement by the Ulster Unionist party leadership for the stalling of the peace process.’
The Broadsheet takes a less direct view and makes less brash statements in that it does not refer to the cynicism of the unionist sources involved, however if we look closer we see that references to the current handling of the atrocities in the US and indeed of the events occurring in Northern Ireland, suggest their support of the current government and it’s actions relating to terrorism.
‘Before the last suspension. The IRA was told by the British and Irish governments that they had to decommission their weapons,’ ‘their failure to do so resulted in a one-day suspension. A continued failure to begin decommissioning means they will have to face greater penalties.’
Yet again we can see political bias within the newspapers that we read. The writing is cleverly constructed and formed so that it appears formal and detached but under the surface we can see the clear signs of political bias, and of the devices that lead us to the opinions that we have. For this reason I have decided that the information given by the media is too readily accepted by society and we should view common truths and those ‘truths’ provided for us with a more personal and cynical approach.
