The expression “Bike Bobby” is used to describe the Pc. This term is reasonably colloquial. The ‘B’ sound is alliterated, and because ‘B’ is a soft sounding letter, it is used to try and evoke sympathy towards the victim, from the readers. The “Bike” suggests that Pc Dunne was unprotected and harmless.
The phrase used in the headline to describe the shooting of the policeman is “gunned down by drug gang”. This is effective as the expression “gunned down” makes the murder appear more dramatic and horrific.
The sounds of “Gunned Down by a Drug Gang “ are quite harsh and exaggerate the alliteration technique. The effect of this alliteration is to dramatize the event and to add texture to the headline.
There is also a question the – “What use is a stick against bullets?” That begins the idea of the second part of the article: should the police force be armed? It is also a direct quote from Pc Dunne; it is ironic that he should say this before he was shot. Another reason to use this question is to attract the readers to this article. The reader could be briefly looking through the paper – this question would catch their eyes as it is in a bold font, and is a rhetorical question- it could make us stop and think about it.
The layout of this article is also an important factor. In a tabloid newspaper, the presentation has to be carefully thought about as it is used as a selling point; photographs to accompany the article, and big bold headlines.
In this article there are two photos. The first is a photo of a young, smiling Pc Patrick Dunne. It is the type of picture that could be included in a family album or picture frame. It creates pathos by portraying an innocent, harmless policeman. He appears like a community policeman or a “smiling Bobby”.
The second photo used is a small picture of a truncheon. It is pictured within the main headline. This photo is used for effect to demonstrate how the stick is applied against bullets and how it is the police forces only weapon.
The caption featured is “BRAVE BOBBY: Pc Patrick Dunne, murdered in the street”. The alliteration “Brave Bobby is effective as it is a soft sounding letter this is another sound that may evoke sympathy. The word “murdered” makes the event more dramatic.
A paragraph heading is used in this article, to announce what will be written about in the next section, and to draw the reader’s attentions towards the text. The word used for the heading is “executed”. This word is usually used to describe death for a punishment, or after a crime, so could also lead us to believe he died for a purpose. “Executed” is also a very dramatic word and creates an atmosphere in the article.
As the headline suggests, there are two main issues dealt with in this article: the murder of Pc Patrick Dunne, and a discussion about whether the police force should be armed or not. The writer (Kim Sengupta) does not put forward his own point of view in this article. Quotes from MPs and Police members are used, and they put forward their opinions. As they have opposing views to each other. Sengupta has tried to include arguments from both sides. This is an effective technique, because it lets the readers make up their own mind about the subject.
Although there are only two main stories, the writer has organised them into three sections. Section one consists of paragraphs one to four and deals with the victim’s own view on the debate. Pc Dunne believed that the police force should be armed “What use is a stick against bullets?” Section two includes paragraphs five to nine and discusses Pc Dunne’s life, and then leads on to his murder. In the first part, it includes background information on Pc Dunne: “quit
teaching to become a policeman three years ago.” It then deals with his “tragic” murder and includes colloquial, informal language. Section three contains paragraphs ten to twelve. This includes the discussion on whether the police force should be armed or not. There are four quotes used within this section, from policemen and MPs.
As this is a tabloid news article, informal language is used, to have an impact on the reader. Even the first word used “tragic” amplifies the murder of Pc Dunne. Another impressive phrase used is “chilling premonition.” This is a vivid expression as it over –dramatizes the event.
There are lots expressive and dramatic terms used to describe Pc Dunne. “Bike Bobby” has connotations of a jolly, community policeman- but the “bike” part suggests an inoffensive “bobby” with no protection against the “drug gang”.
“Tragic Bobby” and “Tragic Patrick” are both used. The “tragic” saddens us and dramatizes the shooting. The phrase “good cop” is also included in this article. This is a conversational expression, and slightly personalizes the article.
There are also many phrases used to report the murder of Pc Dunne. These include “lifting him off the ground”, “sent him crashing”, “9mm semi-automatic”. All these terms have vivid connotations of an action film, and they are expressions that have exaggerated the event.
Each paragraph consists of just one lengthy sentence; this makes it easier for the reader to understand the key points. Also simple punctuation is used, such as full stops, commas and speech marks.
Article two is taken from The Telegraph newspaper. This is a broadsheet paper. As soon as we first see the article there are lots of differences to note. The headline differs from the headline in The Sun. In this article the headline is “Drug gangs in vicious war, says police chief”. The subject is dissimilar to that in article one. We are told about a “vicious war” and the headline doesn’t focus on Pc Dunne’s murder. Although it does include a statement from a member of the police force, this is similar to in article one
The headline is small and not as dominating, unlike in article one. It is this size as the writers want to fit in more information into the article.
This headline is a blunt statement of fact, whereas the headline in article one uses a rhetorical question, and focuses on Pc Dunne’s death. Also the headline in article two doesn’t try to evoke any feelings from the reader, it just informs us and tries to make us aware of the “vicious war”.
There is a picture used in this article and it is passport-sized. Pc Dunne has a solemn face in this photo. Unlike in article one, this photo would not be used in a family album. Reasons for using a passport sized photo would be that the article is factual, and the photo blends in with the article. The photo is also small and not emotive meaning more text can be included within the article and the photo is not used to evoke any feelings.
The caption in this article is “Pc Patrick Dunne: went to investigate shots.” This is noticeably different to the headline in article one “BRAVE BOBBY: murdered in the streets.” In article one we immediately know he has been murdered from the caption, whereas in article two we do not find out this
information from the caption. A reason for this is, that in article one the murder is greatly exaggerated, however in article two it is discussed as a link between gang warfare and the possible arming of the police force.
The text is organised into three columns. It is clearly arranged and easy to read. The information can also be put into three main sections.
There are three key issues dealt with in the article: the death of the policeman, the arming of the police force, and the problem of drug–related gang warfare. The issues are not put into an order though, unlike article one. Another difference between article one and two, is the writers in article two go into more detail about Pc Dunne’s death, and are more concerned with issues arising from his death; not just about the shooting. This article also includes a selection of quotes from three different people. This is effective as we get lots of information and detail within the article.
There are very few words and expressions used to describe Pc Patrick Dunne. These are “Pc Patrick Dunne and “the man”. These terms show that the writers refer to Pc Dunne formally and with respect. Also, the words differ from the expressions used in article one; they are not used in order to evoke sympathy from the reader or to create a dramatic atmosphere.
The phrases used to describe the manner in which Pc Dunne died are blunt and straight to the point: “the killing” and “shot”. This is in contrast to article one, where the words were exaggerated and embellished.
The writers use a combination of sentence structures in this article. For example there are many complex sentences e.g. in paragraph one, and some simple sentences e.g. in paragraph nine. The writers also use a variety of complex punctuation. For example, colons, semi colons, commas, exclamation marks and full stops.
Sophisticated vocabulary is used in this article. These include: ”indiscriminately”, “lucrative”, “and derivative”. The language is more formal, and less exaggerated than in article one. Also it is factual, and helps to provide a descriptive account of the murder and the other key issues.
I think that article two is more effective than article one. I believe this as it reports the facts in a detailed, well-researched manner. Unlike in article one, it doesn’t include words to directly affect the reader; we are just informed about what is important. In comparison to article one, it contains more sophisticated, but not exaggerated, vocabulary.