The presentational device used on the front page is that the headline is in bold and black. Black is used in the headline because black is the colour associated with death. Another presentational device used is a large picture of the astronauts. This large picture of the astronauts gets the reader emotionally involved because it shows the astronauts at happier time this is reflected by all of the seven astronauts smiling. Most of the other newspapers have chosen to use pictures of the space shuttle and not the astronauts.
In the block below the picture of the astronauts The Sunday Telegraph reports in a way that is typical to that type of publication. The Sunday Telegraph in this block uses calm, matter of fact language which conveys to the reader that this is a newspaper with all the information. Whilst in contrast the tabloid newspapers use very dramatic language and more commentary than facts. The Sunday Telegraph concentrates more on information given by Nasa officials such as the time when each problem occurred in the space shuttle. ‘Nasa said last night, 7.35 am when temperature sensor in the left wing failed’. The language and vocabulary used in The Sunday Telegraph is much more complex than that used in the tabloid newspapers. This show the readers of The Sunday Telegraph are well-educated people. The Sunday Telegraph also makes use of imaginative language ‘flaming like a common on fire’. This gives the reader an image of how the disaster really was. The Sunday Telegraph also makes use of emotional language ‘America was plunged in mourning once more’.
The presentation devices used in the block of writing include a map. The map seems to break up the writing and gives the reader a visual focus. The map also gives visual evidence to the reader and helps the reader to understand where the tragedy took place.
There is also a block in The Sunday Telegraph which contains an advertisement and also a jumpline to the weather forecast. These blocks can take the readers attention away from the main headline.
My opinion of the Sunday Telegraph is that it concentrates more on delivering accurate information, rather than presenting it in a way that will instantly attract attention. However, the headline and pictures do provoke interest, but are not very eye catching. There are many detailed facts on the front page of The Sunday Telegraph that are probably of little interest to many people.
The sentences in The Sunday Telegraph are usually quite complex; hence the paragraphs are quite lengthy. The graphics used in The Sunday Telegraph are very informative rather than colourful or attractive. The Sunday Telegraph is formal and uses a factual tone due to its target audience being sophisticated and well educated.
News Of The World
News Of The World is a tabloid newspaper and is the most popular newspaper in Britain. News Of The World tends to be modern and progressive like most of the tabloid newspapers. The front page of the News Of The World is very similar to the front page of the Sunday Mirror.
At first glance the layout of the front page of the News Of The World is the most effective newspaper at attracting attention.
On the front page of the News Of The World there is a small block which contains information on the condition of the space shuttle. The small block contains some factual information such as the temperature and speed of the space shuttle.
The small block then leads the reader to a dramatic, punchy and engaging headline ‘NO CHANCE’ this is a linguistic device. The headline is short in length so the power message is instant, which is a major contrast to the longer headline used in The Sunday Telegraph.
There are many presentational devices used on the front page of the News Of The World. The presentational devices used on the front page include the enormous headline in bold capitals. There is also a large picture showing the space shuttle as it explodes in the earth’s atmosphere.
The News Of The World contains a jumpline across the bottom of the page. The jumpline reads ‘Full horrific story pages 2,3,4,5,6,7 and 9’. The jumpline is in capitals so it attracts the reader’s attention. It uses the word ‘Horrific’ this grips the reader’s attention and invites the reader to read the full story.
The front page of the News Of The World is fully devoted to the terrible news which is a contrast to the other newspapers. The front page of the News Of The World does not contain any other news on its front page. Therefore the reader is not distracted and can give the space shuttle story their undivided attention.
In my opinion the News Of The World does contain some factual information, however I think the News Of The World is more interested in presenting the news in a way that will draw the attention of its reader. The main objective of the News Of The World is to describe and narrate in a moving and often exciting manner.
Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is a tabloid newspaper and tends to be modern and progressive like most of the tabloid newspapers. Most of the front page of the Sunday Mirror is dominated by the space shuttle disaster. The Sunday Mirror has a large dramatic headline in enormous capitals ‘lost at 12,500 mph’ this is a linguistic device. The headline attracts the reader’s attention and creates shock within the reader. However the downside to the headline is that it is not informative and not straight to the point. To make the headline more dramatic and create greater shock within the reader the headline could have included the fact that the astronauts have actually died.
Presentational devices used on the front page include a large headline in capitals and bold. The Sunday Mirror also has a picture of each astronaut with his/her name and age next to the picture. This presentational device helps to give the reader a personal background on each astronaut.
There is a small block on the front page of the Sunday Telegraph it reads ‘smith in quit threat’ and has a small picture of the Leeds United footballer. The small block would appeal to football fans especially to Leeds United fans. The intensity of words used like ‘quite’ and ‘threat’ would probably attract the attention of most football fans. However this small block can distract the reader and even take his/her attention away from the main headline.
The Sunday Mirror also has a jumpline across the bottom of its front page like the News Of The World. The jumpline reads ‘the moment when seven shuttle heroes died pages 2-7’. The reader only finds out that the astronauts have died from the jumpline.
In my opinion the Sunday Mirror is very similar to the News Of The World. However it is not as effective at attracting the readers. The headline is not as effective or as dramatic as the headline used in the News Of The World. Also the small block on the front page lets the newspaper down because it takes the readers attention away from the main headline.
Daily Star Sunday
Daily Star is a tabloid newspaper. This is the only newspaper which does not have its front page devoted to the space shuttle tragedy.
The front page of the Daily Star Sunday is very busy and even quite untidy. The Daily Star is mainly dominated by celebrity gossip rather than real news. Daily Star has a very large block on its front page which focuses on the marriage break up of Fatboy Slim and Zoe Ball. The main headline is ‘Fatboy Slim has a shoulder to cry on’. The headline then leads the reader to a dramatic and engaging headline ‘SHE’S A BLOKE!’ The subheading is in bold and large capitals to make the subheading stand out a exclamation mark is used to add to the suspense.
Opposite the subheading ‘SHE’S A BLOKE’ there is another subheading ‘Meanwhile Zoe’s leaning on Cox’ this is a pun. A pun is the manipulation of words to change the meaning. This is typical of the Daily Star ‘Cox’ is actually the surname of Zoe’s friend Sara. The Daily Star is portraying Fatboy Slim and his ex-wife Zoe Ball as being homosexual.
There are many presentational devices used in the large block about the ex-couple, Fatboy Slim and Zoe Ball. The presentational devices include colourful pictures of the celebrity with ‘new partners’. Other presentational devices used in this block are bold and large headings.
The Daily Star only has a small block in the top right which is about the space shuttle disaster. The small block has the heading ‘HORROR IN SPACE’. The heading is in bold and black. Black is the colour associated with death and this is an appropriate colour to use as all the astronauts have died. The word ‘HORROR’ is used in the headings to grip the reader’s attention and instantly make the reader want to read on.
The small block also has a subheading ‘7 astronauts die as space shuttle explodes’. The subheading gets the reader emotionally involved by using the word ‘die’ this tells the reader that the astronauts have died and this immediately gets the reader interested.
Presentational devices used in the small block include the heading in black and bold. Other presentational devices used in the small block include a picture of the space shuttle taking off. This presentational device does not attract the reader’s attention. The newspaper could have used a picture of the space shuttle exploding in the sky. This would have been more dramatic and would have instantly attracted the reader’s attention.
My opinion on this newspaper is that it seems to be more interested in what celebrities get up to rather than real news. I personally believe this newspaper fails in the main purpose of a newspaper which is to write about news and not celebrity gossip.
Sunday Express
The Sunday Express is a tabloid newspaper however it is very similar to the broadsheet newspapers in the way that it presents its information.
The newspaper has a large block with a large and bold headline in capitals ‘FREE CD INSIDE’. The large block uses a picture of the CD on its cover as a presentational device. The block also has some information about the CD such as artist names. This newspaper is trying to sell itself by giving away a free romantic classical CD.
There is another large block in the Sunday Express this block moves on to the news. The block is about the space shuttle disaster. It has the headline ‘HORROR AS SPACE SHUTTLE EXPLODES’. The word ‘HORROR’ grips the reader’s attention and makes the reader want to know more. There is also a subheading ‘seven astronauts die in mid-air fireball’. The headline and subheading are very similar to the ones used in the Daily Star.
There are many presentational devices used in the large block about the space shuttle tragedy. These presentational devices include the large bold headline in capitals. The picture of the space shuttle taking off is the same as the picture used on the front page of the Daily Star.
In my opinion the main problem with this newspaper is that it has not really used any presentational devices that make it stand out from the rest of the newspapers. I also think this newspaper is trying to appeal to music lovers because of the free CD. The only reason why people might buy this newspaper is for the free CD and not for the news inside the newspaper.
The people
The People is a tabloid newspaper. The People like the Daily Star have a busy and even quite untidy front page. The People have a small block which is promoting banned love pictures of a model called Kelly. The heading in the small block reads ‘The banned love pictures’. The word ‘banned’ is deliberately used in the heading by the newspaper to attract the reader’s attention and curiosity to why these pictures have been banned. The presentational devices used in this small block include a colourful and rather revealing picture of the model. Another presentational device includes the models name which is in pink font and has a black background. This causes the name of the model to instantly grip the reader’s attention due to the great contrast between the pink font used for the models name and the black background.
There is another small block below the block about the banned love pictures. This block has the heading ‘LEEDS TRIED TO SELL KEWELL TOO……’. The sentence has not been finished deliberately by the newspaper and this makes the reader curious. Hence the reader will turn to the sports page and read the rest of the sentence and find out the full story. The presentational device used in this block is a small picture of the Leeds United football player.
Below the small block about the Leeds United Football players there is a large block about the space shuttle tragedy. The headline is ‘TRAIL OF DEATH’. The headline is in capitals and black this is a good choice of colour due to the fact that black is associated with death.
Presentational devices used in the block about the space shuttle tragedy include a picture of the space shuttle taking off and also a picture of it exploding. Another presentational device is the headline is in bold and in capitals.
The most effective newspaper at attracting the reader’s attention has to be The News Of The World. Its front page is very eye-catching with its colourful pictures and large headline. The News Of The World also uses very dramatic language.
However, this is not the newspaper I would buy. I personally would buy The Sunday Times. I feel The Sunday Telegraph gives a more accurate and detailed view of the terrible tragedy. I also noticed that the journalism is less hyped up. I believe that I do not need over the top language, colourful pictures and large headlines to feel emotionally affected by the terrible tragedy. The facts in The Sunday Telegraph are adequate. I found the map in The Sunday Telegraph is very useful in helping me to understand where the tragedy took place. Also I found that the interviews of families of the astronauts who perished in previous disasters were very moving at describing their immense personal loss.
Bibliography
Letts GCSE Media Studies revision guide
Cgp GCSE English revision guide
Waseem Mahboob English media Coursework Page