The headline in The Mirror reads “ANTHRAX: 2 MORE DIE” The word “anthrax” is on its own, on the top line this makes the word menacing and intimidating because when people see “anthrax” they think of a deadly disease and biological warfare. These things are very frightening for the public. “2 MORE DIE” this is a use of emotive language used to attract the reader to the story.
The headline in The Times is “Two dead in Washington anthrax alert” In this headline the word “anthrax” does not seem as threatening as it is at the end of the headline and not at the start. Other reasons why it is not as intimidating is that it is written in a much smaller font and is not in capitals. This headline is more informative to the reader than the one in The Mirror. It tells you where the story happened and that it was only an alert.
Along with the abnormally large headline, the article in The Mirror also has a photograph of the postal workers at a hospital in Washington waiting to have anthrax tests. The article also has three major bullet points on the story. These plus the headline and the photograph make up approximately 80% of the article. This shows that there is not much writing on the story. However in The Times most of the article is writing.
The bullet points in The Mirror’s article are very useful to a person who just scans the newspapers. They tell the reader what has happened in a very effective way. “US postmen ‘killed by disease’” this bullet point personifies the disease, it makes it out to be a murderer. This piece is very emotive. “Another two ‘fighting for life’” and “Nine others show symptoms” are also very emotive and grab the readers attention.
The language used throughout the articles is also very contrasting. The Mirror uses words that are far simpler to understand while on the other hand The Times uses more technical terminology. For example, in the first paragraph The Mirror tells the reader that the two postal workers died from “the deadly inhaled anthrax…” and in The Times it says they died from “suspected pulmonary anthrax…”
In The Mirror, in paragraph three, the readers are told that “In the worst outbreak so far, nine other people in the US capital are showing symptoms of the bug.” Conversely The Times reads “…officials announced that two more fatalities were “highly suspicious” and confirmed another case of the inhaled form of the disease.” The Times uses the word “disease” while The Mirror says “bug”
The Mirror in paragraph five quotes the US Surgeon General David Satcher as having said that it was highly probable that the two deaths were caused by inhaled anthrax and that he said “Obviously we’re very concerned.” The Times in paragraph four quotes Dr Ian Walks, the city’s chief health officer as having said that after three weeks of scares the concern over bio-terrorism had suddenly entered a more ominous phase. This again shows that The Times uses more sophisticated vocabulary than The Mirror.
In conclusion presentation and style are important aspects of both broadsheet and tabloid newspapers. Tabloids use sensational headlines and photographs to attract their audience, whereas the broadsheet newspapers rely on factually sound and detailed content to satisfy their readers. Tabloids often present their audience with a particular conclusion. On the other hand broadsheets leave their audience to make an informed judgement.
