Comparing the two newspaper front pages which I have been asked to consider, one being a tabloid, the Daily Mirror, and the other being a broadsheet, The Times, there are a number of significant differences. On the front page of the Daily Mirror there is a lot of detail making it look very ‘busy’, and it is pictures which are dominant. All the pictures are of people, and all the subjects are looking straight at the camera, i.e. looking at the reader straight in the eye. This is done to attract the reader’s attention. The upper half of the page contains pictures of celebrities which will attract people who are interested in other people’s lives, which is likely to be a great part of their target audience. Also a free ‘glossy mag’ supplement is advertised prominently, which promises even more celebrity stories. The lower half of the page contains the very bold headline ‘Off his head’, together with an equally large picture of the man involved in the main story. The details of the story are inside so that people have to buy the paper in order to read them.
By contrast, The Times features eight items of news on the front cover. The main ‘splash’ is a political story concerning the ongoing war in Iraq, together with a picture adding support to the article. The main story takes up about three quarters of the page. The other seven news items are listed in brief, in a trailer form, in a column on the left hand side of the page, and promise more detail inside the paper. There are also two story ‘tasters’ at the bottom of the page.
The mastheads of both newspapers are prominently placed at the top of the page. The Times has its masthead straight across the top of the page, in a bold black capital font, with the two words being separated by a coat of arms showing England’s motto ‘Dieu et mon droit’ which when translated means ‘God and my right’. By contrast the Daily Mirror’s title is offset to the left hand side of the page and has pale letters on a dark background to make it stand out, with a mixture of fonts and upper and lower case letters. Both papers include the pug at the top of the page under the masthead, and details of the paper’s website. The Times also shows the number of the current edition.
The Times also features a picture of a poppy just under the masthead, and as the date of the newspaper is 10th November it is near to Remembrance Day. One of the stories featured at the bottom of the page is about the war and also includes a picture of a wreath. The Daily Mirror does not mention Remembrance Day in any way. This is because the Daily Mirror’s target audience, being younger, are less likely to care about the war and the people who died in it, or want to read about it. On the other hand, the readers of The Times are more likely to be older and therefore be interested in the war – they may even have fought in it themselves.
It is interesting that both papers feature the new Bridget Jones film, each with the actress who plays her featured on the main page. However The Times’ sub headline
‘First night first verdict’ suggests that it will be a critical review of the film itself. In contrast, the Daily Mirror’s sub headline ‘Bridget Jones premiere’ and the pictures of the co-stars suggests that it’s focus will be on the actors themselves and what they were wearing for the premiere or what they said, rather than the movie itself and its subject matter. This again is indicative of the type of audience the paper is aiming at - younger and more concerned with celebrities.
The Daily Mirror uses a sensationalist headline to instantly grab the reader’s attention. It is also whets the reader’s appetite by promising sleazy details of a man who has been responsible for the deaths of several people by his own selfish actions. Again, in the picture next to the headline, the subject is looking straight at the reader to draw the eye to him. The paper uses shock tactics to encourage people to buy the newspaper. It also relies on the fact that this story has a lot of newsworthiness at the moment, as the event is fairly recent. On the other hand The Times also seeks to grab the reader’s attention with a current affairs story describing how the city of Fallujah was invaded by American troops, describing scenes of attack and explosions. However it does this in a much more subtle way, merely stating the facts and not seeking to sensationalise them.
Both papers use current stories as their main headline but the language used is quite different, as The Times is targeting an older, more professional type of person. It does not seek to sensationalise its stories, relying instead on supplying important information on the stories it features. This theme is continued in the small trailers on the left hand side of the page, which simply state the facts and invite the reader to learn more inside. Similarly, the Daily Mirror invites its readers to read more about its chosen headline, by saying ‘full story: pages 4 and 5’. This is one of the main tactics papers use to persuade people to buy them, rather than just glance at them on a newspaper stand and pass them by.
Therefore in conclusion it can be seen that both newspapers have a very different approach to presenting the news both in their choice of stories and also in the way they portray them in order to attract their target audience. Both report on current news stories, but in very different ways and with a contrast in subject matter.
