Comparing newspapers,The Sun, a tabloid newspaper and The Telegraph, a broadsheet newspaper which went to print on the 25th September 2006.

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Comparing two newspapers

For this assignment, I will compare the different techniques employed by tabloid and broadsheet newspaper in England to appeal their readership. An article is chosen for comparison between The Sun, a tabloid newspaper and The Telegraph, a broadsheet newspaper which went to print on the 25th September 2006. Both articles are in relation to an unpleasant incident that occurred in a pub when a five-month old baby girl died after being mauled by two Rottweilers guarding the pub.

At a first glance, the layout of the article in The Sun's headline would draw more attention then The Telegraph's headline.

The Sun's headline is in bold type, in dramatically enormous capital letters covering the top half of their front page: "PUB DOGS KILL BABY". If this sort of local news can be placed on the front page, you have a feeling that either there is nothing really vital happening in the rest of the world or the paper's focus is on less serious topics such as gossips about ordinary people and celebrities. Tabloid newspapers would never include news about the stock market or world affairs unless it makes an interesting topic. Tabloids love to place scandals on half of the front page over the years.

The Telegraph, on the other hand, is completely the opposite as it prefers to cover more serious topics such as current world affairs. The headline "Baby girl is killed by pub Rottweilers" is in much smaller prints and not in capitals. It is longer and therefore the power of the message is not as instant. Despite so, this headline is clear and straight to the point that a girl has died because of Rottweilers. The headline sets out a balanced viewpoint. The Telegraph does not use any emotive language in the headline. This evidently shows that they are not trying to arouse the readers' emotion by the death of the baby girl.

On the front of The Sun, the article is dominated by a large photograph of one angry, scary looking Rotterwiler that looks like it is going to jump out of the paper and eat you alive. Instantly you feel gruesome, threatened and scared by the Rotterwilers. They are trying to make you feel agitated and scared. They are not always that threatening but The Sun only wants the readers to see the dreadful side of the Rotterwilers rather then their good or normal side. There is also one large photo of the flowers and teddy bears left at the pub door by local residents, which makes you feel regretful for the baby girl.

The same scene is used in The Telegraph but it is just a normal looking pub, with no sign of any terrifying incident happened in the weekend. Underneath the photo is written in small print "The rocket, in Leicester, where the Rottweilers guard dogs prowled on the flat roof on the night." The Sun uses fifty-five percent of the front page to feature photos and tiny space for texts. On the other hand, The Telegraph allocates more space for texts with only one tiny photo.

The Sun puts the half of the story on the front page and a full story on page eleven whereas The Telegraph has a small piece of texts on the front page and another little paragraph on the second page and sums everything up with interviews.
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The Sun uses sensational language which can blow the article out of proportion. This form of language appeals to a certain audience who are looking for a less challenging read, and the humorous style appeals to an audience ranging from teenagers to the elderly. Although tabloid articles can be more humorous, sensational and biased, they still have facts and opinions to back up their stories. The vocabulary is very simple but gruesome and also more emotive to sway the readers; furthermore this shows us that the paper is also aimed at the working class. They are looking for ...

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