Critical analysis of a broadsheet newspaper.

Critical Analysis

My newspaper is a broadsheet, whose main purpose is to inform, state the facts about what is going on in the world around us. It is to have an unbiased view, telling the news as it is, how it is, without distorting the truth. It is to remain as factual, formal and serious as is possible, while keeping it simplistic enough to reach a wider audience, with short simple facts about the situation. But crams in enough information in such a way to meet the needs of a more intellectual people. I have intended to target an audience of the general public. However I feel the broadsheet will appeal to a group mostly consisting of adults, who don’t want the latest gossip and rumours on celebrities.

The language I have used is very emotive, “One day, Sydney Bristow, Mathew Bristow’s 3-year-old daughter, will understand the full implications of yesterday, when her Father was murdered just a mile from her home in Stanton Island.” Unfortunately this article is indeed very emotive, and ideally would not be, to remain constant with the style of the paper. However it is hard not to be biased against the offender, and not to feel pity for the fatherless little girl, in an appalling crime such as this. Trying to make the paper unbiased is therefore unrealistic, and should not of been the style of the articles in the newspaper. Bias is clearly shown against Ray Spielman describing this act as “one of Ray’s usual past times.” This bias is justified because I want society to stamp down on men like that. Readers are led to believe that Ray Spielman is simply a cold hearted killer. However, his side of the story has not been uncovered, as he as not been able to contact and would probably unwilling to participate in an interview.

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One of the most influential presentational devices is the masthead, as this is the first thing the reader sees, and is also used to identify a newspaper. Taking this into account I have made the masthead with a bigger font, making it easier to see. I came up with the masthead “The Daily Chronicle” for my newspaper for various reasons. The phrase “The Daily Chronicle” means that it is a journal that logs events daily, making it perfect for it’s use as a masthead, as it sums up the contents of the newspaper. The word “Chronicle” in my opinion, has a futuristic quality to it. This quality is convenient for me as it symbolizes, that the news reported, can have an effect on the future. The masthead is written using an old calligraphic font, to make it seem established along time ago, so that it appears to be reliable.

The title “Ruthless Murderer Escapes” is very striking as the words “Murderer” and “Ruthless” have powerful and staggering effects on the reader. However these effects could have been intensified if alliteration and puns were utilised in the title.

The paragraphs of my paper were present to ensure that my newspaper was reader friendly and a new paragraph was started every time a new point was being discussed. Ideally, I would have put more than three columns on my newspaper like broadsheets do, but I was limited in space because I was using only A4 paper.

A jump line was actually not needed as my newspaper only consisted of two pages. It was used solely as a presentational attempt to make the paper look authentic. A real newspaper would have a jump line, to direct readers, to a subsequent page of the newspaper, where the rest of the article is displayed. This would help separate articles from other articles, save time and avoid confusion that could lead to frustration on behalf of the reader.

All of my pictures are in colour to make them eye-catching. The main picture on the front-page would not usually be put on a broadsheet, in the interest of its readers, because of its violent and explicit nature. However tabloids use such tactics, by putting shocking pictures of murders or a half naked celebrity to pull attention and boost sales, precisely the job of the provocative page 3 girls in the Sun. I wanted the picture to have the same appeal to readers, and boost sales.

My attempt to make the article as factual as possible was a success, as I included some statistics, “The damage caused by him in the last year alone has summed up to a total of at least £4,000,000” which may have alarmed readers. The start of the article was also very factual, “Ray Spielman, a convict aged 27, has escaped while he was being transferred to Staunton Maximum Security Prison yesterday, at about 9:45pm.”

Antony Thambiah