Comparing of Newpaper Articles

The Daily Mirror concentrates most of its article on McDonalds because it is a very popular place to eat, therefore attracting people to read about it. The only mention The Guardian gives of McDonalds is an interview with a spokesman of McDonalds. The Daily Mirror, however, gives more information at which McDonalds the outbreak happened, 'the bug broke out among customers of McDonalds in Friar Gate, Preston, Lancs.' whilst The Guardian only says 'the beef burgers were eaten at a local McDonalds'. The Guardian also gives statistics of how many people were killed by E-Coli last year. 'Fortunately the number of cases is still small, about 380 last year'. The Guardian also gives information on the symptoms of the deadly illness. ' The organism can lead to bloody diahorrea and, occasionally, go on to kidney failure'.

The Daily Mirror exaggerates its article to put the reader in shock and to worry them. The Daily Mirror does this by using loaded words such as 'alert', 'fatal', 'terrifying', suffered', 'victim', and 'severe'. This sensational language makes the reader feel powerless against the bug. The readers are attracted by emotive words such as

'Suffered' = discomfort and agony.

'Severe' = not normal.

'Fatal' = near death or death.

'Terrifying' = scared.

The Daily Mirror also mentions children a lot o create a sense of urgency to sort the bug out. For example ' All the victims, including a toddler, suffered severe diahorrea'. The Guardian, however, mentions 'people' rather than children. The Daily Mirror is written in an informal way so that younger readers can understand it. To read The Guardian, however, you will need to know about the subject they are discussing if you want to understand it. The Guardian, therefore, is perhaps for an older audience, maybe ages 20+.

I will now look at the advice given by Roger Finn to decide which of the two articles is the most successful.

, Opening should be short and dramatic.

Roger Finn states this is the most important part of the article.

' The department of health yesterday warned people to cook beef burgers thoroughly after an outbreak of food poisoning at a McDonalds fast food restaurant'.

The Guardian's opening sentence is pretty long and isn't that dramatic. It's just pretty straightforward and therefore the reader won't be surprised.

'A BURGER alert went out last night after nine children who ate at McDonalds were hit by a terrifying food bug'.

The Daily Mirror's opening sentence is shorter than The Guardian's and is also dramatic, therefore surprising the reader, and then they would want to read on. The Daily Mirror uses emotive and loaded words such as 'terrifying' and 'alert'. As the article is on McDonalds this will also attract the reader's attention because this is a very well known place to eat.

2, Be Clear.

Roger Finn advises us to let the reader know exactly know what the story is about and to put the most important facts at the start of the article. The Daily Mirror's article isn't clear and only gives the reader an idea of what the story is about. The Guardian's article, however, lets the reader know what the article is about from the beginning.

3, The 5w's.

For an article to be successful Roger Finn advises us to ask ourselves the five questions that involves the subject of the article.

Who is involved? What happened? Where did it happen? When did it happen? And Why did it happen?

Both of the articles go along the guidelines of the 5w's well.

4, Be accurate.

Roger Finn tells us that we should get our facts right and never guess. Both articles are accurate and don't guess with their facts.

5, Keep it brief

Roger Finn tells us not to bore the reader by making the story longer than it should be. He also tells us to use simple words instead of using complicated words. The Guardians article is slightly longer than it should be. However The Daily Mirror's article is brief.

6, Be fair.

Roger Finn says that there are two points in a story and you should leave it up to the reader to decide on the situation. The Guardian's article shows the facts about the story without using loaded words so that it is up to the reader to decide on the seriousness of the story. The Daily Mirror's article, however, presents the story with loaded words to make the article seem more serious than it really is.

7, Special ingredient

The special ingredient of The Guardian's article is the interview with the spokesperson from McDonalds and the usage of scientific evidence. The special ingredient of The Daily Mirror's article are the children. They keep referring to the symptoms of the children and how they are suffering.

I think that The Guardians article is the best because it follows the advice given by Roger Finn the best out of the two articles.