‘The Mirror’ newspaper uses a more sad and emotional tone in their writing, such as, “Police said one of the pilots died at the scene, while two men in the other plane suffered badly from minor injuries” where as ‘The Guardian’ newspaper uses more factual information and informative tone in the writing, such as, “A man has died and two other people have been treated for minor injuries after two light aircraft collided near an airport.” Both these articles have different effects on the reader. ‘The Mirror’ newspaper expect readers to respond sympathetically, different from ‘The Guardian’ newspaper where this story is written in a more formal and serious manner.
‘The Guardian’ newspaper consists of more complex and formal language, for example, “It is thought the planes collided in mid-air and the incident will now be the subject of an inquiry by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch” on the other hand ‘The Mirror’ newspaper consists of more dramatic and colloquial language, for example,” Inquiries are maybe in their early stages, but from reports it is said the aircraft collided in the air.” From this we are able to deduce that ‘The Mirror’ newspaper includes more simple sentences followed with many quotes, different from, ‘The Guardian’ newspaper where most sentences are complex and informative. ‘The Guardian’ newspaper uses more sophisticated words, for example, “received” however ‘The Mirror’ newspaper uses a simple range of vocabulary, for example “had got”.
‘The Mirror’ newspaper gives a balanced view on the story, in the same way that, ‘The Guardian’ newspaper does. Both newspapers make the reader feel sympathy; however, ‘The Guardian’ newspaper uses more serious language whilst ‘The Mirror’ newspaper uses more sensational and emotive language.
Both ‘The Mirror’ and ‘The Guardian’ newspapers interview a ‘Police spokesman’. ‘The Mirror’ newspaper includes many quotes in their article, unlike, ‘The Guardian’ newspaper where only two to three quotes are used. These newspapers have the same quotes that are written out differently. ‘The Mirror’ newspaper includes a large picture with the caption, “Police at scene of aircraft crash in Great Stretton, Leicestershire”. From this we are able to deduce that the accident scene had been sealed off; the only source information the news reports could rely on were the policemen. Therefore, a ‘Police spokesman’ was interviewed.
‘The Mirror’ newspaper is targeted for older middle class teenagers. We can deduce this by seeing the use of colloquial language in the article. Pictures have also been added to attract readers; this catches a teenager’s attention and brings the article to a much more interesting level. Short and simple sentences have been used to make the article much easier to understand. On the other hand, ‘The Guardian’ newspaper is targeted towards high class business man. This is shown by the article being written in a more factual and serious manner. There are long and complex sentences that are more suitable for adults to read through.
In conclusion, I would choose The Guardian as a much more reliable source in comparison to The Mirror. The Guardian writes in an informative tone with lots of details which makes its story more convincing for the reader; there are no biased opinions to manipulate the reader in any form. These broadsheets are written for upper classes who are most likely business people and office workers which mean the information given out is more likely to be true. The Guardian adds more factual news and events than tabloids with latest gossip and celebrities.
