The Mirror described the incident and the following scenario; the Prowler "screamed down the valley", "ripped through the wire" and sent the car "crashing" onto the "wooded mountainside." The article also said that the "huge metal hook" smashed down through the roof." Similarly, the article in The Times stated that the aircraft had "appeared to be gaining height when it hit the cable." The article also said that part of the cable car wreckage was "scattered across the mountain." The description in Newsweek was not as detailed as in the other two articles. Nevertheless, Newsweek stated that a "U.S. fighter jet clipped two cables" and sent a "gondola full of skiers tumbling to the ground."
All three articles gave other information, which was not directly linked to the incident itself. The Mirror explained that "the world's worst cable car disaster" had occurred in Cermis previously, in March 1976. Likewise, The Times also told this but also described that the area is a "spectacularly beautiful mountain range" which has become a "favourite area for skiers" and "hikers." In contrast, the information in Newsweek differed considerably. There was a lot of information about a missing Italian airliner, which was "accidentally shot down by a U.S. missile." This information was used to build up the argument in the article.
The language in The Mirror was considerably emotive and there were several dramatic terms utilised. For example, the heading, "20 skiers killed as jet slices cable car wire," contains the word "slices." The word "slices" suggests a quick, sharp and smooth motion, thus, aiding the readership to imagine how the tragedy occurred. Additionally, the subheading, "Brits tell of horror in snow," contains the word "horror," which is reminiscent of tragedy and petrifying circumstances. These two words help to stir the readers' emotions. The word "Brits" is also significant, as the target audience of The Mirror is British people; therefore, the audience will learn about events affecting British people. The word "Brits" is also written colloquially and in a nonchalant style to appeal to the readership. Furthermore, throughout the entire article, there are several words, which indicate destruction. Examples include words such as "ripped," "crashing," "smashed", "screamed" and "plunged." These are all emotive and dramatic verbs, which describe an extremely tense situation. Moreover, phrases such as "tangled wreckage" and "bloodstained snow" set the scene and help to keep a picture of tragedy embedded in the readership's minds'.
The Times does not use as much emotive and dramatic language as The Mirror does, but establishes a much more factual tone. This is because its target audience is mainly sophisticated and well-educated people. Unlike The Mirror, the headline, "20 die in cable car after jet cuts wire," does not sound as dramatic as The Mirror's. For example, the word "cuts" from The Times would not receive as an emotional response as "slices" would from The Mirror.
The Times makes use of technical and specialist vocabulary, as it describes the capabilities and purpose of the Prowler jet. This includes words such as "electronically," "anti-radiation" and phrases such as "ground radar installations." There is emotive language used in The Times, but unlike The Mirror, its intention is different. In The Mirror, the emotive terms were used to describe the situation but in The Times, it was used to illustrate why the situation arose. These emotive words include "angry", "war games" and "roaring."
Like The Mirror, the headline in Newsweek is very eye-catching. Even though the headline, "Blood on the Snow," has no direct relation to the tragedy in the Alps, it makes you think of death, therefore, prompting the readership to read more of the article. This is achieved through the words "blood" and "snow." "Blood" indicates red or danger and "snow" indicates innocence or pure things. The subheading, "After a US fighter jet clips a gondola's cable, killing 20, Europe questions America's character," is rather sympathetic and tries to get the readership to sympathise with America's situation rather than condemn them. The word "clips" implies that the aircraft just touched the car and that it was not a high impact force in comparison to "slices" or "cuts" from the other two articles. The subheading tries to demonstrate that the incident was not significant by deliberately under-playing the incident. The word "questions" also tries to gain sympathy. This is because the word "questions" insinuates that America's capabilities and behaviour cannot be trusted.
The word "griped" suggests that the article is dismissing the allegations of the local citizens. This is achieved through the fact that "griped", which suggests moaning and complaining, sounds as though the villagers are whinging. Therefore, the readership would most probably not be convinced with their arguments against low flying in the Dolomites. Additionally, the word "crime," in the second paragraph, is used to show that the incident was accidental and by no means intentional. However, the word "crime" still implies that someone, possibly the pilots, may have broken the law. This makes "crime" a very loaded word, as there are numerous images associated with it. In particular, the third paragraph emphasises how bad the problem of low flying really is. The paragraph tries to extricate the readers' sympathy and create an emotional response through use of words including "cried" and "terrified" and phrases such as "caused at least one miscarriage" and "prompted thousands of complaints." In contrast to the other two articles, The Times used technical language to describe the capabilities of the aircraft involved in the incident.
All three articles made use of interviews, but the manner in which they were used differed; For example in The Mirror, a British couple, Neil Harmar and his girlfriend, Stacey O'Donnell, gave a lengthy interview and informed us that they "missed the second car by minutes." They said that "all hell let loose" and stated that they were "shook up." Furthermore, they described the village as being in a state of "complete pandemonium." The couple reiterated how thankful they were that they "missed that car," and the fact that they were "incredibly lucky to be alive." Even though the British couple did not provide a lot of information about the incident itself, they did help to describe the atmosphere and their feelings on the situation. The British couple were interviewed primarily because of the fact that they were British; the target audience of this British paper are British people, therefore, the majority of people would be interested in hearing about events concerning British citizens.
All three articles had interviews with people who possessed various details about the aircraft prior to it hitting the cable car wire. In The Mirror, this interview was quite brief. Cristina Antoniazzi, the owner of a nearby hotel, said that she "heard and saw a plane flying at a very low level." This message was also present in an interview in The Times. An anonymous witness said that the jet had "seemed" to have "technical trouble," and described the jet as "screaming through the sky" like a "thing in torment." Another source in The Times also stated that the jet had been flying "very, very low." All three of these interviews were supplied using direct speech. In contrast, the interview in Newsweek was given using reported speech- Italy's Air Force chief, Mario Arpino, said that the Prowler was "four miles off course" and was also flying "3,300 feet below the altitude designated in the flight plan." These particular interviews were used in order to provide an image of the events immediately before the plane hit the cable car.
Each article also had interviews with people who objected to low flying by the Americans. In The Mirror, Regional President, Carlo Andreotti, was quoted as saying that "war games, "which" put people's lives at, risk" "should stop." He had also apparently been informed numerously "some military planes actually fly under the cable." He also felt that it was unacceptable that "innocent tourists should take the consequences" of pilots "games." Similarly, in The Times, an Italian woman, who was not named, was also interviewed. The Italian woman, who was described as being "angry", stated that they get American warplanes "roaring through the sky day after day." Finally, in Newsweek, a lengthy interview was given by Grace Potori, a U.S. activist and the founder of the Rural Alliance for Military Accountability. Grace Potori said that the only reason that planes fly over "rural people" and not "city folk" is because they are considered the "expendable population." Grace's general message is that the pentagon should "pick an area, buy everyone out" and "leave the rest of us alone." In particular, the interview with Grace Potori emphasised the severity of the problem of continuous low flying.
Brief interviews in each article were provided to fill in missing details and information about the incident. For example, in The Mirror, Police Chief, Andrea Russo, stated that "all four walls" of the car "opened up like a cardboard box." He also described the bodies of the victims as being "torn apart" beneath "sheets of metals." Another short interview was from a fire services spokesman who "grimly" stated that the "official" death toll had now reached "20". Even though these two interviews were quite brief, they provided a candid and grim description of the aftermath, which in turn, shocks the readership.
In The Times, officials discussed the potential consequences of the incident occurring earlier in the morning. Evidently, the "death toll would have been even higher." Another official sombrely stated that everyone in the cable car was "killed instantly" as it "hit the ground" which meant that there were no survivors.
In Newsweek, an interview was given by Commander Brig. Gen. Tim Peppe to clear the pilots of "hot-dogging" beneath the cables. He stated that the pilots only "fly the routes" laid out by Italian authorities and that the pilots are "good, well trained" and "understand their mission." This interview was used to try to convince the readership that the pilots were capable and that the incident was an irregularity. However, this was contradicted in the same article as the U.S. Ambassador, Thomas Foglietta, finally admitted that the aircraft was "flying below" the "approved altitude."
As with all articles, there were variations and similarities regarding the layout and presentation. Firstly, as with all newspaper articles, the main text was written using columns of equal width, however, The Mirror and The Times contained four columns, whereas, Newsweek only contained three. Additionally, both The Mirror and The Times contained three graphics apiece, whereas, Newsweek did not contain any illustrations. The main reason for this is that the focus of the article in Newsweek differed to that of The Mirror and The Times, therefore, the article would not benefit from the usage of graphics or diagrams.
Both The Mirror and The Times contained photographs, and accompanying captions, of the wreckage. The photograph in The Mirror was quite large, as its width was equal to two columns. In comparison, the photograph in The Times took up three columns. Additionally, The Mirror contained a photograph of the cable car, a map showing the location of the incident with details of how the incident occurred, and a picture of a similar cable car to that involved in the accident. The photograph of the wreckage in The Mirror was used to emphasise the severity of the incident and this was also displayed in the caption underneath. This includes words such as "devastation", "crushed" and "doomed." The map was used to aid the readership in understanding how, and where, the incident occurred. The Times also contained a map of the location, a photograph of the wreckage and, a photograph of a warplane, similar to that, which caused the incident. An example of the warplane was used to display its features, and also to create an atmosphere of war, as the aircraft resembles a military warplane. The photograph of the wreckage in The Times was quite large to attract attention to the article and also to create a dramatic effect for the audience.
The headlines for all three articles were quite large and prominent in order to attract the attention of the readership. The headline of The Mirror read "20 skiers killed as jet slices cable car wire" and was large, bold and in uppercase lettering. The headlines in The Times and Newsweek were written in sentence case and were quite large; however, the headline in Newsweek was bolder than that of The Times. The Mirror contained a subheading, "Brits tell of horror in snow" as did Newsweek, "After a U.S. fighter jet clips a gondola's cable killing 20, Europe questions America's character." In comparison, The Times did not contain a subheading, as most of the relevant information was present in the heading. The purpose of the subheading in The Mirror was to introduce the article, whereas the subheading in Newsweek summarises the article. Additionally, The Mirror and Newsweek contained other presentational devices; The Mirror contained a pulled quote (a quote which had been extracted from the main text to catch the readership's attention) and Newsweek made use of various lines to separate certain headings from the other. The pulled quote helped to attract attention and highlight an important feature.
In my opinion, The Mirror's report suggested the full horror of the incident most effectively. This was because of its eye-catching headlines & graphics, and also, the emotive and dramatic language, which recaptured the incident in your mind. I also believe that The Times report was quite effective as it contained many details, which the other two articles did not. This helped to make the incident easier to understand and much more informative to read. I also felt that Newsweek was an effective article as it reported the incident from a perspective, which the other two articles did not really consider. This helped me to see things from a wider standpoint. This was achieved thorough the various interviews, particularly interviews about incidents not directly linked to the accident in the Alps.
Additionally, the styles and nationalities of the reports also contributed to the differences in the manner in which the article considered the cause of the tragedy and the reasons for it. For example, the American publication, Newsweek, downplayed the incident as many considered it to be America’s fault. Therefore, they attempted to divert the attention away from them by suggesting that the Italians also regularly participated in low flying, making Italy's complaints unjustified. Additionally, many Italians interviewed were adamant that it was carelessness on America's part that caused the incident. The British articles did not provide many explanations or consider cases, but at the same time, they were biased, as they suggested that the incident was a result of America's recklessness, and not linked to Italian procedures.
All three articles were effective in their own style and considered various aspects, which the articles could not have done individually. This all helped in making the articles informative and accessible.