UNIT 2 - THE BRITISH PRESS

Lesson 3 : Broadsheets and tabloids

Two of these types of newspaper are serious with long articles about politics and economics. Which type of newspaper is small with lots of pictures and articles about scandal and sport?

a broadsheet a tabloid a quality newspaper

Now read the following text and check your answer .

Text 1: More newspapers are sold in Britain than in any other European country. 66% of the British public read one of the eleven daily newspaper that can be divided into two chief categories: broadsheets, such as The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph , and tabloids, such as The Daily Mail and The Sun . The tabloids are the biggest sellers by far. They are part of what is commonly known as the popular press which is aimed at lower social groupings. Among the features of tabloid papers are their lively layout, their use of big headlines in bold, of colour, of large, dramatic pictures accompanying short articles. They usually focus on human interest stories, on gossip, on sport and often offer gimmicks and special offers such as games and free tickets. Broadsheet newspapers are usually referred to as quality press. They aim at a higher social grouping. They use colour very sparingly, their pages are usually densely packed with long news reports, their focus is often on political issues and on international news. The broadsheet is usually serious and careful to be seen to present as full a picture as possible of the news in a series of reports about recent occurrences judged to be “newsworthy” and of interest to the paper’s readership. The tabloid does not worry about presenting (or seeming to present) the news in an objective way, rather it appears directly to the readers’ emotions and instincts. For tabloids, emotion about an event takes precedence over the event itself. For broadsheets, the event takes precedence over emotion. In this respect, tabloids may be seen as displaying a preference for spoken melodrama (sensationalism and excessive emotion), whereas broadsheets are more rooted in written epic (the narrative of events that are important to a nation). Sometimes this leads tabloids to taking rather extreme positions which are often criticized. The following front page headlines, each printed on the same day during the NATO war in Kosovo, exemplify the different approaches of the two types of newspapers. The Times (broadsheet) NATO SPLIT OVER AIR CAMPAIGN The Sun (tabloid) CLOBBA SLOBBA The first headline encapsulates a political issue in a neutral way pointing to the fact that NATO is divided over whether or not to launch an air attack; the second is an emotive comment, an exhortation to attack, to “clobber” (hit) Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, and hence Serbia. As can be seen in this example, tabloids make little distinction between news and comment (views, remarks, observations, critical stances representing the ideas of the writer or editor, evaluations) whereas broadsheets keep the two more carefully separated. The tabloid pages are considerably smaller than the broadsheets, but tabloid headlines, despite the smaller page, use larger fonts. They are usually very short and direct, such as “ROUTED” ( The Sun , April 3, 2003), “HELL ON EARTH” ( The Sun, March 31, 2003). They often read as a spontaneous comment or reaction representing a moral or emotional stance and they often appear to have more in common with spoken rather than formal written English. They make no secret of their desire to manipulate public opinion. An example of this is to be seen in the headline written in The Sun of

22 August 29, 1996, against Prince Charles on the day in which he and Princess Diana got divorced: “BYE BYE BIG EARS”. Such headlines are usually juxtaposed with a large, dominant picture. Broadsheet headlines have a smaller typeface and stretch right across the front page. They tend to offer a summary of the story carried beneath. The main image is not necessarily directly connected with the principal headline. The longer headline allows for the use of a fully formed sentence often with two clauses, as follows: “SADDAM’S PALACE DESTROYED BY CRUISE MISSILE AS US MOUNTS NEW ATTACK”. There is a tendency to elide the full range of participants to a process. Often the function words such as definite articles, pronouns and auxiliary verbs are left out. With all these elements added in, this headline would read: “Saddam’s palace has been destroyed by a Cruise missile as the US mounts a new attack”. Exercise 1 Tick the term or statement that is incorrect according to the text 1. For news to be news, it must be ... a. fresh b. of international interest c. of interest to the reader 2. Tabloid newspapers frequently... a. are colourful b. offer full international news analysis c. present the news in a dramatic way 3. Broadsheet newspapers... a. have a higher readership than tabloids b. use more complicated headlines c. often have a list of contents on the front page 4. In general, broadsheets... a. seem to be less biased than tabloids b. are never biased c. have bigger pages than tabloids 5. In general, tabloids... a. give more importance to an emotional response to an event than to the event itself b. don’t like Prince Charles c. combine news with views in the reporting.

TABLOIDESE Tabloidese , devised to accommodate the largest type to the smallest page, is essentially a made-up language, a kind of primitive Esperanto where nouns, verbs and adjectives are interchangeable. So long as readers are well-versed in this Esperanto, it is a useful - indeed an essential - headline aid. Tabloid newspapers have often been accused of being sensational - a term of abuse when aimed at the press. But the comments below, published in the early 1950s on the front page of the Daily Mirror by the editor, Sylvester Bolam (Editor 1948-1953) suggest some of the more positive aspects of sensationalism. “The Mirror is a sensational newspaper. We make no apology for that. We believe in the sensational presentation of news and views, especially important news and views, as a necessary and valuable public service in these days of mass readership and democratic responsibility. We shall go on being sensational to the best of our ability... Sensationalism does not mean distorting the truth. It means the vivid and dramatic presentation of events so as to give them a forceful impact on the mind of the reader. It means big headlines , vigorous writing , simplification into familiar , everyday language , and the wide use of illustration by cartoon and photograph ... As in larger, so in smaller and more personal affairs, the Mirror and its millions of readers prefer the vivid to the dull and the vigorous to the timid. No doubt we make mistakes, but we are at least alive.”

23 Exercise 2 Compare the two following front pages, the former from the tabloid Daily Mirror and the latter from The Herald . - What do they have in common? - In what ways are they different? - How does the physical layout of the pages effect the way in which readers approach the newspaper?

Exercise 3 Look at the following article from The Sun and say in which way it is typical tabloidese :

Wills & Kate’s abba dabba I do

ROYAL ABBA TOP 10 1 - Ma’amma Mia 2 - Dancing Queen 3 - Knowing One, Knowing You 4 - The Windsors Take It All 5 - (I Don't Carry) Money, Money, Money 6 - Take A Chance On Bea 7 - Super Trooping (The Colour) 8 - Thank You For The Monarch 9 - One Does, One Does, One Does, One Does… 10 - Chiq-Kate-ita Abba fab ... Prince William, Kate Middleton, Chelsy Davy and Prince Harry as they might look in Abba gear…

PRINCE William and Kate Middleton will seal their love by boogying to Abba songs at their reception. A Royal source said: "It'll be a wedding disco like those enjoyed by millions of other happy families and friends up and down the country." There will be a 1980s theme for the knees-up with hits by Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and Culture Club blaring out for Wills - as well as the Abba classics for Kate.

24 The decision would have thrilled Wills' late mum Princess Diana, who was a huge fan of the '80s sounds… The £75,000 bash will provide the first chance for Wills, Kate, Harry and girlfriend Chelsy Davy to really let their hair down after the pomp of the Westminster Abbey wedding on April 29...

Colloquial expressions: ______

______Illustration: Puns : ______Headline technique: ______

Text 2: 'Waity Katie' to wed her William ( The Sun , 16 November 2010)

KATE Middleton went from being Prince William's university flatmate to the future King's first true love. Dubbed "Waity Katie" for her patience as she held out for several years for her Prince to pop the question , Kate will finally become a royal bride next year. He reportedly calls her "Babykins", while he is apparently her "Big Willie". Kate has a wealthy middle-class background, but a down-to-earth nature and

mature outlook. Yes ... the Prince popped the question in Kenya earlier this year The pair met at St. Andrews University where they were both studying history of art, although William switched to geography. Kate, who is five months older than William, is credited with persuading the Prince to continue his studies when he considered quitting during his first year. She caught his eye as an attractive undergraduate shortly after he arrived in the small and windswept Scottish town in Fife. The Prince forked out £200 for a front seat at a charity student fashion show where Kate strode confidently down the catwalk in a see-through lace dress which revealed her black underwear. Her affection for William dates back several years. She had a schoolgirl crush on the Prince and was dubbed "Princess-in-Waiting" for having a poster of him in his polo gear on her wall. The teenage dream became a reality when they got together at university, staying together after they graduated. The pretty brunette did briefly split from the second in line to the throne in April 2007, but within weeks they were secretly back in each other's arms. She was widely tipped to marry William and one day take the crown, but the relationship unexpectedly broke down. When the rekindled romance became public, speculation about an engagement soon grew with many observers saying it was just a matter of time. Born on January 9, 1982, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton is the eldest child of businessman Michael and former air hostess Carole Middleton. The self-made millionaires live in a modern five-bedroom detached house in Bucklebury, a small village near Newbury, Berks, and run a mail-order business called Party Pieces which sells toys and party paraphernalia. Kate has two younger siblings, sister Pippa and brother James. She was privately educated at the £15,000-a-year Marlborough College where she was a keen netball and hockey player. Former classmate Charlie Leslie called Kate, who was captain of the school hockey team and played in the first pair at tennis, "level-headed and down-to-earth". She said: "Kate is an absolutely phenomenal girl — really popular, talented, creative and sporty." One college master described her as an A-grade pupil and an all- rounder who was popular throughout the school. He said: "You might imagine someone like her would

25 attract a degree of jealousy and bitchiness from other students. "Not so. She was universally liked and to top it all she was a joy to teach. Quite sickening , really." Kate was not entirely a goody-two-shoes . According to her then "best friend" Jessica Hay, she used to bare her bottom and moon at the boys' boarding houses regularly from her dorm window. When Wills and Kate began sharing a four-bedroom townhouse at the start of their second year of university, she was dating another student, Rupert Finch. The group were often seen out on the town, drinking at their favourite haunts , Ma Bells and the West Port. The following year the four students moved into a secluded rented cottage outside the town. Kate was one of a close coterie of friends invited to William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle. But in an interview given at the time to mark his birthday the Prince insisted he did not have a girlfriend. He said: "There's been a lot of speculation about every single girl I'm with and it actually does quite irritate me after a while, more so because it's a complete pain for the girls." It is not known exactly when William and Kate became an item but it is rumoured to be around Christmas 2003. The first confirmation of their relationship was when they were pictured on the slopes of the posh Swiss ski resort Klosters in March 2004. Kate's acceptance as William's girlfriend was seen as complete a year later when she was pictured again at Klosters, happily alongside William and the Prince of Wales. The couple also holidayed abroad together, spending the summer of 2005 at a private game reserve in Kenya. There were reports in 2005 that the couple's relationship had cooled off , but in the November of that year, it seemed to be going from strength to strength. They were said to be planning to move in together, and Kate was introduced to the Queen. In December 2006, she turned up to watch William graduate as an Army officer at Sandhurst. It was the first time she had been at a high-profile public event attended by the monarch and senior royals as William's guest. A lip reading expert revealed Kate said, when she spotted William in military dress: "I love the uniform. It's so sexy." Kate's mother Carole was criticised in the press for chewing nicotine gum during the ceremony. Wills and Kate stayed out of the limelight for most of 2009 and 2010, with the royal girlfriend seen publicly at only a few events. William seemed in no rush to wed. He committed to a number of years in the RAF, keen to pursue his military career. Kate's attempts to forge a career seemed to dissipate. "Waity Katie" took a back seat and sat patiently in the wings . But with the announcement of their engagement, her future is now set, entrenched in history. She will one day be Queen.

GLOSSARY to dub: to give somebody/something a particular name, often in a humorous or critical way: The Belgian actor Jean–Claude Van Damme has been dubbed ‘Muscles from Brussels’ to pop the question: (informal) to ask somebody to marry you down to earth: sensible and practical, in a way that is helpful and friendly to quit: to stop doing something I've quit smoking ; quit (something): Just quit it! - We only just started. We're not going to quit now to fork out (for something) (something) (for/on something): (informal) to spend a lot of money on something, especially unwillingly - Why fork out for a taxi when there's a perfectly good bus service? - We've forked out a small fortune on their education to stride: [intransitive] (not used in the perfect tenses) + adverb/preposition: to walk with long steps in a particular direction - We strode across the snowy fields crush: [countable] crush (on somebody): a strong feeling of love, that usually does not last very long, that a young person has for somebody older a schoolgirl crush - I had a huge crush on her. split: [intransitive] (informal) to leave somebody and stop having a relationship with them; split (with somebody) The singer split with his wife last June; split (from somebody): She intends to split from the band at the end of the tour. to tip: transitive] (especially British English) to say in advance that somebody/something will be successful; tip somebody/something (for something): The band is being tipped for the top

26 rekindle: something (formal) to make something become active again; synonym : reawaken: to rekindle feelings/hopes - The sight of her after so many years rekindled his passion keen: [usually before noun] (especially Brit. English) enthusiastic about an activity or idea, etc. - a keen sportsman level-headed: calm and sensible; able to make good decisions even in difficult situations all-rounder: a person who has many different skills and abilities bitchy: saying unpleasant and unkind things about other people sickening: (informal) making you feel jealous or annoyed - She's off to the Bahamas for a month.’ ‘How sickening!’ goody-two-shoes: a person who always behaves well, and perhaps has a disapproving attitude to people who do not haunt: a place that somebody visits often or where they spend a lot of time - The pub is a favourite haunt of artists coterie: a small group of people who have the same interests and do things together but do not like to include others - her little coterie of friends and advisers - a literary coterie slope: [countable, usually pl.] an area of land that is part of a mountain or hill - the eastern slopes of the Alps posh: elegant and expensive - a posh hotel - You look very posh in your new suit. (British English, sometimes disapproving) typical of or used by people who belong to a high social class. Synonym: stylish - a posh accent/voice - They live in the posh part of town cool off: 1 to become cool or cooler - We cooled off with a swim in the lake. 2 to become calm, less excited or less enthusiastic - I think you should wait until she's cooled down a little limelight: the centre of public attention - to be in the limelight rush: [singular, uncountable] a situation in which you are in a hurry and need to do things quickly - I can't stop—I'm in a rush. - What's the rush? - ‘I'll let you have the book back tomorrow.’ ‘There's no rush.’ the wings: [PLURAL ] the area at either side of the stage that cannot be seen by the audience - She watched every performance from the wings. (waiting) in the wings : ready to take over a particular job or be used in a particular situation when needed - She was aware of a whole host of ambitious young managers waiting in the wings. to entrench: to establish something very firmly so that it is very difficult to change - Sexism is deeply entrenched in our society.

COMPREHENSION

Exercise 4 Decide if the following statements are true (T) or false (F) : 1. Kate is a member of the British aristocratic elite 2. William and Kate were classmates all along the university period 3. William saw her at a charity fashion show for the first time 4. Due to her posh attitude, Kate elicited envious comments in her mates 5. During the second year of university they were just friends and flatmates 6. The pair has never broken up 7. William asked her to marry him in Kenya in 2005 8. William has been performing in aviation in the last years

VOCABULARY

Exercise 5 Lexical cohesion: list all the words linked to the semantic field of love : ______27 Exercise 6 List all the expressions used to describe Kate Middleton. Then say if the attitude of the newspaper towards her is positive, negative, neutral, evaluative…: ______

Exercise 7 Read Text 2 again and make a circle around all the verbs in the past tense .

GRAMMAR NOTE : P ast tenses 1) Past Simple Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian musician and composer. He lived from 1756 to 1791. He started composing at the age of five and wrote more than 600 pieces of music. He was only 35 years old when he died . Lived/started/wrote/was/died: are all past simple . Very often the past simple ends in –ed ( regular verbs ): - I work in a travel agency now. Before that I worked in a department store. - We invited them to our party, but they decided not to come. - The police stopped me on my way home last night. But many verbs are irregular . The past simple does not end in –ed. For example: Write – wrote Mozart wrote more than 600 pieces of music. See – saw We saw Rose in town a few days ago. Go – went I went to the cinema three times last week. Shut – shut It was cold, so I shut the window. In questions and negatives we use did/didn’t + infinitive (enjoy/see/go etc.): - a) Did you go out last night? - B) Yes I went to the cinema, but I didn’t enjoy the film much. The past of be (am/is/are) is was/were . We do not use did in questions with was/were: - Was the weather good when you were on holiday? Exercise 8 Complete the sentences. Put the verb into the correct form, positive or negative 1. It was warm, so I ______off my coat. (take) 2. The film wasn’t very good. I ______it very much. (enjoy) 3. I knew Sarah was very busy, so I ______her. (disturb) 4. I was very tired, so I ______the party early. (leave) 5. The bed was very uncomfortable. I ______very well. (sleep) 6. The window was open and a bird ______into the room. (fly) 2) Present Perfect Tom is looking for his key. He can’t find it. He has lost his key = he has lost it recently and he still doesn’t have it. The present perfect simple is formed by have/has + past participle . When we say that ‘something has happened’, this is usually new information: ‘Oh! I’ve cut my finger!’ When we use the present perfect, there is a connection with now . The action in the past has a result now : -Where is your key? I don’t know. I’ve lost it.

28 You can use the present perfect with just , already and yet . - Are you hungry? No, I’ ve just had lunch. - Don’t forget to send the letter. I’ ve already sent it. - Has it stopped raining yet ? (“Yet” shows that the speaker is expecting something to happen. Use it only in questions and in negative sentences) Exercise 9 Read the situations and write sentences with ‘just’, ‘already’ or ‘yet’ 1. Joe goes out. Five minutes later the phone rings and the caller says, ‘can I speak to Joe?’ you say: ‘I’m afraid ______(go out). 2. You are eating in a restaurant. The waiter thinks you have finished and starts to take your plate away. You say: Wait a minute! ______(not finish). 3. You are going to a restaurant tonight. You phone to reserve a table. Later your friend says: Shall I phone to reserve a table’. You say: No ______(do it). 4. You know that a friend of yours is looking for a place to live. Perhaps she has been successful. Ask her. You say ______(find). 5. You are still thinking about where to go for your holiday. A friend asks: Where are you going for your holiday? You say: ______(not/decide). 3) Past Perfect Sarah went to a party last week. Paul went to the party too, but they didn’t see each other. Paul left the party at 10,30 and Sarah arrived at 11,00 o’clock. So, when Sarah arrived at the party, Paul wasn’t there. He had gone home. The past perfect simple is had + past participle ( gone, seen, finished etc .) Sometimes we talk about something that happened in the past: ‘Sarah arrived at the party’. This is the starting point of the story. Then, if we want to talk about things that happened before this time, we use the past perfect. - When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul had already gone home. Compare the present perfect and the past perfect . Present perfect - Who is that woman? I have never seen her before. Past perfect - I didn’t know who she was. I had never seen her before. (before that time). Compare the past simple and the past perfect . Past simple - Was Tom there when you arrived? Yes, but he left afterwards. Past perfect - Was Tom there when you arrived? No, he had already left. Exercise 10 Put the verb into the correct form: past perfect ( ex. I had done) or past simple ( ex. I did) 1. ‘Was Paul at the party when you arrived?’ ‘No, he ______(go) home. 2. I felt very tired when I got home, so I ______(go) straight to bed. 3. The house was very quiet when I got home. Everybody ______(go) to bed. 4. Sorry, I’m late. The car ______(break) down on my way here. 5. We were driving along the road when we ______(see) a car which ______(break) down, so we ______(stop) to help.

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