Unit 2 Lesson 3
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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.