Compare 2 Newspaper Articles Essay, Research Paper

p>It is generally believed that the purpose of a

newspaper is to state the facts about what is going on in the world around us.

However, media has long been a way of manipulating the minds of the greater

population into holding certain values and opinions. Propaganda is used

frequently in everyday life to manipulate our thoughts, and despite what the

majority of us think, it does affect our opinions. In general, we believe that

what is potrayed as ?News? is fact, but often the facts are twisted to support

the political views of the Newspaper or journalist. This essay will explore the way in which this bias

is put across to the reader in the medium of Newspapers, by comparing the way

two newspapers, the Daily Mail and The Independent report on the same event.

There are two main types of newspaper, Tabloids, like the Daily Mail, and

Broadsheets, like the Independent. Tabloids are the most popular type of paper;

it is often smaller in size, more colourful and relies on page three girls and

other such shock tactics, to attract readers. Broadsheets are generally larger

in size, more serious and less colourful. The articles I will be comparing are about a

different approach to learning. They give their opinions on a trip organised to

Butlins, a middle class holiday resort, for school children to look at

different ways of learning maths by playing darts, for example. The article

printed in The Daily Mail (Article one), is dated 6th November 1987,

the second article (Article two) printed in the Independent is dated 9th

November 1987. Layout is an important clue as to the bias and

audience at which the article is aimed at. Article one at first glance is made

up of a third headline, a third picture and the final third, the written

section, in almost equal proportions. The headline draws attention to itself,

It is written in very bold and uncomplicated text. It reads ? Dodging lessons

at Hi-DI-Hi School?. It is quite obviously questioning the morals of the

venture and almost questioning its value. A pun is used to undermine the

thinking behind the move by the education system and almost poking fun at it.

The picture in the Daily Mail shows a group of school children playing darts

and sitting around a table doing nothing, almost portraying the scene that the

students are just having an easy time instead of learning. The caption beneath

the picture reads ? Darts and Arithmetic . . . but does it add up to education

?. Once again the newspaper is questioning this venture. Article one is aimed at very broad audience. It?s

simplistic enough to reach a wider audience, with short simple facts about the

situation. But crams in enough information in such a way to meet the needs of a

more intellectual person(s). In Article one the language is very simplistic, the

sentences don?t exceed 18 words, and the longest word is about seven letters

long. Again, this is because it has to be understood by a lower class person.

You don?t need to have a large attention span to read it and the first

paragraph usually gives a broad outline of the article.? The tone of the advert makes the whole content of

the article sound like a joke. For example, ? No marks at all for the local

education authorities who waste public funds on such tom foolery?. Maybe

implying that this whole scheme is to fill up gaps at Butlins rather than being

an educational holiday. ?I believe

that article one is biased against the holiday camp because of the political

party the newspaper supports, or because of the owner?s personal opinion. Nobody has been interviewed in article one. This is

probably because the people they interviewed didn?t have the same opinion as

the people at the Daily Mail. Article one has been written to make parents/people

aware that public funds are being wasted on ? such tomfoolery ? and that this

is not the way that children should be taught because it?s fun. Article two differs greatly in layout compared to

article one I layout. Article two has a small headline which does not drag

attention away from the rest of the text, the headline states the basic idea of

the article, which reads ? Pupils play to learn at Butlins ?, this headline

does not include a pun or a bias twitch which article one?s did. Accompanying

the headline is a small photograph, which illustrates the situation and a small

caption to explain what is happening. Also on the page is a large article in

small print, with the writer and writer?s position stated, which did not appear

on article one. This article (2) is aimed towards a more cerebral

type of citizen. This is because of the language. The language and word

structure in article two is much more intellectually based, for example ? As it happens an 11.000-bed out-of-season

holiday camp is a slightly incongruous place for a school trip?. The words

and sentences are longer and more complicated, the sentences also flow more

easily. Article two goes into great detail on the situation in hand, it

interviews many people and gives you more facts than you can handle. The tone of article two is a lot more serious and

informative, it states how the children?s beds were wet and smelled. E.g. ?At first she says the children were out into

a damp old chalets on the periphery of the camp were the beds were wet and cold?

. Which brings the article to another level of seriousness, because the

question crosses your mind that. Why are Butlins hosting such an event when

there not even prepared to take on five hundred students? This article does not seem to be biased at all. It

gives both sides of the argument a fare trial and leaves the article open-ended

so you can make your own decision. This article interviews many people from teachers to

students, of which they get a mixed response. Some people thought it was a good

idea that wasn?t going to take off, others said it was nothing but problems

from the second they got there. Some said there were plenty of resources,

others said that there was none. In this particular article there is no definite

message. As I stated earlier it is left remarkably wide open for your own

judgement.??? In my opinion I prefer the independent to the Daily

Mail because it?s more to the point. It doesn?t mess around with puns or large

flashy pictures, it gets to the point in great detail. It also gives lots of

opinions from lots of angles.