THE LANGUAGE OF THE NEWSPAPERS II:BROADSHEET NEWSPAPER

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Journalistic Writing MCM310

LECTURE 33

THE LANGUAGE OF THE NEWSPAPERS II

The newspapers can be divided into two general categories:

TABLOIDS and BROADSHEETS

BROADSHEET NEWSPAPER:

Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages (typically

22 inches or more). The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the

streets and containing various types of matter, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet newspaper

was the Dutch Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. published in 1618.

Many broadsheets measure roughly 29½ by 23½ inches (74.9 cm × 59.7 cm) per full broadsheet spread, twice

the size of a standard tabloid. Australian and New Zealand broadsheets always have a paper size of A1 per

spread (84.1cm by 59.4cm).

In the United States the traditional dimensions for the front page half of a broadsheet are 15 inches wide by

22¾ inches long. However in efforts to save newsprint costs many U.S. newspapers (including The Wall Street

Journal) are downsizing to 12 inches wide by 22¾ inches long for a folded page.

The two versions of the broadsheet are:

· Full broadsheet - The full broadsheet typically is folded vertically in half so that it forms four pages

(the front page front and back and the back page front and back). The four pages are called a spread.

Inside broadsheets are nested accordingly.

Half broadsheet - The half broadsheet is usually an inside page that is not folded vertically and just

includes a front and back.

In uncommon instances an entire newspaper can be a two-page half broadsheet or four-page full broadsheet.

Totally self-contained advertising circulars inserted in a newspaper in the same format are referred to as

broadsheets.

Broadsheets typically are also folded horizontally in half to accommodate newsstand display space. The

horizontal fold however does not affect the page numbers and the content remains vertical. The most

important newspaper stories are placed "above the (horizontal) fold." This contrasts with tabloids which

typically do not have a horizontal fold (although tabloids usually have the four pages to a sheet spread format).

Historically, broadsheets were developed when in 1712 a tax was placed on British newspapers based on the

number of their pages.

TABLOID NEWSPAPER:

A tabloid is a newspaper industry term which refers to a smaller newspaper format per spread; to a weekly or

semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local-interest stories and entertainment, often distributed for

free (often in a smaller, tabloid-sized newspaper format); or to a newspaper that tends to emphasize sensational

crime stories, gossip columns repeating scandalous innuendos about the personal lives of celebrities and sports

stars, and other so-called "junk food news" (often in a smaller, tabloid-sized newspaper format).

The tabloid newspaper format is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. A tabloid format newspaper is

roughly 23½ by 14¾ inches (597 mm × 375 mm) per spread. This is the smaller of two standard newspaper

sizes; the larger newspapers, traditionally associated with 'higher-quality' journalism, are called broadsheets

(although some British 'quality' papers have recently adopted the tabloid format; The Guardian being the

exception by adopting the Berliner format). A third major format for newspapers is the Berliner, which is sized

between the tabloid and the broadsheet.

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Examples of Newspapers:

Broadsheet Newspapers

Tabloid Newspapers

The Express

The Guardian

The Mail

The Independent

The Sun

The Telegraph

The Mirror

The Times

The Star

The Financial Times

Editorial Policy

Tabloids and broadsheets do not look different by accident. Each paper is trying to appeal to whom it sees as

its readership. The readers of the broadsheets don't generally read tabloids and vice versa. Tabloid stories are

generally shorter, while broadsheet stories are more in-depth. Both are written in a particular style.

It is the job of the editor, and the various sub-editors, to know what the paper should look and feel like and

then to make sure that only stories that suit the style of the paper are actually published.

Editorial Choice

The amount of 'hard news' that a paper decides to print is determined by the editorial policy of the paper.

Tabloids do feature political stories, though they tend to prefer to focus on personalities of the politicians

rather than the actual issues that may be relevant.

There is likely to be a much closer correlation between the news in the broadsheets and the TV news. In most

cases the lead story will be the same. The order of importance in which the news has been ranked is also likely

to be similar in the case of TV news and the broadsheets.

One picture is worth a thousand words...

Generally speaking, tabloids make far greater use of pictures than the broadsheets do. The total area of the

paper that is given over to pictures is likely to be far greater in the tabloid - perhaps 25% as opposed to 10%.

You can quickly estimate these figures for yourself.

The types of picture are also different. The popular tabloids tend to use pictures to liven up sensational stories:

they are unlikely to have many photographs of politicians making speeches. One of the main differences in

style

between

tabloid

and

broadsheet

this

use

images.

This is a complex area. Both types of paper are good at choosing and displaying the images that they think their

readers would like to see. It is not only the tabloids that use images effectively. Broadsheets often use

photographs in striking ways, though they are less likely to cover celebrity scandal stories.

Language

This is probably the most difficult area of all to define. Much of the work on this will have to come from your

own reading of newspapers. Below are some general pointers as to how to analyze the language of newspapers.

Tabloids often use subjective language (subjective means allowing personal opinion to dominate).

Broadsheets tend to make greater use of objective language (objective means dealing with facts in a detached

manner).

Opinion tends to be acknowledged and kept separate from fact e.g. 'Some people felt the woman was

unbalanced.'

Using language subjectively is a common trait of the tabloid. Deliberately using emotive language (language

designed to stir up the emotions) is a feature found commonly in tabloids.

Opinion might be passed off as being fact in order to persuade you: e.g. 'The woman's mad - she should be

locked up.'

Such features of language are to be found throughout articles as well as in headlines. Weighing up the balance

between subjective and objective language is a useful way to look at the approach that a newspaper has to

news.

Of course not all stories in any newspaper are entirely serious. There are times when humor assists the telling

of a story. It is for you to judge whether this is a good ploy to use on all occasions.

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Recap

You should now feel confident about explaining:

The differences between tabloid and broadsheet newspapers (size, style and content)

How editorial policy affects newspapers.

The use of language and pictures in the two types of paper

How tabloid and broadsheets cover the same story differently

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/asguru/generalstudies/culture/04news/news01.shtml

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

IMPORTANT: Let's analyse the language of the two newspapers.

PAPER 1: A Broadsheet Report

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Journalistic Writing MCM310

PAPER 2: A Tabloid Report

An Example Language Analysis:

Both of these two news articles cover the same basic facts: the age of the child; the temperatures outside;

the length of time she spent on the doorstep; the child's clothing; and so on.

The difference between the reports emerges in the way they treat their subject matter.

He headlines immediately demonstrate the variation in approach of a quality broadsheet and a popular

tabloid.

The broadsheet newspaper uses a straightforward, factual headline which is simple and yet still dramatic. It

is a simple sentence in structure:

"Girl frozen alive on her own doorstep"

The prepositional phrase functioning as an adverbial highlights the fact that this too place at home, making

the story more interesting. The headline is less dominant than that of in the other paper (paper 2) ad, in

line with the papers house style I does not use capitalization.

The report in tabloid (paper2) aims to attract attention and uses both a capitalized headline and an

underlined sub-headline. It provides far more information than the broadsheet (Paper 1), aiming to catch

the reader's interest. The colloquial noun Kid is typical of the paper' chatty style and the use of parenthesis

to give the child's age also contribute to the personal approach. By providing specific details like the age,

the number of hours spent outside and the temperature, the paper hopes to arouse the reader's emotions.

The headline is a noun phrase made up of a compound modifier and noun.

"ICE BLICK KID"

The sub- headline is a complex sentence:

"Karlee, 2, survives six hours locked out of home at -22°C"

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Journalistic Writing MCM310

The use of the present tense creates a sense of immediacy, adding to the dramatic impact.

The spreadsheet (Paper 1) uses modifiers which give the reader precise information:

Serious condition (lines 12-13); six hours (line 5); extensive frostbite (line 38)

The tabloid (Paper 2) uses noun phrases in which the modifiers give the reader details about the child.

They are emotive, but not particularly sensational:

Low body temperature (line 19); severe frostbite (line 35-6)

The naming of the participants and places tells the reader something about the nature of broadsheets

and tabloids. The parents are named in different ways by the both of these papers. The spreadsheet (paper

1) uses the formal Mrs Karrie Kasalofski whereas the tabloid (paper 2) uses informal ways like Mum Karrie and

Dad Robert. For child, the broadsheet uses a two-year-old girl whereas the tabloid uses the more informal

words, kid, toddler and tiny to how more vulnerability and thus sensationalises.

The connotations of words add to the effects created. The lexis of the broadsheet are more formal and

therefore does not rely on wider associations of individual words to create a sense of drama. The tabloid

(paper 2) uses the word amazed to show an extraordinary event.

The adverbials in these reports are quite similar, many providing information about the length of time the

child spent outside and the place.

Marked themes are used to dramatise the narrative of the action story.

The passive voice is used to suggest that no one can really be blamed for this accident.

The direct speech is important in this kind of story because it adds a personal feeling to the drama. Both

these reports quote the doctors and their exact words give authority to the statements.

Action stories have chronological structure and this is apparent here.

And, this ends the analysis.

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