Comparing Two Newspaper Articles

Comparing Two Newspaper Articles

In the tabloid the article about Ritalin is much further back in the

paper at page forty-one unlike in the broadsheet where the same

article is on page nine, In my opinion this could be because in the

eyes of the editor the story on health related issues is not in the

interest of the reader.

The tabloids title is short and is the exaggerated truth, 'Zombie'

drug boost'. The word 'Zombie' is very emotive because it reminds you

of the living dead, it makes you scared of the thought of giving your

child a drug that has such a severe side affects.

'Drug boost' makes the reader think what increase of drugs? What has

happened now? It is a very eye catching title because it is short and

is a negative heading; I think the title has been done like this

because it makes you read on by grabbing your attention even if it is

negative.

In the broadsheet the title of the article is more professional and

explains a little bit more about the story than the tabloid. It

informs the reader that a drug for children with behavioural problems

has been approved; the title is also controversial because the reader

assumes there is something wrong with the drug because otherwise it

would not have an article in the newspaper. The title uses the word

'difficult' rather than 'zombie' because it is a less bias article and

it describes the symptoms of the illness being treated.

The sub heading is also is a subordinate clause on the newspaper

articles; on the tabloid the font is bold and large. It is situated

just underneath the title to help with the understanding of the

article; it is read straight after the headin...

... middle of paper ...

...ger words, and the piece describes the

symptoms of ADHD in more detail and gives you a more advanced

understanding of the drug and behavioural disorder because it is a

more impartial angle of writing. The article does have a negative

point, which does stand out in the readers mind; this is the last

paragraph of Tony Bilbow's interview. Since Joe has been taking

Ritalin he has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome this makes me

think; did Ritalin cause the syndrome?

The language is more formal in the broadsheet article because it is a

factual intellectual piece of writing informing you of the development

of the use of Ritalin.

The tabloid is less formal because it focuses more on the emotive

style of writing it is not as factual but does include a few basic

points to help with the understanding of the article.