NEWSPAPER

I. Newspapers
- Newspapers differ according to geographical reach and readership.
- In UK there are generally ‘quality’/‘elite’ (traditionally known as broadsheets), such as The Times
and The Guardian, and ‘popular’ (tabloids), such as The Sun and Daily Mirror.
- There is not such a division in the US, with the exception of The New York Post, which is similar to a
UK tabloid.
II. NATURE OF NEWSPAPER LANGUAGE
- In the eighteenth century, newspapers were used by the government as a means of promoting their
own interests.
- By 19th century, what can be described as 'modern journalism' began with the appearance of
newspapers still popular today: Manchester Guardian (1821), Daily Mail (1896), Daily Express
(1900) and Daily Mirror (1903).
- Anything unexpected or dramatic is newsworthy and 'bad news is always good news' for the
journalists and editors trying to meet tight deadlines and sell papers.
- Editors look for relevance in the stories they print - culturally, socially or politically, the content must
have some direct bearing on the people of Britain.
- The NEWS VALUES of a newspaper govern the kind of stories which editors print. The choices
made are ultimately based on what will sell newspapers, both to readers and advertisers.
- Having identified an audience that endorses or accepts their attitudes and ideas, tournalists can
explicitly rupport a particular political viewpoint or social group. This can lead to bias (favouring one
viewpoint over another), which is evi- dent in the lexical cholce and in the selection or exclusion of
particular stories.
 Newspaper formats
- Newspapers have often been divided into two main categories: tabloid and broadsheet.
- A TABLOID paper is printed on A2- size paper, which is folded to A3; this is therefore smaller than the full
spread of a BROADSHEET, which is printed on Al and folded to A2. All the masscirculation papers are
tabloid. The divide between “big’ and ‘small’ papers goes further: broadsheet papers have also been called the
‘serious’ or ‘quality’ press, while tabloid papers have been called the ‘popular’ or ‘gutter’ press.
- The broadsheets pro- vide information, while the tabloids provide sensation; the former aim for factual
representation of the ‘truth’.
- COMPACT form brought The Times and The Independent to tabloid size.

Breaks down some of the key linguistic and typographical differences between tabloids and
broadsheets

Tabloids Broadsheets/compacts
- Headlines are typed in bold print and may extend - Headlines usually only extend over two
across the whole pagė. They are often capitalised. columns, the print tends to be smaller. Front
- page headlines are sometimes an exception.
Paragraphs are usually only a few lines long. - Paragraphs are longer so the reader has to
- The typographical features are very varied: the first concentrate for longér periods of time.
paragraph generally uses larger print and is often bold; - The typographical features are more
the second paragraph is slightly smaller, the third standard. The same size of print is used
paragraph uses standard print size. Initial letters are throughout, except for headlines, strap lines
usually large. and sub-headlines
- Punctuation is used sparingly - Punctuation is used traditionally and more
- Commas are often omitted after initial adverbials and formally than in tabloids. Dashes less
between strings of adjectives. frequent.
- Inverted commas are used to mark direct speech and to - Rhetorical patterning is more complex.
highllght key words. Rhythmical effects are achieved through
- Dashes mark parentheses, which make the style quite balanced phrases and antithesis.
informal and chatty. - Sentence structure is varied to sustain the
- Alliterative patterning is used to make the text more interest of the reader. Few paragraphs are of
memorable. only one sentence.
- Sentence structure is often simple or compound, - Paragraphs maybe made up of In only two

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 although the structure of one main clause and one or three sentences.
subordinate clause is common. - Co-ordinators in the initial position are less
- Paragraphs are usually composed of one or two common. Cohesion is created through
sentences. referencing and lexical repetition rather than
- Co-odinators in the initial positiom are common. through conjunctions.
- Adverbial at the start of sentences change the focus and - Adverbials are ised in a variety of post-
keep readers interested. sppeopriate to the meaning.
- Modifiers are common and very few nouns stand alone. - Modifiers are used to provide accurate
Pre-modification is more common than post- detail. Description is always precise.
modification. - Post-modification is as common as pre-
+ Modifiers are coined. modification.
+ Description is often vivid. - Lexis is more specific, formal and
- Lexis is often inventive and emphatic. restrained. Vivid, dramatic lexis is not used
+ The tone is informal and colloqulalisms are common. morely to sensationalise.
+ Compounds are created to attract attention - The angle adopted tends to be more factual.
+ Puns are common.
- The angle adopted is usually human – new stories are
directly linked to people and the ways in which they are
affected by an event or issue.

CHANGES IN FORMAT
- There are two kinds: tabloid and broadsheet.
- Although tabloid in size, others would object to being ranked as tabloids because of the wider
connotations of this term. A third category is therefore useful the MIDDLE-MARKET PAPER.
These fall between tabloids and broadsheets.
- The differences between tabloid and broadsheet newspapers are not always clear: tabloid focuses on
headlines, while the main reporting is saved for pages two and three.
- Critics of the new format suggest that there is a lower story count with shorter, less complete texts,
larger photographs and headlines, and softer journalism that no longer maintains the ground-breaking,
opinion-forming style of the broadsheets.
- For advertisers: broadsheets are often folded in half vertically or horizontally, thus reducing the area
of the paper on view; a compact will usually have both pages open simultaneously.
- Newspaper ideologies
- The style of the tabloid papers is distinctive, with its sensational approach and its dominant front-page
headlines.
- Linguists are interested in the kinds of language different newspapene choose to attract their intended
audience.
III. FUNCTIONS
- To promote political views and convey news.
- To convey information about everyday events including international, national and local news;
reviews of film, television, radio, books,.. and help with personal problems.
- Newspapers can be influential. What aspects of a newspaper can influence readers’ choices are: the
choice of words, the decisions about which facts to add and omit or the ranking of events on the front
page. What the editor do is to present the world in a certain way so that the intended reader can
identify with the paper’s viewpoint.
- Different readers satisfy with different types of newspaper.
- TO
- TO
- TO
- TO

IV. Features of newspaper language

Headlines
- Headlines have three main functions, but in a limited amount of space:
+ To attract potential readers
+ To indicate the topic of the story (often with a small summary)
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 + To provide the approach
Some characteristics of headlines:
- Graphologically larger, but also different colours and fonts
- Grammatical “simplifications” as in other forms of “block language” (notices, titles, adverts, slogans,
etc.), which can create a “telegraphic” effect:
+ Articlecopular/auxiliary verbs
+ Connective
+ Possessive.
Reports
- Reports give a particular view of events. The information that is excluded can be as important as the
information that is included.
- Selective perception is when a newspaper does not report a certain event while others do or when it
does not report certain features of an event.
- The lexis and syntax of news reporting can:
- Reflect whether a paper is a broadsheet/compact or a tabloid
- Influence the reader
Lexis
- Lexis is relatively short and dramatic, which combine brevity with effectiveness (row, push, ban);
- Stylistic and rhetorical devices are used to attract and intrigue readers:
+ Puns and word playalliteration,
+ Rhyme or other play on sound
+ Metaphorproverbs
+ Intertextuality
+ Loaded language (e.g. “butchered”)
+mGrammatical class shift (e.g. Verb > noun)
Grammar
- The grammar of newspaper reports varies in tabloids and broadsheets/compacts:
- Tabloids tend to use simple and compound sentences.
- Broadsheets and compacts use a wider variety of sentence structures.
- The length of the sentences and the number of sentences that make up paragraphs do vary from report
to report.
- The formality of the broadsheets/copact style demands much more concentration on the part of the
reader.
- A successful report will vary the type of sentence structure to retain readers’ interest.
Style
- To draw readers’ attention.
- Using direct and indirect speech.
- Tabloids usually quote eminent people directly to encourge a feeling that even the rich or famous are
ultimately the same as their readers.
- Broadsheets tend to use direct quotation to add weight to their arguments.
- Formal speeches can be summarised so that the news-worthy points are highlighted.
Source
- The source of information are important in newspaper articles
- It provides another way to distinguish between tabloids and broadsheets/compacts
- Quality paper will often cite official source.
- Variation in sources can affect the credibility and any statements made.
Conclusion
- Linguistic analysis has to take account of the target audience, the house style of the newspaper and
the effect they wish to create.

V. TYPES OF LANGUAGE REPORTS

- Online newspaper is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the
online version of a printed periodical.
- Printed newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current
events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.

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- Tabloids:
+ Headlines are big. They are typed in bold print and may extend across the whole page. The front
page headlines can occupy more space than the whole article they refer to.
+ Shorter articles about less important events.
+ Lots of stories about famous
+ Lexis is often emphatic with short and sensational words.
+ The angle adopted is human. News stories (political, economic, etc.) are directly linked to people.
The tone is conversational and the approach sensational and dramatic. .
- Ideologically, the three papers have different standpoints, but since this is an action story based on
cultural interest the different political viewpoints.
+ Three papers convey the drama of the incident, the articles communicate the information in ways
that are appropriate to their own readers.
+ The middle-market Daily Express and popular tabloid Daily Star are quite similar in approach, but
the Express adopts a more formal style than the chatty, personal tone of the red-top. Both focus on the
‘elite’ personalities that can be linked to the event and on recent ‘popular culture’ in a broad sense.
- Middle-market and tabloid newspapers are different in their approaches to reporting, because this is a
dramatic story with explicit connections to popular culture and celebrity, differences are not as
marked as they would be for a political or economic issue.
- The tabloid style of the middle-market and red-top papers is immediately apparent in the headlines.
 Both use the colloquial Prezza to set the informal tone that dominate each report. The sentence
structure in these tabloid reports reflects the content and approach of the journalists.
V. What to look for in newspapers
1. Register
a) Mode
- The oldest newspaper category, paper-based, with illustrations. Highly popular, in-depth content and
readable by readers.
- Collect all the information by writing on paper.
b) Manner
- The relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners is both complex and
ambiguous. It is characterized by both cooperation and conflict.
- The relationship between reader and journalist does not have to be a relationship between equals
- How to make the readers believe that it is true, does the content persuade the readers or not, or how
the entertainment is presented?

c) Field
- Whether or not the topic is posted depends on the issue being considered. It must be a new, influential
topic, and many people want to learn.
- Journalists must find a way to reach out to the public to get authentic information.

2. Lexis
a) Headline
- Style

+ The content is always used on a basic white background because it creates a simple, solid and
subtle feeling to turn text information on and to avoid disturbance and visual tension in readers.
+ The proper use of text sizes on images will attract more attention from the viewer, while also
ensuring the effectiveness of the contrast between images and text.
- Connotations of words chosen

+ Clearly, easy to understand, meaning how readers can understand immediately. Avoid abstract
words, abbreviations, technical words or misleading words.
+ Concise, dynamic, means writing directly, eliminating redundant and repetitive elements.

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 + Must be appropriate, must provide unique information and necessarily consistent with the content
of the article.
- Ideology

+ The title reflects the full content of the article, even in some cases it works to raise the post to a
higher level
+ Have a close relationship with the content
b) Reports
- All selected words must be formal
- Use more accurate words than modifiers
- Use abbreviations in the report
- We can use nouns to describe people and things, verbs to describe actions and processes,
adverbs of place, time, place ...
2. Grammar
a) Headlines
- Single sentences, compound sentences
- Subheadings may be used to further explain if necessary
- Use passive but must be appropriate
- Avoid ambiguity, confusing
b) Reports
- The sentence structure is diverse but it must be short, clear and avoid misunderstanding.
- The report must be related to the topic, and can be created in a variety of ways.
- - Use direct speech by using quotes or a summary of direct speech but note the words of the
speaker.
3. Style
- Sentence organisation designed influence the reader:
+ Marked themes to hightlight a clause elemant other than the subject in the initial position
+ Foregrounding of adverbials to provide extra information
+ Passive voice to alter the position of the project for emphasis
+ Included or omitted by + agent
- Literary devives:
+ Metaphors and similes to establish a narrative atmosphere or to make the report more
dramatic or the abstract issued concrete
+ Symbolism to force the reader to make connections
+ Clerver or comic puns
+ Unusual or unexpected words or descriptions
- Rhetorical devices:
+ Antihesis juxtaposing words or key concepts for dramatic effect or contrasting particular
viewpoints
+ Listing building to a climax or an anti-climax,creating emphasis or developing a serious or
commic tone
+ Patterning to emphasise important attributes or contrast
+ Repetition of words, phrases or clauses to hightlight key points and make the report more
dramatic or noticeable.
4. Sources
- Official
- Unofficial
5. Typographical features
- Capitalisation
- Viriation
- Colour
- Images