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Liberal theory of press and media as watchdog
The market-based press is loyal to only the public. It acts as a ‘watchdog’, prepared to hold the government accountable for any wrongdoing in order to keep the public informed.
This allows the public to form opinions of their own, especially during the likes of election time. Public opinion is then issued to those in power by the press.
Autonomy allows the press to provide readers with information about the government that may not act in it’s favour, without any consequences.
Examples of ‘watchdog’ articles in the Guardian and Daily Mail:
The Guardian
The Daily Mail
The Guardian VS the Daily Mail: articles about patriotism
The Guardian questions the idea of patriotism to make their viewers reflect on the meaning of it. This is also the same on another article they wrote about patriotism: How we can shape a progressive patriotism.
This is different for the daily mail who try and create a sense of urgency and outrage with more dramatic titles, for example in the article Patriotism in free-fall: Just 39% of US adults and 18% of young people are ‘extremely proud’ to be American they try and cause outrage about how patriotism is so low, especially in the younger generation. Furthermore in their article they include a photo of a protest to make their article more dramatic compared to the guardian’s article which includes a photo of a hand holding up an american flag.
Daily Mail vs Guardian articles – military
Newspaper Double Page
Political Compass Test Results
According to the test, I am on the economic left and social libertarian. This means that I support the idea of all people living equally and having no superiority over each other because of cultures or social class. This also means I’m against basic human necessities being sold for high prices in order for corporations to make a profit. Libertarian means that I would be against the idea of governments intervening in every aspect of peoples lives.
Newspaper style model
Alternative ways of Writing
In our previous blog post we explored the general rule of introducing a story by answering questions such as ‘who, what, when’ from the outset.
However, there are cases when this rule is not followed. Sensational, tabloid, ‘soft news’ reporting (on lifestyle, personalities, events) quite often focuses on details and atmosphere before proceeding into essential information.
See an example below:
This intro here answers the ‘when’ (11am) without even mentioning the date. The texts evokes literary accounts by emphasizing weather and atmosphere. The next paragraph employs colorful and poetic language through the use of the phrase ‘grey London skies.’ These modes of expression present the Royals are highly honorable figures. The melancholy of the weather ties with their mission to honor the memory of the dead. The headline contrasts this atmosphere of silence and awe with the ‘sound and fury’ of the pro-Palestine protesters. The Royals here are presented as the embodiment of high national ideals: patriotism, reserve and constrain. This allies with the overall conservative worldview of the newspaper and targets audiences who have similar ideas about British identity, public order and the sanctity of monarchy.
On the following page, this emotionally charged representations of the ritual mix with ‘gossipy’ information about the dressing style of princess Kate. This expands the appeal of this topic towards readers who might be not very politically conscious. The use of the close up photograph of the princess and the historical background of her ‘pin’ create an effect of ‘personalization.’ The readers are invited to consume the personal story of a public figure by foregrounding her aesthetic tastes, ‘elegance’ and emotion. All these elements are graphically depicted in both text and visuals. Politics becomes ‘celebrity’ news. It is the person that matters, not the institution or the ideology. In addition to inspiring sympathy for and glorification of the princess, this style of presentation might target a more diverse audiences that monarchists: fashion enthusiasts, women, gossip-fans. The entertainment value of the story supports but also overcomes its ideological positioning.
Keep in mind these conventions of ‘media language.’ These patterns of writing and visualizing construct a specific views of the world and cater for particular types of audiences. Royalist, traditionalists, ‘Middle England’ figures, women, sensationalist readers, fashion enthusiasts.
The 5 ‘W’s and general rules of news reporting
So far we explored some differences in style between Daily Mail and the I by looking mainly at headlines, phrasing and themes.
Today we will discuss some general rules of content and style that apply to almost all newspapers and have a closer look at introductory paragraphs.
The most central rule of news reporting is the rule of 5 Ws:
each article needs to answer Who? What? Where? When? Why? and sometimes How?
Some (but not all) of these questions are usually answered in the first paragraph [especially who and what]
We use short sentences , active voice (not what is done by someone, but who is doing what) and simple, clear language.
We avoid too many adjectives and embellishments. Our goal is to say as many facts as possible with as few words a possible.
Let’s see a few examples
can you guess which is Daily Mail and which is I?
see above: Who> Rishi Sunak What> Pleaded for Peace When> last night
Who> at least two police forces where> outside London what> were monitoring plans by a far-right group and here comes an extra: how>using TikTok when>yesterday/regarding events on Armistice day
can you find the W’s answered in the following two extracts? Can you spot an exception to a syntactical rule mentioned at the beginning of this post?
Which is Daily Mail and which is I? why? what is the difference in language
