‘The world of press is not the real world, but a world skewed and judged’
Nowadays everyone has access to press which represents a source that provides societieswith a sufficient dose of current information. Living in the XXI century, undoubtedly pressand electronic forms of media such as: Internet, radio and television play an importantrole in people’s lives. Each of them help humans to become up to date with worldwide news,various disasters, worldwide developments, health and science updates and the work of government. The majority of people receive the news as they are presented and relies on thefacts given by the media. However, the question they may have is, whether the given factsof events are genuine and what evidence can support that.I agree with the words of Fowler, R. (1991) who states that: ‘The world of pressis not the real world, but a world skewed and judged’. It suffices to say that, press may entailthe manipulation of societies through its written word. The recipient is dependent on the newsfound in the articles, online services as well as the television shows. Although receiving theinformation is not only based on the views of the recipient but it may also be dependenton the ideals and rules followed by the presenter or journalist.This can be observed in both Guardian and Daily Mail articles published on the sameday, which present the introduction of the ante-natal classes that should help to prevent the highrate of pregnancies in teenage girls in Britain. Both articles illustrate the same topic althoughthe language and perspective of the writers differ significantly which can be observed whileanalysing their leads, headlines, sources, actors, news values and lexemes.
Lead
Allan Bell in his book ‘The language of News Media’ writes: ‘ The lead focuses the storyin a particular direction’ ‘It summarizes the central action and establishes the point of the story’(1991:152, 149). Therefore, the general view of the article is revealed to the audience. The leadsentence in the Daily Mail states: ‘ Schools should run ante-natal classes for pregnant pupils,Government advisers said yesterday’. The message reinforces the aim of the entire articlefocusing on the introduction of the ‘ante-natal classes’ designed especially ‘for pregnant pupils’.This information is provided by ‘Government advisers’ who seem to be the main subject havinga dominant function giving the opinion in this matter. Moreover, the author makes a use of a modal verb ‘should’ which Bell describes as ‘stipulate obligations’ (1991:64). In other wordsthe writer creates more positive view of the message and in the same time gives advicerecommending the ‘ante-natal classes’.On the other hand, the Guardian’s lead sentence reads: ‘Ante-natal classes shouldbe set up in schools to care for pregnant teenagers who are missing out on vital care, a major health watchdog said today’. Although the above lead has similarities to Daily Mail’s leadas using modality it suggests launching of ante-natal classes for pregnant teenagers, it alsohas some differences. The presupposition is hidden in the aim of the ante-natal classes whichis described as: ‘to care for pregnant teenagers who are missing out on vital care’. Thus,it presupposes that there are pregnant teenagers who do not receive any care.
Headline
According to Bell headline is ‘an abstract of the abstract’ and is equal to a ‘stand-alone unit’(1991-150:187). The Daily Mail headline states: ‘Ante-natal classes for teen mums at schools:
Health watchdog’s new initiative would ‘normalise’ gymslip pregnancies, say critics’. Theheadline is focused on the image of ‘teen mums’. The sentence presupposes that there havealways been pregnant teenagers who attend school and that there has been an ‘initiative’ tointroduce such classes although nowadays it might ‘normalise’ the pregnancy rate. Besides, theword ‘gymslip’ used for description of pregnant teenagers is very figurative and visual, thereforeit reinforces the message discourse while using the word ‘teen mums’. On the other hand, theword ‘critics’ demonstrates the suggested idea is not being approved but taken with negativity.The Guardian’s headline which reads: ‘Pregnancy clinics ‘should be set up inschools’’ represents the topic from a different perspective. While Daily Mail criticizes and statesthat ‘the ante-natal classes’ would ‘normalise’ the pregnancy rate, the Guardian is being morepositive claiming that the ‘pregnancy clinics should be set up in schools’. The use of modalverb ‘should’ is making recommendation and makes the sentence more positive. The subjectin the Guardian’s headline are the ‘pregnancy clinics’ whereas the Daily Mail ‘s headline isengaged in ‘Health watchdog’s new initiative’ which is one of the presuppositions like it hasbeen described.
Sources
Although both Daily Mail and Guardian have almost the same sources, they are portrayeddifferently. The main sources in Daily Mail are the government advisers: NICE - the NationalInstitute of Clinical Excellence, Rhona Hughes - ‘chair of the guideline development group’ andDr Gillian Leng - the deputy chef of NICE. There are also other authorities including Anastaciade Waal - the director of Cavitas, Norman Wells the director of Family Education Trust, theReverend Paul Dawson and the critics. Most of these sources have a negative opinion on theante-natal classes. On the other hand, the sources in Guardian’s article are referring to the
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
More From This User
Notes
Load more
