Roni Hasan

Text type #2
What techniques are used by the author to convey his perspective of this event?

On August 6th, 2017, the U.K. newspaper company, “The SUN,” released an article

retelling the event that transpired during the IAAF World Championships set in London. Duncan

Wright wrote this article. An article’s success depends on how worthy it is of appraisal by an

audience or how newsworthy it is. Wright provides a news article reciting the events that

transpired during the Championships, providing the runner’s reaction to what occurred. The

audience is fans of the athletes running and passionate about the event wanting to know what

transpired. During this time, fans were excited about Usain bolt competing for his final event in

his long career, making many fans want to tune in anything relevant to this event. Wright

provides different elements in this article to make it newsworthy and to convey his perspective

of the event. The perspective of Bolt being cheated is seen in his use of language describing

Gatlin. Wright delivers a newsworthy newspaper article with elements such as prominence and

proximity, Wright shares his perspective through his writing.

Firstly, as a journalist at a U.K. newspaper company, Wright provides prominence to an

audience deeply invested in this event. This entail makes the article newsworthy, using figures

that many people can recognize. Wright’s use of wording conveys his perspective on this event.

Prominence in an article recites that more prominent individuals are given more attention. In the

subheader, Wright writes, “DRUGS cheat Justin Gatlin shocked the world as he claimed 100

metres gold to shatter Usain Bolt's golden goodbye.” The use of prominent figures such as

Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin, both athletes who participated in the event, makes the audience

want to know more about this article. Since the audience is interested in this event, they want to

learn more about this event’s ins and outs. Categorizing Justin Gatlin as a drugs cheat

showcases his perspective on this event. Also, stating that he shattered Usain Bolt’s golden

goodbye paints him in light of evil, since the word shatter refers to destroying something
precious such as glass. The use of wording conveys the author’s perspective of this event. Also,

providing a newsworthy article with the use of prominence.

Secondly, Wright is a writer for a U.K. newspaper company, meaning the newspaper

article is newsworthy due to its proximity with the audience reading it. This proximity also

provides his perspective of the event being from the U.K. he will write an article favouring the

audience’s favourite athlete, Usain Bolt. This is seen in the header with Wright stating, “GAT-

CRASH Usain Bolt sunk as drugs cheat Justin Gatlin ruins golden goodbye by storming to 100m

gold”. GAT-CRASH refers to individuals attending a party to which they were not invited to

coming. This showcases the author’s perspective of Gatlin, stating him as an uninvited guest to

the country. This also makes the article newsworthy because it is eye-catching to the audience

when noticing an informal word. The audience who read this article wants to read more since

they too agree on the critic of Gatlin, since later in the article, it is stated that they booed Gatlin

for winning. Referring to Gatlin as a drug cheat and using language such as storming to 100m

gold showcases his perspective on the event, stating he is a cheater due to his history of

cheating and storming as a sudden attack that should not have happened. This was seen with

the audience’s reply to him winning. Wrights’s wording illustrates that he agrees with the

audience that booed Gatlin.

In conclusion, With the use of proximity and prominence, Wright provides a newsworthy

article to his audience and provides his perspective of the event through his language in these

elements. Prominence was seen using prominent individuals that the audience is interested in,

and proximity was seen with Wright’s description of Gatlin opposing the U.K.’s audience likes.

This is relevant since it is tailored to the audience that enjoys this sport and is interested in the

event.