Analysis of an article from The Irish Sun, 29/4 [WK 11, SEMESTER2]

This piece published online by The Sun is typical of articles based upon half-truths that find their way into the showbiz section of tabloid newspapers. A lot of the time, these bizarre, shocking or interesting stories turn out to be partially or completely false. Sometimes these stories are taken too far and the celebrities that the articles are based upon can sue for deformation of character. 

However this is quite a mild example, as although I found the catchline and introduction very misleading, it became increasingly clear as I read through the short piece what the actress had actually said. The introduction reads that Knightley wishes she believed in God but she never said that. She simply commented on how nice it would be to have faith and be able to unload your burdens upon a higher power.

Journalist Gordon Smart was able to mould her simple three sentences into something more than that. A broadsheet journalist would never run with this story, nor would many middle of the range newspapers like the Independent,  touch it either. As the actress said nothing new or groundbreaking, nor did she even wish to renounce her atheism.

It's over-sensationalized in the sense that most journalists would deem it un-news worthy and uninteresting. But by slightly de-contextualizing her words and intentions, Smart managed to get somewhat of a story out of it. 

Knightly could probably not sue for deformation in this case, even if she was unhappy with the piece or found it misinterpretive as for it to be deformation it needs to be both false and damaging. Knightly may not necessarily wish she was a god-fearing woman but the fact that the article claims she does, is in no way damaging to her reputation. 

Analysis of article from The Irish Times, 7/4 [WK9, SEMESTER2]

In this article published in The Irish Times on April 7, journalist Paul Cullen made use of off diary and unattributable sources as opposed to the everyday 'on diary' primary definers of the news like spokespeople or press officers.

In doing this, Cullen was able to get a 'scoop' out of a story that had already been wrung dry, setting The Times apart from other newspapers that day and enabling them to be used as a source of information to other media outlets.

Perhaps it would have been an even bigger news story had the identity of the sources been revealed but obviously Cullen promised that their identity would be kept secret in exchange for their information.

Cullen could have revealed their identity anyway as his promise wouldn't have been legally binding but the journalist-source relationship is usually one of complete trust and understanding. The 'informed sources' that Cullen makes reference to in the article have probably provided him with leaked information before and in order to make use of their services again in the future, he would need to keep to his word.

Good sources in journalism are hard to come by and very valuable so it's important for journalists to treat sources well and to keep their promises. With that said, it's also incredibly important for one to keep their distance in order to maintain objectivity. If a journalist becomes too close to their source, their journalism is at risk of being bias or unbalanced.

Analysis of a picture in The Irish Independent, 23/3 [WK8, SEMESTER2]

The use of the picture alongside the article 'Pain is etched on my soul, says stab victim's mum' really served to strengthen the headline and add a human dimension to the otherwise informational and formal article. It really expresses the complexity of the family's loss in a way that I think copy could not. In the picture the victim's mother looks on in distress with her family as she holds a photo of her late son. It really is a picture of grief, sadness and regret.

They say a picture can paint a thousand words and I really do feel that is the case with this picture of stab victim Stephen Lyne's family. It allows the reader to forecast the tone of the article and to get an immediate sense of what the accompanying story is about.

Obviously, The Irish Independent thought it would be a good idea to include an exclusive photograph of the family as they commissioned one of their photographers to go along to the trail in the first place as opposed to just using stock photos of the victim and his family that have already been used by other media outlets. Although this crime happened some time ago, the trial itself took place yesterday so using an old photograph of the victim, the murderer or the family alongside an article about the trial would not have been timely nor would it have been in context.

Analysis of a tabloid article in The Irish Sun, 16/3 [WK7, SEMESTER2]

I found "Head-stamp thug guilty of murder" in March 16 issue of The Irish Sun to be a textbook example of typical tabloid journalism.

The headline is written in large capital letters and in a colloquial tone with an emphasis on creating impact and a sense of urgency. The inclusion of the words 'head-stamp' conjure up a very violent image in the reader's mind, shocking them into reading the article. Tabloids make a lot of their money off of people's emotions — whether it be shock, outrage or anger.

Sometimes in broadsheets, court reportage can come across as dry, boring or confusing because of the way in which they strive to maintain an objective, balanced and formal approach to any given trial.

In complete contrast to that, the journalist here wrote the article in a fairly emotive way, with the construction of a 'bad' guy and a 'good' guy in order to tug at the reader's heartstrings. The bad guy is demonised in the article as being a 'thug', 'vile' and 'evil' whereas the good guy is described as being 'completely innocent'.

This definitely would not have been done in a broadsheet newspaper. In a broadsheet newspaper, the article would have been framed differently altogether. It would be void of all emotion altogether in an effort to be objective and unbias. However, in this case, The Sun presented the story in a extremely human way with almost subliminal commentary.

A picture of the murderer outside of court, pouting, is included next to a picture of the victim smiling almost angelically in order to further insinuate that sense of good vs evil. Putting a face to the victim's name always helps people in visualizing and empathizing with them.

Analysis of the layout of a page from The Evening Herald, 8/3 [WK6, SEMESTER2]

I thought the Layout of page 8 of the March 8 edition of The Evening Herald was strategically and nicely done.

The article primarily below the fold, entitled 'Beaumont suffering record trolley 'crisis'' was placed there as it's the main, most serious and news worthy story on that page.The article is by a small picture of someone waiting for a trolley which is obviously relevant and serves to enhance the headline's message. It's the first thing that the reader would see when they looked at that page so the decision to choose a striking and emotionally engaging article was a good one. 

In contrast, the article entitled 'Ouch! Tyra rejects our Hannah and pals for US model show' is of less importance news wise to the other. This is because it's only semi-news worthy. It doesn't really effect anyone personally and is more light entertainment or celebrity news. There is a moderately large picture of the girl that accompanies the article, perhaps because she is a model and models by their very nature are nice to look at.

It's just a simple, lighthearted piece that was probably placed there in order to counteract the seriousness of the page's main story.

Down the side are random condensed chunks of news that range in importance and seriousness. They're one of the last things the reader sees upon opening this page. They're 'bite sized' pieces of news that the reader can 'pick and chew' on as they please after they have finished reading everything else.

Analysis of an article from The Herald, 29/2, [WK5, SEMESTER2]

The article ‘House prices down 59%  since 2007, study claims’ by Ross McDonagh was overloaded with figures and statistics, making it very difficult to read and in turn understand. In this way, no doubt many readers attention would have been lost before the end of the piece. An article is supposed to engage the reader's attention, from start to finish but this just lost momentum after the first paragraph.

A journalist’s job is to collect, decipher and report the news to the public in a clear and comprehensible manner and I don’t think that’s been done here.

Although facts and figures are very important, as they are the basis or foundation to most news stories, more commentary should have been included in place of some of the statistics in this case so as to clarify what is trying to be communicated throughout the article. I felt as if I was reading the study itself as opposed to an article that was trying to make sense of it. 

The statistics in this case come from the CSO, an independent agency without an agenda, making them  fairly trustworthy and balanced. Despite this, the editor did approach the story with a degree of healthy scepticism by using the words ‘study claims’ in the headline.

Analysis of a catchline in The Irish Independent, 20/12 [WK4, SEMESTER2]

The catchline used on an article in reference to Xi Jinping’s vist, ‘Word of mouth can turn a trickle of new tourists into a flood’ in Monday the 20^th of Feburary’s Irish Independent is a good example of catchline writing at it’s best.

Headlines are dry and straight to the point and so catchlines are sometimes used in place of headlines in order to sound interesting and catchy in an attempt to lure the reader in and I think this one was successful in doing that as I was instantly drawn in. It’s a nicely worded analogy and definitely does entice further reading.

It fit perfectly into the space provided without leaving any weird spaces or gaps and came in just under 50 characters. Because the Irish Independent is a middle of the range paper, their catchlines aren’t as ‘catchy’ as the likes of what would be used in The Sun. The Irish independent’s catchlines are more like headlines in comparison to what many of the tabloid newspapers print because of the difference in style guides between papers. 

Tabloids favour more common, mono-syblic words that have very strong impact. Although broadsheets go in for impact too, they don’t do it in such a shocking and obnoxious way most of the time. 

Analysis of an article from The Metro Herald,14/2 [WK3, SEMESTER2]

Facts and figures are extremely important to news stories as they are the basis or foundation to any trustworthy article, of course depending on the credibility of the source of the statistics.

In this particular article we see that the Government has said they have plans of creating 25,000 jobs by the year 2020.  Firstly, that's a very definite and even number, so it is probably inaccurate on the basis of that alone.

However, one must also consider where this data is coming from and whether or not it's been altered or exaggerated in order to promote a certain set of ideas. Is there an agenda behind the data?
In this case; Is this statement being released in order to keep the people of Ireland happy and to show that the Government are actually taking steps to solve unemployment?

Many times journalists fail to think as critically as they should do and as a result, they publish stories that simply regurgitate what giant corporations or sometimes, the Government want them to. Resulting in an uninformed and none-the-wiser society.

In this case however, journalist Sarah Stack used some initiative in bringing to the light that it may very well be a repackaged old plan, presenting the job ministers conflicting opinion that it was "no big bang solution" to Ireland's problem.

Analysis of an article from The Metro Herald, 11/2 [WK2, SEMESTER2]

This article is a very good example of good court reportage as the journalist, Con Doherty, managed to successfully encapsulate and synopsize the trial of a man in question over drug offenses. The trial was reported in an almost story-like manner, free from judicial or law related jargon, making it quite an interesting yet informational read. 

The man in question, Derek Managan's details are not protected under law and so are included in the report. His details are not protected as he is an adult and has actually been found guilty of the crime. Not only is his name and age outlined in the article but his address is too. 

This may be because there are other 27 year olds named Derek Managan in Dublin who are at risk of having the crime attributed to them because of this article if very specific specifications weren't included. Because of this, in many cases, headshots of the defendant outside of the court (as it's against the law to take photos inside) are included alongside the article in order to avoid confusion.

Doherty was rational in his copy and didn't jump to any conclusions, deciding to include that the offender was a 'non-smoker'(although in quotation marks), even though the jury begged to differ, in order to show that he was on no one's side and was merely an objective spectator of the trial.

Analysis of an interview from The Metro Herald, 1/2 [WK1, SEMESTER2]

The Metro Herald contains a feature towards the back of the paper, entitled ':60 second interview' whereby the journalist is given the task of interviewing someone of note and editing it down to create a very condensed yet information packed piece.

The function of interviewing is to uncover exclusive, brand new information and to confirm unestablished facts. The questions asked should always focus on the person's future endeavours. I don't think the interviewer, Elaine Lipsworth was successful in doing this as she dwelled too much on past events and failed to properly question Hudgens on her up-coming movie —Journey 2: The Mysterious Island or even ask about any up-and-coming projects in general. 

Instead, she opted to pose light-hearted, silly questions to the actress which leads me to believe that Lipsworth was not really familiar or didn't bother reading up about Hudgens before undertaking the task of interviewing her.

The information obtained throughout this interview was information that could have been collected by attending a press conference and it's not really exclusive and so it's not really interesting. Had Lipsworth posed some more daring or difficult questions, she would have produced a much better interview and probably would have been able to get a news story out of it too. 

I'm inclined to think that the interview was done on Hudgen's terms and that perhaps the questions were provided to her team in advance, meaning that Hudgens decided for herself how she wanted to be portrayed in the piece —perhaps she picked those questions in order to humanize herself and to show people that she's just a 'normal person' like the rest of us.