A Comparison of the Media Coverage of September 11th

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Taking the image of people jumping from the Twin Towers as your starting point, compare and contrast the media coverage of the events of September 11th as reported in a broadsheet newspaper, a tabloid and the television. 'The Mirror', 'The Times' and a 'BBC' television report all cover the same horrifying set of events- the September 11th attacks on the twin towers which ultimately changed the world. However each one has tended to focus on these stories from very different angles all aimed at diverse readerships and viewers. 'The Mirror', with its varied use of colloquial language, employs the means of an emotive, emphatic and personalised account to incite shock and disbelief amongst its readers, producing a sensationalist and attractive read. On the other hand, however scandalous the events may have been, 'The Times' has aimed for a more cautious approach to the report, providing its readers with a formal, factual and unbiased account and therefore allowing them to come to their own conclusions on the previous day's happenings. The 'BBC' televised news report has used a mixture of the two, utilizing dramatic visual experiences in addition to an informative and formal background news report relating the events in the very same order that they happened.. The three news reports have used the images of victims leaping from the twin towers to immediately pass the message on to the reader/viewer of how desperate the situation was, consequently shocking the reader or viewer as well as to catch their instant attention. Readership differences can be easily compared with either newspaper's headline choices. For example 'The Times' has u... ... middle of paper ... ...colloquial and expletive language in addition to plenty of personal quote use. Paragraphs and sentences are short in order to prolong readers' attention. 'The Times', although non-colloquial and restrained, has still managed to sustain its readership's interest through its varied sentence structures and informative tone as well as ample facts and concrete evidence from a variety of official sources to back them up. Finally, the BBC televised news report has also managed its aim of horrifying and shocking its viewers with the visual experiences provided and the informative, descriptive, factual yet reserved background voiceover. Thus, for the above reasons, it can be concluded that all three have reached their targets and aims for their readerships or viewers although in many different ways of conducting their approach.

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