Broadsheet and Tabloid Comparison Essay Example for Free

Broadsheet and Tabloid Comparison Essay The media is undoubtedly one of the most influential and powerful force within our society today. Its means of mass communication has the ability to report news in a way which often affects and distorts a persons opinion and interpretation of a certain story. Yet its importance in our society is immeasurable, since its the main way of informing the public of national and international events. The purpose of this essay is to examine and analyse how two contrasting newspapers a broadsheet and a tabloid report the news. We often view the broadsheet as having higher status than the tabloid as it is more serious, sophisticated and elaborate. The tabloid in contrast is dominated by sensational stories. I would be scrutinizing The Daily Mirror, a typical tabloid paper and The Independent which is the conventional broadsheet paper. The story in question which both newspapers are narrating concerns the fatal murder of Yetunde Price, sister of the famous tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. Different papers frequently vary the way news is portrayed in order to engage and captivate different audiences, yet their primary purpose is to inform and entertain. The Daily Mirror is likely to entice those who are less well educated and classified as Social class III, IV and V in the Registrar Generals Scale the working class. Therefore the stories that attract them are likely to concern violence, showbiz and sporting events, stories which are glamourised. This is shown by the way how Yetunde Prices death was highlighted by the fact that her sisters were distinguished tennis players and also the article was contextualised to feed the readers curiosity. The Independent is aimed at the more conservative, middle classes who are categorized as Social class I and II in the Registrar-Generals Scale. They are more likely to have had an extensive education and prefer upmarket newspapers. Yet it is much more complicated than this: both articles would have not existed if not for the prominent status of Yetundes sisters, and so The Independent has defied the stereotypes of a broadsheet by focusing more on her glamourous and famous sisters. It is often thought that the newspaper influences the reader, yet the readers themselves influence the way news is reported as the newspapers have to adapt their stories to the readers taste in order to attract their attention. The style of The Daily Mirror is one which is explicitly written, containing many gr aphic, vivid information on the deathly event, undoubtedly in order to sensationalise Yetundes untimely demise as well as reveal the great dissimilarity between her life and her sisters. The article begins by presenting Venus and Serenas wealth and prestige: they had the fame, the fear and the bodyguards, this use of triplets and alliteration not only emphasis their greatness but is also an attention grabbing introduction, inveigling the reader to read further. It then goes on to mention the sad story of their shy sister so that the reader may understand the significance of this story. The details then becomes more disturbing and horrific, describing plainly the fusillade of shoots, how Yetunde was lying in blood and hit in the chest. Such emotive descriptions may be sickening but the writers agenda in a tabloid newspaper is to focus on the blood and the gore in order to make it more realistic for the reader. The varied sentence structure also contribute to the glamourised effect. The article from The Independent begins with having short sentence structure which goes straight into the story, capturing the readers attention, Yet the information given are uncertain and rather vague, using phrases such as: perhaps, no one yet knows and but for some reason. This combines the facts with an element of mystery and so it creates suspense and stirs the readers inquisitiveness.The Independents style is based on the conventions of a fairytale story genre and it is centred on the Williams sisters rise to power. Yet, like all fairytales there is the feature of tragedy and sadly in this particular story, the tragedy triumphs. Yetunde is the victim of this tragedy yet the article concentrates more on the power pair sisters and the glitz and the glamour of countless tournament trophies, of commercial endorsement, of fashion lines. The writers device on using alliteration and anaphora again gives greater impact and excites the reader. It is also part of the fairytale style narrative which prevails throughout the article. The article is also not as harsh and blunt as The Daily Mirror and contains a lot of euphemism. Apart from the euphemistic descriptions of her final hours, Yetunde is little mentioned in comparison to her sisters in The Independent. This is due to the fact that she is virtually unknown and so the writer does not want to lose the readers attention. However, the reader may then come to view fame, wealth and prestige is more important then the main story. There is undeniably a disproportionate focus on the more admired of the Williams sisters, which centres on their background, upraising and lifestyle that it overshadows the main story. Little of the article is dedicated to Yetunde as there is hardly any mention of her upbringing and characteristics. The pictures creates the impression of all the sisters close bond which emphasis their grief over the loss of Yetunde. Despite of this, Yetunde herself is not central figure of the picture. She is instead placed on the far left and she is facing away from her sisters. The edit or may have this particular image because of her posture and the sombre clothes she is wearing, perphaps as a sign of her approaching demise. The Independent contains some of the important facts on how Yetunde was killed and provides only one witness account. The Daily Mirror contains more witness accounts and expert opinions on the case, which gives a more comprehensive view of the case. Yetunde is also given more attention and the text explores thoroughly the cause of her death by having more of these witness accounts so that it conveys a more striking and stirring effect. As well as this, The Mirror focus more on the the area and the environment the Williams sisters were brought up in, with a small section at the end dedicated to exposing the terrible history of the notorious Crompton district. There is also more background knowledge of their lives, yet it tends to intrude into their private lives as the details given are very personal. The pictures include one of the scene of the crime, which is very much like a scene from a Hollywood film and a picture of the weapon used so that the reader may feel more disturbed at the killing yet inclined to read on. The biggest picture shows Yetunde and her sister Serena attending a glittering awa rd ceremony which again dramatise the story. The striking headline of The Daily Mirror, Killed With AK47 is not only blunt but written in capital letters and spread across the page so that it conveys shock to the reader. The smaller headings above and beneathe it is a brief explanation of what happen yet it creates an element of suspense. The Stars Sister is Murdered in particular outlines the nature of the story so the reader would expect a lot of sensationalism. The main picture of Yetunde and Serena is in fact bigger than the the text itself but it has been enlarged so that the reader would think that Yetunde herself is a celebrity and raises the importance of the article. The other pictures are placed on the left side of the main image so the reader could see the contrast between them, and so come to understand the harsh reality of Yetunde life. The small section at the end has the heading Streets of Fear which is a metaphor and conveys to the reader the true nature of the district they were brought up in. The Independent shows none of these pictures of Crompton but instead has only one picture which is the same size of the text, so there is less sensationalism. The article itself is half the siz e of The Mirror due to lack of information so the reader may come to view this story as insignificant. It is also placed on page 11 as opposed to the tabloid which placed it on page 4 and 5, so here there is not as much hype around the story. The headlines are less blunt and there is also the use of italics on the words: fairytale, close-knit family and grief which sways the readers emotions. As I have analysized above, the two newspaper articles shows contrasting representations of the same story. The Mirror with its tendency to exaggerate the stories, presents this article with the features of fame, glamour and explicit descriptions. The editor is obviously aware of the fact that sensationalism sells. The Independent, despite its lack of information, has actually taken the more dignified approach by showing respect for the deceased with going into too much information the gory details. It could be argued that The Mirror is rather inappropiate in immorally cashing in on Yetundes death, yet their story is in the readers interest since not only is Yetunde mentioned more but it covers many aspects of her life and personality in tribute to her. Whereas the editors motive in presenting the article the way it does in The Indep endent might be in conflict with the reader as they are likely to want more information on Yetunde and the nature of her horrific death instead of Serena and Venus. In our society today, we as the audience are becoming increasingly concerned, bordering on obsessiveness, with the lives of the rich and the famous. The media understands and encourages our curiosity by publicising more and more stories on celebrities. This could affect the quality of the news we consume, especially in tabloids, where instead of presenting the more serious stories, we are swamped with excessive news on the famous.

The World Trade Organization Where It’s Been and Where’s It’s Going? Es

The World Trade Organization Where It’s Been and Where’s It’s Going? Since the start of trade in the United States and around the world there has always been a need for rules and regulations. The GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) was the one for the past century that dealt with issues that would arise they wrote rules on things that were acceptable and not acceptable in the trade arena. Out of the GATT came the World Trade Organization (WTO) that was designed to take care of more issues than GATT. Although the WTO has only been around for almost a decade it has come under criticism from almost all arenas. They have had issues brought to their table that have been hard decisions and now have issues they must deal with that could affect the way free trade is in the future. Countries have battled amongst each other as how to solve a problem such as The Beef Hormone Case, The Shrimp Turtle case and the Caribbean Banana Case. These were case that will be discussed later, but have set a kind of foundation for the WTO as to where they will b e headed in the future. Agriculture has become a hot issue in the international market and the WTO is still trying to find ways to accommodate the developed countries and develop further growth in the developing nations. The World Trade Organization is also stepping into new territory and the future is no exception. The World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization was developed in 1995 out of what was known as the Uruguay Round. Although GATT set rules they mostly dealt with issues just involving simple trade of goods and the distribution of tariffs. The WTO has a more broad job than the GATT; â€Å"†¦it oversees multilateral agreements relating not just to good, but... ... the job that they were made to do under the GATT regulations. The future will tell a lot about the WTO and free trade because so many things are brought to the table that eventually the World Trade Organization is going to need some form of help to make adequate decisions for the world. BIBLIOGRAPHY Diao, Xinshen, Terry Roe and Agapi Somwaru. â€Å"Developing Country Interests in Agricultural Reforms Under the World Trade Organization.† American Journal of Economics v.84, n3 (August 2002): 782-90 Irwin, Douglas. Free Trade Under Fire. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2002. Josling, Tim. â€Å"Key Issues in the World Trade Organization Negotiations on Agriculture.† American Journal of Agricultural Economics v.85, n3 (August 2003): 663-667 Working Group on the WTO/MAI. â€Å"A Citizen’s Guide to the World Trade Organization† (July 1999): 1-28

Adoption and the Care of Orphan Children Essay

A common conception is that Islamic law forbids adoptions. However, this belief misses the complexity of Islamic law, the scope of adoption laws and practices across the world, and the overwhelming emphasis on taking care of orphans and foundlings found within Islamic sources. Contemporary adoption practices are immensely complex issues, overlapping with children’s rights, international and national laws, human psychology, economic, social, and religious concerns, and the ethics of lineage, identity, property and inheritance rights. In this position paper, the Muslim Women’s Shura Council considers whether adoption can be possible within an Islamic framework. After examining Islamic texts and history alongside social science research and the international consensus on children’s rights, the Council finds that adoption can be acceptable under Islamic law and its principle objectives, as long as important ethical guidelines are followed. This statement consults the Quran, the example of the Prophet Muhammad (sunna), the objectives and principles of Islamic law (maqasid al-sharia), Islamic Jurisprudence (fiqh), and social science data. The Shura Council finds that, instead of banning adoption, Islamic sources have brought various ethical restrictions to the process, condemning dissimulation and foregrounding compassion, transparency, and justice. These restrictions closely resemble what is known today as the practice of open adoption. Therefore, when all efforts to place orphaned children with their extended family have been exhausted, open, legal, ethical adoptions can be a preferable Islamically-grounded alternative to institutional care and other unstable arrangements. According to Islamic and universal standards of children’s rights, all children have the right to grow up in a nurturing, loving environment where their physiological, psychological, and intellectual needs are met. All children have the right to know their lineage and to celebrate their unique national, cultural, linguistic, and spiritual identity. All children have the right to a safe, supportive environment where their rights to dignity, education, and the development of their talents are well respected. The best interests of the child should be the primary consideration in all decisions relating to children, including adoption. Orphan: Different states and international institutions have different criteria for determining whether a child is an orphan. UNICEF classifies any child that has lost one parent as an orphan and estimates that approximately 143 million children are currently orphans.1 For the purposes of this document, an orphan is a minor who is bereft of parental care due to death, disappearance, or abandonment by either the mother or the father, as well as situations where the parent voluntarily or involuntarily terminates the parental relationship. This definition combines several concepts in classical Arabic, including yatim (fatherless child) and laqit (foundling). Adoption: Adoption can be defined as the legal creation of a parent-child relationship, with all the responsibilities and privileges thereof, between a child and adults who are not his or her biological parents. Adoptions incorporate a child into a family as offspring and sibling, regardless of genetic ties. There are two main categories of adoption practices, generally termed as closed adoptions and open adoptions. However, in reality most adoption practices fall somewhere on a continuum between fully open and fully closed. In â€Å"closed† or â€Å"confidential† adoptions, the birth family and the adoptive family have no identifying information about each other. Children may not be informed that they have been adopted, and they may have no way of tracing biological kin. If the child comes from a different cultural background than his or her adoptive parents, their heritage might be marginalized or ignored. Closed adoptions, therefore, have the potential to dissolve all ties between an adoptee and her biological family. â€Å"Open† adoptions, which are becoming increasingly common across the world, allow for a full disclosure of identities on both sides. Open adoptions facilitate direct interaction between the adoptive family, the adopted child, and any birth relatives. The child’s birth culture may more easily be respected and promoted by the adoptive family and incorporated into the family’s daily life. However, the categories of closed and open are better understood as idealized types, as most families experience a hybrid form of adoption that comprises elements of both open and closed adoption practices. The empirical data on the risks and benefits of each type of adoption has shown mixed results, with some adopted children embracing the opportunity to contact their birth families and others experiencing confusion and insecurity.2 Generally, however, open adoptions are associated with better psychological and behavioral outcomes for the child. With the exception of Indonesia, Malaysia, Somalia, Tunisia, and Turkey, the laws of most Muslimmajority states do not currently permit legal adoption. Instead, laws permit a system of guardianship (kafala), which resembles foster-parenting, but is more stable. Kafala is defined as â€Å"the commitment to voluntarily take care of the maintenance, of the education and of the protection of a minor, in the same way a *parent would do for a child+.†5 According to Jamila Bargach, kafala is seen as â€Å"primarily a gift of care and not a substitute for lineal descent.† In other words, kafala involves the obligations of guardianship and maintenance without the creation of legal ties, which would produce specific personal status legal entitlements. This type of guardianship does not sever the biological family bonds of the child or alter the descent lines for the adopting family. Unlike foster-parenting, kafala is intended to be a permanent arrangement for a minor. Like fosterparenting and adoption, kafala is mediated by the state, in contrast to informal or â€Å"customary† adoptions which take place within families or through secret agreements. Convergences between Kafala and Adoption Whereas this statement focuses on adoption and not kafala, in some cases kafala may lead to adoption. Countries with strict application of â€Å"non-international kafala,† like Iran, Mauritania, and Egypt, reject any legal recognition between kafala and adoption. Citizens of these countries who reside in other countries, where adoption is the law of the land, cannot gain guardianship of a child with the intention of adopting that child in their state of residency. Other states, like Morocco, Algeria, Jordan and Pakistan, allow for placements of kafala children abroad, particularly with nationals living in foreign countries, with certain stipulations. Tunisia and Indonesia allow for a full convergence of kafala and adoption, limiting adoptions to national applicants, whether living in the country or abroad. Islamic Law: The term â€Å"Islamic law† refers to two related, yet distinct concepts, which are often conflated: Sharia and Fiqh. Sharia literally means â€Å"the way† and is a transcendental ideal that embodies the justice and compassion inherent in the totality of God’s will. Fiqh, which literally means â€Å"understanding,† is Islamic jurisprudence and juristic law, which has developed from the eighth century onwards as a human effort to interpret the Sharia. Fiqh has been developed by Muslim legal scholars through analysis of the Quran and the example (sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad, with the aim of securing justice according to the context of each society, time (zaman), and place (makan).7 Adoption in pre-Islamic Arabia During the pre-Islamic period in Arabia, adoption (al-tabanni) into a tribe often took place for socioeconomic and patriarchal reasons. Al-tabanni is derived from the Arabic word ibn, meaning â€Å"son.† In keeping with the patriarchal norms of the era, adoptees were usually, if not always, male.11 People adopted mainly to secure an heir and/or additional warriors for the tribe. Adoption could take place at any time in a person’s life, from childhood to adulthood, even if the adoptee’s biological parents were alive.12 The adoptee automatically earned full rights and the responsibilities of a biological child and was given the adoptive father’s name. Since male children were considered a source of wealth and prestige, this benefited the adoptive father.13 Often adoption was undertaken in self-interest with the intention of usurping an orphan’s property, as the adoptive parents would end up managing an orphaned child’s property. In addition, adoption was closely linked to enslavement; captors held the power to strip captives of their birth identities and appropriate them into their families.14 For these reasons, pre-Islamic adoption entailed a complete â€Å"erasure of natal identity.

Human Activity And Climate Change - 1252 Words

The IPCC define climate change as â€Å"change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g. using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. It refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity† ( â€Å"Observed†). In today’s society, there are various opinions over whether humans are contributing to climate change or if natural causes are contributing to climate change. Some people believe that humans are the main contributor to climate change, whilst others believe that natural causes are playing a substantially bigger role in contributing to climate change. Both human and natural causes play a role in contributing to climate change. An example of human activity playing a role in contributing to climate change is the increased burning of fossil fuels, which inevitably leads to increased energy consumption. There appears to be a positive correlation, even a causation between increased energy consumption and increased carbon dioxide emissions from 1854 to 2000. For example, in 1854, the world energy consumption for coal, oil and natural gas combined was â€Å"28 exajoules†, by 2000, the world energy consumption for coal, oil and natural gas combined was â€Å"1375 exajoules† (Gail Tverberg). Furthermore, during the industrial revolution from 1760 to 1840, where there was a drastic change in methods ofShow MoreRelatedHuman Activity And Climate Change1141 Words   |  5 PagesHUMAN ACTIVITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE WILLIAM WRIGHT GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY In this paper I will discuss Human Activity and Climate Change. 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