News is simply
delineated as "a report of a recent event; something one has not heard of
before"(Websters, 282). Conceding
that it is inelaborate in its definition, news is much more intricate as it
succumbs to corporate moneymaking ideologies.
The corporate essence of news is prevalent in the form of the newspaper
"a paper published periodically for circulating news" that is sold
therefore making news a business. In
business the saying goes that the customer is always right making news subject
to the demands of these consumers. The
underlying purpose of news is to "provide facts upon which decisions are
based" (Mencher, 56). Yet this purpose is tainted to accommodate the
newspapers need to sell papers.
Journalism is the work of gathering news, therefore making the
journalist succumb to the corporate needs of the newspaper. The three major newspapers of Toronto
(Toronto Sun, Toronto Star and The Globe
& Mail) discord in their
journalistic techniques for the purpose of selling their product.
"News is
more often made rather than gathered.
And it is made on the basis of what the journalist thinks is important
or what the journalist thinks the audience thinks is important" (Postman,
14).
The Toronto Sun
focuses on the audience that yearns for entertainment and adjuts its
word selection and choice of articles to accommodate this need for
entertainment. The glitz and glamour of
today's celebrities provide a fantasy world in which the reader can escape. The Toronto Sun leaves no stone uncovered as
it stays on top of celebrity issues to accommodate their audience 'the average
Joe' with entertainment. "Michael
Jackson's wife gave birth to a baby boy yesterday at Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center" (T.Sun Feb. 18/97) in the article titled Oh Baby, Jacko to be a
dad soon. What makes this article more
ominous than any other birth other than that it is entertaining to the star
crazed general public? Hundreds Get To
Eye Claudia the so called 'superbabe' as she "breezes her way into The
Bay's downtown Yonge St. Store"(T. Sun Feb. 25/97). "Up to five hundred people waited for up
to two hours for a glimpse of the famed beauty and to hear her speak"(T.
Sun Feb. 25/97). Imagine how many looked
in the Sun for the article. The article
choices of the Sun have a direct affiliation to the need for it as a business
to provide entertainment for its culled audience.
The Toronto Star
is a family oriented newspaper and focuses on community issues that relate to a
vast number of people. The Star's
audience are the family type people who desire local news and emotional
stories. The April 3/97 article Woman
Searching For Trucker Who Was Her Highway Savior elucidates a human triumph
tale meant for the whole family as "nine month pregnant Tanya Aubert was
guided to her safety by a trucker after her windshield was smashed on the 400
highway"(T.Star April 3/97). The
Star incorporates many emotion filled phrases to augment the neighborly sense
of the article.
"I was not
hurt, just very scared and my heart was racing" the journalist quoted with
hopes of bringing a tear to the reader's eye. The exclusive coverage of this
article shows the Star appealing to the family it's audience.
The Globe and Mail is a business person's
newspaper that directs its articles mainly to fact and figures as well as cold
serious issues. The Globe and Mail
creates a very solemn sense to its article through 50 dollar words and abrupt,
to the point headlines. The April 3/97
article Adult Drug Deaths Decline suggests no imagery or entertainment value in
its title. The article proceeds with
factual information "131 deaths from drug related causes in 1995 was the
lowest of the century" (G & M. April 3/97) with proof from various
sources such as the Toronto Public Health Department and Dr. Joyce Bernstein.
The article is accommodated by both its factual nature and the use of grave
sounding words and phrases, "cautious optimism" and "key
findings." The corporate world is a very serious place and the Globe and
Mail provide for that need.
"No matter how accurate, properly
attributed, balanced, fair, objective or compassionate a story is the reader
will not read it unless there is writing skill" (Mencher 51).
Pertaining to writing skills it is the
consignment of the reporter to use and manipulate words in order to try to
reenact the events in an compelling fasion.
The Toronto Star on Feb. 13/97 described the medical condition of Guy
Paul Morin's head as a "goose egg." The Toronto Sun Feb. 13/97
described the same mark as "crescent shaped." The Globe & Mail described the same mark
as a "lump in the middle of his forehead." As displayed above subordinate to the purpose
of the article different journalistic techniques are used to adorn an
event. The Toronto Star's "goose
egg" description relayed a purpose of satire mocking the bump. Mocking the
bump allowed the event to be taken more blithesomely by the family
audience. The Sun's "crescent
shaped mark" description illustrated a purpose of diluting the severity of
the event by calling it a mark making it more entertaining than serious. The Globe and Mail's description "lump
in the middle of the forehead" conveyed the purpose of being veritable and
analytical by not making any implications.
Purpose, as it applies to journalism is relevant
to what is included in the article and largely influences who purchases the
newspaper. On April 2/97 all three of
the major Toronto newspapers reported on a fatal shooting incident. The Globe and Mail's entitled article Officer
Involved in Fatal Shooting Had Wife Along emphasized the wife being along
" most police forces including Metro, permit ride alongs, although the
ride alongs must be authorized and are usually restricted to low risk
operations" (G & M April 2/97) .
This point of view implicated the legal elements or figures of the story
and gave a factual analization. The
Sun's article entitled Cop-Shooting Victim Foiled Deportation took the side of
the officer by outlining his personal life, "Scarbrough father of and 18
month old son" (T. Sun April 2/97) and then passed blame by resurrecting
his past "In April, 1993, Shank-then a rookie-shot and killed Ian Clifford
Coley, 21, after a foot chase into a Scarborough backyard" (T. Sun April
2/97). The sun creates a controversy by presenting these two standpoints, in
turn making an entertaining mystery of the whole ordeal. The Toronto Star's article Police At Fatal
Shooting Scene Hold 2 Meetings, Sources Say
describes the so called 'victim's' families reaction "why would he
struggle with all these officers around?
You can't fight the police and my brother knows that" (T. Star
April 2/97). The implication of family
in this article attempts to make an association with the family orientated
reader. These three articles all
illustrate that depending on the purpose of the journalist different techniques
of journalism are used to accommodate the respective journalistic purpose.
The
quality of news is reliant on its clarity.
"Clarity of News is reliant on how journalists relate it to human
interest through journalistic technique" (Mencher 50). The catastrophic diminishing of blood supply
on April 2/97 is reported by Toronto's three major newspapers, with vivid use
of human interest in accordance to the characteristics of their readers. The Toronto Sun's article Blood supply At a
Critical Low creates human interest through drama allowing for entertainment as
well. The injured parties entrance to the hospital "He had massive injuries and required
massive blood transfusions, Boulanger said of the man who arrived with severe
chest and abdomen bleeding and a crushed foot that had to be
amputated"(Sun April 2/97) was
dramatized through descriptive vocabulary such as massive, severe and crushed
also allowing the event to be visualized and made entertaining. The Toronto Star's article Hospital's Blood Stock Almost Exhausted
contains human interest through its ability to show the community working
together "Although other hospital blood banks were also short of blood,
the Toronto Hospital and St. Michael's
Hospital agreed to send blood to Sunnybrook by taxi if needed" (T. Star
April 2/97). The aspect of community
togetherness provokes human interest and complies with the Star's general theme
of family. The Globe and Mail article
Toronto Desperate For Blood roused human interest thorough community
togetherness "in case the patient required more blood than was on hand the
hospital contacted the Red Cross society and two other hospitals to ensure a
continued supply." This articles
illustration of human interest is moderated through the exclusion of the
agreement of the two hospital's to provide more blood even though they were
low. Instead the article stuck strictly
to the facts that the Globe's readers pay for.
Realistically,
the sale of newspapers is the primary objective of the journalist illustrated
through their use of techniques. Journalistic content and techniques vary
according to the audience towards which the newspaper directs its attention.
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