ANALYSING THE LANGUAGE OF NEWSPAPERS

The Daily Mail


'Get the time booked off, that's what I'm doing!' Underwhelmed BBC newsreader Simon McCoy tells viewers to 'clear your diaries' as he reveals the Duchess of Cambridge's due date live on air

  • William and Kate announced they are expecting their third baby in April 2018
  • BBC journalist Simon McCoy was presenting when the news broke this afternoon
  • He sarcastically told viewers to 'clear their diaries' and 'book time off work'
  • The royal couple confirmed the due date after being forced to announce Kate's pregnancy early after she was struck down with severe morning sickness 
A BBC newsreader struggled to conceal his lack of enthusiasm as he announced the news of the Duchess of Cambridge's due date live on air today. 
Veteran journalist Simon McCoy, 56, appeared utterly underwhelmed as he revealed Kate and William are expecting their third child in April next year.
Speaking moments after news of the due date broke, Mr McCoy said to camera: 'I'm not sure how much news this really is,' before sarcastically encouraging viewers to 'clear their diaries' and 'get the time booked off' ahead of the young royal's arrival.
Mr McCoy is known for his candid approach to news reading. He previously delighted viewers with his sardonic coverage outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's in the lead up to Prince George's birth in 2013.
As reporters from around the world gathered outside the hospital awaiting news of the royal birth, McCoy made no secret of the tedium of the task in hand. 
'Plenty more to come from here,' he told viewers. 'None of it news, of course, but that won't stop us. 
'The world's media have gathered to report that there is no news. Let's speculate, because that's all we can do. Breaking news: we have no news…'
To fill in the gaps he read out tweets from viewers, including one who described the coverage as 'sycophantic rubbish' saying: 'Not everybody is enjoying the specter of the speculation, the endless speculation.'
He added that another viewer had tweeted: ‘God help us if this ends up a long labour'. 



The Guardian

 Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's baby is due in April
Royal couple announce the month they are expecting their third child, who could therefore arrive on the Queen’s birthday
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s third baby is due in April, the couple have announced, shortening the odds of the new arrival coming on a very significant date.
While the couple have not confirmed the exact due date, there is a chance the newest addition to the royal family could share their birthday with their great grandmother, the Queen, who will celebrate her 92nd on 21 April.
A couple of days later comes St George’s Day, 23 April. If the newest prince or princess, who will be fifth in line to the throne, were to arrive a little later in the month, 29 April, they would coincide with the Cambridges’ seventh wedding anniversary.
There has been no announcement from Kensington Palace about where the duchess will give birth, though it is expected, as with her first two pregnancies, she will choose the private Lindo wing of St Mary's hospital in Paddington, London, unless she opts for a home birth.
News of the pregnancy was revealed in September due to the duchess suffering from severe morning sickness, which led to her cancelling royal engagements. “We need Catherine to get over this first bit and then we can start celebrating,” William said at the time. “It’s always a bit anxious to start with, but she’s well.”
Not everyone was excited by the news, and the BBC news presenter Simon McCoy delivered the update in what is quickly becoming his trademark, sarcastic manner.
In a video shared widely on Twitter, McCoy said: “Bearing in mind they announced she was pregnant back in September, and it was thought she was two, three months pregnant, I’m not sure how much news this really is.
“Anyway it’s April, so clear your diaries, get the time booked off because that’s what I’m doing.”




The video showing the sarcastic BBC newsreader deliver the report on the royal baby announcement:



These two news stories are both covering the announcement of the birth date for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's third baby, due in April. Even though this story is very straightforward, with limited pints to be made; both newspapers still manage to place their own spin on the story, separating their agendas clearly. 

 Firstly, this story was announced as 'breaking news', live on the BBC, where Simon McCoy used a rather sarcastic approach. This was mainly down to the previous, quite recent announcement of Kate's pregnancy in September; hence many feeling this wasn't newsworthy. This video has had over 19,000 views on YouTube already, with it being shared on Facebook and Twitter repeatedly.
The Mail Online used this BBC news report as the focus of their coverage of the story, almost pushing the royal birth date announcement into the background. Whereas The Guardian has a clear focus on the original announcement, with their headline including the fact that the royal baby 'could arrive on the Queen's birthday'.


Another way in which the two articles can be compared is by their formality, with the Mail's almost 'slapstick' approach making it much less formal compared to The Guardian's article. The Guardian talks very highly of the 'Duke and Duchess', expressing the news with fondness. 'Shortening the odds of the new arrival coming on a very significant date', here the adverb 'very' helps to emphasise how the newspapers agenda values the royal family. Compared to this, the Mail presents the news in almost a negative light; involving the 'sarcastic newsreader' majorly within the article, making it seem to the reader that they may agree with the fact that this story isn't newsworthy enough. 

 The two newspapers also present their own personal view points very clearly, with The Guardian making it clear that they disagree with how the BBC presented this story. Their article reads, though 'not everyone was excited by the news'. Here this shows how the article is trying to separate themselves from the sarcastic comments made. However The Mail continues to present the news negatively; including in the report how Simon McCoy 'read out tweets from viewers'. Here, it is clear that the information on the topic being given is now not responsibly written, as it is coming from members of the public. 

All these previous aspects which separate the clear agendas of the two newspapers, are all based on the differences in their target audiences. For example, The Guardian's 'left wing' communist approach means that they agree with looking after the community as a whole, making everyone equal. Though their article presented the 'Duke and Duchess of Cambridge' as important figures, who should be favoured; not abiding with the traditional communist opinion that there should be no one of more status than another. Whereas The Mail who present 'right wing' fascist viewpoints, over looked the Royal pregnancy date announcement. This is almost how a communist would approach the article; however a typical fascist view is favouring one individual dictator leading a government. This is similar to how the Royal family are sometimes depicted to a certain audience, with them being born into status instead of earning their representation. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

STRANGER THINGS - NARRATIVE AND GENRE

Genre Long Form TV Drama is a media form with specific codes and conventions that help us recognise it as such. 1. What are the formal codes and conventions of Long-Form TV Drama?  Within long form TV drama there are often minimal central characters unlike soap television where many characters are included within the  main plot. The main plot of a long form TV drama is typically an issue which needs to be resolves, as well as smaller sub-plots which run along the main plot line. Long form TV drama also has multiple episodes in each season, usually at least ten episodes. These seasons  do sometimes run into each other, with plots linking u, however story lines can also be limited to a season. Even though the title refers to television, long form TV dramas are also shown on streaming services such as Netflix. Typically, long form TV dramas open with an establishing shot, or an extreme long-shot, which show an environment that will later be revealed. ...
Read more

DANCE MUSIC VIDEOS TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Image
E.g. Red Lights - Tiesto E.g. Nobody To Love - Sigma In both of these videos, it shows a very clear representation of the age group which are typically into dance music This is shown through the use of age specified models/actors in the videos, all appearing to be in their early twenties. Those shown in the videos are predominantly female, however I do not feel that this is linking to the fact that the artists fan bases are mainly of this gender. From this it is apparent that the videos have tried to target both genders, however, personally I feel that the use of the male gaze has overtaken the empowerment of women which was supposedly targeted at the females watching these videos.  The male gaze is very prominent within both of these videos, with low angle camera shots lingering on women's bodies instead of the overall scene. Due to this, both videos are almost narrowing their audience, by both assuming the sexuality of the audience...
Read more

THE BIG ISSUE REVISION

Image
E.g. This Big Issue magazine cover uses intertextuality to link the release of the new Paddington Bear movie with the recent migrant crisis in relation to the EU referendum.  The location used for this Big Issue cover features a CGI scene of London, this is made clear though the inclusion of famous landmarks like Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The specific position which the magazine has chosen to place the character  Paddington Bear, on the walk way alongside the River Thames. This usage of a location which is well-known, especially to tourists, helps to link to the idea of rough sleepers as this is a typical area which is heavily used by rough sleepers.  It is likely that this location has been used as the trusted magazine acts as a social business providing employment opportunities for those in poverty. This came about in 1991 due to the increase in the numbers of rough sleepers in the London area. Hence, the use of a 'migrant' characte...
Read more