Read All About It - Looking at Newspapers

Read All About It!
Looking at newspapers

Introduction

During this unit of work you are going to look at newspapers and the way they are written.

You should start at SECTION ONE. Read carefully and do the things that are printed in the boxes like the one below:

Plan your work in your English book but write your final answers on paper.
DO NOT MOVE ONTO SECTIONS TWO OR THREE until you have worked carefully through SECTION ONE.

SECTION TWO harder to do and SECTION THREE is even harder. If you manage to get all the way through the booklet you will be an expert on the press!
But don't worry if you do not get beyond SECTION ONE.

Your teacher will help you with the tasks and will tell you how long you have got to do this work.

SECTION ONE

Newspapers

Newspapers can be divided into two sorts: they are either broadsheets or tabloids.

Broadsheet newspapers are the large ones (e.g. The Times and The Daily Telegraph)

Tabloid newspapers are the small ones (e.g. The Sun and The Daily Mirror).

Read through a selection of tabloid and broadsheet papers.
What makes newspaper writing different from other sorts of writing?
Write down a few things.

You may have discovered the following things:

Newspaper writing is in columns .

Newspaper stories are often called articles or reports .

All articles' titles are called headlines .

Many articles have pictures to go with them; the writing under a picture is called a caption

Articles are often split into sections by subheadings ; often these are just one word.

Articles often include interviews with people involved in the incident.

To sum up:

Newspaper reports normally use the following:

columns
headlines
pictures
captions
subheadings
interviews

Cut out a newspaper article, stick it into your book and then find in the article each of the six things above. Label each of the six things.

Look at the example below

[COLUMN]

[PICTURE]

[CAPTION]

ROYAL LINK: Charles

[HEADLINE]

Internet debut for Charles

By MIRROR REPORTER

THE Prince of Wales was set to link up with computer buffs worldwide last night when he made his debut on the Internet.

[COLUMN]

Subscribers to the information superhighway will be able to see the Prince's comments about his own Business Leaders Forum.

[SUBHEADING]

billion

And the potential one billion subscribers worldwide will be able to read the text of his speech to a celebrity gathering at St James Palace in London today to mark the Forum's fifth anniversary.

The Prince's Internet debut - thought to be a Royal first - shows his efforts to involve business leaders in solving community problems.

[INTERVIEW]

A forum spokesman said of the Internet venture:

"It's a way of getting the same message across to schoolchildren gathered round the computer in an Indian village and to a boardroom in New York."

Headlines

Newspaper reports have headlines at the top. These are often very dramatic. Look back through the newspapers you have read and find some good headlines.

Cut out five headlines and stick them into your book.

Now look at the headlines below. They were all taken from one newspaper on one day.

Choose one of the headlines and write a news report to go with it.

Hippo hit by a pay row	Hairy monster ruined Dad's dinner	But will Curry be too hot?
FLYING BABY LANDS DAD IN STORM	Bid to ban cruel electric collars	What a carve-up by the doctor
WHY MEN TURN INTO MONSTERS	'Flying car' wrecks house	Just cut it out, vicar!

The School 'Riot'

Sometimes you can find one event reported in all the daily papers, and then it is interesting to compare reports. On the next few pages you will find six reports of something that happened in a school in Bideford in Devon. You can decide for yourself whether any of the reports sound exaggerated!

Pupils riot at strike school

CHILDREN ran riot at a mixed comprehensive school yesterday when their pay-protest teachers refused to supervise the dinner break.
   The youngsters threw eggs at remaining staff, smashed windows and milk bottles and then marched out into the surrounding streets.
   Worried residents alerted the police, who sent seven patrol cars to the school at Bideford, North Devon.
   Police said: "Considerable damage was done to the school.
   "It was a case of pure lack of supervision. The headmaster and two staff were trying to look after nearly 2000 children."

BORED

   According to the police and education authorities, between 60 and 80 boys and girls took part in the disturbance.
   But some pupils and people living nearby put the figure at up to 300.
   One youngster said: "We got bored because the classrooms were locked and there were no activities."
   The trouble was brought under control in 35 minutes and normal afternoon classes resumed. Education chiefs ordered an inquiry.
   Headmaster John Dare said that only 12 children caused damage and they would be dealt with "very severely."

(Daily Express)

School Mob
Runs Riot

HUNDREDS of children rampaged through a school yesterday as their teachers joined in a lunchtime strike over a pay claim.
   At another school six boys were suspended after a mob of children smashed windows and threatened the headmaster.
   Trouble flared across the country as teachers working for thirty education authorities refused to supervise children at lunchtime.
   The worst violence was at Bideford School in Devon where a gang estimated at up to 300 strong stormed through the school smashing windows.
   It took eight policemen to help headmaster John Dare restore order after he had tried in vain to supervise 18,00 pupils single-handed.
   Last night Mr. Dare said there were about a dozen ringleaders. Those who could be identified would be " dealt with severely."

(Daily Mirror)

Police curb pupils' lunchtime riot

POLICE were called to control rampaging pupils yesterday, as teachers lunchtime sanctions began to bite.
Doors and windows were smashed at Bideford Comprehensive, North Devon, by stone-throwing troublemakers within a mob of about 50 unruly youngsters, some said to have hammers and knives. Others looked on.

(Daily Mail)

Bored pupils riot as staff walk out

A MOB of 300 youngsters ran riot through their school yesterday - because they were bored.
   It happened when teachers at the 100-staff comprehensive refused to do dinner duties and walked out in a union dispute.
   Only the headmaster and two teachers were on duty, and they wre powerless to act.
   People living nearby watched, terrified, as gangs of 15 and 16 year olds rampaged through the 1000-pupil school at Bideford, Devon, chanting "We want a riot" as they smashed windows.
   Police who rushed to the giant complex in seven cars calmed the frantic pupils.

Hammers

   As the afternoon lessons ended the youngsters said they were protesting about being confined to one playground.
   "We were bored and had nothing to do," they said. "We will continue our action until the teachers dispute is over.
   "We brought screwdrivers and hammers to school and stole knives from the canteen."

(The Star)

SCHOOLKIDS RUN RIOT OVER LUNCH

CHILDREN ran riot through a town yesterday after being locked out of their school by work-to-rule teachers.
   About 300 pupils roamed the streets smashing windows and terrifying families.
   Police were called to quell the lunchtime rumpus - the second day running there had benn trouble at the 1780-pupil Bideford Comprehensive School in Devon.
   Headmaster John Dare said later his staff were working to rule in support of the pay claim by the National Union of Teachers.
   Teachers have banned voluntary supervision and there were only three on duty to control pupils during breaks.

Angry

Mr Dare - who said he was "saddened" by the incident - will be making a full report to the Devon Education Authority.
A spokesman for the authority said: "We have yet to establish the xtent of the damage caused."

(The Sun)

PUPILS GO ON RAMPAGE

By COLIN RANDALL

POLICE were called to a comprehensive school in Devon yesterday to quell a disturbance involving at least 60 pupils.
   Officers went to the 1700-pupil mixed school in Bideford after nearby residents reported a "developing riot."
   The trouble, described by Devon County Council as "a disturbance rather than a riot," occurred at lunchtime when only Mr John Dare, the headmaster, and two members of staff were available to supervise pupils because of the teachers' pay dispute. Several windows were smashed by children throwing bottles and stones.
   Police restored order after about 35 minutes and normal lessons were held in the afternoon.

Report called for

   Mr Dare estimated last night that only 50 pupils were directly involved. He thought that no more than a dozen children were responsible for causing damage.
   Mr Joslyn Owen, Devon's Director of Education, has called for a full report on the disturbance.
   Bideford school is divided into two complexes. Yesterday's disturbance seems to have stemmed from anger and boredom from children excluded from one part of the building.

(Daily Telegraph)

Now answer these questions about the school 'riot' reports:

Which two newspapers tell us how long the trouble lasted? Do they agree?
Which three newspapers tell us what weapons the pupils used? Make a list of those weapons?
Four newspapers say that only windows were broken. What else was broken according to the other two?
What reasons might there be for these differences between the reports?
Two newspapers refer to the pupils as a "mob" and a "gang". What idea does mob give? What idea does gang give? Why didn't the newspaper use the word group instead?
One newspaper says the pupils "stormed" through the school. Why didn't it say that they ran ?
One newspaper says that people living nearby watched "terrified". What would these people have done if they were really terrified?
Which report do you find the most dramatic or sensational? Explain your choice.