Assignment on the language of newspapers frank james pleads guilty to terrorism charges in brooklyn subway shooting

This assignment will take deep research about the two articles, which are “New York subway shooter, 63, pleads guilty to terrorism charges after wounding 10 people” from Daily Express an

THANG LONG UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

-o0o -ASSIGNMENT ON THE LANGUAGE OF NEWSPAPERS

SUPERVISOR: MAI LAN STUDENT’S NAME: NGUYỄN NGỌC HUYỀN STUDENT’S CODE: A37945

HANOI, 2023

Table of Contents

II INTRODUCTION 1

III ANALYSIS 2

1 Headlines and sub-headline 2

2 The lead 5

3 The body 8

4 The language use 12

5 The photograph: 14

IV CONCLUSION 15

I INTRODUCTION

The press is a form of print media which is in charge of compiling andpublicizing news in the form of newspapers and magazines andnewspapers Newspaper is a powerful source of information for people to keep up-to-date about news and understand what is going on outside It is an important means ofcommunication which affects the life in all aspects through language Since the news

in newspapers is usually reported briefly and concisely, the most essential parts of thenews have to be expressed in the most economical way possible Even so, it still alsoneeds to catch and keep the reader's attention Therefore, studying newspaper languagecan help us not only gain a deeper understanding of societal issues that are discussed

in the articles, but also reduce the gap between the writer and the reader

There are two types of newspaper: tabloid and broadsheet Broadsheetnewspapers are traditionally larger in size and more complicated, concentrating onpolitical news, while tabloids are smaller and usually simpler to read, containing themain news stories, celebrity news and human-interest stories The Britain broadsheets

are often known as the “quality press” included The Times, The Telegraph and The Guardian The Britain tabloids include the Daily Mail, the Daily Express and the Sun.

This assignment will take deep research about the two articles, which are “New York subway shooter, 63, pleads guilty to terrorism charges after wounding 10 people” from Daily Express and “Frank James pleads guilty to terrorism charges in Brooklyn subway shooting” from The Guardian

By doing so, this writing will focus on analyzing five aspects of languagenewspapers: The headline and sub-headline, the lead, the body, the language use, andthe photograph

II ANALYSIS

1 Headlines and sub-headline

A newspaper's headline is designed to be the most important element of anewspaper The headline is the first thing that people see when selecting an article toread The more appealing a headline is, the more readers it attracts This section iscrucial in the sales of newspaper brands, as well as in retaining customers anddeveloping the brand's own trademark

Headlines are the marquees of news stories These short statements located atthe beginning of an article frame the information that is to follow They encapsulate aportion of the story, presenting a snapshot of reality (Scacco&Muddiman, 2015)

Stated by Ferry T (2016, p.28), headlines typically stand out from the rest ofthe text with thick, large font, allowing readers to easily determine whether to read theentire article or move on to another The distinctive feature of the headline isdetermined by the need to increase sales and the restricted space on the page of thearticle Therefore, the grammar may be disregard, vocabulary may be shortened andthe use of puns, idioms, alliterations and other method is seen as ubiquitous whilewriting headlines

There are six most popular types of headlines:

 Direct headline: It clearly states the purpose of an article and usually involvesfacts in the article to summarize the overall idea Therefore, readers knowexactly what they are going to read or see when you use a direct headline Forexample: “10 cat pictures to cheer you up’’

 Indirect headline: It takes a subtle approach by hinting at the main point of anarticle Since it doesn't directly state the key idea, it targets a reader's curiosity

to discover what the article is about For example: “Shoe company floats in2021’’

 News headline: It makes important announcements about a company or itsproducts and is often used in news articles to efficiently share recentinformation with the public For example: “Beach Cove Taffy announces newlocation near Myrtle Beach’’

 How-to headline: This type of headline teaches readers ways to learn a new skill or solve a problem through an outline of steps It often starts with the phrase "how to," followed by the action they want their readers to learn It also helps highlight why that particular article might benefit them For example:

“How to make money working from home with your laptop”

 Question headline: A question headline poses a question to readers with theintention of providing the answer within the article For example: “Do youknow which of our vegetables has the most vitamins?’’

 The “reason why’’ headline: This headline tells an audience why certainsituations occur It typically results in a list article format, which readers oftenprefer over other types of articles since it's easier to skim For example: “8reasons why your outfit is affecting your interview.’’

Ferry also expresses in his book Breaking News (2016, p.28), nine basicmethods that are typically used in writing headlines: the use of simple present tense tonarrate the past event, the omission of “to be” verb in order to save space, noun, verbsand prepositions are usually used as adjectives, the ongoing events are illustrated bythe use of present progressive and the future events are expressed by the use of theinfinitive form of the verb, the use of specialized vocabulary and abbreviations, it is

typical for colloquialisms or slang to be used, the exclusion of auxiliary verb inpassive sentences, and punctuation in special usage

Occasionally, under the headline of a newspaper, readers may also find asecondary text called the sub-headline As specified by Patel (2019), a sub-headline is

a writing that follows the headline and usually has a smaller font size than the headlineitself It's a supplementary line of text that provides the reader with additionalinformation beyond the details given within the headline

Considering the headlines of two articles in this assignment, both of the themare quite lengthy

For “The Guardian”:

“Frank James pleads guilty to terrorism charges in Brooklyn subway shooting.”

This headline uses present simple tense to describe a past event It is a conciseheadline that goes straight to the focus

For “Daily Express’’:

“New York subway shooter, 63, pleads guilty to terrorism charges afterwounding 10 people.”

This headline employs the same writing headline technique as the above one,namely the present simple tense However, the difference here is that this headline ismore complicated and it uses special punctuation “,” Comma is a great space saverand is very useful in separating two points in the headline: “New York subwayshooter’’ and “63’’

When it comes to sub-headlines, both of the two chosen articles include one,which is a sentence that lies right beneath the headline

For “Daily Express’’:

“Frank James hospitalised 29 people after he put on a gas mask, set off a smokedevice and fired a handgun.’’

This sub-headline provides further information regarding the aforementionedevent At the beginning of the sentence, it gives the reader the name of a shooter:Frank James It also includes the precise number of people he injured, which is 29.Furthermore, the sub-headline provides a list of information regarding the acts hemade at that time

For “The Guardian”:

“James was arrested on 13 April 2022 after opening fire on the subway andshooting 10 people.’’

In relation to this sub-headline of “The Guardian’’, it informs the reader aboutfurther details regarding the day James was detained for his crime at the subway: April

A lead is composed of the opening sentences of a brief composition, or the first

paragraph or two of a longer article or essay It performs the pivotal function of

introducing the story to the audience in an effectual and irresistible manner by

condensing the important facts The ideal lead consists of 20-25 words (p 1)

Many news articles use the basic sentence structure when writing their leads,

which is the “subject-verb-object sentences’’, according to Tim Ferry in “Breaking News English!” The main subject and the main verb are located together at or near the

beginning of the sentence

There are six common types of the lead:

 Summary lead: A summary lead is the most typical and traditional lead injournalism It usually consists of one sentence and is intended to provide aconcise summary in as few words as possible Moreover, it contains most of the5Ws (Who, what, when, where, why) and 1H (How)

 Single-item lead: This lead concentrates on just one or two elements

of summary lead The main objective of it is to pack a bigger punch than thesummary lead

 Delayed identification lead: In this type of lead, the "who" is not stated up frontbecause it is not regarded as very much crucial In addition, the person isdescribed using a descriptive pronoun, his title and specific name are revealed

short- Analogy lead: This type of lead draws a comparison between a problem orevent and something else that the reader might be more familiar with

To write a strong lead, there are some following advice Writers should firstaddress the questions listed above (5W1H) in the lead and leave the less importantinformation for later in the article This is referred to as the inverted pyramid method.Readers then can stop reading the story at any point and still be aware of the mostcrucial, newsworthy given details And finally, writing a lead thisway makes editing simpler because an article can be trimmed from the bottom if it istoo lengthy.

The lead below is from “The Express’’:

“A 63-year-old man has pleaded guilty to terrorism charges after wounding 10 people during a shooting on New York's subway Frank James, from Milwaukee in

Wisconsin, fired more than 30 shots and set off a smoke device during the incident on

a crowded N train travelling towards Brooklyn's 36th Street Station last April.’’

This lead appears as the first paragraph of the article It primarily serves to

address the six questions mentioned above: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? Particularly, this lead focuses on Who? Looking at the beginning of the two

sentences, both of them are related to the man who commits the crime The first one starts with a noun phrase “A 63-year-old man’’ and the second one begins with his fullname “Frank James’’ The rest of the paragraph is the answer to the other questions: Last April, there was a man who commits a shooting on a New York’s subway and wounded 10 people This lead clearly gives readers more details information about the event

As for the lead from “The Guardian’’:

“The man who fired more than 30 shots on a New York City subway train last spring pleaded guilty to terrorism charges on Tuesday Frank James was arrested on 13April 2022 after opening fire on the subway, shooting 10 people.’’

This lead of “The Guardian” is similar to the lead of “Daily Express’’ It also addresses the 5W and 1H questions, concentrating on the question “Who?’’ A minor distinction is that in this lead, “The Guardian’’ specifies the exact date of Frank James'arrest, which was April 13, 2022

3 The body

Even though it comes after the captivating headline and lead, the body of anarticle is where readers can find all the information they need to be informed

In his piece “What is the Body in Journalism?’’, Dane observes that the body

of a news story should keep the reader's interest that the lead has already attracted Itneeds to be logical and well-organized The primary points of the lead should all bedeveloped in the same order The body should be as brief as possible while stillcontaining all essential details Additionally, it must also be as accurate andcomprehensive as feasible

Considering the body of the two chosen articles, each one has a differentapproach to its viewers

The body of “Daily Express’’ article is a little shorter than the body of “TheGuardian’’ article It is divided into many small, short, and concise paragraphs Theauthor of this article mainly focuses on informing readers about the crime of thesubway shooter and the instance judgment for his atrocious guilt

In the first parts of the body of “Daily Express’’, the writer provides his/heraudiences with the charges of Frank James – the subway shooter

“He admitted his intention was to "cause serious bodily injury to the people on

the train".

“He also pleaded guilty to one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of

violence.’’

After that, there is a sentence tells the viewer about how Frank James was

caught: “James was arrested just one day after the incident in Manhattan's Lower East Side after calling in a tip on himself.”

The following paragraphs are mostly about the recommended punishment thatJames might have to take for his actions:

“… prosecutors are willing to recommend a sentence in the range of 31 to 37years in prison provided James shows enough remorse.’’

“… prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 40 years to life if James "doesnot clearly demonstrate acceptance of responsibility".’’

There is also a statement of the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace

about James’ guilty plea said that it was “an important step toward holding James fully accountable and helping the victims of the defendant’s violence and our great

city heal’’.

Finally, the last pieces of “Daily Express’’ article say that Frank James “postedvideos on a YouTube channel in which he discussed violence and mass shootings’’and one of them “was used on a New York Police Department Crime Stoppers flyerseeking information about the shooting”

The first impression when reading the body of “The Guardian’’ is that it is quitelengthier than the body of “Daily Express’’ It can also be seen that the paragraphs inthe article are longer than that of “Daily Express’’

The first two paragraphs also detail the crime committed by Frank James.However, this author gives more concise information about the injured victims thanthe author of “Daily Express’’:

“About 30 people required medical treatment after the shooting … including

four schoolchildren aged 12 to 16.’’

“In addition to bullet wounds, victims suffered smoke inhalation and injuries

from falls and panic.’’

The author also quotes a few of the federal prosecutor's statements in court thatFrank James’s attack was “premeditated, was carefully planned, and it caused terroramong the victims and our entire city.”

The following paragraphs describe how James escaped from the scene and how

he was arrested eventually: “He fled the scene by boarding another train and throwing out the jacket and gas mask he worn during the attack” and was arrested after a 30-

“Officers spotted him at St Marks Place and First Avenue, one of the busiest

intersections in that neighborhood.’’

There is also a moment when the writer shares an overall view of this event It

is said that this shooting “renewed attention on constant gun violence in the US’’ and showed that “cities and states with strong firearms laws can fall victim to other locales’ more relaxed statutes’’ This statement is based on a fact that the gun James

used in the attack – A 9mm Glock – was sold to him in Ohio by a licensed firearmsdealer It demonstrates that society is constantly at risk and that a tragic incident couldtake place at any time

The last three paragraphs of "Daily Express" and "The Guardian" differ mostnoticeably from the rest of the articles It is because “The Guardian’’ gives their reader

a closer look by including the background story of the subway shooter Frank James

He grew up in New York City but moved to Milwaukee Between 1992 and 1998 in

the state of New York, he has a criminal history prior to the shooting that includes nine arrests, largely for misdemeanors His criminal record also includes “three arrests in New Jersey in 1992, 1993 and 2007 for charges such as disorderly conduct and trespass’’

The article also shows that James posted several videos on social mediaplatform, including one published a day before the shooting happened In that video,

he “raved about racism, society’s treatment of Black people, violence and homelessness’’ This 63-year-olds criminal also shared his history of post-traumatic

stress disorder and the failing state of mental health services

To sum up, each body from the two articles has a different method to approachits viewers For “Daily Express”, the way of dividing the body into short paragraphs isaimed towards informing the reader crucial information so that they can catch up withthe event as fast and clearly as possible While for “The Guardian”, it tells the readers