Editorial Comments

 Editorial Comments

Similarities

• Small masthead
• Column style- text based (no images)
• Authoritative, persuasive tone
• Subheading = outlines opinions
• Based on current affairs
• 2-3 different comment articles

Differences

The Daily Mail

• As the paper is right wing, its comment is going to be biased towards the right wing opinions. In this comment they are talking about Brexit, and how they believe that it is not Britain's fault that the exit from the EU is taking so long, as the French are preventing the operation from being carried out as quickly as possible. This is a stereotypical move of a right wing supporter, as many of them believe that nothing is ever Britain's fault, and they must pass the blame onto someone else, in this case France.
• It is also very opinionated and likes to make clear the fact that Britain is at no fault and is trying to brainwash the readers into believing the same thing.
• There are no official facts in this comment, as most of the text is just opinions, as the main objection of the comment in the Daily Mail is to get the reader to agree with them.
• The language is very informal, for example, 'Ramming' is used in this comment. This is because the readers of The Daily Mail tend to be lower middle class so may not have the highest level of education, so the Daily Mail use words that the readers do not find hard to understand, so reading the newspaper does not appear a chore.
• The readers of the Daily Mail read the same newspaper every week as they want to buy a newspaper with the same agenda and opinion as them.

The Guardian 

• Although the Guardian likes to take a non biased point of view on its articles, it is a left wing newspaper, so will obviously have biased agenda no matter how hard they try. This is why the editorial comment in the Guardian is slightly biased towards the left wing's agenda.
• There is less opinionated text in the Guardian's editorial comment than the Daily Mail, yet some still has some left wing led opinions.
• The comment is full of facts to prove the points they are making rather than having opinions to support their points like the Daily Mail does. This is good as the readership of the Guardian is more upper middle class, and people who will probably be more educated than the readership of the Daily Mail.
• The language is very formal as again they know that their readership is most likely to understand the formal terms they are writing.
• The readers of the Guardian are again, most likely going to buy a copy of the newspaper every week as they agree with the opinions and agenda of the newspaper more, than other newspapers like the Daily Mail.

1)Consider why people return to the same newspaper title repeatedly and feel that it represents their own views that they can identify with. How is this particularly obvious with the comment page? 

This is because the newspaper is likely to hold the same opinions as the reader, but also if you have been reading a newspaper for a long time, then you are likely to trust the information that the newspaper provides. Also the comment page is obviously very opinionated, so the opinions of the comment page are going to be those of the readers of the newspaper, which makes it more relatable.

2)Which paper might satisfy the audience's need for entertainment the most? What kind of escapism does it offer readers and which articles provide the most entertainment.

The Daily Mail tends to exaggerate their stories so their stories could be seen as more entertaining for the audience. They also do a lot of stories about celebrities which the readers of The Daily Mail usually enjoy as they involve a lot of gossip, which some people enjoy as entertainment. It may feel as if the readers are involved with the celebrities lives, and offers them a form of escapism that they may enjoy.

3)Reading newspapers is informative because it explores current affairs and culture, but which paper is best for providing this level of education?

The Guardian offers more educational information as its readers tend to be more well educated compared to readers of The Daily Mail. This would mean that The Guardian would go into more detail in their stories which some readers would be wanting out of their newspapers.

4)How might news and feature articles along with comment pieces spark social interactions for people?

People who read the same newspapers will be able to talk about the different articles they read, and also be able to give their opinions on the stories with their friends. Because they read the same newspaper they are likely to have similar views, so will agree with each others opinions, and will strengthen each others thoughts that their opinions are right.