Comparative Language Analysis-'Shame if link runs off road' , ' Bottleneck

Blockbuster' and 'Jobs won't magically move across town'

The recent political and social debate regarding the development of the East-West link through
Melbourne has polarised the community, spurring much media hype and publicity. Those supporting the
construction of the link, which connects the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road, tend to see the issue
through a logical point of view and appeals to the reader's appreciation of the 'common good' are often
presented in their arguments. This is demonstrated in The Herald Sun's editorial piece 'Shame if link runs off
road' and 'Bottleneck Blockbuster', written by Amelia Harris and Matt Johnston, which state that the benefits
gained by the link, such as is expediency, outweigh the possible drawbacks it may have. This contention is
repudiated by those in opposition to the project, such as Tony Morton, writer of 'Jobs won't magically move
across town' who argues that funds are being misdirected into the link when more dire reforms are needed
in Melbourne. Both use of a variety of attacking tones and techniques, such as the use of sensationalism, to
discredit their opposition's views and reinforce their own in their readers minds.
A similar approach throughout the pieces is the use of attacks in the arguments of those in favour of
the link, which is used to create a strong sense of negativity in the reader towards the opposition. The attack
used in 'Shame if link runs off road' is evident when a tonal shift occurs from praising Melbourne to
condemning the forces that seek to belittle its success. In this case, the writer makes obvious political
distinctions between the successes of the Liberal party and Tony Abbott, and the 'miserable attitude' of The
Age, fuelled by the weak inaction of Kevin Rudd and the ALP. And so the writer uses exclusive language, such
as direct reference to 'ours' and 'theirs', in order to create a divided mentality which results in the reader
perceiving the ALP as the 'enemy'. Contrasting Abbot's 'positive comments' against The Age's 'curmudgeonly
comments' makes the left wing newspaper appear like its throwing gloom over social enjoyment by using
Melbourne's grand achievements as sour points. The writer builds on the reader's overwhelming pride in
their city and redirects it to attack The Age as readers feel protective of their city and will oppose any
attitudes that try to undermine it. Referring that 'PM Kevin Rudd does himself no favours in preferring to
support ' presents the PM as weak, encouraging the reader to want change on a political scale. Hence, the
reader may overlook any political bias The Herald Sun has as they are placed to support the construction of
the link and the innovation of the Liberal Party in the lead-up to the 2013 election. In the same way that The
Herald Sun attacks the actions of the ALP, Tony Morton in 'Jobs wont magically move across town' rather
attacks the intelligence of individuals and the link itself, through sarcasm and logicality. Phrases such as 'Mr
Cook is mistaking the growth in local car travel for an imagined explosion' is used to discredit Richard Cook's
intelligence, portraying him as ill-informed and ignorant, which in turn, makes his views seem impractical
and exaggerated. Hence, Morton's views are suggested to be more reliable and trustworthy and therefore
the reader is positioned to agree with his contention as if not, they would be as ignorant and ill-informed as
Cook.
In addition to attacks, The Herald Sun editorial piece and Harris and Johnston's 'Bottleneck
Blockbuster' effectively sensationalise the issue, provoking a sense of pride and outrage in the reader
regarding the shortcomings of not constructing the link. The use of sensationalism in 'Shame if link runs off
road' portrays Melbourne as a bigger, brighter and better city compared to others around the world,
targeting the readers, which consists of urban Melbournians and city-dwellers', sense of patriotism and pride
in their city. Depicting Melbourne as its own metropolitan empire assists in persuading the readers to
support any proposals that are set to improve this innovation and social standing, which in this case is the
link. The writer's use of phrases such as 'Abbott is right in thinking Melbourne often puts Sydney to shame'
and the inclusion that Melbourne was voted the world's Most Liveable City, targets the already existent
Melbourne-Sydney rivalry and uses it to gain the respect of the reader by provoking their loyalty to the city.
Hence the reader is positioned to feel that Melbourne's greatness is being revitalised by the new link, which
goes towards improving its standing as one of the best cities in the world. By contrast, in 'Bottleneck
Blockbuster' the writers sensationalise the greatness and potential of the East-West Link in order to
persuade the readers to believe that the benefits of it are unreservedly worth the risks, appealing to their
sense of fear. The title itself is dramatic and emphatic; 'bottleneck' portraying a massive disastrous mess
while the cultural reference of 'blockbuster' depicts a huge, heroic and powerful event. This type of
hyperbolic expression provokes a sense of excitement in the reader who is positioned to feel eager to
witness the construction of the link that will save their city from the already-existent villain that is congestion.
Consequently, while both pieces use sensationalism in their arguments, their effect on the reader is very
different.
The use of sensationalism is reinforced with the use of imagery, both visual and verbal, throughout
the pieces enabling the reader to picture the issue from the writer's point of view. This is most noticeably
demonstrated in the collage of photos accompanying 'Bottleneck Blockbuster' which depicts massive
congestion around the city, targeting the reader's sense of fear and insecurity in the future. The merging of
imagery in the graphic reflects the merging of traffic on the streets with the chaos and messiness of the page
also reflecting that in Melbourne. The bird's eye view of the city highlights the grand scale of disaster of the
issue. This graphic provokes fear in the reader, presenting Melbourne's future as almost an Orwellian
prediction of doom. They are positioned to dread the effects of not constructing the link and therefore are
almost trapped in that they feel that the only way to fix congestion and avoid this horrid future is through its
construction. Additionally the use of the phrase 'with drivers regularly crawling at less than 20km/h' gives
the reader an image to relate to as many Melbournian workers have experienced the frustration of
'crawling' along the Eastern Freeway. Thus, this relatability is used to sway the reader to agree with their
contention by building on a mutual experience and frustration. Alternatively, the use of the image in 'Jobs
wont magically move across town' consolidates Morton's argument that people working in the CBD will not
move their work to West-Melbourne. The image presents cars on the Eastern Freeway heading to the city
rather than to suburban Clifton Hills, reinforcing Morton's contention and the title of his piece that 'jobs
won't magically move across town'. The image assists in better establishing this idea in the reader's minds,
appealing to their sense of logic and practicality in that Morton's arguments are evident in the picture. They
are therefore more inclined to agree with Morton as other arguments seem redundant in comparison to
proof.
Correspondingly, appealing to the reader's sense of justice plays a major role in underscoring the
contentions of each writer. The alliterated term 'runs off road' is used colloquially in the editorial's title to
portray a scene of disaster to the reader if the link is not constructed. The reader feels a major sense of
injustice that the much-needed road is being 'run-off' by forces that insist on delaying it, insinuating that the
ALP and others in opposition to the link are responsible for the impending catastrophe. The use of the word
'shame' appeals to the reader's sense of guilt, suggesting the wrong doing is a product of the inaction of
those that wanted the link. Hence, in feeling guilty for its collapse, the readers now see themselves as
colluding in this injustice and therefore will agree with the writer in order to rectify their mistakes. This is re-
established in 'Bottleneck Blockbuster', through terms such as 'What a difference that would make to
people going home at night to their families'. This alludes that people deserve to have the freedom to get
to where they need to be without the burden of congestion constantly slowly them down. The notion that
we 'deserve' this right and are currently not yet able to exercise it appeals to the writer's sense of justice by
suggesting that our rights are not being appropriately upheld. This is amplified with the reference to 'family'
in the phrase which appeals to the reader's family values suggesting that more time would be spent away
from their loved ones if the link is not constructed, which is a major violation of individual liberty. Therefore
the reader is more inclined to agree with the construction of the link if it means their rights and the rights of
their family are upheld to a greater standard. This appeal is contrasted in Morton's 'Jobs wont magically
move across town' in the phrase 'They have also diverted funds and attention from public transport
alternatives that might have some hope of tackling the problem'. This influences the reader to see the link as
a policy of arrogance and avoidance rather than productive substance. This means that readers are
positioned to condemn any ineffectual policies that take money and time away from more deserving ones.
Conclusively, while using similar techniques, the articles 'Shame if link runs off road' ,'Bottleneck
Blockbuster' and 'Jobs wont magically move across town' are unique in positioning their readers to agree
with their contention regarding either the construction or deconstruction of the East-West Link. Appeals to
justice, family values, pride and patriotism and the use of sensationalism throughout are underscored by an
attacking and logical tone in all articles. This similarity manifested in similar ways by which the readers were
swayed. However, how they were positioned to view the issue was very different as while some techniques
aimed to evoke fear, others rather drew on already-existent dissatisfaction with the proposal. Nonetheless,
all articles effectively used a variety of techniques to convince their reader that either the link should be built
as it is a beneficial and necessary advancement in Melbourne or that its wastefulness and impracticality
cannot be outweighed by the few benefits it offers.



Clear and concise
Understanding of not just the devices themselves, but, more importantly, WHY these devices were used and
WHAT they were used for.