ANALYSE LINGUISTIC

CONVENTIONS WITHIN
DIFFERENT NEWS ARTICLES
 Sensationalism
noun
1.
the presentation of stories in a way that is intended to provoke public
interest or excitement, at the expense of accuracy.
 Sun Article

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3306136/heart-stopping-moment-boy-falls-through-gap-
between-train-and-platform-as-his-panicking-grandparents-shout-to-stop-driver-pulling-away-
and-killing-him/
Sun Story Without Sensationalistic Language
 Incident On Platform

Boy falls through gap between train and

platform as grandparents tell train driver //
CCTV footage shows boy fall between as he
tries to board at Cronulla railway station in
Sydney.
This image shows a young boy fall through a gap between a stationary train and the
platform in Australia. CCTV footage shows the boy, who appeared to be travelling with
his sister and grandparents, falling down between the train as he tried to board in
Australia. His foot slips and without gaining his balance, he disappears through the
gap.

Surprised grandparents start calling for help in attempt to stop train driver from pulling
away.
Luckily, boys quick-
thinking grandfather gets
down and reaches down
to pull the child back onto
the platform. Train staff
eventually come to the
scene to check on boys Australian Transport Minister Andrew Constance told
welfare.
The boy appeared to be
unharmed from the
accident and although the
incident happened last
year, the footage has
recently emerged to
highlight the hazards of
children falling at train
stations.
Figures show that many children have fallen beneath
trains at Sydney stations last year, The Daily
Telegraph reported.
The incidents have prompted a warning to all parents
to pay attention to their kids while boarding or
stepping off trains.
Daily Telegraph: The rise in the number of injuries
from kids slipping through the gap on station
platforms is a concern.
I worry that unless we get the message across that
parents need to be more observant, it will only be a
matter of time before we see a serious accident.
Our message is dont rush, hold your childs hand
and please take care when you are at a busy station.
For further notices about train hazards, click here.
 Similarities/Differences in Headlines
Similarities

Both headlines state the topic location and country of the news story.

Includes who is the victim of the accident and who else was involved (The grandparents).

Comments that there is CCTV footage of the incident.

Differences

The original headline is worded to give the impression it is a huge impacting story event.

The original includes the consequence of the boy being killed in the headline.

The new headline is very basic and takes away the drama and shock from the story.

No mention of grandparents emotions and only focuses on actions in new headline.

Use of Sensationalistic Language
In the Suns article, the first thing the audience would read is the words Horror On
The Tracks, which is their first use of sensationalistic language. It is effective that the
syntax structure of the word horror is positioned first as it immediately catches the
audiences attention as it is a negative, dramatic word. The word horror is used
three times throughout the article to exaggerate or emphasise the incident, as well
as the grandparents emotions which also encourages the readers to sympathise
them. I minimised and took away other sensationalistic language such as plunges
when describing how the boy fell. Words like these also creates a certain extent of
suspense in the article, making the audience want to read on. My version of the
article, without any sensationalistic language, would not have many reads and would
not attract as many readers by a very basic headline.
Use of Images
The Sun uses a heavy amount of photos that are all from the CCTV footage and
has less text in comparison. The fact they are from the CCTV footage I think
creates a scary, slightly over exaggerated view of the story. To make it more real
and normal, I would further add images - with permission - of the boy who fell and
his family, instead of seeing blurry highlighted figures. I think showing a current,
up-to-date photo of the boy would immediately show the readers that the incident
did not have a deadly consequence and the boy is at full health with no injuries. It
is until later down the article that the readers find out the boy is okay and was
saved.
Core Content

I made my version of the article very basic and normal, without the hype and buildup of
danger and drama. I continued the 3rd person mode of address, but changed and altered
vocabulary and sentence structures to take away any present suspense from the original.

Whereas the original has more detailed content that takes the readers through the
process of what happened. It includes the emotions of the grandparents at each stage
and broke down the actions of what happened, taking the readers on the journey of the
incident. The Sun uses the story of accident to highlight and make it aware to the readers
of dangers at the train station. They also repeatedly used words such youngster and
young lad which can be argued to be informal, colloquial language but remind and
emphasise how dangerous and how young the person was.