These terms used to strictly be descriptive of the size of the newspaper - Tabloids are small, broadsheets are bigger. A tabloid used to be defined purely as a newspaper with a compact page size smaller than broadsheet, "roughly 17 by 11 inches (432 by 279 mm)" and commonly "half the size of a broadsheet", although there is no standard size for this newspaper format. Broadsheets (as the word implies) were bigger, "characterized by long vertical pages (typically 22 inches or 56 centimetres)".
Now though these terms refer really to different styles of newspapers, containing different types of journalism, both of which have their own distinct and different readerships. Fundamentally, Tabloids have a more working-class audience (social grade CDE) and Broadsheets have a more middle-class audience (social grade ABC). Put simply, Tabloid readers are less posh, Broadsheet readers are more posh. Tabloid readers will tend to have manual/unskilled jobs, live in a poorer area and have a lower disposable income, Broadsheet readers will have professional jobs, live in a richer area and have a higher disposable income. The target readership/audience are what editors, writers and publishers are always trying to appeal to. Running a broadsheet-style story in a tabloid would be as daft as running a story about TOWIE in a broadsheet - it would show a total lack of understanding of the readership i.e the people who buy the paper. The difference between Tabloids and Broadsheets is fundamentally a class one - the working class buy tabloids, the middle/upper classes buy broadsheets.
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| 'Toffs & Toughs' - a famous photo from 1937 taken by Jimmy Sime for the News Chronicle, a left-wing newspaper. They used it the next day under the headline"Every picture tells a story". This shot is often used to illustrate the British class system. On the right, two boys from the very very posh Harrow School. Middle/Upper Class aka ABCs. On the right 3 boys very much NOT from Harrow School, working class aka CDEs. |
TABLOIDS are papers like the Mail, Express, Sun, Mirror, Sport (if you consider the Sport a 'news'paper) and the Star. You can see straight away that they're smaller than broadsheet papers (although in the case of the Mail and Express there's some argument for saying that although they are Tabloid-sized, their content is more similar to broadsheets). Papers like the Sun/Mirror/Sport/Star are also referred to as 'Redtops' because of their red masthead.
Looking at the image above you can already get some hints as to the differences between Tabloids and Broadsheets. Tabloids will tend to focus on celebrity and human-interest stories, and feature them much more heavily than Broadsheets. The Guardian above gives Clarkson the main picture on their front page but the lead story is a much more serious one about fuel poverty - a serious story like that would rarely make it onto the front page of a tabloid as it'd be considered likely to put off the readership. Similarly the Clarkson story would never be considered as the lead-article on the front page of the Guardian as it's too irrelevant/frothy for the Guardian's more serious-minded readership.
Beyond what they cover, the WAY Tabloids and Broadsheets cover stories tends to be different. Tabloids have no problems making up quotes, going through people's private e-mails and phone-records (the recent phone-hacking scandal exposed this) to get the story they want. Broadsheets tend to behave themselves much more carefully. Tabloids will use slang and conversational direct language in their stories and headlines in order to achieve a 'high-impact' look on the page. Broadsheets will tend to be much more serious in their headlines and writing, using properly attributed quotes, statistical detail (facts and figures) more in order to present their stories.
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| The Sun from a few days ago. Typical Tabloid front page - big on visuals, low on writing, not particularly serious content. |
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| The Times front page from a few days back. Typical broadsheet front page - little imagery, lots of writing, serious content, not loads of ads/lures. |
When tabloids and broadsheets cover the same stories you can really tell the difference between the two. Papers like the Mirror and Sun may editorialize on the front page, in their headlines or imagery- calling politicians & celebs every name under the sun, deliberately choosing unflattering shots, and asking questions on their front pages that draw their readers in. Look at the way the Mirror has covered the Clarkson story - they've definitely chosen a shot that makes Clarkson look daft/stupid, and put a pun in the headline. Broadsheets will tend to be much calmer and more sober in their serious stories,report celebrity stuff less, and more even-handedly.
Tabloid newspapers will sometimes carry editorials on the front page, something broadsheets always keep inside the paper. The Sun for instance, on the day of the Brexit referendum proudly nailed its colours to the LEAVE mast right on the front page. All the broadsheets kept their thoughts inside the paper in the editorial/opinion section.
Also the sheer LOOK of tabloids and broadsheets are markedly different. Look at the colours and big fonts on the Sun front page above. Broadsheets, reflecting their more serious focus, will tend to keep their front page quite plain, smaller pictures, smaller typefaces for headlines etc and more words on the page, with longer articles that their readers will make an effort to read. Tabloids go for bigger headlines and pictures, with very few words on the front page - the front page on a tabloid is more of a hook to make people buy the paper and read what's within it. That's why on a Tabloid you'll get a lot of 'previews' of what's in the paper, and also free giveaways, offers and competitions advertised on the front page.
Once you get inside a tabloid or broadsheet newspaper you can see differences in all aspects of the layout, design and content. The stories in a tabloid will be lighter, less serious, more focussed on gossip. The ads a tabloid carries will be more for a working class audience e.g supermarkets like Asda, Lidl, Tescos. The stories in a broadsheet will be serious, political/social, focussed less on gossip. Ads in a broadsheet will be more middle-class products eg. supermarkets like Sainsburys, Marks & Spencers, Waitrose. Although the line between tabloids and broadsheets isn't so strict that you won't see SOME overlapping (M&S running an ad in the Mirror for instance) it is generally true that for tabloids the content (ads, stories, headlines, sections) will be tailored for a working class audience and for broadsheets everything will be tailored for a middle class audience.
Now that you understand the difference between tabloids and broadsheets I want you to tell me about the READERSHIP or AUDIENCE for your chosen newspaper. You're going to do this by looking at a FRONT COVER of your paper. You don't need an actual physical copy to do this, you can simply do a google-image search for a front cover.
Complete this Target Audience stage in the following way.
1. Open up a new post. Call it 'PRINT MEDIA PRODUCTION - THE READERSHIP'
2. Find a front cover from the newspaper your publisher brings out. Do a google image search for one, and try and make it a large image. As soon as you find a good 'un, get it into your post at the top.
3. Tell me straight away whether your paper is a tabloid or a broadsheet. Define, if you can, what this means. Tell me what this means about the readership of that paper and what it means about what the paper will contain (use my write-up above).
4. Back that information up by actually analysing the front page of your paper. Tell me about . . .
The Headline - is it long/short? Is the language meant to grab the reader or just present the story quite seriously? Is there a pun/play on words in the headline?
The Lead Story - what's it about? How much actual text is there about the story or is it mainly meant to draw people to read the story inside? Do you think this story would appeal to the readership of your paper? Why? How does the fact this is a lead story reflect the social class/interests of the readership?
The Picture(s)- is the page picture-heavy (dominated by an image) or text-led (dominated by writing) or balanced between the two? Why do you think they've chosen that image for that story?
The Sidebars/secondary stories - what else apart from the main story can you see on the page? Are there any ads? Any promotional competitions? Any 'trailers' for other things in the paper? How do these reflect the audience for your paper?
Also tell me - where is the MASTHEAD? Is there a slogan for the paper underneath/next to it (this tends to be a characteristic of tabloids).
5. Finally, & this is the most important part - build a target audience profile for the newspaper you're looking at. I mean something that tells you their average age, gender, social class etc. Use the Useful Links section below to also get audience profiles for the British newspapers.
USEFUL LINKS
Who reads the papers?
Who reads which newspaper in the UK
Some useful stuff from The Press Gazette (the newspaper for newspaper people) here
An American guide to British Newspaper readers
WHAT YOU SHOULD END UP WITH
A post about the Readership or Target Audience for your newspaper, that points out whether the paper is a tabloid or broadsheet and how the front page reflects its audience/readership.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR MARK.
Really get INSIDE the front page - quote from it to illustrate any points about language. Screenshot individual elements (sidebars/headlines/mastheads) to show you're really looking at how the page is put together to appeal to a tabloid/broadsheet readership. Also do check out the Press Gazette link - if you can get the data from the graphs and put it in your own words that is Distinction level research/comprehension skills.
WHAT YOU COULD BE DOING NEXT
Finding ads, and articles inside your paper that you could analyse in similar ways - moving on to the next post on the blog about analysing these (once I've put the post up).
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