Specific Dimension of Language - Essay Example

Critical Analysis: An Essay on a Specific Dimension of Language The evolution and development of diverse dimensions of language has significantly influenced various facets of communication patterns through media. Changes in style, form, and strategies of writing and dissemination information are likewise affected by macro-environmental factors, including social, political, technological, economic, and legal factors that pervade societies through time. It is the aim of the current discourse to compare and contrast samples of newspaper articles from that which was written in the 1920s, as to one which was written in contemporary times (2012). The points of comparison would be on characteristics of style and approach of the paper. Based on the comparison, the current essay would hereby address the following concerns, to wit: (1) how are journalistic standards declining, improving, or otherwise changing? The newspaper to the used as a source of the articles and the format of journalistic presentation is The New York Times. Cover Page, The New York Times, Monday, October 28, 1929 From the cover page of The New York Times of the issue dated October 28, 1929 (shown on the next page), it could be viewed that the presentation and outlay of articles are straightforward news reporting with all contents in text and in black font. Only the sizes of the fonts are being differentiated to emphasize headings and sub-headings. One of the featured articles entitled “Stock Prices Slump $14,000,000,000 in Nation-Wide Stampede to Unload; Bankers to Support Market Today” (The New York Times 1) share the same focal point and importance as with the other featured articles in the cover page. Source: The New York Times, 1929 Source: Yardley & Harris, 2012 The message content of this particular article was very comprehensive containing 2,006 words and presented equitably in eight sub-headings. The reporting style was highly structured, formal, and professional. This was corroborated by the statements written by Broersma (n.d.), who averred that “in the United States, objectivity was firmly established as a leading norm in the 1920s. Journalism affiliated itself with the rising public demand for facts as a basis for rational choices and actions” (p. xvii). As such, one would observe that the target audience for the information contained in newspapers, such as The New York Times in the 1920s were businessmen and professionals who need to keep track of their stock investments or of the status of the economy and current issues pervading the political sphere. Cover Page, The New York Times, August 1, 2012 The cover page of The New York Times in contemporary period, particularly the front page for the issue dated August 1, 2012 reveals that the focus of the publication is the news feature entitled “2nd Day of Power Failures Cripples Wide Swath of India” written by Yardley & Harris (2012). It was likewise extensively written containing 1,278 words. As an article featured in the front page, it was accompanied by three (3) photos: the first one shows “passengers waited for electricity to be restored at a railway station in New Delhi on Tuesday” (Yardley and Harris); the second photo showed people in trains; and the third photo was a barber trying desparately to continue working by candlelight in Kolkata (Yardley and Harris). The style of writing manifested conformity to the use of rhetorical appeals and is significantly assisted by technological applications such as visual presentations (photos, charts, or graphs), greater options to use different fonts and sizes, colors, and even advertisements, as required. Broersma (n.d.) emphasized that in contemporary journalism, “while the content of an article is unique and incidental, its form is more universal and refers to broader cultural discourses, and accepted and widely-used news conventions and routines. The content of news items is bound to their national context, while forms and styles tend to travel internationally” (p. xi). Assessment of Journalistic Standards Based on the articles and newspaper presentation of other articles in their cover pages for the time periods under study, one could deduce the following generalizations: (1) the journalistic form and style adapts and adjusts to the needs and demands of the audience; (2) the form conforms to the technology of the time; (3) the writing style is very much the same, adhering to standards of professionalism, journalism ethics, and rules of news reporting and broadcasting; (4) the only significant changes was in presentation; where contemporary style includes photographs, colors, advertisements and other visual aids that aim to capture the interests of more audiences and thereby appeal to their emotions, interests, and specific perspectives. The journalistic form and style was observed to adapt and adjust to the needs and demands of the audience. As shown for the style and form of news reporting in the 1920s, audience was identified to be primarily and predominantly businessmen and professionals who have no need for frills, colors, visuals, and other enhancements with their daily news. In contast, the audiences in contemporary times are more varied, encompassing wide range of ages, professions, and interests, and therefore, the presentation should capture their diverse needs. The essence of professionalism and adherence to rules of journalism are retained and strictly adhered to. The developments in technology paved the way for news reporting to incorporate advertisements, more options for fonts, colors, and visual contents. This is also another means to elicit interest and appeal to the audience; as there are more sources and alternative choices of media where people could get information for current news. Likewise, contemporary journalism has greater access to more information through technological advances, making researchers and writers more adept at ensuring the validity, reliability and accuracy of their news. Conclusion Based on the comparison of characteristics of style and approach of The New York Times, using samples from 1929 and from 2012, one could finally conclude that the journalistic standards actually remain the same in terms of observance of professionalism and conformity to rules of journalistic news writing. This was specifically corroborated by Broersma (n.d.) who summed that “while the content of a newspaper changes every day, its form and style remain consistent – they facilitate the ritual functioning of newspapers” (p. xxix). Works Cited Broersma, M. "Form, Style and Journalistic Strategies." n.d. rug.nl. 1 August 2012 . The New York Times. "Stock Prices Slump $14,000,000,000 in Nation-Wide Stampede to Unload; Bankers to Support Market Today." 29 October 1929. partners.nytimes.com. 1 August 2012 . Yardley, J. and G. Harris. "2nd Day of Power Failures Cripples Wide Swath of India." 1 August 2012. The New York Times. 1 August 2012 . Read More