Exploring online newspaper headlines : a comparative study of British and American quality papers and tabloids
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- Through a comparative analysis of American and British quality papers and tabloids (The New York Times, The New York Post, The Guardian and The Sun), this dissertation aims to provide clarification as to the manipulation of information practiced by some media, especially the methods implemented by online newspapers to make their headlines more attractive in order to draw the attention of readers. This research reveals that online newspapers resort in varying degrees to techniques –linguistic, typographic, etc.– in order to make their headlines more attractive. The British tabloid The Sun seems to be particularly fond of ‘clickbait’ headlines, probably to maximize its profits in these difficult economic times for the newspaper industry. Nevertheless, it appears that this practice is not characteristic of all tabloids, and that we should not make generalizations because each newspaper has its own editorial style. Finally, the study shows that even when newspaper headlines seem to reflect the true reality of the facts, the distortion of information can occur at other levels. These findings lead us to (re)consider the importance of keeping a critical eye on the constant information flow that surrounds us.