In recent times, newspapers have become a crucial part of the modern life as they act as one of the most notable guardians of democracy. Fleming argues that, one of important parts of the newspaper is the front page. This is due to the fact that the front page of any newspaper is mainly used in setting the news agenda and includes the title of the paper, index, publication information as well as main stories, which will be able to capture a high level of attention such as sports rubrics among others (1). The main story is placed in a prominent position and contains a large and bold-faced headline. The essay will compare the front page of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal for February 10, 2013.
A daily newspaper The New York Times was founded as well as published in the City of New York, the U.S.A. The paper has one of the most visited website, receiving more than 30 million visitors on a monthly basis (Russell 1). The motto of the paper is "All the News That's Fit to Print”, which usually appears in the upper part of left-hand corner of the papers’ front page (Russell 1). It is organized in notable sections such as News, Business, Opinions, Science, Arts, Style, Home, Sports, and Features. On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal is a daily newspaper which is published in New York, the U.S., and main themes of which focus on economic and business news. In the print for February 10, 2013, the main story for The New York Times is “Huge Storm Swipes City and Buries Northeast”, while that of The Wall Street Journal is “Push to Expand U.S. ‘Kill List.” One of the similarities in the two dailies is the issue of bad weather in the Northeastern parts of the U.S. in cities such as Massachusetts and others (The New York Times). This is due to the fact that poor weather conditions significantly affect all spheres of life, including businesses, thus being a point of focus to TheWall Street Journal.
On the right hand side of the Wall Street Journal, the issue of “China Stepping up buying in the U.S.” is focused on. One of the notable differences is that The New York Times fails to extensively offer detailed news briefs as compared to The Wall Street Journal.The only notable international story which is covered by The New York Times is about Mali War, while TheWall Street Journal covers this story among others such as street riots taking place in Tunisia, which is placed on the left hand side of the front page. The main reason why TheWall Street Journal covers more international news in the front page is that the paper informs its readers about areas that affects international businesses as well as possible investment ventures across the globe.
Briefs on business and finance news are also covered on the left hand side of TheWall Street Journal. For both prints,the three top stories are given a space of 60% and 65% of the space in the front page of The New York Times and Wall Street Journal respectively. Similarly in both papers, the main pictures are that of stormy weather in the Northeastern parts of the U.S. and they cover at least 20% of the front page. At the bottom of The New York Times, ads are allocated about 5-7% of the cover page. In both papers, a special slant is given to the most controversial stories covered. For instance, the story of“Gifford and Jewish Prayer Services” in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal respectively are at the bottom part of the front page and in italics.
In conclusion, it is evident that front page sets the news agenda and plays a significant role in informing the readers on what is contained in the paper. Both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times try to introduce new ways in which they can make their front pages be more appealing, thus attracting higher number of readers globally.
