The Independent is one of the newest black banner newspapers in the UK. The most relevant idea connected to this newspaper is related to its autonomy in relation to biases. The newspaper claims that it is completely neutral and that it always tells exactly what happens, without any external influences. Nowadays, the newspaper is sold in tabloid format, and its main demographic group is composed by relatively intelligent and incredulous people.
The article on Fashion at the Oscars has a pretty distinct construction and passes different ideas in comparison to what usually appears in articles that are related to such topic (fluff). Throughout the article, there is a constant tentative to make it seem more thoughtful and relevant. The authors tried to associate the theme of fashion to finance and to market strategies, as a way to not disturb the tacit agreement between the newspaper and its readers. Nevertheless, even with this tentative, there is still a sense of futility tied to the article. In addition, following the objective of the newspaper, there are no opinions or signs of bias.
This article does not follow any of the standards of organization that were studied up to this point. It does not have the inverted triangle structure, and it is formed by a gigantic introduction, with the most important information at the end. The paragraphing is characterized by the contrast of ideas between subsequent paragraphs and the language is not too sophisticated. In terms of lengths, the first paragraph is composed by 30 words and all the others are around the 80 words mark, which is also unusual.
The article on the taxes on foreign income has pretty much the same level of sophistication as the one about fashion at the Oscars. There is still a certain avoidance to express opinions and political views, and the article is really neutral in this sense. The structure, contrasting with the previous article, follows exactly what is established by the standards. It has the inverted triangle structure, and it starts by saying who, what, when and where. The second paragraph gives further details of what is being done and it explains why the audience would care.
The lengths of the headline and paragraphs also follow the standards. The headline has 8 words, which is really common for black banner newspapers such as the independent. The other paragraphs are mainly composed of around 3 sentences and there are no attempts to contrast them, as it is done in the first case. The only factors that is a bit odd about this article is that it actually looks more like a tabloid than a broadsheet – its sentences’ structures are pretty simple and it get straight to the point, without plenty of explanation.
And finally, the article on the rise in taxes for the city workers follows the ‘broadsheet standard structure’ almost perfectly. It has the inverted triangle structure, and it starts by saying who, what where and when. Then it mentions why the audience cares and it starts to give more information depending on its importance (most relevant and appealing comes first). The sophistication of the language is similar to all the other articles, nevertheless, now there is a bit more emphasis in economics and politics. This article is clearly more directed to the main audience of the independent, which is formed by wealthier people that do not want to see biases in their news. The first paragraph of the article has 37 words and all the others have around 40.
