Events and Issues examples

Robbie Rogers- First professional footballer to come out as gay whilst continuing his playing career.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21479520


The BBC have portrayed this story in a positive way. As Robbie is the first ever professional in football to admit he is gay during his playing years, the BBC have covered it in a way that is inspiring  to others. The headline of the article states how he is a 'Ex-Leeds United and USA winger' stating  to the reader the achievements and the high-profile the footballer has. The article has been written in a formal mode of address, as it is informing the reader of a serious topic. The main image of the article shows Robbie playing football, however the angle of the image has been taken at eye level, suggesting that the footballer is 'down to Earth'. The camera shot is a mid shot, and this is so the viewer can see the facial expression and the body language of the footballer. The purpose of this is to provide a positive perspective of the footballer suggesting the revealing of the news should not distract the reader. As football fans will consume the text, and have previously been known to have been harsh towards players, the article has introduced firstly the profile of the footballer, the achievements he has achieved and the news he has revealed, showing that this news has not affected his footballing ability. Galtung and Ruge found that newspapers have common attribute amongst them. One of these attributes that is featured in this article is amplification. The article is amplifying the uniqueness of the event and has represented it in a positive way for his courage of revealing shocking news into the harsh world of football.