Tones in Light of Cancer

After our discussion in class about campaign coverage by “free media”, I was intrigued to see how a number of mainstream media players in the Boston area approached the issue of Elizabeth Edward’s announcement of terminal cancer. Through online searches, I found articles addressing the Edwards’ statement by Channel 5 News, Channel 7 News, and WBZ 4 News, all based in Boston. Each news network wrote separate articles, in which a difference in tone can be felt through their method of approach and portrayal in their writing styles.

The Channel 5 News article was entitled “Elizabeth Edwards in Cambridge”, addressing her trip to Boston to visit their daughter who is presently in Harvard Law School. While the visit to Cambridge was the headline, the majority of the article discussed her remission of breast cancer, its terminal diagnosis, and how it would affect John Edward’s opportunity as a presidential hopeful. Yet, the overall tone of the article was positive, bringing up that other candidates have struggled with cancer as an issue in a campaign atmosphere before and not been sidelined, as well as a supportive feeling directed towards Mrs. Edwards’ position.

On the other hand, the Channel 7 News article had a much more foreboding tone for the Edwards campaign. In the article entitled “Campaign pressed forward in the face of cancer, its impact a question”, the writer includes statements such as “Mrs. Edwards' illness injects a new element of uncertainty into the campaign, and political calculations could quickly change should her condition worsen significantly” in addition to “…questioned whether a presidential campaign is the right place for a man with two small children and a wife with cancer.” This shows a tone expression of tension, a feeling that can easily captivate an audience. There was also a degree of hope added when the author suggested that her illness could actually promote positive effects on Edwards’ campaign mission.

In the final article from Channel 4 News entitled “Edwards Faces Political, Personal Battles”, the author decided to take the issue and turn it more into an opportunity to address the trials that accompany fighting the illness, instead of a major discussion on how the sickness would reflect on her husband’s campaign. The issue of the illness’ affect on the campaign was unobtrusively addressed in the articles, with the focus on Mrs. Edwards’ wellbeing taking the lead, creating a feeling of caring and concern, which in the end I believe did a much more effective job of winning over an audiences’ feelings for Mrs. Edwards than any of the other articles managed to accomplish.

The different feelings created in these separate articles elicit various responses from readers. Such stark differences in tones from each of the news networks shows that they are very aware of the manipulative effects of how an issue is described and written has on their audience. In turn they use his knowledge to grab readers in a way the agencies wish their readers to feel. This shows that tone is an incredibly powerful tool used by news networks to create and maintain their overall agenda, whether it is a global view or the agenda of one particular issue.

Sources:

Channel 5 Article
Channel 7 Article
Channel 4 Article