The New York Times vs. Gawker

When it comes to constructing an online image, there are many ways that companies choose to present themselves. The New York Times is a leading global newspaper and has taken its highbrow journalism online for all to see. Gawker on the other hand, was born on the Internet, and feeds its devotees lots of snark with a side of news. Both media outlets write news articles for the masses, but they differ on content, layout, and tone.

The New York Times is a journalistic staple all around the world. The front page of the online newspaper is displayed with mostly political headlines from around the world. The leads are dry and factual with limited photographs and overall color. On July 17, 2012, the lead stories in The New York Times detailed the Fiscal Crisis in the States, The Unity Government in Israel, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and a restaurant in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York. The articles clearly stated facts and had some opinion, but nothing that embedded a clear political agenda. The front page of The New York Times does not discuss gossip; rather they discuss hard news that are factually based on a global scale. The only major opinions on the website were in the opinion section.

Gawker on the other hand is a blog that is geared heavily towards gossip heavy news. The very definition of a gawker is “a spectator who stares stupidly without intelligent awareness” and Gawker.com does just that with their “news” stories. The front page of the blog has foul language, eye-catching headlines, and doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously. Contrary to the New York Times front page, Gawker’s front page is very colorful and contains several photographs. The copy under the snarky headlines is much longer than the copy that the New York Times gives their readers prior to clicking through to the full story. The July 17, 2012 lead story on Gawker was entitled, “If you don’t want your daughter to be a little asshole, don’t send her to Rushbiddies.” Not only is the headline very lengthy, but also the vulgar language, mocking tone, and personalization of the headline are all jaw dropping. This story, among many others, are exemplary of Gawker’s agenda: that is, to shock, poke fun of, and provoke conversation on controversial subjects, not all of which are regarding public figures.

Overall, it seems as though the New York Times focuses on delivering unbiased   facts to its readers from around the world while Gawker concentrates on more provocative gossip stories. Both websites choose to provoke thought, just in very different ways.