I Now Present Mr. and Mrs…

Comparing the wedding announcements from a big city newspaper to those published in a community post offers a lot of insight into the difference in intended audiences. The Chicago Tribune publishes, on average, short paragraphs that offer the necessary information about the bride and groom. Generally, it touches on their name, age, job, schooling, date and location of the wedding, and where they plan to go for their honeymoon. A picture is included with each announcement as well. This matter-of-fact reporting style shows that The Chicago Tribune understand that their readers are not purchasing the paper in hopes of catching up on the local gossip or social happenings, but rather interested in serious news happening in their city. Also, given the large audience that the Chicago Tribune is catering to, it is understood that many of the readers will not know anyone mentioned in the wedding announcements and are therefore not concerned with the information given in these articles. For this reason, they keep the wedding announcements short and to the point.

This is not the case for the wedding announcements published in The Connecticut Post, however. Utilizing much space for their celebration section, this newspaper publishes multi-paragraph articles covering each wedding. Every detail about the function is included. In addition to the basic facts covered in the Tribune’s articles, the Post discusses the parents of the bride and groom, names the maid of honor, best man and ring bearer, and touches on how the bride and groom met each other. The Post understands their audience well. Many of the readers of this newspaper will know the families of the bride and groom and are very interested to know the details of their wedding. By including such facts, the Post is catering to the interests of their audience very well. Also, one can assume that the readers of the Connecticut Post have a genuine interest in the members of their community more than you would find in a large city such as Chicago. To them, news about weddings and celebrations may be equally relevant to serious news regarding events going on worldwide.

 

Connecticut Post example: http://www.ctpost.com/weddings/article/Perry-Procaccini-3881763.php

Chicago Tribune example: http://www.legacy.com/celebration/chicagotribune/celebrations-announcement.aspx?n=ricardo-garcia&aid=155565097

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