The power of text.

Text [tekst] (noun)

1. the words of something printed or written.


Week 3's lecture is on text (if it isn't already obvious enough) and guest lecturer, Skye Doherty, made an appearance to share her expertise in this area.

Text is something we can create and mold to our liking. It is flexible and we can chop and change it to our heart's content. We can control and fine-tune it to the last degree. This is perhaps part of the reason of why it is so powerful. One simple sentence can draw an entire audience in. And if the rest is worded with as much care, it may even get the audience to read the entire story. 

One of the first points Skye brings up is the 'inverted pyramid'. I first heard of this last year in my reporting course and I have to say, it is pretty straight forward. If you want to bring readers in, you've got to have the most important elements of the story at the top - 5 W's and the H. You've got to captivate the reader when they first lay eyes on it so that they feel compelled to continue reading on. The same goes for online newspapers. Though online, readers also have access to related stories, videos, photo galleries and many more options that aren't as readily available with physical newspapers.

But the main thing that I'm taking away from this lecture is not just the power of text itself, but the way it gets powerful in the first place. Text, as well as photos and hypertext, must be placed in the correct position in a newspaper for it to be published. It has to contain certain appeal and it must also be the truth. Without these elements, reading a newspaper would be unappealing (though it already is to some), it could be unjust and untrue and if you're really unlucky, legal action could be on the horizon. But let's hope not! 

By sticking to what Skye outlined in this lecture, we should be all good! And now that I am far more educated on the world of text, let's see if my writing changes for the better.

Cheerio my little cherubs.