The personality that has been selected for assessment of the media coverage is Conor McGregor. McGregor is a former UFC champion who has been involved in multiple controversies over the years, which can be highlighted from the four articles that covered relevant events about the athlete. Thus, it is important to summarize the articles concerning Conor McGregor.
As for the tone of all news items, the articles contain a mix of formal and informal language. For example, the author states that “McGregor took to social media to mock Lobov” while highlighting that “he was an integral part in the development of the Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey brand” (Meshew, 2022, para 3). Similarly, another article contains a first-person speech with “I mean, ” which illustrates the informal tome (Holland, 2022, para 1). The author of another news content piece addresses the audience through the phrase “Let’s be real”, which creates a sense of familiarity and closeness with the reader through the friendly tone (Pearce, 2022, para 2). It can be highlighted that all authors were rather informal, which generated a subjectivity associated with the content.
All the selected articles were relatively short length-wise and heavily reliant on pictures for context. The storylines also share similarities, with the beginning of the articles mentioning the background of the stories they were covering before switching to the current topic. The storylines included McGregor’s insults towards another athlete, a lawsuit, the loss of previously high rankings, and physique change (Meshew, 2022; Holland, 2022; Ellis, 2022; Pearce, 2022). Therefore, the news did not require in-depth examination and analysis but had more of a clickbait effect on readers.
The titles of the four selected articles were designed to attract readers through negative messages. For example, “Conor McGregor continues to take shots at ‘f****** idiot’ Artem Lobov” includes the terminology used by the fighter to generate negative interest in the subject (Meshew, 2022, para 3). Similarly, his physique is labeled “ridiculous,” which correlates with the scandalous background of the article and the personality itself (Pearce, 2022). Thus, the titles impose a sense of controversy.
Therefore, the selected articles are similar in the manner of presentation of the uniormation. At the same time, the articles were written in an informal style, which demonstrates the attitude of the writers towards the athlete. In addition, the plot developments support a more negative message.
References
Ellis, J. (2022). UFC legend Conor McGregor drops out of lightweight top 15 ahead of 2023 comeback. talkSPORT. Web.
Holland, J. (2022). Conor McGregor facing yet another lawsuit following alleged ‘social media barrage’ of harassment, intimidation. MMAmania.com. Web.
Meshew, J. (2022). Conor McGregor continues to take shots at ‘f****** idiot’ Artem Lobov after Minor Court win. MMA Fighting. Web.
Pearce, S. (2022). Conor McGregor shows off ridiculous physique as UFC return rumours continue. GiveMeSport. Web.