As a child, I suffered with many of the usual fears - I didn't like the dark, heights terrified me and I'm still not too fond of spiders. Clowns, however, were something that never bothered me, but after the news this week I think that's changing.
From The Week, a news site and app giving a brief summary of trending topics in the news, I was brought this article, adding another worrying story to the epidemic of copy-cat clowns roaming the streets of the UK. The Week isn't the only source of these stories - many British news corporations including the Metro, the Guardian, and the Telegraph have been reporting on strange sightings around the country. Many of these stories involve personal accounts from passers-by, reportedly having been chased or threatened by people dressed in clown suits and make-up, red nose and all.
However, this particular article focuses on more than just the general discomfort of the public. Now the nation-wide appeal for the so-called clown 'pranks', as they have been dubbed on social media, is being supported by Childline. The article, which is not credited to a particular reporter, uses emotive language to influence the audience as to the emotional harm that the 'pranks' are causing towards young people in the UK, such as including a quote from an eleven year old worried about his brother who had been chased by a clown. One statistic that tugged at my heart-strings is that the charity have received 120 calls in one week regarding the incidents, with a quarter of them coming from children of primary-school age.
This story caught my eye while scrolling through the news app, and I probably would have flicked straight past it to the next article had the featured photo not have almost caused me to spit out my tea in shock. Images within articles are also particularly effective in attracting an unspecific audience - a strange, exciting, or in this case disconcerting photograph within a text can make the difference between someone ignoring the article or being drawn into it to find out more about the picture. The other reason that I found this article interesting enough to write about is that the subject hits so close to home - a few days ago, my boyfriend's little brother was sent home with a letter from his school warning the parents of pupils who walked home by themselves to be aware after clown sightings in the Gravesend area. The fact that boys I know, boys who are studying for their GCSEs, are worrying about travelling home on the bus on their own is deeply concerning, and I, for one, think these immature and thoughtless people need to have some sense knocked into them.
I really enjoyed reading this article because i can clearly see that you went the extra mile to find out more and gathered information from more than one source to get the most accurate view of these stories, also like the fact you wrote passionately about your opinion adding anecdotes. However, maybe next time you can add one of the videos from other peoples personal encounters.
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