Over to you...

Do you prefer tabloid or broadsheet newspaper reporting?Adam Larragy, Transition Year student Palmerstown, Dublin

Whether I read a broadsheet or a tabloid depends on whether or not I am looking for information or entertainment. While it may amuse me to read about a pop star's criminal record, I begin to tire of the tabloids after a while. Soon the stories are no longer sensational as one becomes acclimatised to them. Tabloids must shock and provoke emotional responses on every page, yet the stories soon become indistinguishable from the others, with similar language and subjects.

Contrary to this, broadsheets draw a line between opinion and fact with many having separate opinion pages. Reading a broadsheet provides you with information and fact. While the amount of coverage of stories reflects the opinion of a broadsheet's editors, the stories are usually dealt with in a factual way.

However, the two cannot be seriously compared as they are not strictly competitors. Which paper you read depends on whether you want entertainment or information.

Do you prefer tabloid or broadsheet newspaper reporting?

Paul McNern, Transition Year student Carrick, Co Donegal

Tabloid newspapers tend to sensationalise, sometimes pursuing stories without consideration for the personal feelings of their subjects. They can also appear fearless against the most ferocious and are capable of showing great compassion.

Broadsheet reporting appears more factual, and can be trusted to keep a closer eye on real politics instead of political antics. Broadsheets also give a wider view and informed opinion.

Sitting in the editor's seat in either type of newspaper must be an arduous task. I cannot even dream of the turmoil I would be thrust into if I was the one person who had to decide whether to tell the country on the front page of my newspaper that a politician had accepted a bribe, that an actor had snorted cocaine or that, in the time it has taken to read this, 12 babies have died of hunger.