As far as ‘words’ go for Today’s Zaman, the publication is really quite straightforward. It rarely tries to get funny or flirtatious or poetic and the few times it does it is within the arts or sports sections (places where ‘funny’ or ‘clever’ might seem appropriate). Oftentimes I feel that the English titles (while this is not a translated paper) truly don’t ‘translate’, certain heads appear to wordy or passive, and overall a lot of the words use seem very stinted. I do not think this means the paper is ill-written, I just feel that it’s audience is not one that would appreciate ‘clever.’
Heads in Today’s Zaman are often very straightforward and at times a little wordy. There is very little room for ‘clever’ and when it is used
it is in very particular sections. (this one was in the expat, personal write-ins, section)
Section heads are very simple and clear, sports, business, world, culture & arts, opinion, columns, and the “expat zone.”
Pull quotes are very descriptive and often summarize a good chunk of the story, so that they could easily serve as standalones.
Promos , similar to the other words discussed so far are very simple, clear and to the point.
Bylines name the person and then where their from which I feel is very interesting and gives much insight into Turkish life and politics if where the writer is from matters enough to announce in the paper.
Captions (this is a small example, I apologize) are very much summary or even at times directly pulled from the story. This photo caption was actually a direct copy of the first sentence of the story.
While, perhaps not amusing, the words used in Today’s Zaman paint a very clear picture, this is a paper to be taken seriously, a paper to be read to know the truth about matters.