Kelsey
Flinchbaugh
For
the purpose of this Blog Post, I located and read three articles in three
different newspapers that included the same story. Although each paper discussed the same issue,
each one approached it in a different way. This form of research most likely
proved that a newspaper’s where the paper is printed, its target audience, and readily
available information, molds the story and influences what the reader takes
away from it.
The
first newspaper that I located was The Reading
Eagle. This paper targets the Central Pennsylvania area. It usual includes
a wide variety of local stories, such as malls being built, the effects of
recent weather conditions, and small town heroes. However, in today’s paper, The Reading Eagle also ran an article
discussing the very controversial and ongoing investigation of Flight MH370 on
page A4. As many recall, the world first
heard about the Malaysian plane allegedly disappearing off the face of the
Earth and have since been anxiously waiting more information with greater
detail. The Reading Eagle article that was written by The Associated Press, titled,
“Prime Minister: Plane went down in Indian Ocean,” discussed the recent
findings of the worldwide mystery. The article read in a factual way then added
quotes from grief stricken family members. In the beginning, its goal was to
inform the reader of the most recent information that officials have released.
The article included a quote from Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak,
stating, “It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you
that, according to this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian
Ocean.” The article also informed the reader that the search for plane debris
is ongoing but was recently put on hold due to weather conditions. A small photograph of crewmembers inside a British
military plane in search for debris is included. After the factual information,
I believe the article added a great deal of ethos. For example, it included reactions
from grief stricken family members that were gathered in a Beijing hotel, listening
to Najib Razak give the latest in his broadcast. There is a graphic scene
describing a mother grieving her son’s unexpected death by screaming and
crying, “My son! My son!” And a quote provided by the girlfriend of an American
passenger who wrote in an email, “I need closure to be certain…” and “I still
feel his presence…” A large color photograph of a man holding his face in agony
is in the article. The article also provided a text box on the left hand side
with quick, important details to answer any questions including the latest
news, the plane’s last position, if there were any survivors, who is suspected
of crashing the plane and how they may have done it, and what debris is floating
in the Indian Ocean.
The
second newspaper article that addressed the Malaysian flight tragedy was located
in USA Today, on page 6A. This
article, titled, “In Malaysia Jet Mystery, the Where is Closer than the Why,”
read drastically different compared to the above story. Instead of opening the
article by immediately providing hard-hitting facts, it opened with a sentence that
said the world is discussing possible scenarios that could have played a hand
in the missing airplane’s plummet into sea. The staff writer briefly included
one sentence summarizing Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement on
Monday, March 24. The lack of focus on the broadcast told the reader that the
possible scenarios are extremely important to consider since they are discussed
the rest of the article. The article went on to elaborate on the theories that
have arisen: hijacking, pilot suicide, and mechanical malfunction. A helpful
tactic the writer used was comparing the Malaysian Flight to previous flights
that lead to plain crashes into oceans regarding each theory. The article
concluded with two possible objectives: Locating the aircraft and piecing
together what happened is extremely important and that this worldwide hunt for
a missing jet should never happen again because “it’s possible to stream
real-time location information and other data.” Although it did not put a
strong emphasis on factual information, the article addressing the possible
scenarios was still relevant to the story and provoked interest in the reader.
The
final article that I read was located in The
New York Times, on the front page and A10. The article, titled, “Jet Fell
Into Ocean With All Lost, Premier Says,” was written by Thomas Fuller and Chris
Buckley, and included a plethora of detailed and descriptive information for
the reader. First of all, displaying the story on the front page of The New York Times convinces the reader
that the issue is extremely important. The article began by saying a British
satellite company used Doppler radar technology to determine that the flight
ended in the middle of the Indian Ocean, a method that has apparently never
been used to locate a sunken aircraft. Similar to the first two newspaper
articles, the broadcast made by the Prime Minister was discussed. However, this
article went into much greater detail by providing not only quotes from
grieving family members, but also a quote from a popular Chinese social critic,
a former Boeing instructor pilot, an oceanographer at the University of New
South Wales, and a commander who serves as an operation officer in the Seventh
Fleet. By including all five opinions, the article gave the reader a wider
perspective of the situation and gives the article credibility. The article
analyzed why the flight could have plummeted and what officials are doing now
to recover the plane. A picture of the Indian Ocean and a key is provided to
show the reader the plane’s possible flight paths, what areas have already been
searched, and what areas are going to be searched in the very near future. Also
included, is a detailed description of the grieving family member’s reactions
to the Prime Minister announcing that all lives are most likely lost. The
article reads, “A few people in the hotel ballroom in Beijing collapsed and
were put on stretchers and taken to the parking lot, which was full of police
cars and ambulances.” This description makes the reader sympathize with the
family members.
In
comparing these three newspaper articles from The Reading Eagle, USA Today, and The New York Times, it is evident
that where the paper is printed, its target audience, and its ability to get
information drastically alters the message of the story. The first article
provided factual information almost the whole way through and ended strong with
emotional quotes. The second article focused only partially on the facts, mainly
addressed possible reason why the crash occurred, and provided no quotes from
outside sources. It felt a little more conversational than the other articles. Whereas
the last story provided the most information, with the greatest amount of
detail, the most credible and primary sources, and an emotional tie to the
family members. In conclusion, The New
York Times, in my humble opinion, wrote the best article because it
provided any and all information that the reader may look for.
