For this assignment, I had to purchase a newspaper. I prefer to stay updated with the news by watching it on television and/or reading it on the internet. I purchased the Watertown Daily Times and chose to pick whatever strory was on the front page. The major story was "BP Happy with Oil Leak effort". There was one picture on page one and one picture and the majority of the story on page A-9. That to me is the first weakness of newspaper. The newspaper (understandably) trys to put as many eye catching stories on the front page but because of space limitations they have to send you to another page to finish the story. The other weakness of newspaper is by the time it is in my hands there have been changes or updates to the story which I wont be able to read until the next day when the new paper comes out. The article does keep my attention and is well written for the majority of the story. I dont have any other choices of related articles to read about though, like how far has the oil spread now?
I then went to cnn.com and instantly had more up to date information on how the new cap was doing. I also had the option to click on a tracker button to see arial views of how far the oil has travelled. I also could click on maps, photos, full coverage, or the interesting title "New cap in on the well, what now?" So I felt much more informed about the event. The weakness to internet is that there are almost too many choices to get information and from one web site to another, the information is not always the same. The third avenue for getting information on this event is of course television and I like to watch Katie Couric on CBS. I feel like Im getting up to date information when I watch this but I cant watch it when I want to. I have to wait until 6:30 each night to get the latest on the oil spill and the new cap success or failure. I love to watch it though because there are always intersting reports, and its no holds barred when watching the reporter having no fear in attacking BP representatives. I hate to have to watch commericials but if you are a lazy reader like me, the television is the way to go.
Good post, Shelley. You're observations about newspaper vs online publications are definitely part of why newspapers and magazines are struggling to stay afloat.
ReplyDeleteI saw that headline "BP Happy with Oil Leak effort" and thought "I'm beyond caring how BP feels about this issue- Tell me when the oil isn't flowing, and then someone trustworthy should verify"