Introduction
Newspapers, especially the popular ones, are obliged to remain as objective in their sources, requiring strong evidence for supporting claims. It is possible to see how different types of reporting utilize evidence in the example of two articles on e-cigarette safety and regulations. In this paper, a news article “Vapors and emotions rise at hearing on e-cigarettes” and an opinion post “The case for tolerating e-cigarettes” will be analyzed for their usage of facts and evidence.
The E-Cigarettes Articles
First of all, these two articles discuss the same topic but are based on different sources and materials. The news article is focused on the meeting where the necessity to ban e-cigarettes was discussed and provides evidence from this hearing through participants’ opinions (Hartocollis, 2013). In fact, people’s statements regarding e-cigarettes’ effects are the principal source of information readers are presented within this news piece. The opinion article has a different approach to highlighting the issue. The authors delve deep into the history of smoking to determine the applicability of smoking-related restrictions on vaping (Fairchild & Colgrove, 2013). While the evidence at the time the papers were released does appear to be scarce, the opinion piece draws a clearer picture of the impact of e-cigarettes than the news article.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these two articles draw points from different sources, leading to a disparity in the evidence on which they are built. The facts are used far less than opinions in the news article due to the nature of the event it depicts, although both papers reveal that there is not yet enough evidence on the subject. In my career, I intend to avoid accepting baseless claims as evidence and will critically review all the available evidence on the topic prior to agreeing with people’s opinions on sensitive issues. I will uphold the idea that it is essential to seek ways to communicate truth under any circumstances and separate opinions from scientifically-supported facts.
References
Fairchild, A. L., & Colgrove, J. (2013). The case for tolerating e-cigarettes.The New York Times. Web.
Hartocollis, A. (2013). Vapors and emotions rise at hearing on e-cigarettes.The New York Times. Web.