The news coverage in varied types of media has its own peculiarities as any sort of media is directed to its specific audience and is organized in accordance to those means of information rendering which are offered in the case of any particular type of media. A critical reader and thinker can learn information about significant events in the world today from current news practices in a variety of ways. Generally, the news broadcasts and similar media services both printed and virtual present a variety of objective information easy for acceptance and meditation. However, it appears that under the influence of certain powerful personalities news are sometimes fabricated and reflect the point of view on certain events which is “ordered” and paid for by these personalities or organizations. Then, it appears to be rather awkward when one watches or reads newscasts which render certain facts in a quite different light.
Thus, while reading, it is wise to ask yourself whether the given information is objective, just and not prejudiced. Additionally, it is important to think about those who might have fabricated it in order to attain some of his or her goals. To make sure that one is asking really worthy questions and finds really objective answers it is useful to compare a variety of sources belonging to different owners representing different social layers and even countries. The real vision of any event is the vision of it from a row of angles and with regards to the most diversified sources. It appears very interesting that newspapers are more reliable sources usually than the news broadcasts shown on TV. In the following paper, the two types of popular ways of news rendering will be examined including the newscasts on TV and written newspaper news.
The question about the reliability of newspapers and news podcasts is a rather burning topic nowadays. People continue to argue about the positive and negative points of each of these news media services. According to Morales (par. 34), “the 28% of Americans who express a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in newspapers and the 27% who say the same about television news still lag significantly behind the levels of trust seen through much of the 1990s and into 2003”. Comparing the two popular formats of news rendering which are the news broadcast and the newspapers, the first thing to be analyzed is their story order. In the newscasts, the story order is much different form newspapers’ one as they begin with international affairs, shift to home affairs and in their final parts they talk about culture and sport. This is different about newspapers as they are organized in accordance to the principle of being sensational and important for the audience to which any particular newspaper is directed. In this vein, newspapers may even begin with the news of sport or culture if they appear to be revolutionary important.
Next, with regards to the portions of information in the news rendering formats under consideration, newspapers feature more detailed story order as the news podcasts have their objective to simply highlight the main events giving a small or no portion to its analysis. According to Morales, “the print media gives detailed in-depth analysis and information on which we can ponder at our own pace” (par. 15).
Furthermore, evaluating drama and visuals which are the features of news podcasts on TV, it becomes evident that they are the most distinctively profitable characteristics of rendering news on TV. We all know: “words are but wind, but seeing is believing”, and “a picture paints a thousand words “. In connection to this Chanda (par.34) argues, “the immediate impact of TV news is certainly greater, because of the live images. But it is again these very images which make the impact short lived, as our senses are divided between listening and viewing”.
In addition, such important characteristic as biases is to be addressed. Newspapers value their reputation which they were striving to acquire during decades or even centuries; on this very reason they seem to be more reliable that TV news.
Finally, speaking about the news sources for the information given in the TV news and in the newspapers, it should be stated that they are rather reliable, and are usually collected by the most qualified journalists and the other specialists working for any particular TV newscast or newspaper.
In conclusion, comparing and contrasting TV news and newspapers, it becomes evident that both of these media services have their own valuable characteristics. TV news are valued by people for the opportunity to become eyewitnesses of the main developments both in the world and in the local community. In addition, the TV news offer a chance to learn about the main developments very operatively within a few hours or even within half an hour at times. It cannot be said about the newspaper accounts; however, they do have their own positive points. Namely, newspapers offer a lot of space for the deep discussion of every news; they also provide evaluations and well thought off commentaries along with a row of thought-provoking ideas.
Works Cited
Chanda, Anita. 2011. Newspaper vs. Television News. 2011. Web.
Morales, Lyman. 2011. Americans Regain Some Confidence in Newspapers, TV News.2011. Web.