Introduction
Analyzing the content of news material can be based on the comparison between the ways the information is brought by various media sources. A top news story about the investigation brought by NYPD against a police officer who pushed a cyclist during “Critical Mass”- a monthly ride that draws hundreds of riders was a top story in the New York Times newspaper and video news on the WNBC channel. This essay is an analysis of the aforementioned story based on content provided by the different sources, i.e. the newspaper and the TV station.
The Analysis
If establishing criteria to analyze the source from different perspectives, a particular outline should be mentioned “Television dramatizes America’s key events “
In bringing the story, the difference in headline representation should be pointed right away. Where the newspaper summarized the news as the stripping of the badge and the gun from the police officer resulted from the video of the incident surfacing on the internet, the news on the TV to establish conflict of the views and show a controversy started with the fact that the police officer assaulted the bicyclist, stating that “however, the bicyclist was the one who got arrested”.
It is apparent how the different approaches put the story in a different perspective, where the newspaper started with the consequences of the incident as an inverted pyramid down to the details, the TV station started with bringing the controversy as a way to dramatize the event.
The benefit of the usage of technology also is apparent where the newspaper release tried to describe the event and the TV news relied on the original video source that brought the conflict which indeed did not need a description.
The objectiveness of the news is equally reached as both sources tried to cite different sides of the story, however, as the usage of the video of the incident is a vital part here, it is hard to push the opinion of the reader toward neutrality in the TV news sector as the visual approach puts the role of the objectiveness in the hands of the viewer so he can decide whether the bicyclist headed toward the police officer or the other way around.
The reliance on the storytelling devices to create a conflict is used in both sources as well, where the TV news relied on “sound bites” such as the opinion of the “Critical Mass” protestant, excerpts of the criminal complaint by the police officer, Manhattan DA statement and a statement of NYPD official. The newspaper’s reliance was on the quotes such as the police officer’s reaction, commentary by another bicyclist, and the statements of two lawyers. The usage of storytelling devices seems to be more objective in the TV news part as it used official statements along with the excerpt of the complaint where the newspaper quotes of officials were limited to the opinions of the attorneys who both represent the bicyclists side.
The content analysis of the media content any gender or race prejudice, however, possibly due to the delicate relation of the public toward incidents of police’s excess of authority, the tone of both the article and the news block was obviously leaning toward the option that the police officer is guilty in assaulting the bicyclist.
Conclusion
After analyzing the content of the two sources it could be stated the visual media is taking advantage of the technology, especially in cases where the visual evidence supporting a particular opinion is used. However, the usage of text material relied only on described facts can be pointed as a tool to bring neutrality.
Works Cited
Barron, James (2008). Officer Investigated in Toppling of Cyclist. Web.
Dienst, J. (2008). Videotape Leads To NYPD InvestigationWNBC.
Campbell, R. &. C. M. a. B. F. Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass CommunicationBedford/Saint Martin’s.