The news item to be compared through different media concerns eight American soldiers killed in Afghanistan by the Taliban on the third of October.
Web: 1080 words. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/04/AR2009100400778_2.html?hpid=topnews
- Primary sources include a U.S. military spokesman, the deputy police chief of the province where the incident took place, a Taliban spokesman, the base’s company commander, and the provincial governor.
- Secondary sources include a lieutenant colonel and government statistics.
- Compared to television news, the web news went far more in-depth by providing much more background information. There was much more scene setting which describe why the troops were there, how long they were there, and why they had not been able to leave as scheduled. Also, more details of the battle were brought to light as well as attempts by the U.S. military to prevent such incidents. Coverage seemed to cater to an older or more educated audience as language was more intelligent.
Television News: Approximately 3.5 minutes long. CBS 11 o’clock news.
- Primary sources include interviews with two U.S. Army lieutenants.
- Secondary source includes a U.S. Department of Defense video of members of the Hakani network.
- Television coverage was brief compared to that of the internet. Sources are far fewer and possibly less substantial. Not much background information is given about why the soldiers were there in the first place. The Hakani network is mentioned, however, unlike in the online news story. Images are used for scene setting and language used by reporters seem to cater to a younger or possibly less educated audience.
Radio: Approximately 1.5 minutes. Fox news.
- Primary source includes an interview or clip of top U.S. Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal.
- Secondary sources include unquoted and unnamed “U.S. military officials”
- Coverage is much more like that of television in that it was much shorter and seemed to cater to either time constraints or shorter attention spans. Like television, background information was light compared to what was provided by internet news. Sources were surprisingly infrequent and unsubstantial, even when compared with television. Sound is used to differentiate when there is a change between stories.
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