Online News Station Comparisons

Upon listening to BBC, it is subtle but evident of a bias against the U.S. capabilities. They sounded a bit condescending when talking about U.S. actions, and in reference to Middle Eastern countries. I have noticed that of several foreign new stations. The Russian station wasn't so condescending toward the U.S. but toward England instead. They specifically noted several times the degree of ethnocentrism and racism represented by the English. I was impressed with the degree of criticism they utilized in investigation of wrongs in Russia. I did not expect such clear and unbiased investigations represented of their own. They appeared to do a good job keeping practives in Russia in check.
Both stations noted on the main news storied of the day, including the protests in England, but with very different perspectives. The BBC called the protests peaceful with just a few arrests. Russia reported that several were arrested and one was killed during the protests that got very out-of-hand. Interesting censorship? Definately different perspectives on the same story. Both, although mildly, injected subtle opinion through phrasal and word-choice, into the stories.
Al Jazeera offered a different quality of news. The variety was very interesting. Rather than providing a repeating hour show that highlighted the top few stories, the station devoted substantial blocks of time to some rather in-depth stories. This was the only station that covered the Mexican and drug money problem. They were very critical of every aspect of each story. They didn't appear to take liking to any particular party.
I think the internet could be a very effective medium for Al Jazeera if they could advertise it's existence more widely. If they cannot advertise better, I do not think it will be too successful of a venue.
I think that Al Jazeera should definitly be allowed to broadcast in the U.S. I understand the concerns of those who are against it, but believe that if they actually experienced it first-hand, their minds would open. I like a news source that reports evenly on all sides, and critically so as to get the most accurate report.
Al Jazeera provided more in-depth reporting on their stories than most other news sources do during a regular news program. Their reports were very like the type of reports one would expect to hear during a more investigative program like "60 Minutes." They really provided a lot of detail in their broadcasts.
I like how well Al Jazeera complies with my journalism ethics, which also happen to be embodied in their published code of ethics. The code is well summed in the first of the list, "Adhere to the journalistic values of honesty, courage, fairness, balance, independence, credibility and diversity, giving no priority to commercial or political considerations over professional ones." Based on my observations, this news organization fares better than all of the others in relation to these guidelines. I think that this source passes the Murrow test.

Genre Specific Blog

Most of the blogs that I looked at did not follow traditional journalistic standards. They mostly seemed more PR oriented. However, many did seem to serve a specific cause to a specific community.

The blog I decided on is an amputee specific topic. The ACA Parity Blog was created by the Amputee Coalition of America for to heighten awareness and engage participation and advocacy for prosthetic (artificial limb) insurance coverage.

The website did not give a fair and balanced account of the insurance company's side of the issue. However its purpose is not news, but awareness.

The blog has links to several sites ranging from their official website, sites to help funds the parity law they are trying to pass, sites that detail the parity law, and current laws regarding prosthetic coverage, various press releases, etc. The blog links these sites because they provide multi-faceted views facilitating their cause.

The site specifically targets the amputee community. It covers several aspects of amputee news and features from the aspect of prosthetic parity.

test blog

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