Media Comparison

Print story: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/23/asia/hong-kong-taiwan-murder-intl-hnk/index.html

Broadcast story: https://www.cnn.com/specials/latest-news-videos

Both leads address the who and what but the broadcast least gives more detail, saying that the “suspect vows to return to Hong Kong and turn himself in”, whereas the print lead only says he “walks free”.  The broadcast version is focused on the suspect apologizing and his plans for after he is released but gives no specific background information on why he killed his girlfriend or what protests occurred because of the murder. The print story, however, immediately addresses the protests and connects the two events (the murder and the protests), giving readers background information on why this man walking free is important. The broadcast story only uses one quote from Chan, the murder suspect, though the print story includes quotes from Chan as well as from the Hong Kong government. The attribution is clearly stated in print, telling us who said it but the broadcast story recorded an interview with Chan and just used a clip from there. Obviously, the broadcast story has a bit of an advantage with the video and images they incorporate, choosing to show videos of Chan being interviewed as well as videos from the broadcast, played when the reporter spoke of the protests for a second. The sound they chose to use was background nose of reporters asking questions, people screaming while protesting, and Chan speaking in his native language in an interview. The print story, however, has the broadcast story attached at the beginning as well as a video at the bottom (which would not allow me to access it) of the protests in Hong Kong. No sound or pictures were used in the print version. I think the thing I found most interesting regarding the differences of the two stories was how little the broadcast story offered about the whole event. It merely presented just the current event, disregarding the possible need of background information the reader may need to know to be more informed about the issue.

Comments

  1. fuglsang says

    I wasn’t able to find the video story. The page had been updated. (I’m not sure I had the correct print story either.) But a good discussion. Your final comment is spot on. Broadcast is intended to be more immediate. Stories focus on the newest developments and “what’s happening now.” Those links at the bottom to older stories provide context if the viewer wants them.