Why News?
Personally, I enjoy keeping up with the news and learning about new things that are happening around the world an in my backyard. On a typical day, I look through my twitter feed and look for interesting news articles. Sometimes I use the Facebook "trending" page, but only if it's not about what celebrity did what today with their kids. I also listen to NPR, specifically Krys Boyd's "Think" series, for I find the topics interesting and topics that we should be talking about.. My partner and I watch different local news stations every weekday at dinner time, because it is important to find out what is happening in your state and around your city. Lastly, I really enjoy my school's newspaper and magazine, because you get a sense of what everyone who's in your class might be thinking or what is on our minds. You might even find that something is going on that can keep you busy for the weekend.
What is, or should be news?
When I hear the word "news," What comes to mind is new. New stories that have come up, whether locally or globally, with accurate facts and interesting topics. Finding out that a celebrity is pregnant by their producer is not news to me, or at least real news. When I hear the word "news" I want to find out what is going on in the world. I want to know what people are doing, what new laws or new things are going to affect me. I want to learn something that I did not know an hour ago. I also do not want to be lied to.
Fox News Vs. Dallas Morning News
There are numerouse online news sites throughout the internet and they have different ways on how they produce their news online. With a bigger name like, CBS and CNN, people might think that they will have a better website for the news, rather than the more local online news stations. The fact is that they both have their pros and cons. The two that will be focused on for this blog will be Fox News and Dallas Morning News.
Fox:
With Fox News, I really enjoy the variety of stories that they have. As you scroll, there are sections for various news types, such as health, science, and my favorite, odd stories. This lets the viewers know that they are diverse in their topics and that they really try to catch the different interest of their audience. I know that when I go on their online publication, that I will find what I am looking for and maybe even find out about stuff that I had no knowledge on.
Another aspect that I find appealing and good marketing, is that Fox News has their other sister stations and their other news outlets on the very top of their website, such as Fox News Latino and Fox News Radio. They even have a link to their mobile app that you pick up on both Android and Apple products. once you click on each of these names, you are immediately directed to that stations website. I feel that news stations should promote the multiple other ways that their audience can listen to them and read about them. They also need to be smart about this and not bombard the audience with all this information, just having it neat and somewhere easily accessible is the way to go.
Now we go to the not-so-good part of Fox News. One thing that I found that was not necessarily bad, but could be improved is the "Regional News" section. I feel that fox news is accounting for a more broader range of viewers, which means that everyone from around the country are looking at this website. Not everyone lived in New York and I think it would be a good idea if they got a short news gathering from wherever city or region the viewer is looking from. That would also include the weather, because the page also has the weather for specifically New York.
Dallas:
The first thing that I would like to point out about the Dallas Morning News, is that it is a more local news station. The hand up with local stations, is that you can get more local viewers by relating to them and going to the events happening around town and getting more one on one time with people. Dallas Morning News does not disappoint with this, for one of the first aspects of their online website is that they have a section dedicated to finding different needs and wants around town, such as looking up a florist, or restaurants or even auto sales. Each link, once clicked on, takes you to a google map that has the names and locations of different places around and in Dallas. Once you find a place near you, you can click on the name and it will take you to a picture of the place and a summary of what they do and different services the business offers.
Now that we have gone through a couple of good aspects of this online newspaper, we will now look at the bad. One thing that I would recommend to the Dallas Morning News is to get a little more worldly news. Yes, I know that this is supposed to be a local publication, but a little worldly news wouldn't hurt. knowing what is happening in the world, even if it is just a small section, not the whole publication, would be good for viewers, especially those who realie on this online publication for their input.
Another aspect would be the emphasis on sports. There are a handful of sport related articles and topics on this online publication. Even though the Dallas Cowboys are a big part of this city, they shouldn't have to have various article on them. I believe that talking about other things going on in Dallas would be more effective and informational, rather than what is going on with the Cowboys, but that's just me.
Which one is better?
I would say that each online news source has both it's strengths and weakness. There were elements and aspects that I liked and disliked in both publications. In the question of which publication I would choose between both of them, I would base my decision off the quality and relatively of the articles and how easy it is to navigate through the online base site. If I had to choose, I would go with Dallas Morning News, for I can find exaclty what I want and find a more diverse viewpoint and credibility.
When reading the Dallas Morning News, I know that I can find what I want when I go to Dallas, as you can find in almost any local online news publication. I just find it more attractive for viewers, because they are up-to-date on what is happening in the city and where to go that night. The viewing is easy and everything is straight to the facts. You can't get that in a more broader online news source.
Another thing is that I like the unbiased notion that Dallas Morning News tries to portray. I feel that with bigger publications, such as Fox News, they have a bigger reputation for being biased when it comes to politics and the viewpoint of different situations going on. When reading a news article, we should want to see the facts, so that we can make a conventional choice on my own. With a more local news source, you can either get that unbiased opinion or you get straight biased. When reading through a couple of articles, we can get a sense of facts being put out, rather than the writer's opinions.
The last aspect would be credibility. Yes, it is harder for the Dallas Morning News to go out into Syria and find out what is going on, but when it comes to the city, they are on the scene getting what they need and writing what they see. Knowing this, we can feel more trusting of the publication. With Fox, there have been instances where you wonder if they just copied something else someone has said, just because they think that it is the topic of the day and they want to be up to speed with other news publications. They have been notoriously known for not credited their sites and tip-toeing around by saying lines such as "Some people say."
At the end of the day, news will forever be news. It is up to the news stations to find out how to attract their audience and try to accommodate everyone. When looking for news site publications, make sure to find if the article is credible and how bias it really is. Look for the reasons on why you might like it and find the news that is right for you.
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