Good/Bad Media
I have always thought the difference between how news outlets report their stories are interesting. Especially, seeing what they decide to bring to light or their approach to how they want people to feel. CNN and Fox are two very different news outlets that report stories in different ways. I am in no way saying one is better than the other, but I am saying one has a better and more professional approach to how they report their stories.
I decided that for my first time reviewing and looking deeply at if a report is beneficial or not I would choose two different news outlets, but the same story. I chose to do this because I thought it would be the best way to see how harmful a one-sided, emotional approach is, and how much better a factual approach is. The story that I wanted to research was the Nike Ad with Colin Kaepernick as the spokesman.
I first want to talk about the news report that left me agitated and confused. The Fox News article titled, “Colin Kaepernick doesn’t have a clue about what ‘sacrificing everything’ really means,” is very one-sided and emotional, which I personally think is not necessary when reporting. Sure, be emotional, but not to the point of where you are attacking someone from a very personal standpoint. Even though this is an ‘opinion’ article, Britt McHenry uses facts to support her case of why this Nike Ad should not use Colin Kaepernick. I feel like some readers may confuse these facts with an actual news story and be swayed even more to either hate Colin Kaepernick or dislike Nike. Even though Fox really nailed home with the emotional point of view, I feel like this news story/opinion article would confuse others and feed their unnecessary feelings towards Colin Kaepernick.
CNN published the more beneficial article about this story, “The hypocrisy of the Nike outrage.” They not only approached the issue from different points of view, but they made sure they presented the facts and all of the details that went along with this story. They touched on the emotional side, the political side, and the business side of the story. The right questions were asked and answered throughout the article. I think if someone was to read it, they would be able to make an informed opinion by themselves, without being swayed by another emotional opinion piece.
In my opinion, you should be emotional in your writing, but leave facts out if you are writing an opinion piece because it seems like it would do more harm than good. Plus, an opinion is not factual, it’s your opinion.