This was an assignment for my Writing for Digital Media course, where we were supposed to pick a current news story and observe how it was portrayed across various media platforms.
On September 3, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, addressed the Russian missile strike that killed nearly 50 people and injured hundreds. This has been one of the deadliest Russian missile strikes since the war began. Two Russian ballistic missiles blasted a Ukrainian military training facility and a neighboring hospital, resulting in the aforementioned deaths and injuries sustained by Ukrainian citizens. The strike hit the central-eastern city of Poltava, leaving behind rubble and debris which contributed to the death count. Filip Pronin, Governor of Poltava, announced that 18 people may be still buried under the rubble.
This missile strike has been covered across different media platforms, including: print media, online news articles, live television broadcasts, and across a variety of social media platforms. There are both pros and cons on how the different media platforms portray this particular current event and others like it. Each platform has its advantages and disadvantages. Also, these varying platforms have to cater to different demographics. It is usual for older people to gravitate towards physical newspapers, while younger people reach for their phones to read or watch the latest news stories.
The Associated Press released their online news story on this pressing current event. The content produced on their website resembles a physical newspaper, with the similar font style, headline style, and eye-catching photography. Obviously, newspapers do not have the luxury of hyperlinks, which is a link that leads to a file or document with more information about the highlighted word or words. The Associated Press used hyperlinks in this particular article about the Russian missile strike to help the reader glean the most knowledge about this current event. The Associated Press uses the Inverted Pyramid style of news writing to first highlight the most important facts for their readers. The Associated Press also enables their journalists to log on and edit their work as new important information is discovered about certain events. This particular Russian missile strike story has been edited multiple times, as new information comes in from the local governor and other Ukrainian authorities about the death count and damages to the city of Poltava. This is something that print newspapers cannot do. Once something is printed it cannot be changed, this is a key difference in print and online media. By allowing editing on current news story articles, viewers are able to get the latest updated information on online news sites without having to scroll through social media or sit in front of a live television broadcast awaiting updates.
While the facts remain the same, the format and presentation of this story differs on how it is portrayed on varying social media platforms. On Instagram, this story is posted as a reel, which is a fast paced video clip. This then differs from traditional live television news reporting because the news companies, FOX, CBS, and CNN, post their reels after the live stream is over. This means the viewers that use social media as their news source, are not getting this information as it is happening, but rather after the livestream has occurred and then been edited. The Instagram reels are incredibly short, allowing for only small snippets of information and very little time for A and B roll shots. Only the highly important information is included in Instagram reels, which is very different from the live television broadcasts that FOX, CBS, and CNN held on this particular Russian missile strike. These broadcast channels incorporate live footage of the current damage of Poltava, interviews with Ukrainian survivors, and detailed reports by their own specialty reporters. Social media is where one can gather quick and fast-paced information on this current event, whereas broadcast channels are where one can get live footage with in-depth special reporting.
X is a common site that many use to receive their news. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the current president of Ukraine, and he has an X account that he uses to share inside information with his fellow Ukrainians and others around the world. X has enabled connection between world leaders and the common people. This is something that is very different from media platforms outside of social media. For example, the content of X is vastly different from that of online news sites like Associated Press. It is more straightforward and even slightly unorganized compared to the percisness of the Inverted Pyramid news writing style. Zelenskyy uses his X account to keep people around the world informed of his own personal viewpoint in the matter of the Russian missile strike. In his X post on this missile strike, he calls out the Russians using some choice language. It is very emotional compared to the other reporting done on this current event on the other media platforms. The structure of his post is informative, personal, and emotional. It is very much different from the cool, calm, and collected reporting of the news anchors, it is raw and passionate.
Print media has grown increasingly less as technology has advanced over the years. The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today are still printing physical newspapers. Their content, format, and presentation are similar to that of online newspaper sites like that of Associated Press. The format of a newspaper has not changed in many years. The title of the newspaper is at the top while the current events and headlines are written in a way that draws attention to the viewer. This news story was featured in the Wall Street Journal's world-wide section of their printed newspaper. It was tied in with the Russian and Ukraine war statement. The format of a physical newspaper is slightly overbearing for the eyes with all the information glaring up at one. The information is gathered around several photographs, which is very different from how the social media platforms portray their stories. Social media overbears with imagery, while newspapers overbear with words. Since a newspaper is only printed once a day, no new updates are allowed like that of online media. The Wall Street Journal’s physical newspaper on September 3, 2024 featured very little about Ukraine and Russia since the new missile strike just recently occurred. This means that more information about this strike will most likely be published in tomorrow's newspaper.
The content, format, and presentation of this story varies across each platform. Social media sites use an abundance of imagery from the destruction of Poltava’s military training facility and hospital, live broadcasting uses reporters and interviews from Ukrainian citizens, and online sites use the Inverted Pyramid style and constant live editing to tell the story of the Russian missile strike on Ukraine.
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