Compare the Sources: A Game

I am not sure if this has been done before here, possibly, but not in the extent I want to do it in.

What I want to do is take a major news story (You need to find multiple sources of the same story) and compare how each source covers it.

Do they have similar takes? Do they show the story in a positive or negative light? Bias? Etc....

You could use any source you want, but please use multiple sources so we can compare.

Google News is a good source to find multiple sources of the same topic.

news.google.com...

Ill go first.


Comparing Sources Talking about Cindy Sheehan

LA Times

The scene at Camp Casey illustrated how Sheehan's once Quixote-like protest has ballooned into a national phenomenon — giving war opponents a champion that had been lacking since former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean stumbled in his efforts to win the White House on a largely antiwar platform.

BBC News

Her arguments against the war have sparked a heated controversy, and conservative militants from California are on their way to Crawford to launch a tour called "You don't speak for me, Cindy!".

Washington Post

"People have said, `Enough is enough _ enough Bush bashing,'" said Gregg Garvey of Keystone Heights, Fla., whose 23-year-old son Justin died in Iraq in 2003. "This (protest) does not represent all of America."

Conservative activists and military families also were en route to Crawford from California on a tour called "You don't speak for me, Cindy!" The caravan coordinated by Move America Forward plans to hold a pro-Bush rally in town Saturday.

Bush has said he recognizes Sheehan's right to protest and understands her anguish, although she does not represent the views of many families he has met with.

Houston Chronicle

Qualls, who has challenged Sheehan to a debate, grows teary and emotional when describing his shock on learning his son, a Marine, was killed in Fallujah.

"The people on this side are righteous," Qualls said of his supporters and those in town to show support for Bush and the troops. "I have to stand up for what's right."

Barry Crimmins, a writer for the liberal radio network Air America, has been covering the Sheehan vigil and said he believes her efforts are serving as a "flashpoint" for a growing, national anti-war effort.

"They've turned Bush's vacation home into Baghdad airport," Crimmins said.

CNN

Bush met once with Sheehan and other relatives of troops killed in Iraq during an appearance at Fort Lewis, Washington, last year. He has so far refused to meet with her a second time and said during his Idaho visit Tuesday that her stance on troop withdrawal from Iraq "would weaken the United States."

"She expressed her opinion; I disagree with it," Bush said. "I think immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake."

Now this may not have been the best example to use, as its a very hard to decide what should actually be posted in the articles.

I looked for the following things:

-Who do they "show more support" for, Cindy Sheehan, or her opposition
-How they show the protest.
-The title

The title can tell alot about the story.

-The Houston Chronicle says: Sheehan returns as opposing camp gains momentum
-LA Times say: Back in Crawford, Sheehan Vows Not to Quit
-CNN says: Sheehan returns to Crawford
-Washington Post says: 'Peace Mom' Returns to Texas War Protest
-BBC says: Protest mother back at Bush ranch

I also look at images, if any used in the article.
-What do they show?
-Emotions

More to come as I get time. I rushed this one.

The problem is most international news items come from reuters or sometimes AP. Its very rare for independent stories to make the wire feeds. Therefore all stories are sensored to some degree. International journo submits story to reuters...they decide what goes out on the wires and most news centres then just use the reuters article to write their piece.

sometimes they change words around, sometimes they read the article like i do for atsnn and go looking for more stuff to add but sometimes they just print the reuters article word for word.

This is a great idea. I actually did something similar during the 2004 second presidential debate, switching between CNN and FoxNews and actually taking notes about different camera angles, what was in the shot besides who was talking, when they'd check the other candidate during the election for a reaction (after all, if the camera shoots to the other candidate right after a comment is made, even if they don't react, you get the impression they should have). It was a lot of fun...Wish I knew what I did with my notes (I had 5 pages of legal sized notes on it )

I do believe I'm going to try to tackle the Gaza Strip pull out, because I read the story in the New York Times, and it sounded like the Jews who were protesting their leaving were the most God-awful, militant, demonic, evil, uncompassionate, unreasonable group of people who have ever existed.

This is a great idea, thanks for the thread, Dulcimer

P.S. Mayet, because they often get the same story from the AP, this will be a great test. They will all have started with the same information, and we can see how each news organization chose words or which areas to focus on and which areas to distract from. It is the perfect format to detect bias.

www.slate.com...

Here a good one
news.yahoo.com.../huffpost/20050815/cm_huffpost/005665_200508150328
George Bush took a 2 hour bike ride on Saturday, and when he got back, he was asked how he could go for a two hour bike ride when he doesn't have time to meet with me, and he said: "I have to go on with my life." (Austin Statesman, August 14) WHAT!!!!!????? He has to get on with his life!

www.rasmussenreports.com...
Gee I go to a KKK meeting and ask "How many people here are in favor of a Black President" and hey, only 1% of America wants a black president.....Bias

To show bias right here on ATS, Deny Ignorance?
politics.abovetopsecret.com...
Her mother has a stroke so the conservatives attack Cindy......

Comparing Sources: Paris Apartment Fire

Guardian

Marin said 14 children were among the dead. A police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said many of the bodies were unidentifiable.
..
The children had been ``asphyxiated,'' he said. ``It's an abominable spectacle.''
..
People ``jumped out the windows. They didn't care about dying,'' said 71-year-old Oumar Cisse, originally from Mali.
..
He said the building was in a decrepit state, infested with rats and mice. Walls were cracked and lead was in the paint that covered them, he said.

BBC

Survivors from the fire described desperate scenes as people fled the building.

"I heard children cry, families scream," Oumar Cisse told journalists after he was evacuated from the building. "Some children were yelling for their mothers and fathers.

"Lots of people wanted to jump out of the windows."

He said the building was "very dirty", and infested with rats and mice.

"We were very badly housed, we had been waiting for new homes since 1991," he said.

CNN

At least six of the dead were children. Many of the victims were asphyxiated in their sleep, firefighters and residents said.
..
Those nearby said the scene was nightmarish -- the screams of children could be heard, and at least one person jumped from a window, witnesses said.
..
CNN's Jim Bittermann in Paris said that Sarkozy looked visibly distressed.
..
"I heard children cry, families scream. Some children were yelling for their mothers and fathers."

The point of comparing these sources was to see how they describe the scene, and to see how they "play up" the violence.

I have noticed time and time again that CNN really likes to play up the violence.

Another thing I look for is the injured count, and if they call a higher death count than others when the story breaks.