Media Literacy

Name

Instructor

Course

Date

Media Literacy

A). Top 3 news listings for this story:

News Story Title	Source of the Story (what agency wrote it)	Is this a credible source? Yes/No and Why
1. Father asks California school district to ban children who haven’t been immunized	CNN	It is a credible source. The authors have included their names and contact information. The news site is well known. the information is presented in a credible way because it includes the sources
2.  Measles outbreak: Marin dad wants school to ban unvaccinated kids	SF Gate	The website is credible. The webpage contains the name of the author and the date that the information was published.
3.  As Disneyland measles outbreak spreads, O.C. bars students lacking proof of shots	Los Angeles Times	The source is credible. The news agency is recognized around the country for the relaying of reliable information. The writer has included information concerning her sources in the content of her article

B). News Story Analysis

	Story 1	Story 2
Short description of the story:	The story is about a father who is sensitizing the community on the importance of vaccination	The story is about a father who is sensitizing the community on the importance of vaccination
Story Title:	Measles outbreak: Marin dad wants school to ban unvaccinated kids	Father asks California school district to ban children who haven’t been immunized
News Source:	SF Gate	CNN
URL Link or citation of Story	http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Measles-outbreak-Marin-dad-wants-school-to-ban-6046865.php	http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/29/health/california-boy-vaccine-school/
Headline comparison:
Who is the reporter (male/female, race, age?)	The reporter is a young white male	The reporter is a young white female
Intended audience of the story:	The information is intended for anyone who has been following the developing story. The author assumes that the reader already knows about the situation	The news information is included in the international section. It is intended for anyone who has been following the measles outbreak since it first appeared
Views not represented:	The author has not included the opinion of those who do not vaccinate their children.	The author has not included views from parents who have not vaccinated their children or from doctors who tell parents not to vaccinate their children
Accurate information – credible statistics, anything omitted?	The author included different views from diverse sources of information. Most of the content was sourced from a secondary source, as the author records details from another news source.	The author has included information sourced from other sources such as the CDC, Disney, and the Reed Union School District superintendent in addition to personal accounts of specific individuals
Word usage – examples of politically charged words:	The author has not used any politically charged words	No evidence of politically charged words in the article
Images – biased photos or images that influence the reader?	The reporter has included several images in the article. They include images of children being vaccinated, vaccines, labs, and hospital charts.	The reporter has not included any images in her story

C) Your thoughts:

• How could each news story influence it’s reader positively/negatively?

The writers aim at raising awareness concerning the disease. They both tell the agony of one father who is afflicted by his current situation since his child does not have a strong immune system. The CNN article gives a lot of background information on the story. Both stories are not meant to influence readers positively or negatively. However, they do urge the reader to think about the possibility of vaccinating their children as a way of avoiding disease.

• Do you agree or disagree with the delivery of the message of the story? Why or why not?

I agree with the delivery of the story in the CNN article because of the author’s decision to provide information from primary sources. Although the writer in SF Gate has included images in the story, he has depended too much on the secondary sources

Works Cited

Fantz, Ashley. “Father Asks California School District To Ban Children Who Haven’t Been Immunized.” CNN. 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2015

Lin, Rong G., Rosanna, Xia and Nicole Shine K. “As Disneyland Measles Outbreak Spreads, O.C. Bars Students Lacking Proof of Shots.” Los Angeles Times. 20 Jan. 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2015

Williams, Kale. “Measles Outbreak: Marin Dad Wants School to Ban Unvaccinated Kids.” SF Gate. 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2015