Compare and Contrast

The three news websites that I used are CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News...

CNN
The most prominent stories are the ones that pertain to Americans. Many of the stories had to do with United States soldiers and what is the latest scoop on President Barack Obama. The main story is a about a slain soldier's mother in Iraq and she has mixed emotions about the suspect at large. This does not really seem to be that newsworthy or hard stories. I think CNN was trying to spin this story to the American people so they would feel sympathy and question the mothers motives. Not many international headlines are being put on the main page of the website but there is a section for international news. Much of the other stories on the main page are similar to the fluff of the main story.

I think that CNN did adhere to the Murrow Standard by not taking a biased stand against either liberals or republicans for example. Many of the stories I looked at that dealt with President Obama neither bashed him or glorified him; it was just the story and what is going on with the latest economic meltdown. The website did a nice job of keeping it fair and balanced.

I think CNN's target audience would have to be everyday Americans. Many of the stories seem like they could appeal to either upper class and everyone else. Many stories had to do with the economy which affects us all. Also the story about the slain soldier gets into the hearts of all Americans because we would all feel sympathy for mother and her dead son.

MSNBC
The most prominent story for MSNBC was Pakistani minorities living in fear. Many religious factions have been attacked by the Taliban as they grow stronger in that part of the country. I can understand MSNBC's spin on the subject because the Taliban has been an enemy of the United States for quite some time now. Also there was many stories about President Obama and his plans for the nation as well as not releasing photos of the detainee being abused.

I do not think that MSNBC adhered to the Murrow Standard. They seem to give President Obama too many stories about useless news that no one cares about unless they are liberal. There is a video clip of ex-Vice President Dick Cheney getting bashed and saying that the republican party is "raising eyebrows" to him and he cannot be trusted in a sense. Many of the stories about politics seem to be spun around to glorify liberals and President Obama. The other stories are well balanced and seem to pertain to the American people in most ways.

The websites primary audience to me seems to be aimed towards liberals. As I stated earlier most of the news stories seem to be based around democratic politicians and bashing republicans. Many of the other stories are based around America, or at least pertain to Americans if it is international news.

Fox News
The stories that get the most prominent placement are political issues and stories that are exciting and cause controversy. Just like CNN, the main story is about President Obama not releasing the photos of the abused detainee. Fox has many more stories that deal with politics that pertain to what is going on in congress and questions many of the new policies of the president. I don't really find many of the other stories newsworthy because they deal with couples in Washington D.C. and seems to be a very east coast type of paper.

I also think that Fox News does not adhere to the Murrow Standard. The stories are not very fair or balanced because they question the president and many issues and things that relate to his personal life and his choices. I think the other stories are well balanced and cover some good issues but mostly seem like editorials and an opinion section.

The websites primary audience appears to be for conservative Americans and people of the east coast. Not a lot of west coast stories or representation is apparent and most of the stories deal with the faults of President Obama, which leads me to believe this is a very conservative paper so it adheres to its readers.

Which would I read?
If I had to read one of these news websites I would pick CNN. CNN is a very well known news source and can be trusted. It is read by so many people that they have to keep their stories well balanced and not biased to one side or the other.