One News Story - 2 Different Medias

The news story that I chose was "Ann Pettway arrested in Carlina White's kidnapping."

I first researched the ABC news cast on you tube for Ann Pettway getting arrested and then researched the ABC news on the internet for the same story.  The central ideas in both of the medias were very similar.  Ann Pettway did turn herself in on January 23, 2011, just days after the kidnapping story hit the headlines.  The two medias also told the audience that Ann Pettway did express remorse to investigators during interviews.  Also, it was stated that Pettway was ordered without bail and if convicted, she could face 20 years to life in prison.

Although the main ideas were the same, the two medias conveyed the story a little differently.  Having someone tell you the story and reading it on your own are very different.  When the news reporters told the story, you could sense their tone and see the expression on their faces.  This helps to almost know how they want you to react.  Reading the news story, I felt that they weren't giving me enough information.  I seeked tones of voices, pictures, and emotion, which I did not get while reading the story.  The internet article seemed demanding and very straight-forward, which is not something that I expect when learning about an emotional experience.

In the internet article, ABC states that "on January 4, 2011, White was reunited with her biological parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson."  This sentence gives me no sentimental feeling towards the subject.  While watching the news cast, I sensed the emotions that the news reporters felt towards the kidnapping, hence, it made me feel that way, also.  On the ABC news cast, pictures of Carlina White and her biological family were shown and interviewed.  Seeing and hearing her and her family made the news cast much more sentimental and personal than just reading about it; it gave the story much more meaning.  Mugshots of Ann Pettway were also shown on the news cast.  The camera angles of Ann Pettway were extremely close and unattractive; I think they did this to show the unattractiveness and disgust of her on the inside because of the things that she did.

Although many people think that a story is a story, they do no realize that the "meat" that goes into the story is what really makes it.  Of course, it is much easier to get the point across on television, where you can see reporters' reactions, interviews, pictures, etc., however, many news articles on the internet are extremely broad and almost boring.  This story, like many others, shows that even though the story is the same, the way that it is presented through different medias make a huge difference in the reactions of the audience.