How one news story is covered differently

The same news stories can be covered differently by different journalists and news outlets depending on their values, and guidelines. While news organisations compete to cover a different and unique aspect of the story, sometimes this is not always the case, rather agendas and biases motivate such angle. Of course this may not always be ethical or professional, however the debate continues over what actually determines ethics and values.

The frequency of updates and the location of the story on the homepage has a huge impact on how many readers access the story and the importance of that news compared to other news. In a sense, media organisations have the power to shift the attention of certain news and place emphasis on others. The questionover the ethics of this practice is in debate, however, the transmission and presentation of information and news online has the ability to add or deduct value from it.

Comparing the way an article is presented differently and the different connotation attached as a result of this, gives us and insight into the significance of online platforms. The ban on climbing Uluru is an example of the difference on reporting an one news story between SBS and 7News.While SBS focused more on the perspective of Indigenous people and the reasons behind the ban, 7News mostly revolved around tourism and economic consequences of the ban.

7News headlines presenting the issue as more of an economic and an issue that mainly concerns tourists and the tourism industry. Days before the ban, 7News had a number of articles with details on opening hours, whether conditions and update on the remaining days along with the number of people who climbed that day.

On the other hand, SBS emphasised on the spiritual aspect of the issue and the value of the Uluru to indigenous people and the historical connotations of the place. SBS has also shared an article criticising the way some Australian news outlets have encouraged people to visit the site before the ban is implemented.

SBS has also covered concerns related to other historical locations of significance to Indigenous Australians, that included interviews with various Indigenous groups who have been advocating for a ban on the access to the sites in question. The article included detailed of these sites and the concerns about the current their current use.

Reporting on a sensitive issue such a this is a challenge, however in this example, the two news outlets seems to have conveyed their values and agendas in reporting this issue. In my opinion, SBS’s reporting was better as they prioritised the most important factor of the story in line with its cultural, historical and spiritual sensitivity, however others might criticise SBS for not equally presenting the opinion of the opposite side of the issue.

On social media, 7News shared a number of videos of tourists climbing before the ban, along with other short clips of interviews with people against and in favour of the ban. SBS seemed to have refrained from sharing videos of people climbing, instead used shot animated videos. In fact, SBS only used photos of people climbing or the Uluru in their articles instead of videos.