It seems I have a general theme for this blog, that being a brief analysis of various media outlets. Sticking with that theme, this week I'd like to blog about the BBC's online news site. This is my favorite "news" source on the web. For some reason I find the stories to be refreshing. They are a way to get away from the same AP stories, arranged in different ways, that seem dominate American media.
The site is easy to navigate and features excellent multimedia, such as this video of a
Gaza father's reaction to finding out one of his daughters is still alive, or these pictures of the Cambodia Tribunal in progress. The site covers an impressively broad spectrum of news from around the world. For those interested in world events and news, I can think of no better source.
The BBC, like NPR or PBS, obtains funding from its government. In the BBC's case, a chunk of funding comes from tax revenue gained from the purchase of TV's and radios. The BBC is not identical to outlets like NPR, but it seems to benefit from the abscence of commercail influence just as NPR does. Personally, I prefer these types of commercially independent media platforms to traditional American press, but an opposing viewpoint can be found here.
Fellow J420 students: let me know what you think of this issue. Is profit-driven media able to remain accountable and fair? Are alternatives like NPR "independent" even though they receive govt. funding. This is an issue that I would expect you guys to be just as concerned about as I am.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment