Craig Mathieson's article, 'Friendship with a president helps Quaid fit the Bill' overall works well with some minor flaws. Firstly, the title's play on words is subtle yet clever. Perhaps it might have been more effective to shorten the title to simply 'Quaid fits the Bill' similarly to the title used for this article.
Although the article's main point was expressed, I felt that it did not address the 5 W's and 1 H explicitly. For instance, if the 'what' referred to Dennis Quaid's suitability to play as Bill Clinton, then what do the 'where' and 'when' refer to? If they refer to the movie being released here, and now, respectively, then I found this to be rather ambiguous. However, if the 'what' is simply Quaid as Clinton, then the 'where' (in the movie) and 'when' (now) are answered.
The article is not too long and fits the average length of news articles, while the image used (see below) assists readers to visualise Quaid as Clinton.
By extension, the news link leading to the article was accompanied with a thumbnail of the same image to attract readers' attention (see below).
This article also considers a number of news values:
Timeliness: the information presented is 'new' because the movie was released on the same day the article was published. It is a new movie that not many people know about and additionally, the relationship/friendship between Clinton and Quaid is not something that is commonly known in Australia.
Impact: This article does not impact us directly and may in fact be more interesting to American and British audiences. Australians may not see it as relevant; however, this is based on true events, concerns two renowned people and is of human interest - which may have 'emotional' resonance due to Australia's relationship with the UK.
Proximity: the movie is out now (since 5 August 2010) in cinemas all around Australia.
Controversy: The article itself is not controversial but the fact that the movie centres on the lives of Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, as well as its reference to the Lewinsky scandal, creates interest.
Prominence: Highly prominent - a known actor playing as one of the most talked about and controversial political figures in history.
Currency: The timing of the movie's release makes it current, particularly with Chelsea Clinton's wedding recently talked about in the press.
Oddity: The idea of Quaid taking on the role of Clinton is rather unusual because I was unaware of the relationship that they had. Furthermore, they don't exactly look like each other - something Quaid has said himself.
Although the article's main point was expressed, I felt that it did not address the 5 W's and 1 H explicitly. For instance, if the 'what' referred to Dennis Quaid's suitability to play as Bill Clinton, then what do the 'where' and 'when' refer to? If they refer to the movie being released here, and now, respectively, then I found this to be rather ambiguous. However, if the 'what' is simply Quaid as Clinton, then the 'where' (in the movie) and 'when' (now) are answered.
The article is not too long and fits the average length of news articles, while the image used (see below) assists readers to visualise Quaid as Clinton.
 |
| Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald |
By extension, the news link leading to the article was accompanied with a thumbnail of the same image to attract readers' attention (see below).
 |
| Source: The Sydney Morning Herald |
This article also considers a number of news values:
Timeliness: the information presented is 'new' because the movie was released on the same day the article was published. It is a new movie that not many people know about and additionally, the relationship/friendship between Clinton and Quaid is not something that is commonly known in Australia.
Impact: This article does not impact us directly and may in fact be more interesting to American and British audiences. Australians may not see it as relevant; however, this is based on true events, concerns two renowned people and is of human interest - which may have 'emotional' resonance due to Australia's relationship with the UK.
Proximity: the movie is out now (since 5 August 2010) in cinemas all around Australia.
Controversy: The article itself is not controversial but the fact that the movie centres on the lives of Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, as well as its reference to the Lewinsky scandal, creates interest.
Prominence: Highly prominent - a known actor playing as one of the most talked about and controversial political figures in history.
Currency: The timing of the movie's release makes it current, particularly with Chelsea Clinton's wedding recently talked about in the press.
Oddity: The idea of Quaid taking on the role of Clinton is rather unusual because I was unaware of the relationship that they had. Furthermore, they don't exactly look like each other - something Quaid has said himself.
Uhhhh Liking the point form layout! great analysis!
ReplyDeleteThanks :), although I wasn't sure whether this was the right way to go about it.
ReplyDelete