What makes news “news”? Is it the source? The research? The author?
What’s the difference between news and an opinion? Can an opinion be news, or vise versa?
Following in last weeks footsteps, this week we are going to continue with the topic of veganism to get a better idea as to what makes news news-worthy, and what makes opinion articles… opinionated.

News :
This article posted by The Economist discusses the rising interest in Veganism, but what puts it in the category of news? Published in January of 2020, the article begins by focusing on the topic of “Veganuary” – Where people participate in a vegan diet for the month of January in order to start their year with their health as a priority. With timing playing a large part in what makes a news story newsworthy, The Economist chose the right time to publish this article to get the most attention.

In addition to timing, facts are at the forefront of this article. This article is based on statistics from Google, which shows a steady rise in interest in veganism over the past 5 years spanning across 8 countries. The article also references Ipsos MORI, which is a UK based market research company, to show the rising interest in meatless diets across the globe. All statistics mentioned have a clear source listed, and all sources seem to be non biased.

This story is significant and relevant to what people are interested in today. The rise of veganism is something that is talked about often, but not always backed up with statistics. What differentiates The Economist’s article from an opinion based article is that it is not presenting a vegan diet as “good” or “bad”, it is discussing the interest in veganism as statistics have shown it to be.

The reason this article here can be deemed as credible is because The Economist has no association with vegan organizations or companies. The article is not promoting or bashing the lifestyle, they are just simply stating facts and what has impacted this rise in interest.

Moving on,  we’re now going to look at an article posted by BBC discussing a vegan diet’s impact on intelligence. While the vegan diet is often promoted by followers as a way to clear up brain fog and become a sharper thinker, it is rare that these claims are backed up by anything more than personal experience.

This article uses everything from scientific and anthropologic perspectives to modern day statistics and studies. In particular, it references a study conducted by The National Center for Biotechnology Information in which 555 Kenyan schoolchildren were fed either a soup with meat, milk, or oil, or no soup at all, as a midday snack and then were tested on their nonverbal reasoning skills. The article acknowledges that the children fed meat out preformed  the other children, but also brings up the fact that this study would need to be preformed on adults too to get conclusive information.

In addition to the statistics and studies quoted throughout, a food scientist is part of the discussion throughout this article and they provide good information on the nutrients that cannot be gained through any plant based food. BBC builds a great sense of credibility by providing multiple professional standpoints and quoting studies and statistics from all over the world. This article addresses both the possible deficiency and how to substitute for them in a way that is not fear mongering.

But, what makes this article news? As stated previously, plant based diets have risen in popularity tremendously over the last 5 years. People are interested in hearing about veganism and even more so interested in learning about the science behind it either validating or invalidating it. In addition to interest, this article is impactful because of the sheer amount of information it holds.

A lot of what is discussed are parts of a plant based diet that gets very little coverage, so the impact of an article like such is greater than the impact of an article that talks about something such as the environmental benefits of a vegan diet. What makes articles such as this one news is that it is both interesting and thought provoking, sharing new and credible information.

Opinion:

In this article posted by The Spectator, the author’s feelings on why veganism is brave are discussed. Although a meat eater themselves, the author is sympathetic to the struggles a vegan or vegetarian may face from living in a meat eating society. The author openly disagrees with those who fault vegans for sitting in leather chairs or mistakenly using not cruelty free items. In addition, the author in this article brands vegans as brave for facing these rejections and criticisms.

This piece reads as the author’s thought process. The author addresses their feelings towards eating meat, their feelings towards those who don’t eat meat, and their feelings towards those who think negatively of those who don’t eat meat. No statistics or sources are listed, and much of the article reads as a glimpse into the thought process of another person making it not a credible source of information.

What makes this piece an opinion piece is that no new information is being presented, nor does this piece reflect the feelings of everyone working for The Spectator. The article stems from a personal story and develops the authors own train of thought. While it may be an interesting viewpoint on veganism from a person who may have a different background than your own, nothing about it is based in science or fact.

Another opinion based article on veganism is this article addressing the relationship between vegans and farmers posted by The Telegraph. Titled, “The real problem vegans have with farmers is that they don’t want them to exist”, it’s already rather clear that this article is not based on evidence or facts. The author goes on to discuss that he feels there needs to be respect and understanding amongst vegans and farmers, and that he feels farmers can never “do enough” to satisfy vegans.

What makes this clearly an opinion piece, is that there is no way to show that all vegans have an issue with farming or choose to follow a vegan diet for animal rights reasons. Social media is discussed as a reasoning for the tension between farmers and vegans, but the author never mentions having any backings for these claims. In addition, the author does not mention having any sort of degree or experience that would make them a credible source to be making comments on veganism and farming.

This article could not be called a credible source of information on the issues between vegans and farmers, because the author is making assumptions on the vegan community and not providing evidence to support these claims. In addition, much like the last article this is reflective of one person’s perspective not the perspective of The Telegraph as a company.

Conclusion :

Overall, telling an opinion article apart from a news article is not always simple. Looking for non biased pieces with statistical information and credible sources is a good way to decipher opinion from credible news. When discussing veganism in particular, the strong feelings people have on the topic from all angles often add an extra level of difficulty when trying to figure out what is real and what is not. In the end, getting our information from people and places we trust to show us both sides of the argument is almost always what is best.

This week, I searched the internet for articles relating to sustainable fashion. While a lot of the content relating to sustainable fashion tend to be opinion based articles, I was able to find a few news sources relating to the topic. 

The first news article came from Vogue Business. I would consider this a news article because it is presenting the reader with unbiased information. The article gives facts from numerous different sources, and links to them in their article so the reader knows exactly where the information is coming from. 

Though the article is taking a stance on how to mend sustainable fashion’s multi-billion dollar funding gap, per the name of the article, it develops this stance through the commentary of professionals in the sustainable fashion industry and not the writer’s own opinion. 

The article is timely and relevant to the happenings in the sustainable fashion industry today, which are two key elements of what makes a topic news. This funding gap is something that, if not addressed, could lead to challenges in the industry moving forward, and this is important for both those in the industry and those who support it, whether they are consumers of sustainable fashion or just have an interest in the topic. . 

Vogue Business, while sharing Vogue’s name, operates as a separate journalistic entity from the fashion magazine. Vogue Business works to offer a “ truly global perspective on the fashion industry, drawing on insights from Condé Nast’s network of journalists and business leaders in 31 markets to empower fashion professionals to make better business decisions,” as noted in their about page. 

I would consider this a very credible article. Vogue Business does a good job of not inserting themselves into their stories, and the fact that they link to all of their sources in the text is important for transparency. The reader knows that these thoughts aren’t just coming from the journalist’s head, but are backed up by facts. 

The second news article I wanted to discuss was this one from The Independent. I would consider this a news article because it is discussing information that was released recently, and that is a big deal in the world of sustainable fashion. 

Big box retailer H&M, who in the past have been known for being particularly unethical, is introducing new recycled textiles into their clothing come spring 2020. This is something people both need and want to know about, and it holds even more news value because of H&M’s relationship to sustainable fashion in the past as well as them just being one of the biggest fast fashion (opposite of sustainable) brands in the world.  

If H&M can start being “sustainable” it gives hope that maybe all the hype around sustainable fashion right now will have an impact in the long run, and that is what readers of these articles are going to care about. 

However, I wouldn’t consider this article particularly credible. In general, The Independent is known for being a liberal newspaper. I think that this can be seen in this article because even though H&M is trying to do something good, The Independent is still focusing on the negative and trying to make H&M seem like the bad guy. 

Most of the article has to do with H&M being accused of greenwashing by anti fast-fashion campaigner Venetia La Manna. She is the only one interviewed for this article and obviously has a clear stance against the company. 

The article could have given both sides of the story and interviewed someone with an opposing view to have a less biased tone throughout. 

The next two articles I’ll be discussing are going to be opinion based stories. 

This first article comes from Vogue. While the article does present some good information and facts, I would consider it an analysis piece because of how the author inserted themselves into the story. 

There are also times throughout the story where she addresses the reader specifically as “you.” To me, this makes the reader think about their own choices in comparison to the choices of the writer and again, is a key element in drawing readers into an analysis orientated piece.

The author is being relatable so that when you read their argument further down in the story about how circular fashion is the future, you are already agreeing with their stance. In the concluding paragraph of the article, after giving all of their information, the author tells the reader what to think. 

She says, “What won’t make sense in the next decade? Spending $300 on a designer T-shirt or indulging in a cheap fast-fashion thrill,” and you agree with her, because she conditioned you the rest of the story to do so. 

Because of this I would not consider the article credible. The author clearly has an agenda, and despite presenting facts and interviews from big upcoming names in the sustainable fashion industry, the reader isn’t really prompted to form their own opinions. 

This last article comes from Forbes and is about fashion sustainability in 2020. This is a pretty cut and dry opinion piece written by Simonetta Lein, a social media entrepreneur and fashion influencer.  

The article is all about what she believes will be trendy in regards to sustainable fashion, and where she sees the industry going.  

There is not a ton of presentation of facts in the article. She does link to outside sources, but uses them to support her stance and argument. She uses phrases like “I believe” to assert her opinion and discusses how she “hopes” that “the new decade will see the fashion industry tackle the issues of minimizing waste and making the most of resources with a new and determined resolve.”

This type of language is very loaded and is not presenting any facts. It is only discussing her personal thoughts and feelings. 

I would not consider this a credible article at all. In fact, it’s probably the least credible of all the articles discussed today. 

 Lein is not even a part of the sustainable fashion industry, she’s an influencer and marketer, and this makes me skeptical about whether she is qualified to be giving her opinion about the topic. If she were to have worked in the industry, I think I would be more obliged to take what she has to say to heart, but nowhere in the article does it discuss her qualifications for this.

I think that forbes should have also been more upfront about this being an opinion piece. Sustainable fashion is such a trendy topic right now, and it’s important that facts are being reported. 

If you scroll your mouse over where it labels the article as a “council post” it says that all opinions expressed are those of the author (pictured above), but this is easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it. I think many readers could easily take this piece as fact without knowing who the author is, or seeing that Forbes has in fact labeled it as opinion.  

Minority finance: What Andrew Yang, marijuana, and cashless restaurants have in common

I’ve been observing how financial literacy for minorities is presented in the media.

If you’re interested in why I chose to follow this topic, check out last week’s post, How is financial literacy for minorities presented in the media?

What’s the goal this week? Find four parcels of media relating to minority financial literacy and determine if they are news, opinion, or analysis.

The pickings were slim for current and relevant news, but here’s what I found…

In Colorado, regulators are pushing for social equity in the medical marijuana industry. The Denver Post published, What is social equity in Colorado’s cannabis industry? Regulators look to level the playing field for marginalized communities.

If you’re not sure how social equity is related to the cannabis industry I’d suggest that you read the above article first and then check out this one written by yours truly back in 2015.

TLDR?

“In many ways the imagery doesn’t sit right. Here are white men poised to run big marijuana businesses, dreaming of cashing in big—big money, big businesses selling weed—after 40 years of impoverished black kids getting prison time for selling weed, and their families and futures destroyed. Now, white men are planning to get rich doing precisely the same thing?” – Michelle Alexander attorney and author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. (Source)

The verdict? ANALYSIS, CREDIBLE.

• • • The article explains what’s happening and why making it an analysis.
    • The author’s opinion is not present.
    • The Denver Post makes its ethics policy available to the public.
    • Article links to several reputable sources to support claims.
    • The author is named. She has a degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University and according to her bio covers the “Colorado cannabis industry, including marijuana and hemp policy and reform, market trends, and entertainment.”
    • Readers can contact the author via Twitter and email.

Next, I shifted to the Presidential candidate’s economic plans for minorities. I found Andrew Yang poised and shining in the following video: Andrew Yang talks stereotypes, economic policies at dinner with voters ABC News.

In the 20-minute video, Yang sits down for dinner with ABC’s Linsey Davis and three undecided voters to answer their questions. Of course, Yang discusses his Freedom Dividend and how he believes it will alleviate the physical and mental stresses of poverty, create jobs, and stimulate local economies.

The verdict? NEWS, CREDIBLE. 

• • • ABC shares what happened without analysis or interpretation, making it news. Viewers are free to watch the video and draw their own conclusions from the discussion.
    • Linsey Davis is a correspondent for ABC news with an extensive body of work listed in her bio. Davis holds a degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and a Master of Arts degree in communications from New York University.
    • Readers can contact the author via Facebook, Twitter, and email.
    • Andrew Yang and the citizens in the footage are sharing their opinions, but ABC is sharing the video as news without their opinion, Davis remains neutral in the conversation.
    • Slightly concerning – I could not easily locate ABC’s ethics policy online.

I also discovered that Dave Chappelle endorses Andrew Yang for president: ‘I’m Yang Gang!’.

If you’d like to know why Dave Chappelle endorsed Yang and how it’s related to financial literacy for minorities read, ‘Health insurance is great, but groceries are necessary too’: Dave Chappelle champions Andrew Yang’s Universal Basic Income at Iowa appearance.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B77WDy8Hvxj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The verdict? NEWS, CREDIBLE.  

• • • Again, this article feature on Business Insider reports what happened without attempting to explain why it happened or what it means.
    • The author is the Senior Politics Reporter at Business Insider and holds degrees in History from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and an MSc in International Relations from the University of Glasgow according to his bio.
    • Readers can contact the author via Twitter.
    • The Business Insider makes its ethics policy available to readers.

Last, but not least: How Cashless Restaurants Reinforce Systemic Racism

The author shares a single experience with cashless restaurants as an introduction to legislation banning cashless businesses. The article explains how minority communities are under-banked with less access to debit and credit cards and therefore excluded from patronizing cashless businesses.

The verdict? OPINION, DO YOU RESEARCH.  

• • • GQ is not a go-to source for financial news.
    • The author’s bio is brief without contact information; links to a page of his other work for GQ, but does not provide information about the author’s qualifications.
    • The author shares personal experiences and uses ambiguous language. Describing urban neighborhoods as, “the hip ones where stores boast Uber pick-up stations and iPad cash-registers.”
    • Read an opinion on the other side of the same topic HERE, both make good points.

What access you’ve had to news and media about financial literacy in the past few weeks? Who are your go-to sources for financial literacy and news? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Let me preface this by saying that finding news articles on the relationship between musicians and body image was a pretty simple task – but finding opinion or analysis pieces was a little more of a struggle. You see, everyone wants to SEE these celebrities gaining weight, losing weight, coming to terms with their weight, etc. Yet having an opinion on it, the media must tread lightly. When it comes to opinion on body image, there’s only one “right” opinion – love yourself the way you are. As you will see, that’s the only light that members of the media want to personally shed on the topic unless they are willing to risk some scrutiny.

You may have heard of a singer named Lizzo. She is known for her songs “Truth Hurts” and “Good As Hell”. Besides her undeniable talent and vocal range, she has been in the spotlight lately because she is plus-size. Her music is often about having confidence in herself and owning her curves. This article in Life & Style magazine talks about how Lizzo has “come to terms with body dysmorphia and evolved”. Life & Style magazine can be lumped into the same category as any other celebrity gossip magazine. However, throughout the article, Copelton draws from interviews with Lizzo from sources like Rolling Stones and Elle, both of which are credible sources. While this dips it’s toes in news and opinion, I would say it leans closer to an news article. The point of this article was to report on Lizzo’s views of her body image, not to take a stance on the image.

The next article is news in the same aspect: interviews, body image, a musical celebrity. US Weekly interviews singer Jessie James Decker about her post-birth body. Jessie talks about her weight gain, then explains that on her South Beach Diet (of whom she partners with) she was able to get fit again, along with limiting her food intake in general. If you read the article or watch the video, the interviewer is not voicing her opinion, it is primarily Jessie speaking about her journey. US Weekly can be quick to the trigger on celebrity gossip, whether it’s true or not. Many articles can be found that are “alleged” information. The only reason I trust this article is because they are directly interviewing the artist.

The first opinion piece I’d like to present is one written by Grace Dent for The Guardian. And who shows up again? Lizzo! See, I told you she’s been a hot topic. Dent talks about growing up in the 80’s when there wasn’t such a movement towards body positivity. She describes herself as “not terrifically big right now”, or in other terms she uses “half a Lizzo”. I generally trust The Guardian for news. A further search into the author and it turns out she has her own weekend column, so she’s had a lot of background writing for this news source.

Finally, I wanted to find an article written by a male on the topic of body image. It’s a little more difficult for men to have an opinion on a woman’s body image because well… he’s not a woman. That is why I found particular interest in this article by Nick Messitte in Forbes. Messitte focuses on a singer named Meghan Trainor who has the same “body positive” message as Lizzo. Trainor came out with a song called “All About That Bass”, referring to her behind and praises herself for having curves. She even refers to another group of girls as “skinny bitches”. While I personally have jammed out to this song more times than I’d like to admit, Messitte points out that she is monetizing on the body image trend and claims there is a “force-fed nature” to it all. He addresses the fact that this might not be popular opinion, “I suspect this claim will draw arrows from the bows of body-positive activists, some of whom will quickly damn me without reading this article all the way through, so let me lay something on the line right here…”, then continues to describe himself as a balding insecure man. I do trust Forbes as a resource, however he is marked as a contributor, so I’m not sure he has as much reliability as Forbes itself.

https://giphy.com/gifs/yUISbxvAOLEsM

Depending on where you look, news on fantasy TV shows is actually very easy to find. It’s when you add the word “women” into the mix that it gets difficult. Sure, there are a ton of opinion pieces on it, but not a lot of actual news. After some digging however, I found some.

Doctor Who, a show notorious for it’s male lead character, introduced a woman as the lead a few years back. Doctor Who is once again making news with the introduction of a black woman as the lead.

The reason this is considered news, and not opinion, is it is reporting on an actual fact. This is something that is actually happening, there is no room for an opinion as to whether or not it is or is not happening.

I trust this source because it simply states the facts. It tells the audience what happened, and nothing more.

It took a lot of searching and digging to find this article. I finally settled on this one, and was happy with it. This article, titled “How Fantasy TV Shows Are Making Heroes Out of Women of Color,” talks all about how women of color are getting their chance to shine in the fantasy genre.

I classify this article as news over opinion for a few reasons. The first reason being, it really does only report on the facts. It talks about different TV shows that feature women of color as the lead character, or at least one of them.

The other reason, is that there is no opinion as to how the writer feels, or how other people feel, about women of color taking more lead roles. There is only reporting on the facts. The facts are, fantasy TV is becoming more diverse.

I do think this is a credible source. I trust Vice, and often read a lot of their pieces. With this article specifically, there is not a lot of fact checking that needs to be done to see that everything in the article is correct. It is a very credible site with very credible information.

Opinion articles for this topic were almost  too easy to find. A lot of them were “Top Female Fantasy Characters,” which is exactly what my first article for an opinion is. Titled, “The 25 Best Female Characters of the Past 25 Years” this article is exactly what it sounds like.

The reasoning this is an opinion article, is well because the entire list is the opinion of the writers and staff that created the article. This list features characters that they believe to be the best, not that factually are the best.

Syfy is credible to me, at least for anything TV related. Fantasy TV is kind of Syfy’s specialty, so it would be hard for them to lie about things. Especially with opinion articles, Syfy is the best.

It would have been really easy to find another list article for my next one, but I decided it would be more fun to do a little digging and find a different kind of opinion article. This one is about a specific episode of a show, and how the writer felt that it was a feminist journey.

Titled “The Magicians Reclaims Margo’s Journey as a Feminist Journey” this article is classified as an opinion/analysis piece. The reasoning for this is because the entire thing is the writer giving their opinion of the episode. The opinion of the writer is also shown when labeling the episode as feminist.

This article is, once again from Syfy, so you already know why I believe it is credible. Syfy is always credible when it comes to fantasy TV. Especially the author of this one, she has tons of articles written about this sort of thing.

Skateboarding has reached an all time high in popularity, and now it’s receiving more attention and coverage than it ever has before.  With all the new interest in skating, there are a lot more mainstream news outlets covering it, as well as sources outside the mainstream, but still not as much as traditional sports. I wanted to use this post in order to show some examples of how skateboarding has been covered by different types of media, from news articles to YouTube videos.

• Vans opens indoor skate park in East Williamsburg

The first story I want to share, is a news article by The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, a newspaper focused on serving the millions of citizens in the Brooklyn area, and describes how the company Vans built a new indoor skatepark in Brooklyn. This is pretty typical for a news article about skateboarding, but because there isn’t an abundance of crucial information about the topic, most people won’t consider it, “news,” or the story is just not written in a news format. I’d say most of the written articles you find about skateboarding are usually an exposition piece, or some type of interview. This style of writing never really updating the public about a topic of concern in the skating industry. This is slowly changing as skateboarding is entering the Olympics, and journalists and the public get more interested in the influence of skateboarding across the globe. I would absolutely consider this article a news piece since it seems to describe a, “Who, what, when, where, and why,” situation while providing the people of Brooklyn with information on the addition to their neighborhood, as well as alert the skaters of the area that there’s a new place to check out when the weather gets frigid. The story sticks to the facts of the situation and shows no bias towards an opinion, it just lays out a short history of the Vans company and Brooklyn while providing quotes and detailed information from some professional skaters that were invited to the park, as well as Vans’ senior marketing manager.  I found this source to be credible because not only has the original Brooklyn Eagle been around since 1841, but it also has four Pulitzer Prizes and merged with its competition in 1996, so the focus of the paper is strictly on bringing news to the people of Brooklyn.  I also researched the writer of the article, Scott Enman, and found his twitter, verifying that he is a real person and took a look at some of his other work. Unfortunately, Scott is not verified, meaning the account can be easily faked, but from the tweets I saw, he was only posting links to stories from the Brooklyn Eagle, promoting articles he had written. He is also labeled as a Senior Reporter, which also gives him some credibility since he’s been with the paper long enough and provided quality work in order to move his way up to senior reporter. The last way I verified that this story was true and accurate, was by watching a YouTube video from another source showing the same event, and just as I thought, everything Scott described was right!

• With Olympic Doors Open, a 14-Year-Old Skateboarder Enters a New World

This is another news article about skateboarding, published by The New York Times, that actually focuses on the idea that skateboarding in the Olympics have set no age limit on who can represent their country, and so little girls from all over the world have new aspirations of becoming Olympic competitors. The article focuses a little more on the U.S. skater, Kendra Long, but overall explains what the Women’s Skating events will involve, mentions multiple other women skaters who have been killing it in the industry, and shares a perspective on what it’s like to be a young athlete inspired to make it to the Olympics.  I found this article to be considered news because even though it focused on the work and efforts of Kendra, the overall story helped educate the reader on a current event that could change countries all over the world. It reported facts on what the Women’s Olympic skating events will involve, who some of the prospects are for the upcoming Olympics, and why this introduction of skateboarding in the Olympics is reshaping Women’s skateboarding as a whole. I also found this source to be credible since it was coming from The New York Times, and even though outlets can make mistakes, they are usually pretty accurate most of the time. The reporter of the story, Scott Cacciola, also has multiple work published in The NY Times, and is also verified on his twitter account which links many of the same works you find on the NY Times website.  Scott uses many in-text links which lead to further knowledge on the topic he was referencing, such as a link to Kendra’s Instagram page, which also make him more credible since you can verify in the moment. The last bit of credibility that I noticed, was that all of the names mentioned in the article linked to real skaters, who were all in the running to be on the Olympic team. Unfortunately Kendra didn’t make it, but the 14 year old has a lot of time to practice. 

• Skateline

This piece of media is from a YouTube channel called Thrasher magazine, which is obviously a YouTube channel created by the skateboarding magazine, Thrasher. This is a short show hosted every week by skateboarder Gary Rodgers, and basically breaks down what he considers to be some of the most important news and events that happened in skateboarding recently. I find this reporting to be more opinion based, since Gary is basically acting like an aggregate for news, and only choosing what he finds to be the most valuable information for the short amount of time he has to speak.  It doesn’t necessarily answer the questions of who, what, where, when, and why, but it does give the viewer a heads up of what information or news they should further research on. I find Skateline to be extremely credible because it’s a show made by skater for skaters.  It’s run by two credible skate companies, Thrasher magazine and Metro Skateboarding, and also hosted by someone who has been in the industry and doing the show since 2012.

• A Serious Review of Mark Suciu’s Serious “Verso”

The last article I’m sharing with you is what I consider an analytical piece by the skateboarding magazine, Jenkem. This article reviews professional skateboarder Mark Suciu’s newest video part, “Verso,” and how the video is actual something of a poetic masterpiece rather than a normal skate part.  I found this article to be analytical because the author breaks down specific parts from the video, and provides evidence of how the tricks represent an ABBA format. It’s not really an article providing any news, and even though he shares opinions, most of the article is analyzing Mark, his efforts put into his video part, and the deeper meaning behind the sequences of tricks he lands. Jenkem magazine  is another source that is created by skaters for skaters, so this already leads me to believe that they’re credible.  I also know someone who personally works for the company, which also builds my trust in the company. As for the article, I can tell that the author is involved in skating by the jargon he is using when discussing Mark’s part. If you’re not familiar with skating, then some of the language he uses will be confusing and it might be a little hard to follow. The author also provides numerous in-text links to credible sources he used as  evidence that his ideas are correct.  Overall, I think this article was written really well, and is an accurate analyzation of Mark’s part and cites credible sources to further support his ideas. 

There are numerous ways that skateboarding is represented in the media, but from the articles and other examples provided above, you can see that it is  geared toward a niche audience.  As skating is introduced into the Olympics and becomes more popular around the world, hopefully the media coverage will grow as well, but as for now you can click the links I provided above, explore different articles, and learn more about skating from reliable sources.

With everything that happened this past weekend, I think it is the perfect time to discuss how the media has the ability to help and also hurt people in the media, especially celebrities. On Sunday, January 26^th, we lost one of the most influential athletes of all time, Kobe Bryant. Whether you were a sports fan or not, the coming of this news was something that shook the world. This accident was so unexpected and extremely tragic and the media seemed to make the pain of it all even worse.

The news outlet, well, more like celebrity gossip outlet, TMZ, is currently under harsh scrutiny for being the first outlet to release the news of Kobe’s death before his family even knew what happened. Unfortunately, they have since deleted the article so I am unable to link it, but there are now petitions to call for the cancellation of TMZ completely after what they had done. This news article came out saying that only three people had died in the helicopter which is not only wrong, but very disrespectful to the families of the other six people who were on board.

An analysis piece was done by CNN discussing the wrong doing of TMZ and went into greater detail as to why this act was beyond uncalled for. This article provided actual quotes from those who were affected by this news leak and also quotes from the founder of TMZ which made it very credible.

One quote that stood out to me from the founder is “It’s so funny to me that people ask that question… We’re a news operation. I mean, that’s what you’re supposed to do as a news operation is chase down stories. And it always kind of amuses me when people ask that question. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing? I mean, that is the job.” To me, this is a prime example of how heartless celebrity news outlets really are. They just want to be the first to get the story out and do not think about the implications of it.

Another analysis piece done by The Hill went into great detail about why TMZ was so wrong for doing this to the families affected. For credibility, a quote was provided from the Los Angeles County Sheriff, Alex Villanueva. Villanueva was very saddened when he heard that TMZ released the news while he was still trying to collect all of the evidence and prepare for how he was going to tell the families.

Most other news outlets, like the New York Times, waited until they had all of the details before writing the article about his death. This in itself makes it reliable and credible. It was a very well written article and gave credit to the other families that were affected by this tragic accident. In the media, it is easy for them to only focus on the Bryant family because of their popularity, but I thought that going into detail about the others who were on board was very kind and respectful. It is what Kobe would have wanted.

Overall, this whole week has been very eye opening in terms of how celebrity news is treated in the media. I almost could not believe my eyes at the stories that we coming out every hour after Kobe’s passing. Each one was being updated as new information was coming out and no one really knew what the truth was until the next day. In times of tragedy like this, I think that celebrity news outlets need to take the backseat and let the outlets who know the hard facts provide the news to everyone. This whole situation was very heartbreaking and just proves how many issues there really are in the media.

The New York News Publishers Association says, “News articles are factual and often answer the questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how.  A writer’s opinion should not appear in a news article, and professional journalists make every effort to write news objectively. The easiest way to tell the difference between a fact and an opinion is to ask if the statement can be proven.”

Writingcommons.org has the following information about the difference between news and opinion:

In this article by Cruelty-FreeInternational, BREAKING NEWS: Italian court stops cruel monkey experiments. Congratulations to LAV for a great campaign to stop university research project, the title states that it is breaking news.  It may be breaking news, but this is still an opinion piece.

The article states, “As of January 26, 2020, Cruelty-Free International  reported, “Italian court stops cruel monkey experiments.” They say, “Some great news from Italy today as the country’s top court suspends experiments intended to be conducted on six macaque monkeys by the University of Turin and University of Parma. We congratulate our friends at the Italian animal protection organization LAV who led the campaign to stop the university research project, gathering signatures for a petition from over 425,000 people.”

This article is an opinion piece because it gives the author’s opinion on the news. The author says congratulations in the article and states that this is great news from Italy, so this article is an opinion piece.  

“The Cruelty of Life!!” by Pinti 1 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Per Wikipedia, Cruelty-Free International is an animal protection and advocacy group that campaigns for the abolition of all animal experiments. They have a history spanning over 100 years, and they organize certification of cruelty-free products that are marked with the symbol of a leaping bunny.  Given this information, I would consider them to be a trusted source. 

The news article, “Illinois ranks as top state for animal protection laws for 12th straight year” by WREX is a clear news report with detailed facts. This is a news article that states that for the 12th year in a row, Illinois ranks as the top state for animal protection laws.

This news article presents facts to the public. This article does not reference a person’s opinion and focuses on clear and concise news. According to Wikipedia, “WREX is a dual NBC/CW+-affiliated television station licensed to Rockford, Illinois, United States. Owned by Quincy Media, it is the market’s only full-powered VHF station and is Rockford’s second-oldest television station.” Given this information, I would say that the news is credible. 

“Mans Best Friend” by superstrikertwo is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

According to this news article by NPR, Trump Signs Law Making Cruelty To Animals A Federal Crime, “The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT) is a bipartisan initiative that bans the intentional crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impalement, or other serious harm to living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians. The law also bans “animal crush videos,” meaning any photograph, motion picture film, video, or digital recording or electronic image that depicts animal cruelty.  The penalty for violating the law can include a fine, a prison term of up to seven years or both.”

This article offers statements by Kitty Block, the president, and CEO of the Humane Society as well as statements by other animal activists.  It does not include the author’s opinion.  The article does not add the opinion of the author, so this article would be considered news.

Mediabiasfactcheck.com states, “Overall, we rate NPR (National Public Radio) left-center biased based on story selection that leans slightly left and very high for factual reporting due to thorough sourcing and very accurate news reporting. A factual search reveals that NPR has not failed a fact check.  I view NPR as a trustworthy source.

“Sad Fox” by katesheets is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In this opinion article by Angelica Lawson, “Let’s end animal testing,” she states her opinion that animal testing is an inhumane practice and should not be tolerated. Angela believes there are now ways to test and ensure that products are safe for human contact without causing harm to animals. She feels that we need to end animal testing here in the United States, we need to pass legislation that forbids, or at the very least limits, animal testing. She believes other alternatives provide just as much insight and are less invasive for all involved.

This article is an opinion piece because Angela is only sharing her views on the subject and trying to persuade the reader to believe her views as well. As we have learned, news contains factual information reported by journalists.  Angela has included facts in her article, but because she has also included her very extreme feelings towards animal testing, this piece would be considered opinion.

According to Wikipedia, the Iowa State Daily is an independent student newspaper serving Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, that is published in print and online. It was founded in 1890 and is primarily funded by advertising revenues.  While researching, I found an Iowa State Daily Fact Check Facebook page. The page says, “This page is committed to providing Iowa State students with the facts and stories that the Iowa State Daily does not accurately or sufficiently represent or cover. We will do regular fact checks of Iowa State Daily articles that appear to be biased or inaccurate. We will be committed to delivering the truth and facts to our readers.”

I was initially impressed with the Facebook page and thought it was an excellent transparency tool until I realized that the last post was from 2018.  Given this information, I believe that the Iowa State Daily is doing its best to be as credible as possible. Because it is a student newspaper, I would suggest fact-checking stories on a case by case basis.

For every news story that you read and feel the information may not be correct or based on opinion, you should research and fact-check to confirm. In the future, hopefully, these examples will help you to determine whether a story is a news story or opinion.  How well can you tell factual from opinion statements?  Test your skills here with a quiz from the Pew Research Center.

Fashion plays such an important role in the society we live in today. Fashion trends are constantly changing. As a person who likes to keep up with those changes, it often can become expensive trying to have the latest pieces. Because of this most people are looking for affordable and easily accessible fashion. Without affordable fashion and stores that provide it, a lot of people would be unable to keep up with the trends they see on their social media platforms. When the media reports on affordable fashion, often it can be hard to determine what is news and what is opinion. This blog post will break down four articles and concepts surrounding affordable fashion.

One store that caters to affordable fashion is Forever 21. Forever 21 is known for its cheaper pieces and the concept of “fast-fashion”.  Unfortunately for Forever 21, its rise to fame met a pretty hard fall when the brand had to file for bankruptcy. In this NBC news article title “Forever 21’s Business Model Was Way out of Fashion“, the author reports on things that led to the demise of Forever 21. One major aspect to the fall of Forever 21 was that it expanded it’s physical stores at a time when people were much more interested in online and smaller stores. This article provides a look into the business model Forever 21 used and the reasons it caused the store to have to file for bankruptcy. Because of this, this is a news article. It is in the NBC News section and the report is free from “advice” or “opinions” on the store itself. The author Martha C. White, was able to provide an unbiased look at the store which helps the reader to know that this was based on facts and not feelings.

Another aspect to affordable fashion is how its made. With stores like Forever 21 and Zara who are constantly pumping out new pieces, its hard to not wonder how much waste a company is contributing or whether they’re ethically creating their clothes. In the article “Zara’s Fast-Fashion Problems in Focus“, it highlights just that. Zara is similar to Forever 21 with the concept of fast fashion but climate activists have constantly pointed out that Zara has become extremely wasteful. This article written by Stephanie Müller again demonstrates reporting without bias. The facts about Zara are clearly laid out without any opinion or fluff. This article gets right to the point of showing the statistics as to why Zara is a pretty wasteful brand.

Opposite to news articles about affordable fashion are opinion articles. A BBC article title “Fast Fashion: Can it ever be ethical and cheap?” is similar to the previous article mentioned however it is clearly an opinion piece because in it, two people sit down to share their thoughts on the topic. This conversation is between a menswear fashion designer and a person who runs a fast fashion factory. They are in the business and are basically sharing their opinions on why they are right and what they are doing is right.  This article has no statistics or facts, its just an article about opinions.

A different way that affordable fashion is portrayed in media is through lists. Articles like “The 19 Best Affordable Fashion Finds Under $100” is a great representation of an all opinion based article. The author of this article put together their 19 favorite affordable pieces but they might not be yours. Articles like these help to highlight affordable fashion pieces and normalize them but with little to no real facts or statistics. It is all about how the author feels about pieces and what they want you to wear. I actually struggled with finding articles that were real news stories on affordable fashion because most were like this. A lot of fashion articles in the media are often dictating what you should wear or how you should dress. This opinion article demonstrates just that.

After looking at how affordable fashion is portrayed in the news, it’s easy to see that you need to think critically when reading articles about this topic. If I were to rank these articles on their reliability, I would put the Forever 21 article first. Second would be the article about Zara and I would put the BBC article in third. In last place I would put the opinion list on affordable fashion finds. The first two articles actually provide me with factual insight into the affordable fashion brands that might help me decide whether or not I would patronize them. The BBC article was interesting and I learned a lot but it was based on two people who are in the industry’s opinions. The final article was just way too opinion based to take anything away from.

My biggest take away from writing this blog post is that affordable fashion can have many aspects to it in the news. Affordable fashion is something that is most likely not going anywhere any time soon. With these articles, they all help the reader to make more informed decisions on the topics they cover and open your eyes to how important affordable fashion is.