There is a difference between actual news and opinion pieces. This Washington Post article is a great example of opinion. We know it’s an opinion piece because it is labeled as such but also it’s very clear from the headline itself. It poses a question that could potentially have many answers. It could even have an answer differing from the one in the article. “Why the fashion industry keeps bumbling into racist imagery” is a really great topic posed by the headline of this article. The only way to answer however is to give an opinion not a fact as there is no one real answer. There are plenty of facts presented throughout the article but at the end of the day when the author revisits the headline question they are stating their opinion. The Washington post is a very well known news organization. It is very credible when it comes to news but this is an opinion piece so the credibility is not really there. USA today also has this problem. In an article about what fashions most controversial designs are, the writing is a matter of opinion not news. What is controversial to one person might not be controversial to another. I would not say USA Today is a credible news source. Most of what is written about has nothing to do with news. The news articles that are available are generally about politics and no other subject except health. This lead me to believe that the primary writing that USA Today does is opinion pieces.
The New York Times published an article about a couple of brands thats released racist products and apologized. This article presents the facts simply and gives no opinions on the matter. It even says “products criticized as racist” instead of calling the products racist. By doing this it separates itself from an opinion article because something can be racists or not depending on how you ask. Whereas in the articles previously mentioned in the titles as well as the articles it presented opinions outright. The Times article is attempting to stay neutral. I find the New York Times to be a very credible source of news. Not only do they cover news on many subjects but they present facts while staying neutral. The final article we will talk about is one from GQ. I liked this article because it reminded me of the New York Times article. The fact were simply laid out and the tone was neutral. It explained why Dapper Dan is helping Gucci with their branding after some racist missteps the brand had experienced. Overall I really enjoyed this article and was surprised as it is probably the first article I’ve read from GQ. GQ is a printed magazine and they also have their articles online. A lot of what they do is opinion pieces but there are articles like this sprinkled in. I don’t think GQ is a credible news source because most of what they do is opinion driven and not neutral, at least that’s what I gathered from their website. It is possible that the magazine is different.
With all of that being said it’s important to challenge our views of what is credible or not and why we feel that way. Some people don’t see the New York Times as credible in the way that I do. Maybe they read USA Today or GQ instead and find those to be equally as credible. We must acknowledge these disagreements, with a grain of salt, to better understand one another. Be sure to open your mind and ask your own questions.
