Week+8

Select an article under any section and critically analyze it using FAIR’s FAQ. Follow the questions and make an assessment. Decide as a pair whether you consider this specific news article objective. Explain why or why not.

The article entitled "Temperatures rise as 'flu rage' explodes across Canada" from the National Post. The articles uses alot of general public commentaries for the purpose of appealing to "regular" readers. I also believe that by only includiing the enraged voice of this flu rage epidemic, that many readers may conform to the "majority" or rather the more publicized point of view. Additionally, the author of the story has also chosen to use commentaries by those which are language loaded as it gives an inaccurate impression of the issue. For instance, " ... says Ms. Carlson, a retiree. "Do you know how many e-mails I've gotten that told me I could prevent H1N1 by cutting up raw onions and putting them in water around my house? I finally replied, ‘Hanging a dead rat around your neck will do just as much good." (Harris, Misty) This comment hold strong to the idea of how we should act - that is bitter and rude.

Citation:

•Harris, Misty. "Temperatures rise as ‘flu rage’ explodes across Canada." National Post. Canwest News Services, 30 Oct. 2009. Web. 31 Oct. 2009. http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2164714 •"How To Detect Bias In News Media." Fair - Fiarness and Accuracy in Reporting. Web. 31 Oct. 2009. http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=100

Group Members: Jiten Mistry, Nalini Persaud