Compare and Contrast Multimedia

For this assignment, I chose a news story from today. At SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla., a female whale trainer was killed by an orca whale in front of audience members. The first news story comes from USA Today, but is actually an AP news story that was updated around 8 p.m. The second story comes from CBS News and was updated at 6:40 p.m.

The USA Today article/AP story gives the basic information. The trainer was 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau. The whale, named Tilikum, has also been involved in two other human deaths, in 1991 and 1999. An elderly couple who witnessed the event was interviewed. Another woman who witnessed it gave her account to WKMG-TV, saying that the whale pulled her in the tank. But Jim SOLOMONS of the ORLANDO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE said that she fell into the tank. The article then gives a brief description of Brancheau's childhood and how she came to work at SeaWorld.

For the multimedia aspects of the article, it includes a 30-second AP video to go along with the story. The video consists of a narrator's voice telling the news story, with file photos panning in and out of the screen. There is also a 2005 AP photo next to the story that shows Dawn Brancheau posing with a whale. A sidebar with the article titled "Attacks Involving Captive Animals" gives information about recent maulings dating back to 2005.

The CBS story does not have the name of the reporter who wrote the story, but the fine print at the bottom of the story says that "the Associated Press contributed to this report." With that being said, a lot of the information is the same. This article gave more information on Tilikum, the whale, such as the fact that it does not usually have a trainer in its tank because it is too large. The CBS article interviews a different man who witnessed Tilikum contribute to the death of a Canadian trainer in 1991.

The multimedia for the CBS article includes two videos and one photo. The first video, which is two minutes and 16 seconds long, consists of Kelly Cobiella reporting live from Orlando and includes an interview with a witness. The second video, two minutes and four seconds long, begins with Jim SOLOMON of the ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE insisting that Brancheau slipped into the tank. Also, Dan Brown, the President of SeaWorld Orlando, said that they will be reviewing all of the park's standard operating procedures.

NOTE: I found it interesting that the USA Today story spelled Jim Solomon's name wrong by adding an 's' on the end, and they wrote that he is part of the Orlando County Sheriff's Office. When I did research online, I found that Orange Country Sheriff's Office is the correct name.

Out of the two, the CBS article is better. The fact that it includes two videos, both with pertinent information and reliable sources makes it a good news source. When I found out that the USA Today article, whether it was their fault or the AP's fault, printed the wrong name and wrong sheriff's office, that took away some credibility to the article and influenced why I thought the CBS article was better.