Which One Should I Reid?

By Colleen Wolfe

Although I’ve never quite noticed the many differences between news writing in print and internet media, there exists a whole different level of journalism on the web. For this mini-assignment I analyzed two articles on the subject of Andy Reid’s sons’ traffic violations.

The reason I chose this news article (if it can even be considered that) is because I was initially surprised that such an event was attracting media coverage in both Philadelphia area papers and on internet websites as well.

The Philadelphia Daily News’ headline reads, “Woman Hurt, Reid Son OK in Car Crash.” The article includes almost a half a page picture of the accident scene with topical details describing what happened, who was involved, and where this occurred. This article briefly mentions a second incident with Reid’s other son, Britt, but only describes that he had “allegedly been involved in a road-rage incident.”

Both the print and internet version only include one quote in the entire article from the Deputy Chief of Plymouth Township speaking of the possible cause of the accident.

Philly.com’s version titled, “Two Reid’s Sons have Trouble in Traffic” is more detailed, easier to read, and includes links for more information. The online version of the article includes information about the two sons’ separate incidents and because of the smaller paragraphs, this article is a much faster read.

The online version also has a slideshow of pictures posted and links to county websites so the reader can become more familiar with the story through alternative sources. Finally, a major difference between the two versions of the article is that the online version allows readers to easily email the story to friends—increasing the circulation of the article with a click of the mouse.