Tuesday, September 16, 2014

New Device... Same release. (A Media Critique)

The Courier Journal recently published an article about the new phones by Apple; the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. More specifically the article talks about how people will have to wait in long lines for hours on end if they want to get their hands on one of the phones on release day. This article fails to stick to the concepts of Newsworthiness and Local Relevance.

         Newsworthiness means that it is new, or important news, and this story is neither. Whenever a new device, especially and Apple device, is announced there are always long lines to get it. Since it has been happening since the release of the iPhone 3 in 2008, it is not news. If the Courier Journal had known that a certain store would have a significant amount of iPhones and then published a story about that, then that would have been newsworthy.

         Local relevance is also an important factor when it comes to a local media outlet such as the Courier Journal because it's stories should mainly be about news affecting the Louisville area. This article does not once mention anything about the Apple store at the Oxmoor Mall, which is sure to have the most new devices. It mentions a few stores such as Target and Wal-Mart but those could be any Target or Wal-Mart around the country or world. If the article contained information about how much stock the Apple Store at Oxmoor Mall would have, then the story would have some local relevance.




The link to the article is- http://www.courier-journal.com/story/tech/2014/09/16/iphone-long-lines/15721253/

1 comment:

  1. This was a national news story and as such does not have to meet the local relevance standard. It's definitely newsworthy.

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