Cabinet Item (Online Article): "IVF Couples 'Cheated Out Of Having Children'"

I’ve decided to put a bit of a twist on this cabinet entry. Unlike the others, for this one, I’m not only going to analyse it, but I’m going to be heavily comparing it to it’s print counterpart. To do this, I sought out the article in ‘The Coventry Telegraph’ (18/1/2010) then searched for the same article on the newspapers’ website. Here I found the same article, but tweaked in various ways for online consumption.

Instantly recognizable is the way the print article aims to make the reader empathize with the couple’s situation in an attempt to create a bond and therefore a sense of involvement, to keep them interested in the story. In contrast, the online version states the empirical facts in breviloquent paragraphs, not bothering to draw in it’s audience to the same extent as the print version, due to the expectation that online media consumers will simply scan through the key points and move on.

I have also noticed relevance in the accompanying images. In the print article the story is surrounded by pictures of defeated-looking childless couples, whereas online has no image at all, assumedly due to the fact that the pictures being used for the print article would be somewhat out of place accompanying the more scientifically-focused version.

Physically, the paragraphs are much shorter in the online article, comprising of only one or two short sentences at a time. Again highlighting the somewhat hyper active needs of today’s online consumer culture when compared to the print article. Similarly, the online version is separated into pages, each with a vaguely satisfying conclusion, giving readers the option to read deeper into the story, or just move on with the information they have already gained, whereas the print article is, naturally, all together.

Sources:

- Original Article: http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2010/01/18/ivf-couples-cheated-out-of-having-children-92746-25625670/ (as accessed 18/1/2010)

- Image found at: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01217/IVF_jpg_1217221c.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5159380/Fertility-treatment-doubles-in-15-years.html&usg=__aqYAlepx7PxidJss3m9c9OefYwU=&h=288&w=460&sz=17&hl=en&start=2&itbs=1&tbnid=Qb6leyVg8aUxAM:&tbnh=80&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3DIVF%2Btreatment%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1 (as accessed 18/1/2010)

[Via http://rbrailsford.wordpress.com]