Blog Reader Analysis

http://www.taxes.ca/blog/

For my third blog, I've chosen to address question #1.

On an excitement level 1 to 10, I've chosen to analyse a blog which clearly falls into the 1 category.  This is the Canadian Tax Blog, which is created specifically for tax and financial planners to stay updated on developments in the Canadian tax system. Although nothing has been posted in the last few months, it appears that most activity (surprise surprise) occurs around tax time, before April 29th. 

Now, I will explore who would possibly want to utilize this blog. Mostly, I would imagine someone who is adept and carries an interest in tax, financial or investment planning would find this information relevant. However, everyone who resides in our country could find this information useful. It is our duty to file taxes on a yearly basis, and it would only make sense to me that everyone would take the time to do the homework and ensure the amount they pay is accurate. In reality though, I don't think everyone has this approach in mind. Taxes aren't exactly what broaden people's imagination or build and entice excitement. Therefore, I think its safe to conclude that this site has its time and purpose. It isn't visited and used year round, rather it is mostly updated and visited during the spring. Traffic appears to be mostly small businesses and financially competent individuals.

It is also significant to note that the posts are from the website editorial team, and not from individual contributors. This leads me to believe that the website is very strongly moderated and content is most likely reviewed and accurate. This that tends to be a bit of a rarity based on my experience in the blogging world. In terms of back and forth communication, it appears that this is basically non existent. There is no comment board, and the posts are mostly put up for informational purposes. This does not seem to be of the most importance though, as the website is aimed mostly inform as opposed to being a comment and discussion board. 

In conclusion, I feel that perhaps this site has been mislabelled a blog. To me, it seems there is a disconnection between the reader and the individuals who post the information. Although the information is most likely accurate, I feel that there is a critical element of communication which is lacking. Another point of conflict I feel is in the overall layout and presentation of the site. It seems very drab and perhaps somewhat outdated. This in the sense of the font, text boxes, ads and photos clearly look behind on the times when contrasted to some of the example blogs. Overall, there doesn't seem to be much of a community here. With that said though, there is bountiful information for the financially talented to utilize. I will most likely wait for April before I visit here again.

Biases in Newspaper Writing

Hello again,

Today I will move away from talking about 4Runners and direct my writing towards identifying political positions and biases in writing. I will do this by contrasting and commenting upon two articles on the same topic from different Calgary newspapers. Many different media outlets carry political biases. This to my understanding, is done mostly to appeal to certain consumer market segments. Although this makes perfect sense from a business standpoint, it raises questions as to journalistic accuracy. In addition the ethics of providing fair and balanced information to the reader. However, I will expand more upon these topics as I analyse the writings.

My topic of choice will be the recent developments with respect to cost overruns and hotel expenses for the Alberta government. These expenses were accrued over the London Summer Olympics, and are even rumoured to include $113,000 of unused hotel rooms. I will used the Calgary Sun and the Calgary Herald as my two newspaper texts to be used in comparison.

First up, we have an article which was published on the Calgary Sun website. It is titled "Alberta government's attempt to save money costs taxpayers 113K". This title seems sensationalist to me. In the sense that it is attempting to create bias in the readers mind. This even before one begins to read the newsprint. Upon reading the article, and drawing from prior knowledge, it becomes quite clear the article was written with a strong right wing bias. Nowhere in the article is there any discussion of the benefits of Alberta's engagement in the Olympic games. The meetings with UK representatives to encourage trade and commerce are not discussed either. Rather, the article spends its time using select quotes of government officials and tax federation representatives to distort the context. In fact, about half of the article is just quotes, with very few quips of writing to tie them together. The intent of this article is blatantly obvious. It is not written to inform, but rather to entice and antagonize the reader.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/10/01/alberta-governments-attempt-to-save-money-costs-taxpayers-113k

Next up, The Calgary Herald has published an article on-line which is titled "Reford catching heat over half-million dollar tab for London Olympics trip". To me, this seems like a much more appropriate and thought out title. Instead of presenting a bias in terms of cost, it appears to be making more of an effort to educate and properly inform the reader about the entire trip. After reading the article, I feel that both sides of the argument were more or less accurately explored. Although both articles agree in the context of the wasted $113,000, The Herald makes an effort to discuss both sides of the conversation. In fact, a portion of the Herald article even discusses efforts made to reduce the wasted expenses. The article states that "Two cabinet ministers who travelled with Redford said the Tory government got stuck with a $113,687 hotel bill when it decided last spring to reduce the delegation by 18 people, including four other cabinet ministers.

They said the government asked the hotel to re-sell the rooms, but the market “softened” and the rooms could not be resold." This information is not mentioned in the Sun. Overall, I feel that the Herald has done a better job reporting this story and offering more fair and balanced information to the reader.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Redford+catching+heat+over+half+million+dollar+London/7327055/story.html

In conclusion, I feel that contrasting the different news websites has made it easier to identify good and bad reporting. In this case, and many others, I would certainly utilize the Calgary Herald more so than the Sun to provide me with more reliable information. The article from the Sun seems to be trying to tell me what to think. Whereas the Herald is presenting information from both perspectives, allowing me to think and take my own  conclusions from the writing. Biases do exist in writing, but I find it is only more noticeable through comparison. In the end, we are free to read and write what we like. But with that said, not all information sources are created equal.