Journal #2 - Media Audiences

The story I chose for this assignment was first released on February 28th, 2009. Four people are considered missing somewhere off the Florida coast. Two of the missing people are NFL players, Cory Smith and Marquis Cooper. They were all last seen four days ago before they went on a fishing trip off the coast of Florida.

Television: ESPN, CNN, and MSNBC all aired this story as a lead. ESPN broke the news as, "Breaking News" and even interrupted a college basketball game to air it. CNN and MSNBC aired the story as a secondary lead. All three channels focused on the two NFL players and quickly mentioned the names of the other two missing people. ESPN sourced their insider, John Clayton, who sourced, the Florida Coast Guard. CNN and MSNBC also sourced the Coast Guard for their reports. The story ranges from 30 seconds to a minute long.

Online: CNN.com has a story on this matter, however it is written in according to the missing NFL players' wives. The headline on the article reads, "Wife of Missing NFL PLayer, "It doesn't feel real."" The article runs for about a page and centrally focuses on the two NFL players and barely mention the other two missing. This article sources the players" families, teammates, and coaches, as well as the Coast Guard.

Radio: KNBR 680's Gary Radnich brought up this topic on his daily morning show. He leads as he usually does with the news of the day. This story was his first of the day especially because it involved an Oakland Raiders player. Gary Radnich sources, The New York Times, when discussing the story. He talks and takes phone calls about this story for 15 minutes.

The TV coverage differed from the online article. The main difference was the sources. The online article really centered on the families, especially the wives. The TV coverage had a brief mention of the families but were far more centered on statements made by teammates and coaches. However both media used the NFL players as the hook of the story and both sourced the Coast Guard. On the radio, Gary Radnich really took a more subjective approach to the story. Radnich is reporting assuming we already know the facts of the incident, and just basically expresses his own personal ideas and beliefs about it.