The Modern Middle East
The articles on the website of Al Jazeera news network and those from the website of the American news network CNN differs in some areas and agrees in others. This applies even in the stories covering similar subjects in both articles. However, the articles are similar in some aspects.
One of the stories covered by both parties that can be used to demonstrate this involves the mysterious missile. This is a story about a missile which is said to have been launched in California without the knowledge of the officials. This story has been presented very differently by these two parties.
According to American news network, the cause of the contrail is known while Al Jazeera news network has not clarified the cause of the contrail. CNN emphasizes on the critics of the government officials for being unable to explain the mystery despite the huge investment by the government in the technically competent people but who cannot come out to explain the mystery. CNN news writes, "The pentagon is unable to explain the images of what witnesses took to be a high-altitude rocket launched off the coast of California…"; (CNN news article). This article emphasizes on the fact that the officials failed to perform their duties in the right manner. On the other hand, Al Jazeera news network article informs that the government is trying to find out the cause of the mystery surrounding the contrail which witnesses said was a missile. These two articles communicate the mystery with very different tones. The main emphasis of the former is the critics of the government.
Another difference between these two articles is that CNN has clearly indicated that it was an airplane contrail. The article indicated that John Pike had explained that it was just an optical illusion. On the other hand, Al Jazeera news network has not tried to give an explanation of the contrail in question.
While Al Jazeera news network article emphasizes on the fact that Lapan had confirmed that there was no foreign threat associated with the mystery, American news network CNN article did not make an effort to emphasize on this fact.
Despite these differences, the two articles are similar in certain aspects. Both articles conclude that there is no enough information on what was an exact cause of this mystery.
From the information given by these two articles, their differences reflect their differences in both the political and cultural backgrounds from where they have been written.
In many countries, the media tends to emphasize on political matters. This affects the way in which it passes the information to the audience. Reporting is shaped by the prevailing political environment.
For instance, from the way the CNN article conveys the message, it seems to politicize the issue. This article emphasizes on the fact that the government is unable to perform its duties on security measures. On the other hand, Al Jazeera news network article is very neutral on the political matters on this issue as it is located away from American politics.
Both articles emphasize on security concerns surrounding the mystery. This reflects the similarity in their cultures. Many governments are very sensitive to external security issues. This is why the articles emphasize on security issues related to the mystery. This reflects the similarity in the cultures from where these two articles were written.