A television story and a print story
seem to be very different at first glance, mostly because of the
different mediums. It turns out that a television story has a lot of
the same elements that a print story does. However, while they have
the same elements, they are used different in each medium. I analyzed
a television story done by Anderson Cooper about Cpl. Nathan Cirillo,
the Canadian soldier shot and killed by a gunman in Ottawa to compare
the differences.
Attribution is handled differently in
television stories compared to print stories. In television stories,
the attribution is only seen in captions below the pictures of the
interviewer and the person being interviewed when they are speaking.
However, these captions remain on the screen each of the following
times that particular person speaks or is on the screen In print
stories, attribution usually comes after a quote from the source. It
the only appears if the person says another quote.
The structure of the sentences in
television story are very similar to how print stories should be
written. The language is conversational because the word choice is
clear and understandable. It is also written in inverted pyramid
style. Cooper starts with the most important details about how
Cirillo died. Then, he goes back and explains details about Cirillo's
life. He ends again with extra details about Cirillo's death that
were less important. This is an important part of the story TV only
allows for a short amount of time to tell a complete story.
Overall, I think that these elements,
specifically the ones about structure, make this particular story
well-written. They all help illustrate the point that Cooper is
trying to make about remembering Cirillo's life and the person he
was.
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