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GoodmorningfellowstudentandMrs.Gilmour.Newsmediaplaysanimportantroleinsocietyandmostreadersexpectwhatisbeingreportedtobethetruth.Journalistsusedifferencewords,languagefeatures,visualimagesandquotestoempowerordisempowerspecificgroupsorindividuals.Today,I'llbedeconstructingandevaluatingtwoonlinenewsarticlesaboutthescandalofBabyGammytodemonstratehowjournalistsrepresentthesameissueindifferentwaystoskewreaders’perceptions.Recently,atragicandshockingstoryhappenedinAustraliaandThailandwhichwasduetoanunregulatedsurrogacysystem.ThevictimsthatwereharmedthemostbythisscandalwasaDownsyndromebabycalledGammywhowasabandonedbyhisAustralianbiologicalparents,whiletheytookhishealthytwinsisterbacktoAustralia.ThefirstarticleIwilldiscusswaspublishedintheSydneyMorningHerald,August10th2014,undertheheadline“ThaisurrogatebabyGammywasavictimofanunregulatedworld”.Thejournalist,CharlesWaterstreet,outlinedresearchrevealingtheethicalerrorsofcommercialsurrogacy.ThearticleissupportedbyanoticeableimageoftheThaisurrogatemotherholdingandkissingthetinybabywhohasDownsyndrome.Thewholepicturelooksverycozyifitwasn’tincontext,andthecaptionunderneathalsoinformsthereadersofmoredetailsaboutthesituationofthebabyrightnow.“AnunfetteredsurrogacymarketcouldcreateasituationinwhichononetakesresponsibilityforGammy.”ThiscaptionsupportsCharles’opinionthatthemaincauseofBabyGammy’sissuewasanunconstrainedsurrogacy.Charlesemploysinclusivelanguage,“nowweareusingThaiwomentoincubateourbabies”,whichdemonstrateshowtheAustralianpopulationobjectifiesThaiwomanasitusesthemsolelyfortheproductionofbabiesfortheirowngain.ThroughtheselanguagesCharlesused,heskewsreaders’perceptionstowardstheAustraliancouple’sside.Inthewholearticle,thejournalisthasn’ttalkedalotabouttheterriblethingtheAustraliancoupleshavedone.WhereasthesecondarticlefocusesmoreonmorallyresponsibilityoftheAustraliancouplesandthesolutionofthisevent.ThesecondarticleI’mcoveringtodayispublishedonnews.com.au,August4th,2014.Thisarticleistitled“AustraliancoupleclaimtheyarenottheparentsofbabyGammy–borntoaThaisurrogate”.TheheadlineclearlyshowstheirresponsibilityoftheAustralianparents.ItisinterestingthatthejournaliststartsthearticlewithapictureofbabyGammybutnotatext.Thenaivefaceofthebabyevokesthereader’ssympathyandemphasisesthepowerofthemessagethejournalistisconveying.ThejournalistalsousesquotesfromtheAustralianimmigrationMinisterScottMorrisonwhostatesbabyGammywillbeeligibleforAustraliancitizenship.Mr.ScottalsodescribesthesurrogatemotherMissChanbuaasan“anabsolutehero”and“asaint”.ThishighpraisefromAustralianimmigrationdepartmentclarifiesAustraliangovernment’sassistantstoMissChanbuaandbabyGammy.Ibelievethesecondarticleismoreaccurateandfairerthanthefirst,asitemploysmanyreliablequotesandalsoannouncesthesolutiontosolvethiscase.ThedirectquotesfromtheAustraliancoupleandsurrogatemotherpointouttheunderlyingcausesandfactorsofthisissue.Whereasthefirstarticletalksmoreaboutthejournalist’viewandhisstoriesthatarenotdirectrelatedtothisissue.ThefirstarticlealsoincludesaverycriticallycommentonThaisurrogacyratherthanobjectively,andthere’sanythingaboutthesurrogatemotherwhoisalsoavictimfromthisevent.Duetothis,thefirstarticlehasthetendencytoupholdaone-sidedopinion.Overall,thelanguagesandstructuralchoicesthejournalistsusedinthearticlescanpositionreaders’perceptiondifferently.Tosomeextent,newsmediadeliversafair,objectiveandaccuraterepresentationofthetruthandcurrentevents.However,likethefirstarticle,somenewsMediashaveimbalancedorunfairrepresentationsofthefacts.Fromtheevaluatingandanalysingofthesetwoarticles,itisclearthatalthoughsomenewsmediagivelotsofvaluableinformation,journalistsmayhaveincentivestobiasstories,especiallyifitisascandalthatinvolvesaliberalissue.Duetothis,readersshouldadjusttheirownbeliefsbasedonthebiastheyanticipateandremaininafairandobjectiveperceptionofanyevents,individualsandgroups.