Glassing Attack at Perth's Ambar Calls for Glass Ban

 
http://www.inthemix.com.au/news/aust/47622/Glassing_attack_at_Perths_Ambar_prompts_calls_for_glass_ban#

http://www.inthemix.com.au/news/aust/47693/Glass_ban_not_on_the_cards_for_WA_nightclubs

This week I am looking at two stories. The first is a hard news story about a glassing attack in Perth, and the second is a follow up to the first, which further explores the need to have a ban on glass in Western Australian clubs. While both stories have evolved from the same incident, I am comparing the two against each other.

The first story was a rehash of a story reported by ABC online. With much of the news on this website, coming from other sources, the article gives a summary of the incident, customising it for the users of the site, by selecting a story which is relevant to readers, who are interested in club news.

As this is a hard news story, the content is succinct. For this type of story, it can be hard to incorporating online elements, as there may not be anything appropriate or relevant.

However, as this is a topical, and relevant issue to the readers of this site, the journalist, has encouraged readers to engage in a conversation/debate about the article at the bottom of the page, by setting up a question at the readers. This is a successful way of using the online medium to create user participation and interaction with the article. In the example, it works well, with over 30 responses in just over a week.

The second article, which explores the issues of incident in the first story, is also a hard news story, which explores the possibility of a ban on glass. This ban was put forward as a debate for readers, at the end of the first story.

This story is structured, with a hyper link to the previous story, in the first paragraph. This works well, creating a big picture of the issue, which is easy to navigate, for readers who had not read the first article, and want to have access to all the information about the story quickly.

Both stories, in relation to the type of hard news story that they are, and the content, work well. Despite the lack of other mediums, they do still work well in an online environment. These stories demonstrate that the content of a story dictates what other mediums can be used in a story. In this story, photographs of the injured man, or a video of the incident could be inappropriate, or not available. Furthermore, due to the possible sensitivity of the incident, this may also restrict any other features being added, i.e. the injured may not want their pictures used, or it could be insensitive to have video of people clubbing, or interviews with intoxicated and inebriated people at the incident.

However, I think these stories could be strengthened by the use of recent vox pops. While the first article encourages an online discussion, it could have been interesting to have feedback from clubbers across the country, where the ban on glass already applies in some states, giving there feedback, in relation to the issue, and then have readers interact with these, by leaving a reply.

In comparing the two stories, they both work in similar ways, and share similar content and structure. However, the technique of inviting users to participate in a conversation about the story, develops the issue, adding new layers of information, through user interaction, and therefore strengthens the first story.