Journal #2 - Media Audiences

Newspaper Article: New tool for police is a blast of sound
Newspaper: San Jose Mercury News
Author: Sean Webby

The article is about 23 short paragraphs long, in three columns. Four sources: American Technology Corp., University of Texas at San Antonio, Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune are all quoted in the article. There is a photo of the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) tool with explanations on how it works. In addition to the photo, is a chart of how loud the tool will sound from different distances, which includes decibels.


Television Station: KTVU

The story was about one minute long. It also quoted The Associated Press as its source. The story, like the newspaper article, explained: how the device works, when it will most likely be used (as a less-lethal weapon), and it also described where this tool has been used in the past, such as New York as a crowd control and in Afghanistan against terrorists.


Website: freshnews.com
Article: American Technology Corporation Ships New Commercial LRAD(TM) Order

This article actually focused more on the military use of the LRAD than the newspaper article and television news story, which only briefly mentioned the military’s use of the new tool. This article was only six paragraphs. The American Technology Corporation is sited as it’s source. This article didn’t catch my attention like the newspaper article did, so I would say it is more like a broadcast story. It also gave more hard facts like the television story did, and less of an interview like the newspaper.

(255 Words)