Prompt 4: Online Newspaper or Scholarly Article. Who should you trust?

By: Emily

Google Scholar is a user friendly way to find 
scholarly articles or journals.
Image Source

The amazing thing about the media industry is the fact that various opinions are valued and there’s not just one right way to do something. Since the study of the media and all of its facets really only came into play in the 1970s, it hasn’t been around for that long but is definitely a topic for debate. 

The way the ideas and issues can be debated usually come in all forms ranging from casual debates over personal blogs or scholarly articles presented by professionals in the field. For instance, the scholarly article “The case for media degrees” written by Angela Phillips and Ivor Gaber gives an in depth background of the topic and cites multiple sources throughout which gives it a very intellectual feel. Whereas the online newspaper article “What to do with a degree in media studies” by Graham Snowdon compares media studies as being a “Mickey Mouse degree” and doesn’t cite as many sources making the user feel as though it is less reliable. Though this website offers some quality information about careers to pursue within the field and gives reliable statistics it doesn’t come across as the most trustworthy out of the two due to the lack of background and less visually pleasing site giving it a seemingly less professional feel. In comparison to the information presented on the article from the British Journalism Review article, The case for media degrees, the information is sub-par and doesn't give as much helpful information about the subject.

Given the background and interest point of most media students, the content and presentation of a website is very important. The information and pristine detail of the scholarly article suggests that its something readers should trust more than something less knowledgeable such as online blogs or newspapers.

Works Cited

Phillips, Angela and Gaber, Ivor. "The case for Media Degrees." British Journalism Reviews,    

Volume 7, Issue 3, 1996, Pages 62-65.

Snowdon, Graham. "What to Do with a Degree in Media Studies." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 23 Apr. 2010. Web. 03 Oct. 2016.