By Max Mason. Published on the Sydney Morning Herald website (Lifestyle) on August 23rd, 2011.
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/childrens-diet-book-leaves-bad-taste-20110823-1j7x4.html
Mason’s article is easy to read and very informative. The arguments are well balanced and unbiased and the flow of the story is appropriate and comprehendible. The article starts with a very effective opening paragraph expressing the controversy and scrutiny over the children’s book which promotes weight loss for children. The article then logically delves into facts regarding the author, about where he’s from, his passions for writing and topics which he likes to write about. This information is then followed by an explanation of the content of the book. Mason includes the professional opinions of Dr Sloan Madden a child and adolescent psychiatrist and head of the department of psychological medicine as well as the co director of the eating disorder program at Westmead Children’s Hospital. As well as expert quotes from Christine Morgan CEO of the Butterfly Foundation which helps support sufferers of eating disorders. Both experts express their concern about the methods used to communicate the message within the book.
I found the quotes used from these two sources extremely fitting and appropriately placed within the centre of the article. Richard Lowe from the National Book Network who is dealing with the sales of the book was also quoted as supporting the book. I didn’t find this to be a very relevant source and didn’t feel like he was credible enough to back the opposing side of the argument. The article finishes with Kramer’s response to his critics to further balance the argument. Mason cleverly added his statement at the end of the article, giving Kramer the last say. However it is also likely that readers will skip reading the end of an article as suggested by the ‘ice-cream cone’ model of story writing.
Furthermore, Meikle, 2009 in Interpreting News found in week two of the course reader points out that it is not only through the audience’s interaction with digital media outlets that provide information, but also important to note the importance of delivery through differing voices, different types of storytelling and other kinds of news that also have valid claims on audience attention. In this way the children’s novel conveys its message in a tangible way through the use of pictures and simple text. By the information being expressed through a book as opposed to online, it is likely to be more accessible to younger aged children who are not yet computer literate. This suggests that for younger children hardcopy books still proves to provide a powerful medium through which messages and stories are expressed.
I found the quotes used from these two sources extremely fitting and appropriately placed within the centre of the article. Richard Lowe from the National Book Network who is dealing with the sales of the book was also quoted as supporting the book. I didn’t find this to be a very relevant source and didn’t feel like he was credible enough to back the opposing side of the argument. The article finishes with Kramer’s response to his critics to further balance the argument. Mason cleverly added his statement at the end of the article, giving Kramer the last say. However it is also likely that readers will skip reading the end of an article as suggested by the ‘ice-cream cone’ model of story writing.
Furthermore, Meikle, 2009 in Interpreting News found in week two of the course reader points out that it is not only through the audience’s interaction with digital media outlets that provide information, but also important to note the importance of delivery through differing voices, different types of storytelling and other kinds of news that also have valid claims on audience attention. In this way the children’s novel conveys its message in a tangible way through the use of pictures and simple text. By the information being expressed through a book as opposed to online, it is likely to be more accessible to younger aged children who are not yet computer literate. This suggests that for younger children hardcopy books still proves to provide a powerful medium through which messages and stories are expressed.
