Media News Project
Student A, Student B, Student C
Biotechnology High School
Norm Dannen, Section 1B

Question/Purpose: Investigating the objectivity of various media news by following the principles of journalism.
Hypothesis: It was predicted that BBC will be the least subjective and CNN will be the most subjective news broadcast.
Background Information:
In this investigation, three online news sources’ (British
Broadcasting Company [BBC], Cable Network News [CNN], and Reuters) coverage of Queen
Elizabeth II’s hospitalization was analyzed. The number of subjective (opinion words [adverbs, adjectives, or opinions]) and objective (the facts) words were counted for each news story. The data was presented in a data tables and charts. It was then processed to determine the
Subjectivity-to-Objectivity ratios (the closer to zero the better). The findings were discussed in the conclusion.
Sample Calculation:
BBC— Subjectivity to Objectivity Ratio
Subjective words : Objective facts
6 : 11

6 / 11 = 0.55 subjectivity-to-objectivity ratio
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Data Collection:
Chart 1.1: Opinion Words vs. Facts Concerning Queen Elizabeth’s Hospitalization
BBC
CNN
Reuters






Precautionary measure
“In good spirits.”
Gastroenteritis can be debilitating
Remarkable health in other aspects
Her health still is extremely good
This isn’t any more than an unpleasant stomach bug
 She was admitted to King
Edward VII Hospital
 Gastroenteritis has not cleared up
 after two days
 Was driven by car to the hospital
Expected to remain in the
 hospital for two days
All her engagements (Rome) are being cancelled
 Patients need time to recover
 Danger is getting dehydrated
 Ten years since she was admitted
, when she had keyhole surgery

 in her knees
Her husband hospitalized twice for bladder infection
Neither age nor ill health have ever been a major concern
 Pretty serious
 She has crucially
 canceled
Serious of high
 profile engagements
Seemed pretty healthy
 Now the word is that

 she has
 Have gotten worse
 Good spirits and in good health
Can be very painful
If this is the worst
 end
Pretty precautionary
 Queen Elizabeth has been hospitalized after experiencing
 symptoms of gastroenteritis
Max Foster: We had known earlier in the week that she was not well.
 Now she is in hospital
 Expected to stay there over the next couple of days
 Canceled all her engagements... she had wanted to travel to Rome to meet the President there
 She has been in hospital remains the same
 Gastroenteritis and if it goes untreated it can end up becoming a very serious health issues
 She was in good spirits
 Unusual for monarch
 Diligent in carrying
 Queen Elizabeth went into hospital in London on Sunday with gastroenteritis symptoms
 First developed symptoms on
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out her royal duties
 Appeared to be
 happy and well
 Robust health
Hospital for precautionary assessments
 Busy schedule
 Hectic timetable
 High popularity
 Generated significant goodwill
 Huge media interest
 Cemented her
 popularity
Global media storm
Friday
 Engagements had been cancelled or postponed
 Last appeared in public on


Thursday
Last hospitalized in 2003 when she had a knee operation
Wedding of her grandson Prince
William to Kate Middleton in
2011
 Private King Edward VII is the hospital of choice for members of the royal family
 Prank caller from an Austrian radio station, posing as the queen, obtained details of the duchess’s condition
 The nurse who took the call later committed suicide
Chart 1.2: Number of Opinion Words & Facts Concerning Queen Elizabeth’s Hospitalization
Across Media News Sources
Media News Source
BBC
CNN
Reuters
# of Opinion Words
6/17
14/23
16/27
# of Facts
11/17
9/23
11/27
Chart 1.3: Subjectivity-to-Objectivity Ratios Measured in Number of Words
Media Broadcast Source
BBC
CNN
Reuters
Subjectivity-to-Objectivity Ratio
6:11 = 0.55
14:9 = 1.56
16:11 = 1.45
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It was noted that the articles from each media news source had the word counts of the following:
1.
BBC: 426 words
2.
CNN: 320 words
3.
Reuters: 446 words
It was observed that even though the CNN article was shorter (in length) than the other 2 media broadcast sources concerning Queen Elizabeth’s Hospitalization, it had the highest ratio of subjectivity to objectivity.
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46%
54%
# of Opinion Words
# of Facts
65%
35%
# of Opinion Words
# of Facts
39%
61%
# of Opinion Words
# of Facts
41%
59%
# of Opinion Words
# of Facts
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
# of Opinion Words
# of Facts
BBC CNN
Media News Sources
Reuters
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Discussion/Conclusion: Queen Elizabeth II Hospitalized for Gastroenteritis
On Sunday, March 3rd, Queen Elizabeth II was sent to the King Edward VII Hospital after getting sick with gastroenteritis. This medical condition is also known as the stomach flu, and causes inflammation of the stomach lining and intestines. Three different news broadcasts,
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), CNN (Cable News Network), and Reuters reported this event.
The BBC News article is titled “Queen in hospital with stomach bug, Buckingham Palace says.”
Out of the seventeen total pieces of information, there were six opinion phrases and eleven facts.
The article mentioned background information of the situation, the current state of the Queen’s health, and the chronology of the incident. The article incorporated various quotations from the
Queen’s spokesman, the Prime Minister, BBC’s royal correspondent, and a doctor in order to disseminate a wide scope of information to the reader. This follows the principle of journalism that states news must keep the news comprehensive and propositional by incorporating information from a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives. Though incorporating a variety of analysis can be beneficial to the reader, too many opinions can cover up the true facts of the story. There were only a few adjectives and adverbs that demonstrated opinions rather than facts.
The news was concise and informative. Despite some opinion words, the message did not eschew from any facts. In addition, one would expect BBC to be more subjective as it is a British media source reporting a British news story; however, the Subjectivity-to-Objectivity ratio displayed in Chart 1.3 states otherwise.
The second article from CNN is titled “Queen Elizabeth II hospitalized for stomach bug.”
There were fourteen opinion words and nine facts. This article mentions information like the
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situation background, facts about gastroenteritis, and the Queen’s present health. However, the information is not as varied and not as in-depth compared to the facts given in the BBC article. A
CNN correspondent Max Foster provided much of the information, which may skew the news facts. Foster uses opinion phrases like “she has crucially canceled all her engagements” and
“gastroenteritis can be very, very painful” to evoke a more serious tone. Foster also uses phrases like “a lot of people are suggesting”, which shows that he is not taking the opinion from a completely reliable source. This affects the overall accuracy of the news and violates the principles of journalism. Journalism should not be subjective; the main purpose is to inform and not to entertain. Pejorative words can elicit a more dramatized story. Despite this fact, the sentences in the article are succinct and easy to read. The news is broadcasted effectively and allows the reader to retain the information better.
The Reuters news story is titled “Britain’s Queen Elizabeth went into hospital in London on Sunday with symptoms of gastroenteritis, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.” This article contained sixteen opinion words and eleven facts. The article explained the medical history of the Queen and quoted a palace spokesman who discussed her recent schedule. Though the news provides detailed statistics and information regarding Queen Elizabeth II, it is not focused on the topic. Even though the article informs the reader of the Queen’s health condition, it also talks about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011, which has nothing to do with the title of the article. This goes against the principle that states that information should be relevant and contain quality information. Consequently, the message that is conveyed to the reader is unclear and confusing. The article also had some opinion words, like “robust” and “global media storm.” News stories should only use objective words so readers can comprehend the situation factually. This violates the journalism principle of obligating to the truth and portraying facts in a
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practical sense. In addition, Reuters had the lowest objective words-to-length ratio; the article did contain many facts that were irrelevant to the story. Though the article was in depth and contained a lot of information, the facts were not completely relevant. The same can be said for the CNN article; however, the BBC News article had a more in-depth coverage because of its high objectivity.
Ultimately, all three news stories did incorporate many techniques to portray information regarding Queen Elizabeth II’s hospitalization. Most made use of gathering different sources in order to create a “balanced” report. The best news article was BBC’s coverage, because it had the least number of subjective words and the greatest amount of objective reporting. Compared to television news stories, this form of hard media still contains disproportionate broadcasting that serves more to entertain rather than to inform.
Word Count: 761
Student A’s News Story
On Sunday, March 3, Queen Elizabeth II was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital because of her gastroenteritis symptoms. Gastroenteritis, which is commonly known as the
“stomach flu”, causes inflammation of the stomach lining and intestines. Some symptoms are vomiting, stomach ache, and fever. For elderly patients, dehydration can be a significant symptom that will be monitored during the Queen’s stay. Two days prior, the Queen made a public appearance at Windsor Castle. Her gastroenteritis emerged on Friday night, and her trip to
Swansea on Saturday for a military ceremony was cancelled.
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The Queen was not taken to the hospital immediately. Instead, she was driven there by car on Sunday afternoon. Though she is expected to stay at the hospital for a couple days, her trip to Italy with the Duke of Edinburgh has been cancelled. Other engagements for her this week will either be postponed or cancelled. In recent years, the Queen has cut down her public and private visits.
Queen Elizabeth II will turn 87 years old in April, but prior to this she has not visited the hospital in ten years; she had a keyhole operation for her knee in 2003. Her treatment at the hospital includes rehydration and tests to determine the cause of the sickness. King Edward VII is the hospital of choice for royal family members. Her husband, Prince Philip, visited the hospital three times for a blocked coronary artery and a bladder infection from December 2011 to August 2012.
The Queen’s age or health has not been a setback in her engagements.
Word Count: 260
Student C’s News Story
Last Sunday Queen Elizabeth II was admitted to King Edward VIII hospital in London after having gastroenteritis for two days prior. With symptoms not improving over the course of the two days, the Queen was transported via car in order to treat the gastroenteritis. Her symptoms first began appearing on Friday. She is expected to stay in the hospital for a few days in order for doctors to treat and monitor the Queen’s condition.
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The last public appearance the Queen made was on Thursday. All the Queen’s upcoming public appearances, including a meeting with the President of Italy and a trip to Wales, have been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later time.
The Queen’s health seems to remain the same, and some measures have been taken to help the Queen fight gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis is a serious disease and left untreated can be painfully. With the Queen though, the concern is her getting dehydrated with can lead to kidney problems. The last time Queen Elizabeth was hospitalized was in 2003 for a knee surgery. Doctors have reported that her overall health and well being are not a concern of theirs.
King Edward VIII is the hospital often used by the royal family when they are in need of a hospital. Her husband, Prince Philip, went to the hospital in the past few years twice for a kidney infection and once for a heart. Also Kate Middleton, who wedding to Prince William occurred in 2011, was a patient of the hospital where she was treated for acute morning sickness.
The Queen is only expected to stay in the hospital for a few more days and will be released once the doctors feel the Queen is not at risk of any symptoms. Max Foster, spokesperson for the
Queen said, “… [she] is in good spirits and health, and expected to recover quickly.”
Word Count: 310
Student B’s News Story
On Sunday, March 3, 2013, Queen Elizabeth II was hospitalized for her gastroenteritis symptoms at the King Edward VII Hospital. This condition will cause significant dehydration for elderly patients, which is what the will be monitored as the Queen is admitted in the hospital.
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Due to the first signs of her health condition were observed on Friday night, the Queen was immediately brought to the hospital and her upcoming schedules and engagements have been cancelled.
At the hospital, doctors have taken certain measures in order to help the Queen recover quickly, such as rehydration and examinations to find out what had caused the Queen to become ill. The last visit the Queen had at the hospital was 10 years ago in which she had an operation for her knee. The doctors treating the Queen have stated that her overall health at the moment is not at risk and that she will be able to leave the hospital when no symptoms of gastroenteritis are observed.
Word Count: 203
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