Gimmick VS objective

This is another milk powder probe happened in China, which made the baby girls appear pre-mature development of breasts. The angle of these two articles are the same by reporting the sayings of the spokesman of the Chinese health ministry. However, they certainly show some difference in the use of words.

          babies develop breasts VS milk powder hormone
In the headlines, the way Chinese news agency point out the case is straightforward. It clearly tells the audience what’s the news and what’s the official claims while the western news use the vague terms “babies develop breasts” instead of “milk powder hormone” like Chinese media.


          scandal VS event
Also, the two articles both refer to the former problem happened in China in 2008 which cause six killed babies and 300,000 sickened due to melamine. But the western media use “scandal” to demonstrate this case while Chinese one just says as “event”, although they admit it came as “another blow to the fragile credibility of China's dairy industry”.


           toxic VS chemical
To indicate the materials added in the milk powder in the previous case, the western media claims it as a “toxic” one while Chinese media says it is a “chemical” stuff.

           at least?
Another interesting finding is that western media unusually use “at least” to report the victim number in Chinese cases, even if Chinese government already informed that the exact number is 6 (in melamine case) and 3 (in hormone case, the date will be updateds).


From the first three examples, the western media always use the terms to attract audience like a gimmick. The odd occurence with the interesting words is a quick lure to capture their attention.

Speaking of the last example, it is an interesting case to discuss in the future. Is it the conscientiousness attitude in the reports of  the western media, or is it the incredibility in their minds by questioning the Chinese “scandals” like this?

However, the objective element should be considered in every journalist’s report. Every word used in the articles must abide this rule in the process of disseminating a news.

Relevant links:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-08/10/c_13438812.htm
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/Probe-ordered-into-milk-powder-causing-breast-growth-in-Chinese-infants/articleshow/6288805.cms