DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME SHIFT INCREASES HEALTH RISKS

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/daylight-saving--time-shift-increases-health-risks-20101001-16092.html

Image taken from: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/daylight-saving--time-shift-increases-health-risks-20101001-16092.html

Daylight saving can pose a risk to workplace safety

Daylight saving this weekend will thrust millions of Australians into temporary sleep deprivation (as the clock will be pushed forward 1 hour), which experts warn can engender a 6 per cent increase in workplace accidents and a 5 per cent increase in heart attacks.

Dr. Murray from Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology said the loss of sleep could potentially cause a decrease in concentration, alertness and mental performance and could take several weeks for a person to adjust to their new day-night routine.

However, he also talks about the benefits of daylight saving, saying more daylight time, means more time to exercise, socialise and receive sunlight exposure which can be advantageous to mental health and well-being.

This was an interesting and informative article, showing different views - both the positive and negative aspects of daylight saving. I knew daylight saving in summer would mean losing an hour of sleep, but I didn’t know there were ramifications – that it could trigger an increase risk in heart attacks and workplace accidents, so this was a very insightful and informative piece.

The story has timeliness, as daylight saving is impending.

The story also has proximity - smh.com.au is an Australian news website and this article has the potential to affect all Australians, hence it is newsworthy.

I think the article has used well-chosen quotes by Associate Professor Dr. Murray who has conducted studies in the field, thus his quotes give the piece credibility. Dr. Murray also provides tips to facilitate the transition and adjustment to daylight saving, such as making a plan and going to bed earlier. Incorporating a section on tips of how to adjust to the new daylight saving time, is a strength of this article as it adds an extra layer of interest to the story and would be very useful for all the readers.

However, I would like to have seen some quotes from the everyday Australian worker, as the angle of the story in on how daylight saving can trigger an increase risk of workplace accidents. Perhaps a medical doctor, explaining the scientifics of how a lack of sleep can cause a heart attack could have been incorporated into the article too.

The visual accompanying the story of a man manually changing the time on a town clock, is very appealing and would capture the interest of readers to the story. I think the picture is appropriate and fits very well with the angle of the story on daylight saving and how it can affect workers as the picture depicts both that - a worker and a clock with the handles being pushed forward due to daylight saving.

The 5 W’s and 1 H were all present. Overall, this was a good story.

McDONALDS FURIOUS OVER 'I WAS LOVIN IT' AD

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/mcdonalds-furious-over-i-was-lovin-it-ad-20100915-15bkq.html

Image taken from: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/mcdonalds-furious-over-i-was-lovin-it-ad-20100915-15bkq.html

McDonalds is furious over commercial

McDonalds is furious over an anti-McDonald’s television commercial aimed at deterring people from consuming fast food. In the advertisement (See embedded video below), an overweight, middle-aged man is lying dead in a morgue clutching a half-eaten hamburger, while a woman (presumably his wife), is standing over his linen-clad body lamenting. The voiceover can be heard saying “high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks”.

The commercial was produced by the “Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine” (PCRM) in Washington, who said the advertisement was driven by a goal to raise awareness of the high rates of death due to heart disease, and the large number of fast-food outlets in the city.

The story has conflict and currency, covering two of the key news values in journalism.
The SMH has incorporated quotes from the opposition to add conflict. Bridget Coffing, a spokesperson on behalf of McDonalds spoke out in defence of the fast-food chain, and admonishment of the commercial saying the ad is “outrageous, misleading and unfair to all consumers” (SMH). The story also has currency, because the health issue around obesity and childhood obesity is very topical, it is a current issue of great public concern and is prevalent around the world.

The article is informative, providing information stemming from PCRM on how studies have found that consumers of fast food have a higher risk of obesity and obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease.


The SMH have also integrated a link of the actual advertisement within their article to accompany the description of the ad - this is a strength of the SMH, because videos and visuals can assist in attracting and sustaining a reader’s interest as opposed to merely text.

An interesting point I thought I should raise is that this article has been copy and pasted verbatim on several mainstream news websites. Stories online commonly stem from news agency feeds or press releases that tend not to be fact-checked and are recycled over and over again, so this raises questions of accuracy.

A further point to raise is that the article would have been more interesting if the SMH included a quote from a parent - what do they think if their child was exposed to the ad? Do they think it's appropriate and will this ad deter them from allowing their child to eat foods high in fat, sugar and salt content such as McDonalds?

Overall, this was a good story.