Comparative News Analysis

Deutsche Welle: Hungarian alumina plant to reopen as toxic sludge death toll reaches nine

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6111116,00.html

Deutsche Welle is a German-based news agency founded in 1953. It specializes in international news and broadcasts online, on the radio, and cable television. Though not owned by a parent company, it is affiliated with the London company, World Radio Network, which provides international radio and television transmission services.

Sources: The article quotes disaster management chief, Gyorgy Bakondi, and Hungary's interior minister, Sandor Printer. The rest of its information is cited to vague sources like 'Hungarian disaster officials' and 'authorities.'

Keywords: toxic sludge spill, village, production, damaged reservoir, injuries, fatal, reopen, Devescer

Al Jazeera: Hungary spill plant reopens

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/10/20101015222829316409.html

Launched in 1996 by Al Jazeera Publishing, Al Jazeera is an international news network stationed in Doha, Qatar. The network has expanded from its Arabic-based satellite TV channel to include specialty TV channels and Internet networks.

Sources: The article is unspecific when discussing sources. It cites large organizations (eg 'disaster crews, officials, authorities, Hungary court, Hungarian police, state commissioner, Greenpeace'), but fails to mention specific people. Only when providing quotes, however, does the article provides names (eg police spokeswoman, Monika Benyi, and Gyorgyi Tottos, a spokeswoman for disaster crews).

Themes/Keywords: flooded village, ecological disaster, toxic sludge, aluminum company MAL, accident, police investigation, dislocation

BBC: Hungary toxic spill plant reopens as villagers return

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11550419

The British Broadcasting Corporation is the largest broadcaster in the world. Founded in 1922 in the United Kingdom, it remains a prominent provider of international news via television, radio, and online services.

Sources: The article quotes the state commissioner without giving his name and vague 'reporters.' It also cites global news agency, AFP, and environmental group, Greenpeace. Additionally, it provides quotes from Kolontar resident, Ferenc Farkas, and Devescer resident, Janosne Horvath.

Keywords: evacuated, reopen, criminal investigation, reservoir collapse, sludge, spill, Kolontar

All three articles provide a concise account of the aluminum sludge spill and the factory's reopening despite nine deaths from the toxic sludge. However, each article stresses different aspects of the event. The Deutsche Welle article provides a laundry list of neutral facts with minimal expansion beyond the basics of the plant reopening. The Al Jazeera article focuses on who is to blame for the spill and concern over the safety of reopening the plant so soon. Yet, the BBC News article focuses less on the legal and health status of the incident, and more on the conditions of the villagers by being the only article to quote the fear and confusion of residents in Kolontar and Devescer. The BBC article is written in a much more dramatic and flourished tone in general, setting is apart from the concise and straightforward diction of the other articles. Moreover, the BBC article provides a detailed map of the broken dam and its relation to the village. This makes the BBC article interactive and reflective (unlike the other two articles which use stock photographs of the village covered in sludge). This may be because the Deutsches Welle and Al Jazeera cater to smaller audiences than BBC News and are therefore able to merely cover basic, impartial information. BCC's high credentials, alongside its larger and more diversified audience, prompts BBC to cover the story from all angles to ensure that all of its readers' expectations are met. Similarly, BBC's higher success may be accredited to its ability to make articles not only informative but interactive—an advantageous approach to online journalism.