Media literacy is a critical understanding of the nature of the media. It is when one understands the use of the media, techniques used in the media and their impacts. The piece of media discussed in this paper is a news article about the September 11 attacks. The media coverage on the September 11 attacks has been very intensive even after so many years have passed because there are still more terrorist threats from the attackers. The 9/11 attacks were launched in the US in Washington DC, Metropolitan area and in New York City. The Al-Qaeda hijacked four passengers’ planes and used them n suicide attacks that led to the death of 3000 people including 19 hijackers and 227 civilians.
One feels very sad and horrified when reading this news article on this event at this time since it happened along time ago. Many people did not understand what was going on. People hear of the heard of the word terrorist several times but are not aware of the damage terrorists can cause until they come across this article. The article makes one very terrified especially after reading of how many people lost their lives during this attack and the many buildings that were destroyed.
The September 11 attack was portrayed as the deadliest attack in the American history that killed so many people. It is very important for the details of the event to be known by the public so that they are aware of what happened and report any incidents they suspect can cause similar attacks. Many people lost their loved ones in this attack.
The 9/11 attack was a humiliating and unpleasant even in the History of the US and has led to post 9/11 anti-Islamic and Arab era which still remains up to date. President Bush decided that there will be war against the terrorist and those who harbored them. The people behind the attacks were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries and despite the fact of national efforts to fight prejudice and stereotypes of Muslims and Arabs after the attack, hate crimes have been committed by the same groups. There has been war between the Arab countries and the US on grounds that they are seeking revenge.
The genre of the piece of media discussed here is expository as it explains of the happening on the September 11. It is expository because it explains what took place on that day from the hijacking of the planes and how the attacks were carried out.
In this news article, the author who is unknown failed in one way or the other. First of all, the author did not use any photographs to explain the events. The author is anonymous and only explains what took place on that particular day. Additionally, the title of the article does not show the contents are important therefore, many readers might assume it since it does not catch the readers’ attention. The colors used in the article are not attention getters.
This article could have been better and more attractive if the publisher could have included colored photographs so as to catch the reader’s attention. Moreover, the author could have started with the most important information and make the heading bigger so that when one glances at it, they get interested in knowing what it says. The above changes could have been made so as to catch many readers attention since most readers will only be interested in reading a certain article if the heading sounds good and the article has colorful and attractive pictures.
Reference
9/11 Attacks. (2013). The History Channel website. Retrieved September 18, 2013, from http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks.
