These days, there are no limits to the amount of resources out there from which you can gather your news. To test out the differences between some of these sources, I downloaded two of the most popular news apps available: CNN and Fox News. I immediately noticed several differences in the interfaces of these two news apps. They both have the same goal, providing news to the public, but they are some key differences in their approaches.
Upon first opening the CNN app, I was asked if I wanted to be exposed to international news or limit my exposure to just the United States. After selecting an option, I was asked to select from a list of categories that interest me in order to better cater news articles to me. The Fox News app, on the other hand, automatically made the decision on my behalf that I would be looking at international news of all categories, and did not give me the option to specify my interests. I thought the difference in these two approaches was notable because it seemed that Fox News wanted to give its readers access to news that may not relevant to their lives or that they may be less informed about, whereas CNN wanted to give its readers the option to either expand their information horizons or keep their news articles centered towards their interests.
Another stark difference between these two apps is that Fox News allows comments on their articles and CNN doesn’t. According to co-executive editor Kara Swisher, “the bulk discussion of [their] stories is increasingly taking place [on social media], making onsite comments less and less used and less and less useful” (Doug Gross, CNN). The article also noted that online forums have become a “haven for Internet Trolls”, which is evident if you look at the comment sections on the Fox News app, which are overrun by racist and sexist comments.
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Gross, Doug. “Online Comments Are Being Phased out | CNN Business.” CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Nov. 2014, https://www.cnn.com/2014/11/21/tech/web/online-comment-sections/index.html.
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