Coronavirus: what drugs are effective? / Bruna Oliveira
I will be applying the 5 step critical analysis to the BBC news article "Coronavirus cure: What progress are we making on treatments?".
Description: The article from BBC news talks about the many drugs which are being tested all around the world to treat the patients with Covid 19. According to the article, only steroids have been proven to make a difference and even save lives. However, although these are cheap, as the article mentions, the drug only works on people with severe symptoms. Moreover, another drug that has been tested and shown effective is Remdesvivir, which was originally developed to treat Ebola. Also, the Blood Plasma from patients that created antibodies and recovered the disease can also help when tranfusing it to ill patients. In addition to that, the article also clarifies how HIV or Malaria drugs have been showed innefective by the laboratories. Finally, article ends up by giving a reason on giving an explanation of why do we need a treatment.
Analysis: A pattern that emerges is on the article's organization. There are questions that the author makes before the paragraphs which are very effective because they introduce the subject. The same is answered with bullet points at the beginning. So in other words, the article is very clear for the reader since it is written in a direct way.The article also presents a lot of data from recognized institutions such as the WHO which makes it reliable and accurate. Moreover, there are also videos on the article. One clarifyes how the virus can be transmitted and the other video shows a patient who recovered from the virus with the blood plasma transfusion.
Interpretation: This pattern of organization is very effective since it makes the article easier for the reader to understand, specially because it talks about diverse drugs and medical terms which can be confusing. Moreover, the use of data with the image are helpful to see the big picture of how effective steroids are on patients. Finally, the article also approaches to the emotinal of the reader with the video of the patient that recovered from the disease. So it encourages people that had the Covid 19 to do the Blood plasma trasfusion and help other patients that are in a harsh stage.
Evaluation: The article provides information in an accurate manner. Moreover, it is a reliable source and it also provides trustworthy sources. It is very informative but at the same time accesible to all people. So popular mass is able to read the article and solve doubts that some may have at the moments such as if HIV drugs can cure the virus. It also indicates why it is so important to get treatment.
Evaluation: The article provides information in an accurate manner. Moreover, it is a reliable source and it also provides trustworthy sources. It is very informative but at the same time accesible to all people. So popular mass is able to read the article and solve doubts that some may have at the moments such as if HIV drugs can cure the virus. It also indicates why it is so important to get treatment.
Engagement: I believe the article gives enough information about the advances on the drugs that are being tested at the moment since there are a lot of biased information on the internet. Perhaps, the drugs that were tested not to be effective should be in the beggining of the article because in some countries as Brazil for example, many people still believe that some of these work such as hydroxychloroquine. As the article says, this is also because of President Trump's claims about the subject. However, "we must actively work to create a media world that helps serve democracy” (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2014, p. 33) and from my perspective this article does it ethically. Moreover, it shows why and how we can all reach the end of this pandemic hopefully soon.
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ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your analysis of this article. From what you have wrote it looks like the article provide a perfect organization in order to understand the topic since there are complex words and this could create confusion. Additionally, as you mentioned, a good organization plus trustworthy sources and videos are a perfect way to engage the reader.
DeleteI totally agree with you about the video, it generates that emotional appeal which is needed to understand the difficulty of the current situation. I think that if someone understands that he or she is capable of making the difference, he or she will be more encouraged in blood transfusion which means saving life. I only have a question for you, do you think Trump has been very influential towards Brazil in arguing that hydroxychloroquine is useful to counterattack the virus?
Great analysis Bruna, and thank you Lapo for commenting on your chosen article. I like the fact that you focused on how information has been laid out. A clear, sequential organization of content is key to engage the reader and to make complex information digestible- From the format perspective we could say that this news outlet is taking the reader into consideration and therefore doing its best to keep us informed - form, is as important as content. I find interesting and very relevant that you mostly focused your analysis on the news item's form: for instance, you mention how helpful the multimedia format and data visualization is to paint the whole picture -- I think a clear pattern is emerging in the way the pandemic is being reported in the news media today: lots of multimedia content and data visualization.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, I'm Rosana! I accessed from the wrong google account. The previous comment is mine too :-)
ReplyDeleteFinally, the engagement is a production stage, rather than an analysis stage. You should explain what kind of action would you take to contribute to the truthful dissemination of Covid-related information to the general public.