Tutorial: Editing for the Web

Both the news articles from Aljazeera and The National News are about the death of a five-year-old Moroccan boy, Rayan, who fell into a dry well that captivated the world.

News Website 1: Aljazeera

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/6/world-reacts-to-death-of-moroccan-boy-rayan-stuck-in-well

Screenshot of the news article

Headline

Save Rayan: Death of Moroccan boy sparks outpouring of heartbreak

The headline of Aljazeera is more SEO friendly because the phrase “Save Rayan” was put in the front which is also the trendy hashtag recently, “#SaveRayan”. People all over the world who are following this news would search this keyword to find out more about the information. The headline is powerful enough to catch the readers’ attention by pointing out the most crucial part of the information which is the death of Rayan.

Lead

Rescue efforts to save a five-year-old Moroccan boy who fell into a dry well on Tuesday had captivated the world, as people followed the painstaking five-day operation to reach him.

The journalist from Aljazeera used a delay lead in this news article because the journalist first stated the background of the incident which is about the rescue efforts that captivated the world, followed by revealing the death of Rayan in the second paragraph.

Structure

The news structure of the news article of Aljazeera is an inverted pyramid style. The news begins with a few paragraphs on the summary of the story in which the Moroccan boy, Rayan was fell into a dry well on Tuesday but he was found dead after a five-day operation and all the crucial information that the readers would like to know. It is then continued with some less important details such as how different parties expressed their condolences. The news by Aljazeera is suitable for the readers who aim to know the latest update as fast as possible.

Sources

The journalist from Aljazeera gained information from a lot of parties such as Rayan’s mother, Rayan’s cousin, Rayan’s aunt, volunteer, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, French President Emmanuel Macron, vice president of the United Arab Emirates, president of the Paris-based European Institute, social media influencer, Twitter users by interviewing them or quoting their social media posts. By collecting information from various sources, the content of this news article from Aljazeera is more complete and is able to give more perspectives to the readers.

Multimedia Elements

The multimedia elements used in the news article from Aljazeera are photos, videos, embedded Twitter posts while the multimedia elements that are contained in the news article from The National News are photos, photo slideshow, video and map. Various multimedia elements were included that can attract the readers and help them to understand the story.

Conclusion

​Improvements that can be made	Reasons for Improvements
​The death of Rayan should be stated in the lead.	​The death of Rayan is the most crucial information and the latest update that the readers would like to know.
​The statement by Rayan’s mother is recommended to be writen in quotes.	This is because what is said by Rayan’s mother is important and is able to provoke the readers’ emotions.
​Infographic or interactive elements can be included in the news article.	​Infographic or interactive elements can make a piece of news more attractive and increase the reader's engagement.

News Website 2: The National News

https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/2022/02/04/save-rayan-moroccan-teams-enter-tunnel-to-free-boy-from-well-after-three-days-of-digging/

Screenshot of the story

Headline

Rayan pronounced dead after painstaking rescue mission

The headline is strong and grabs the readers’ attention by bringing out the most important information which is the death of Rayan in a short and precise way. It also includes the keywords such as “Rayan” and “dead”.

Lead

Rayan Aourram, the Moroccan boy, 5, at the centre of a rescue effort that captivated the world, was pronounced dead on Saturday night.

The journalist used a summary lead because the lead consisted of the 5Ws1H and the most crucial information which is the death of Rayan. By comparing both, the lead of The National News is more attractive because the information that catches the reader's attention the most is the latest update of this incident.

Structure

The journalist made use of the hourglass style of news structure. The news also begins with a brief summary of the death of Rayan who fell into a dry well but is followed by a narrative about the process of rescuing the boy. For example, the crews first used five bulldozers to dig then they started excavating a horizontal tunnel to reach the trapped boy. Rescuers also feed Rayan food oxygen and food through an opening in the well. The news by The National News suits the readers who hope to see a clear image of what was happened from the beginning to the end.

Sources

The sources of The National News are Rayan’s mother, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, a reporter for a local outlet and Rayan’s father. The journalist was able to gain information from more than three sources and focused more on narrating the process and surroundings in detail.

Multimedia Elements

The multimedia elements provided by Aljazeera are suitable because the journalist included videos from Twitter that show the scenes of rescuing the boy well and how different people reacted to this incident.

Conclusion

Improvements that can be made	Reasons for Improvements
​It will be better if the hashtag “#SaveRayan” included in the headline to make it more SEO friendly.	​Trendy keywords are important to be included in headline because readers always search for information using these keywords.
​The journalist is recommended to gain information from more sources, for example, by interviewing the rescuers about the process of rescuing the boy.	The readers can gain more information from different perspectives and the reliability of the news can be increased if more sources are interviewed.
​An infographic or timeline should be included to illustrate the process of rescuing the boy.	Infographic is important to attract the readers and enable the readers to understand the tragedy in an easier way.