FINDING COMMON GROUND

So China finally released Aung Suu Kyi and, guess what? The telegraph has the whole thing on hot topics! Nothing spectacular, you’d think, taking in consideration the daily influx of international news that the British website boasts. The question here, though, is how is the information handled on The Telegraph?

The first article available to the reader is the actual news story – “In recent weeks, Beijing has underlined its commitment to Burma, calling it a “friendly neighbour” and warning the world not to meddle in its internal politics. Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, also received Than Shwe, the head of the ruling junta, for a state visit”, says the fourth paragraph, referring to the gradual evolution in Burman-Chinese relations. In fact, the article refers only marginally to the actual release of the activist; most lines are devoted to Chinese foreign policy. It definitely favors the reader who’s not up to date with the diplomatic debacle.

In fact, the final paragraph sums up the whole ordeal with more context – how the whole scenario fits in with Indian relations is also an important part of the news story. “Yesterday, the Indian Foreign minister, Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, expressed hope that the release would be the beginning of a process of reconciliation and a “more inclusive approach to political change”, that’s how the final paragraph closes, giving it a positive and somewhat lighthearted undertone.

But there’s more.

READER'S DELIGHT

Another article (“Release of Aung San Suu Kyi puts pressure on China”) is of much more analytical value, as it scans through the repercussions of the renowned political leader. The interesting part of this “related article” is how it fits right in with other news. This time, the emphasis is on the remaining imprisoned nobel winner: Liao Xaobo. “One of our Nobel Peace colleagues is imprisoned. We cannot be silent in the face of pressure from the Chinese government. Liu Xiaobo is not forgotten, we will work as diligently for his release as we have for that of our sister Aung San Suu Kyi” is the quote selected by the Telegraph that, coincidentally, also best describes the utility of this piece.

The editorial line of The Telegraph seeks to nurture context over everything, considering how “hot topics” are handled at the whim of the daily news agenda. In the end, what could be considered “stale” news is reinvigorated in an updated body, delivering not only a richer message, but also allowing new readers to join the talk.

This is, without a doubt, one of the better aspects of the Telegraph’s online portal.