Ashley Danielle's Blog

Week 3: Unrestricted Web Publishing

Today, I had the opportunity to read an article that was of interest to me even though public interest has waned over the years; the continued recovery in Haiti following the earthquake some three years ago.  Because of the underdeveloped infrastructure prior to the event, the country was devastated and still requires much work assistance from organizations like the United Nations (U.N.) for continued support.  The article “U.N. Struggles to Stem Haiti Cholera Epidemic” focused on the spread of the disease and the resulting effects on the country.  Since the 2010 earthquake, the United Nations and other non-profit organizations have attempted to aid Haitians in recovery through water filtration and purification tablets and other aid supplies. 

In order to evaluate an article of this nature, authenticating the publication is important for its validation as a legitimate source of information.  The article was featured in the New York Times, a source I deem valid because of its authors and reputation.  In the article, the author provides an in depth, unbiased, analysis of the situation which includes information from authorities in the field.  These sources included data reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), a leading global organization for data collection on health issues, diseases, and outbreaks and Doctors Without Borders who are currently in Haiti working on cholera cases.  Pedro Medrano Rojas, the Secretary General of the United Nations, as well as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs were sited throughout the article for the organization’s perspective. 

What separated the piece from being biased was the additional input.  In addition to citing information from the large health organizations, the authors also used input from Haitian citizens and the Haitian government, giving a complete portrait of everyone effected.  Lastly, the authors seem to report with authority because of their background and experiences.  The story is written by two authors with different perspectives.  Randal C. Archibold reported from Haiti and Somini Sengupta reported from the United Nations.  These differing experiences allowed for the collective article to be factual and valid. 

References

Archibold, R. C., & Sengupta, S. (2014, April 19). U.N. struggles to stem Haiti cholera

epidemic. The New York Times. Retrieved from:  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/20/world/americas/un-struggles-to-stem-haiti-cholera-epidemic.html?ref=world&_r=0