Astley, M 2012,
Mengniu looks to 'eliminate' small farm raw milk sourcing in quality assurance effort
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| Mengniu Milk |
This article has a host of advantages and disadvantages as an investigative feature. In the first place, this topic is characterized by its newsworthiness. According to Conley (1997, p. 58), there are a few news values, such as impact, conflict, timeliness, proximity, currency, human interest, and the unusual. Since 2008, Mengniu has been the subject of repeated scandals, including a massive tainted milk scandal, melamine contamination and high levels of aflatoxin in dairy products. This positive story was big news because it provided evidence of product innovation at Mengniu to rebuild its reputation and raise confidence, both in the eyes of the public and the company itself. Investigative journalism is about choosing issues for investigation that are relevant to people’s lives and concern matters that are important to the public (Kamsma 2010). Houston, Bruzzese and Weinberg (2002) claim that investigative reporting is “comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable”. Infants, children and their parents were affected by the Mengniu milk event, therefore, this article explains the future plans of Mengniu in order to comfort people and could exert profound influence on the public. What is more, it has timeliness because the largest dairy producer of Danish, Arla Foods, has just became the largest shareholder in Mengniu, the article has “news calue of currency” (Conley 1997, p. 62). It was a good time to publish this article.
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| Farm |
However, there is no particular method employed, such as questionnaires, experimental procedure and focus groups. The journalist does not state clearly how he carried out the investigation, how the information was selected or how he decided if it was relevant. The reporter received his current information from a spokesperson, possibly during a media tour, so all the information is subjective and from the company.
Moreover, in spite of the fact that the style and structure of this report is suitable for an investigative feature, it lacks enough detail on a positive note. The title of this article concisely states the topic of the report. It is informative and descriptive and through reading the title, people understand the main issue of this article. At the beginning of the article, it states who, when, where, what and follows the “inverted pyramid” structure. It also mentions a little of the background. However, after the main descriptive and results sections, the discussion section needed to be more analytical. That is, although the author brings everything together and presents stakstics the important information is mainly subjective. He needed to be more objective and dig deeper into the facts.
This article is an independent report which provides satisfactory evidence, but there is not enough. The journalist used “primary” and “tertiary sources” (Pincus 2012, para. 2-4) in this article. This is illustrated by the use of “Mengniu spokesperson Chris Kwok told DairyReporter.com that...” and “Mengniu also announced that...” throughout this article. The source of this information is from an interview. There are a few statements from the company and the spokesperson of Mengniu, Chris Kwok, who is speaking on behalf of the company was interviewed voluntarily. In addition, investigative journalism cannot be judgmental and it needs to produce conclusive evidence (Research Methodology for Investigative Journalism: An Introduction1 2008). Evidence has been used in this article and is cited, leading to valid conclusions which show the public the determination of Mengniu to improve their milk quality.
This article appears to have no underlying biases or assumptions and to be fact-based, considered and a piece of public-oriented journalism. Nevertheless, this is not a balanced piece. There is no other evidence provided, such as “audio tapes, covert material, other forensic material” (Investigation Reports 2010, para. 10). More specifically, except for Mengniu company and the data the company offered, there are no other interviews, or experts from the ranches, or in the field of farming to give expert opinions on the new advanced inspection systems. Even though Mengniu has decided to build its own farms, it will take time before these farms will provide any substantial contribution to the milk supply. So, this article is not very persuasive.
This journalist uses feature writing conventions, although not to the best effect. The article includes the facts backed by evidence such as, figures and real information from real people, but there is no informed analysis. Also, it decribes the facts instead of conveying “emotion or atmosphere” (Pincus 2012, para. 2). Moreover, the journalist does not always use techniques to hold the reader’s interest. The lead is not an attention-grabbing “hook the reader” (Pincus 2012, para. 4). It offers information but does not whet the appetite successfully. The content simply presents the information. My suggestion for this piece is to add more data analysis, reporting of the findings and background research.
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References List (Harvard)
BooksConley, D 1997, The Daily Miracle, Oxford University Press, USA.
Houston, B & Bruzzese, L & Weinberg, S 2002, The Investigative Reporter's Handbook, Bedford, UK, London.
Websites
Astley, M 2012, Mengniu looks to 'eliminate' small farm raw milk sourcing in quality assurance effort, viewed 19 Aug 2012,
Investigation Reports 2010, viewed 19 Aug 2012,
Kamsma, J 2010, Towards a methodology for Web-based investigative reporting, viewed 19 Aug 2012,
Research Methodology for Investigative Journalism: An Introduction1 2008, viewed 19 Aug 2012,
Other Sources
Pincus, M 2012, ‘7506HUM Investigative Journalism Week 3/ 4 Lecture: Evidence’, Retrieved from Griffith University, School of Communication, Learning@Griffith web site:
https://learning.secure.griffith.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_116686_1&frame=top
