Friendly Reminder: Watch out for the cereal killer.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Froot_loops_in_a_bowl.jpg)

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/body-soul/cereal-offenders/story-e6frf01r-1225892749553

This article written by Sharon Labi was published in the lifestyle section of the Daily Telegraph on 18 July 2010. As suggested in the article, about 7.5 million Australians are regular purchasers of cereals, implying that this story can be of interest to a wide readership, justifying its news value in the paper.

The author quote a wide range of information sources - health experts, academics, research findings, food manufacturers, etc. She seemed to have covered many angles of the story. I would say this well-researched piece fulfill its role in informing and educating readers who are conscious about their diet and health.

At the beginning of the article, the author tried to capture the attention of readers by stating the 'surprising' fact that cereal can be less healthy than junk food in the lead. I believe she was using this technique to make readers feel they must read on and she leveraged on the 'unusual' facts to shape a newsworthy story.

However, I would like to argue that this article seemed to lack the timeliness element. The '10 healthiest cereals' report quoted in the end was released by consumer group Choice in April 2009, which is more than a year a go (see source 1). I have therefore conducted a quick search on the internet and found that the problem of unhealthy cereal had already been widely reported by various news outlets.

Guardian.co.uk addressed the same issue in an article published back in 2006: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/jul/19/foodanddrink.healthandwellbeing

Here is another article published by the Age after the release of the above-mentioned cereal review report by Choice in 2009: http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/only-two-cereals-healthy-enough-to-eat-everyday-20090429-amlt.html

Therefore, despite its informative structure, this article unfortunately do not have too much of a new angle to report on the issue. This could be disappointing to readers who are already aware of the facts, but reading the article for something new and exciting.

Source:

1) http://www.choice.com.au/Reviews-and-Tests/Food-and-Health/Food-and-drink/Groceries/Breakfast-cereal-review-and-compare/Page/Introduction.aspx