Evaluation of General Sources

Source 1:

• URL: The URL ends in .org, which is a top-level domain name for ORGanization. Most internet URL's that end in .org are credible sources. 
• Author: The author of the information is Rebecca Bowe, a journalist that was once an editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. 
• Last Updated: This article does not say when it was last updated, however it was published on April 4, 2015. The information is not outdated because the incident occurred on April 1 of this year. Some of the links on this page include other articles written by the author, related topics, and the social media icons allow you to follow the website on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc. These links lead to different articles on the same website and to social media websites that are still working.   
• Purpose: The text is trying to inform the audience of an incident involving a man and several police officers. People are debating whether they used excessive force against the man or not. The author uses statements/interviews made by eyewitnesses to get the full story on the incident.  
• Graphics: There is a video of part of the incident between the officers and man. It shows him being beaten a few times by a baton and the police trying to arrest him. I heard the man crying for help in the background as he was being taken down by police. 
• Position on Subject: The source does not seem to take one side over the other because she uses statements from two sides of the controversy. The man who people believe to be the victim may benefit if others agree that he was brutally attacked by police officers. I can verify this information with another online source: Video Surfaces of Controversial Arrest. 
• Links: The source does not suggest to look further into the story by researching other sources for information. The article does not cite reputable sources, however the author mentions the chief of police and a few of the eyewitnesses along with the victim in her story. 

Source 2: 

• URL: This source also ends in .org, which almost always means the website is a credible source. There is also a Harvard Kennedy School logo in the top right corner that adds credibility to the site.  
• Author:There are two authors for this source, John Wihbey and Leighton Walter Kille. Wihbey is the assistant director of the Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and Kille is the research editor at the same school. 
• Last Updated: The last updated date is July 1, 2015. The authors use recent incidents as well as incidents that happened over a decade ago in their article. Several links on the page are related posts and social media icons that lead to other articles and to social media webpages. 
• Purpose: The text is informing the audience of incidents involving police brutality and the different views on the subject matter. I do not believe this article is promoting an idea/view or advertisement. 
• Graphics: There is a small picture at the top left side of the article of protesters in Ferguson, Missouri. This picture helps give the audience an idea of what it is like for people against excessive force from police officers. 
• Position on Subject: The source is not biased on the controversy because it provides facts on specific incidents involving police. The information in this article can be verified with other online sources. 
• Links: The article does not suggest to research any further on the information provided. The authors use information from other reports to help support their topics.