Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6994773/Brunei-says-wont-enforce-gay-death-penalty-backlash.html
CNN
The reporting of CNN is fair and accurate as a whole. In their article, they generated the fact that the Brunei Sultan will going to stop the stoning penalty towards the LGBT society. They had included the Sultan’s speaking and the response from the LGBT rights activist also with the thoughts of the local LGBT citizens. This news report is verified and independent as the news article is written by CNN which is not related to Brunei.
Some people may argue that the article is not balance due to it does not interviewed radical conservative Islamists about their opinions towards the delay of the penalty. However, I think that the article will falls under false balance by doing this. Due to our universal value, it is brutal to put one to death due to their sexual orientation. News publishers should not give a chance for extremists to spread their propaganda. However, the news article can introduce and list out the perspective regulation of Syaria Law towards homosexuality.
The title of the news article used by CNN showed that CNN intends to give readers impression that CNN is standing at a status that represents the international community. In their article, they also listed out boycotts of other international industries or celebrities towards Brunei in the lead. CNN has always been reporting about gay pride parade that happens in United States. This shows the stan of the news agency as they are concerned about the LGBT community.
CNN has cleverly hyperlinked the previous process of the death penalty implementation of Brunei or news about industries or celebrities boycotting Brunei in their content. Readers will not need to leave the website to search more about the details of the issue.
The vocabulary used by CNN in reporting this case is strong as they uses ” Brunei backs down on gay sex death penalty after international backlash” for their title. They enforced the meaning of the title that the Brunei Sultan was influenced by the international pressure to stop death penalty on gay.
Daily Mail
Compared to CNN, Daily Mail reported the delayed death penalty enforcement on homosexuality in a more British-based way. This is because Daily Mail is a news agency which positioned themselves as a newspaper which is more related to readers life.
The title used for this news article is “Sultan of Brunei says he will NOT enforce the death penalty for gay sex after widespread backlash led by celebrities including Elton John and George Clooney”. Same as CNN, they mentioned that the Brunei Sultan decided to postpone the implementation of death penalty is due to the boycotting of celebrities towards Brunei. To attract users to click into the article, they listed Elton John and George Clooney boycotted Brunei.
The paragraph mentioning “The wealthy sultan, who once piloted his own 747 airliner to meet former US president Barack Obama, often faces criticism from activists who view his absolute monarchy as despotic is not relevant with the news story. This paragraph seems to triggered irritation of readers towards the Sultan in a sensational way.
Daily Mail also gave a big coverage about the protest in London and New York against Brunei’s Sultan owned hotels. Daily Mail have posted two videos about the protest and interviewed people who joined the protest. They also mentioned that Oxford University decision to reconsider awarding an honorary degree to the Sultan.
However, Daily Mail have briefly explained what exactly Syria Law is to its readers. Although there do exists some bias in the report, but considering the position of Daily Mail, I think that this is considered a balanced report except lacking the views of Brunei people to let readers to understand their thoughts towards this issue.
BBC
BBC uses “Brunei says it won't enforce death penalty for gay sex” as their title. This is different from CNN or Daily Mail which emphasises the boycott from celebrities or companies. This title has established a style of reporting which is neutral and not emotional.
BBC only stated that “The rethink follows global outcry over the laws, including boycotts and celebrity protests.” In the third paragraph and mentioned the names of the celebrities in the last paragraph. In this news article, BBC more focus on introducing Brunei and Syaria Law also a video interview of Brunei gay people who left Brunei due to the homophobia atmosphere in their country.
BBC also explains the Syaria laws introduced on 3 April marked the next phase of the legislation, and covered crimes punishable by amputation and stoning. This is after the first phase covered crimes punishable by prison sentences and fines which is introduced at 2014. This gives a clearer picture for the readers to understand the influence of the amendment of laws.
As a whole, this news article is fair and accurate as the facts are reported in a neutral and balance way. BBC does not insert too much of their emotions in this article instead they do provide enough information for readers to understand the incident. I think that the most accurate reporting among these different news agencies will be BBC’s report.
Restructured News Article:
Brunei says it won't enforce death penalty for gay sex
Brunei has backtracked on enforcing laws introduced last month that would have made sex between men and adultery punishable by stoning to death.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced that the ban on the execution of the death penalty was extended to Islamic law, including the penalty of stone death in homosexuality and adultery in the Iraqi Criminal Code.
The rethink follows global outcry over the laws, including boycotts and celebrity protests.
While still on the statute books for some crimes, no executions have been carried out in Brunei since 1957.
Last month Brunei rolled out a strict new interpretation of Islamic laws, or Sharia.
In a speech, the sultan said he was aware there had been "many questions and misperceptions" regarding the implementation of the legislation, called Syariah Penal Code Order (SPCO).
While saying that a moratorium on the death penalty would be applied to the SPCO he also defended the new rules, saying their "merit" would become clear.
The speech marks the first time the country's ruler has spoken publicly about the legislation since their introduction.
Homosexuality was already illegal in Brunei and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Muslims make up about two-thirds of the country's population of 420,000.
What are the laws?
The small South-East Asian nation first introduced Sharia law in 2014, giving it a dual legal system with both Sharia and Common Law.
The first phase covered crimes punishable by prison sentences and fines.
he laws introduced on 3 April marked the next phase of the legislation, and covered crimes punishable by amputation and stoning.
Under the legislation:
Offences such as rape, adultery, sodomy, robbery and insult or defamation of the Prophet Muhammad carry the maximum penalty of death
Lesbian sex carries a different penalty of 40 strokes of the cane and/or a maximum of 10 years in jail
The punishment for theft is amputation
Those who "persuade, tell or encourage" Muslim children under the age of 18 "to accept the teachings of religions other than Islam" are liable to a fine or jail
Individuals who have not reached puberty but are convicted of certain offences may be instead subjected to whipping.
What was the reaction?
The laws sparked international outrage, throwing the tiny South-East Asian nation into the global spotlight.
Ahead of their implementation, the UN warned that the laws contravened international human rights standards set out in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights - which was ratified by Brunei in 2006.
Celebrities including George Clooney and Elton John called for a boycott of luxury hotels with links to Brunei over the legislation.
Mr Clooney said the new laws amounted to "human rights violations".
Many in Brunei's gay community expressed shock and fear at the punishments.
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