Sloppy n' Choppy

The article, Powerful Women line up for Coakley by Matt Viser in the Boston Globe, is a story about current Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and her quest to become the first Massachusetts U.S. senator. The US senate has always been dominated by men and her story draws eery parallels to another woman who also recently ran for a political position that had always been held by men. If you haven't guessed who it is by now then you really don't deserve to be living in America.

Viser made sure to include a mass of statements from Coakley's female supporters, but failed to get anything significant from her male supporters (besides their names). Although it contained great information, the story did not focus on what the title promised. The title suggested that it was an article about the women who supported Coakley, but that wasn't really the case. It is true that Viser included the statements of these 'powerful women' in his story, but the article focused more on Coakley herself.

Overall, it wasn't good. The story was misnamed and didn't include the detail necessary for giving the reader a full view of the situation. Viser also overdid it on all the quotes of women saying the same thing! It got kind of annoying hearing over-and-over how “We’ve waited a long time for this" or “It... would be groundbreaking." or " It's historic!" Don't beat a dead horse; he should have quoted two of his major sources and just stopped.

Intriguing

Hitler will forever be regarded as one of the greatest villains who ever lived. Many know the story that he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head before the allies could apprehend him. The article in USA today, titled Skull piece thought to be Hitler's is from Woman by Pat-Eaton Rob, reports on the research of a team from the University of Connecticut that recently examined what was thought to be the last remnant of Hitler's body- a skull fraction. However, the skull was much to small to belong to an adult male and DNA analysis reveled that the skull actually came from a female. The skull fraction could have come from Eva Braun, the woman Hitler was intimate with and who incidentally killed herself, too. It is possible but the story makes an interesting turn when forensics reveal that based on the fragment, whoever died was shot in the face as opposed to holding a gun up to one's head (common in suicide).

The article was very well-written. The topic was very well chosen and researched. In fact, Rob actually presents us a story that he has researched so thoroughly that no other important scientific facts can be added. Instead, we are left with questions. Usually when I am left with questions, it is not a good sign, but in this article, the questions help build this Hitler story's mystery (even more-so). The article was well-structured with the most important fact stuck right in the first sentence. From this point, Rob went into detail about Hitler and the story behind the skull. He also included the scientific reasoning that led researcher's to their conclusion, but the real icing-on-the-cake came at the end. The questions that Rob posed to his readers allowed them to imagine all these scenarios so that they became apart of this great mystery. Altogether, a captivating read that needs a follow up.

A Scientific Article Observed

In the spirit of the upcoming scientific article we are to write, I have been reading over stories covering science, technology, and health in order to get an understanding of how reporters write about very complex topics without losing their readers in the scientific verbiage. The following article, After a Death, the Pain That Doesn't Go Away by Fran Schumer from the NY Times, is a very likable piece that many people can relate to. The story diagnosis a new level of depression known as complicated grief. Complicated grief is a severe depression that stems from the death of a loved one. The article suggests that complicated grief increases a person's likeliness to cultivate a dependence on drugs and alcohol, to be more likely to commit suicide, or to develop a series of other illnesses (eg. cancer). Those with complicated grief are so closely bound to their loved ones that they become addicted to them. They are pulled apart by their yearning, because they can no longer satisfy their urge for the deceased's contact.

Schumer's article was well-written and well-researched. In fact, she actually kind of exhausted all the professionals on the subject. Towards the end of her piece, she noted that there are only a few experts on the subject (most were already noted in the article). The story was also a very easy read for a scientific article. It helped that the topic was relatable, because many people have experienced the loss of a loved one at point. Those who have suffered a loss understand the pain of those who suffer complicated grief. Someone who suffers from a broken heart is a very catchy story. This article included several sources (all with reputable knowledge on the topic) and two real life stories of people who suffer from complicated grief. Schumer's article was well-done because it was able to be personal and informative at the same time.

Motivating

As we come out of one of the worst recessions in the history of the US, It is a very rare thing to find a story that shows improvement in any sector of the financial and labor market. So, when I stumbled across the article State set to recover sooner than US by Robert Gavin in the Boston Globe, I was overjoyed at the change of pace. Finally! Things are looking up! The story basically compares local economic activity (ie. job loss, home sales, etc.) to the national average of economic activity. The results? Massachusetts (Boston in particular) is standing tall against the red tide of job loss, bank closures, and real estate collapse, but not to be too optimistic, Gavin gave about a paragraph towards the end to note that Boston is NO Utopia. The unemployment rate is still high and the real estate market isn't the gem that it used to be; there is still room for improvement and that improvement will be slow and difficult.

For this entry, I decided to critique this article based on a very solid rubric. Did it answer the following questions: who, what, why, when, where, and how?

• Who? - Massachusetts businesses and Banks which include: Metratech, Kinefac Corp., etc.
• What? - The state of the Massachusetts economy is much better than the national state
• Why? - Because by comparing national statistics with that of Boston, we see that there are significant percentage differences in the amount of unemployment, the real estate market, the numbers of bank foreclosures, and other recession related economic downturns.
• Where? - This growth is occurring in most parts of the Massachusetts economy (referred to in Why?)
• How? - Economists, like Mark Zandi who was referred to in the article, accredit this growth to the amount of "exports and business spending, and technology is a big part of that. That’s important to places like Boston and Massachusetts."

Overall a very motivating article, It gave me valuable information on all parts of the subject including how Massachusetts performed in previous recessions. I would change 2 things about this article. First I would include more quotes from analysts and economists, because this piece only quoted two notable sources. Secondly, I would have moved the closing stories about the real-life, struggling citizens to the front of the article and then concluded it with their return to Massachusetts, as opposed to, tacking on their story at the end of the article like an afterthought.

A Hopeful and Captivating Story

It may seem from my previous posts that I hate every article I come across. So for today, I chose to write about an article that I enjoyed. Surfing as Rehab for Those Fighting Addiction, by reporter Malia Wollan, was a touching story about Darryl Virostko, also known as 'the flea,' who is notoriously known for surfing some of the largest waves in the world. His story puts him on the California beaches, where methamphetamine abuse was spreading like wildfire. His career as a big wave surfer began while high on meth and the trend didn't let up as he became an alcoholic and a user of a cocktail of other drugs. Now sober, he runs a sobriety program called FleaHab where he teaches drug rehab patients how to surf.

This article was touching summation of Virostko's long journey; it is a story that needs to be heard so that it can inspire change within others seeking sobriety. The article included information on national and local drug use trends and also noted the lethal consequences of drug abuse in such a high risk sport. It all helped build the story in a positive way. However, for the sake of being thorough, I would like to note one part that I felt weakened the story. By including the accessory comments of Virostko's friend, Josh Pomer, It took the focus away from Virostko. I will say that I was very interested in what he said, but I had to go back in the article and figure out who this 'Mr.Pomer' was. Overall, It was a well constructed article that was an inspiring and interesting read.

The Post vs. The Times Round 1: Iranian Nuclear Plant

The Washington Post and the New York Times are part of an elite group of nationally and internationally accredited newspapers. In the world of fast paced journalism, these papers rank supreme in digging up the biggest stories from around the globe. The headline for today? THE ONCE SECRET IRANIAN NUCLEAR ENRICHMENT PLANT!! Who covered it better?

In a nutshell, the Iranians recently confessed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that they were in the process of constructing what they called a "pilot plant" for enriching radioactive material for commercial use. The problem is that under international law, Iran did not have the consent of the IAEA to create a facility; inspectors must be sent in prior to construction to ensure the safety of the international community and to check for the production of weapons grade radioactive material. President Obama shot back that the U.S. had known about Iran's secret plant for years and that the only reason why the Iranians finally confessed was because they found out that the U.S. knew. The conflict grew and more countries joined the U.S. to disapprove of Iran's actions which include Russia, Britain, Israel, and Germany. Obama claims that the only reason why the U.S. had not acted on their intelligence was because not enough damning evidence was collected.

If I was judging solely on size, the Times's two-page story would be a footnote to the Post's four-page novel, but I am focused on the articles themselves. The Post had a mountain of detail and an army of sources. Some of the best statements came from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The reporter pitted these quotes against President Obama and set up a tabloid dialogue between these two leaders. Both articles heavily favored the "American" opinion of the situation, but The Post did give another perspective to the story. It included Iran's explanation on the matter, noting "that no nuclear material has been introduced into the facility".

Then there is the New York Times. The thing I like about the Times is that they kept it short and sweet. They hit all the important facts and unlike The Post, the article didn't bombard me with statements from a dozen diplomats who were all basically saying the same thing. The story was captivating and had excellent flow that summarized the situation, while still including interesting, underlying stories. Even though The Post also had supplemental stories, each one seemed capable of being a completely separate article. For example, there was mention of Israel's fear that they might be the intended target of Iran's new enrichment facility and there's also the open-ended question of whether Iran had done anything wrong at all. The Times stuck to the facts of the story without losing their readers in the detail.

So who wins? The long-winded but informative Washington Post or the quick and dirty New York Times? In my personal opinion, I like knowing the facts of a situation. The facts help me come to my own conclusion rather than relying on another individual's point of view. I believe that The Post takes home the win today. Its extensive reporting covered more than one side of this story which helped me to develop my own opinion on the issue.

Great Content, Great Reporting, but Painfully Plain

There are only a few reasons why some people would know about the island of Saipan. They were either soldiers there in WWII, were involved in the take down of the garment factories in the early 21st century, or lived as residents or deployed soldiers on the nearby island of Guam. Although Saipan is relatively small and is oceans away from any metropolis, a good news story is always just around the corner; that is if you can learn to look past the facade of the carefree, tropical Eutopia it appears to be.

The article, Fitial driver busted for allegedly selling 'ice' using governor's car from the Saipan Tribune, reports on the recently jailed Pete Reyes who served as driver to the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Benigno Fitial. The story itself seems to have been pulled from a book of FBI sting operations and comes complete with an informant, a stake-out, and an "ice" dealing/drug using villain. However, the article falls short of the captivating tale that it could have been. The story amounted to exactly 501 words- including the title (not exactly the BIG story you'd expect from a drug bust). I personally prefer an article that is both informative and masterfully worded so that a genuine story emerges from the facts. When the reporter was describing the details of the drug exchange, which was to happen in the parking lot of the governor's office next to a playground, he/she couldn't have made it more bland.

"Reyes was seen walking out to the source's vehicle from the side of the Governor's Office. Inside the source's vehicle, Reyes allegedly handed over 0.12 grams of “ice” to the source."

The story is bland and lacks descriptive detail about the scene, the operatives, and the dealer. It sounds more like a description of a bank transaction than a drug deal.

The article was full of captivating information, but the presentation of the facts dries out what could have been a juicy story.

Interesting, but Incomplete

The article, Prison Workers Are Disciplined in Inmate Death written by the Associated Press, was a great story overall. The piece explained the aftermath following the death of an inmate at a female penitentiary. Marcia Powell was convicted of prostitution in the state of Arizona and was sentenced to a little over 2 years in Perryville Prison. Sadly, she was left in an uncovered, outdoor cell for 4 hours. Four hours! Outside! In Arizona! Needless to say, she died of heat related causes and the prison guards responsible for her death were either fired or severely reprimanded. The reporter spoke to all the right people- from the Department of Corrections Director to the County Attorney, but he/she left a lot of unanswered questions. Why was the prison psychologist punished? Did the psychologist order for Powell to be placed in the outdoor cell? Do the guards still practice the "wait-it-out" policy for unruly inmates- the same policy that directly led to Powell's death? And with prison guards in such high demand, who is going to staff the Perryville penitentiary? To me, the story seems incomplete, but I suppose that when covering the news, you can't get every single detail in one column. The reporter covered the important facts, but there is more left to be uncovered.