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.