Recently in Analysis Category

The reporter used numbers in a lot of ways. He used them to simply tell facts and as comparisons. He also used them to help explain points he was making.

Although there are a lot of numbers in the story, they aren't overwhelming. They are easy to understand and there is enough writing in the story to balance out the large amount of numbers.

It is not clear whether the reporter actually used math to figure out the numbers or if he simply got the statistics straight from a report. Either way, there are calculations throughout the story that help explain the angle more effectively.

As far as sources for the numbers go, it is not completely clear. It is possible that they are all from the report that was issued and from the people that were interviewed.

The reporter used a number of sources. They contacted the head of the English department at the college where Ai taught, they used reviews people had written about her work in the past, past interviews with her, and even a poem she wrote.

It did have a standard obituary lead. It worked because it explained who she was and why her death was something that would have an affect on people.

It differs from a resume because there was emotion in it and more feeling behind the words. It did not simply say what she did, but how, why, when, etc. It was much more personable and emotional than a resume.

The beginning of the article talked about the fact that President Obama discussed it, when he did, and why.

WCCO is another news organization I looked at. They also feature videos and pictures. These features really add spunk and makes the story more interesting. I felt more engaged as a reader when I had video and photos to look at. The story was more than just words.

The main news in the first story is again, the straight facts. The first story was being written as the fire was taking place so it told immediately that two firefighters were injured and talking about how firefighters had to fight the fire from the outside. It also talked about the current condition of the fire.

The second story elaborated on what happened. It explained things, it gave witness accounts, and it gave quotes from people affected by the fire.

The reporter summarized the important events by simply answering the who, what, when, where, and why questions first before going more into detail and background information.

The way they ordered the information, by putting important story facts first and then going into background information, was very effective because you can skip reading the last bits of information and still get the story.

The sources are scattered throughout the story except for witness accounts. Witness stories are clumped together in the middle of the story.

Seven out of nine sources are from specific people while two, the police and Middlesex Hospital, are organizations.

The reporter paraphrased a lot of what the sources said and gave direct quotes for certain things. They did not just use the word 'said', they used the word 'told' as well. They also set up who the person was and their connection to the event in their attributions. This was effective because it made the sources more credible.