February 2010 Archives

After a substandard performance four years ago in Turin, Norway seems to be back on form in Vancouver, where Marit Bjoergen won gold No. 99 on Wednesday in the women's cross-country sprint.

I feel like this lead is poorly written. As I was reading it I felt that the details seemed scattered. I was confused about what was happening in the story. It does give the details of who, but later on and starts off the story by the what. Even though the details are there I felt like they were scattered, and could have been written better. After reading the lead i lost interest in the story, and didn't care about what the rest of the article entailed.

On the eve of the Olympic women's downhill, Lindsey Vonn told her husband to be ready to stand with her at the start. A week of nursing a painful shin injury -- and carrying the weight of the world's expectations -- had frayed her nerves, and she hoped he could calm her before the race she had waited for all her life

I felt that this lead was written very well. I see all the details of who and what at the beginning. It grabs the reader's attention by informing them with the consecutive events. It gives all the needed details no extra. The lead was Concise, clear and to the point.

The Post Gazette reported Sunday that they have issued another National weather advisory in Pittsburgh and most of southern Pennsylvania. There may be a possibility of an extra four to six more inches of snow falling from Monday morning to Monday night. They're continuing the advisory until noon Tuesday. They have already received a full three feet of snow, and the snow continues to fall in regions in the East Coast.

This story was reported today and the scheduled expectation of snow is on Monday so this news story has immediacy. They seem to have the news reported before the expected time of the snow fall. This story also contains proximity, everyone near the East Coast or lives in Pennsylvania are aware of the amount of snow that they are about to experience. Finally, this report also has impact. The areas in the East Coast that are experiencing nearly three feet of snow are certainly impacted by the constant amount of snowfall. Many East Coast residents don't have electricity and because of the impact of the snow most of the local stores are closed down. People are worried as to when the massive amount of snowfall will ever stop.

The Post Gazette reported on Saturday that two people were found dead at two separate city shootings. William Ford, 31, was found dead at the scene. Ford was well known by police for previous drug and gun charges. Ford was found on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso. The second victim was Devin Gastion, 21, who was also found on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. He was then taken to the Allegheny General Hospital, where, he was pronounced dead soon after. No arrests have been made on either killing.
By reporting these stories that occurred on the 13th and the 14th of February this story has immediacy. The Post Gazette immediately reported both deaths immediately after they took place. This story also includes emotion; many of the people that are related to the victims are affected by the traumatic news. Also, the local residents that live near the locations where both killings took place must be affected emotionally by their safety. There is also a huge impact on the residents about their neighborhood safety, and their maintained skepticism from the violence in their neighborhoods.

The Associated press reported Tuesday that a drunken man stole an ambulance from a Wisconsin ski area with the patient inside.

The Minnesota Daily reported on Thursday that 44,000 students have been charged with accidental late fees on their tuition bill. The University spokesman Dan Wolter, apologized on behalf of the University and is advising any University student to speak to One Stop if they are still experiencing difficulties. The main delay in fixing the error is due to the universities billing system. Wolter also added that the amount of fees differ from student to student.
This news story includes immediacy because the university was able to publish the story immediately the next day. Additionally they also acted upon and resolved the issue as soon as possible, and advertised it to university students to seem immediate assistance from One Stop. There is also proximity in this story. This is an issue that that occurred on the university campus, most of the students would be concerned about this topic specifically, if they are one of the 44,000 students that were charged. Finally, I believe there is also novelty in this story because these types of issues don't occur on campus very often especially when 44,000 students are affected by it. As a student at the University I don't come across issues like this.

The Minnesota daily reported on Thursday that there was a body found of an unidentified man near campus. His body was found lying in the snow at 4 a.m. Thursday morning. The police found the man dead after responding to a call about an unconscious body. The body has been identified; however the police have not released the name . They haven't found out the cause of death until the autopsy is completed. Chief Chuck Miner verified that the victim was not a University student of, staff or faculty member. The police declared that is the eighth murder so far this year in the city of Minneapolis.
By publishing this story in the Minnesota daily in the university paper it has proximity. The victim's body was found near campus, so it is very relevant for the university attendants to be informed. Additionally there is also impact to this story because since there have been eight deaths in the past year, clearly the university attendants should become more cautious about their environment. Finally there is emotion in the story, many people have been robbed, attacked and killed recently. Everyone seems to be bothered emotionally by the constant crimes that have been consistently occurring on or near campus.