A View on the News

After her dog went missing about a month ago, a 17-year-old girl from St. Paul received a box at her house two weeks ago with her dog's head inside. St. Paul police are investigating the case. The Humane Society of the United States is also helping out, offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

The first article I read is from ABC News, AP, and was written on March 15. The article offers many news values. It is fairly timely; however it is a bit delayed, for it actually happened two weeks ago. The article definitely shows the impact it had on organizations in the area and in the U.S. The article tells what the Humane Society is doing:

**The Humane Society of the United States said Wednesday it was offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. The local chapter offered another $1,000 reward.**

It also shows the impact it had on the young girl who was the owner of the dog, as well as her grandmother with whom she lives. The article notes that the event happened in St. Paul, giving it proximity for Minnesota Readers. It also gives emotional closeness. The article contains many quotes from the grandmother and Crystal as well, making the reader feel closer. Here are some examples:

**"I felt empty," Crystal told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. "I couldn't talk to anyone. He was my dog. It was just me and him. … I told him everything and he never shared any of my secrets."**

**"She was just hysterical," said Crystal's grandmother, Shirley Brown. "She was screaming. She said, 'Grandma, it's my dog's head!'**

**"This was so cruel," Crystal said. "This is one sick, twisted person."**

The article shows conflict, mostly because of the drama and the conflict within Crystal, the owner of the dog. The event itself has novelty because of the unusualness of the event. It's obvious that this sort of thing doesn't happen often.

This article can be found here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2953573

The second article I read on this event is from the Star Tribune, written on March 16. This article serves as more of an update than a first look at the event. It discusses the "bigger reward" for information on the case. None the less, it still explains the situation and contains many news values. It is obviously timely, seeing this all has happened within the last couple weeks. This article shows the impact of the event through quotes as well. Although there aren' t any quotes from the owner of the dog (appropriate, since it isn't the first time the paper has written on this topic), it does contain a quote from another important person:

**"I've never heard of another case getting this much attention and people wanting to contribute money like this. I think it's because this was so horrendous and because the victim was a teenage girl," Jill Fritz, the Humane Society's state program coordinator, said Friday.**

Because this particular article is about the bigger reward being offered, Fritz would be a good person to quote, being from the Humane Society, who is supplying the award money. The article also shows the impact nationally and other people's reactions to the event:

**Since the Humane Society announced the reward fund Wednesday and news about the case spread, the group has received pledges and donations from across the United States and Canada.**

The article shows proximity in the same ways as the first article and it somewhat shows the novelty, although it is a follow-up article.

This article can be found here: http://www.startribune.com/467/story/1060291.html

I think because these articles have a different goal in mind, it is difficult to compare them. However, in my opinion, I think both of them did a great job of incorporating new values within them so the reader will know why this event is important.