Minnesota brothers found in lake
Two brothers who went missing in November from their home on an Indian Reservation were found dead on Sunday not far from their home. Authorities are not sure exactly what happened, although one theory says they wandered away from their yard, went onto the frozen lake and fell through. Autoposies will be done on the boys, which may help authorities discover what happened.
The first article I found on the event is from USA Today and can be found here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-02-minn-boys_N.htm
This article is fairly short but gives the details of the event clearly. The event has timeliness because it just happened on Sunday; the article indicates this. The article definitely shows the impact the event has on the people involved in the case, like the FBI agent:
**"Today our worst fears were confirmed," said FBI agent Ralph Boelter.**
It doesn't go into detail about the family's reaction to the findings of their sons; this may be because they were unable to get quotes from them, or perhaps it was a conscious decision, since all parents who lose a child are sad and remorseful. The article does mention the impact it had on the community as well as a past incident that affected the community, as well:
**The Red Lake reservation is the same place where 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandfather and grandfather's companion on March 21, 2005, then went to the high school and killed seven more people, including a teacher and a security guard, before killing himself.**
This article has proximity to a Minnesotan because this happened in Minnesota, however the article is from USA Today; therefore, it is not directed at Minnesotans. There is some conflict shown here, because they are not sure exactly what happened to the two boys. The event is a novelty of some sorts because it doesn't happen every day. And, of course, they have been looking for the boys for awhile now. Regarding the supplemental aspects of news values, the article shows currency with the event. This case has been going on since November, therefore it is worthy of discussion.
The second article I looked at is from kare11.com. It can be found here: http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=249686
Although this article is from the Associated Press originally, I feel it contains more news values and caters to Minnesotans more than the first article. First of all, the article is timely because it clarifies that the boys were found on Sunday. However, we don't find out this until the third paragrph, which I thought was interesting. Perhaps the reporter didn't think that was the most important information, but they put this quote (which the other article contains as well) before it:
**"Our worst fears were confirmed," FBI Special Agent Ralph Boelter said, announcing that the two tiny bodies had been found about a half-mile from their home.**
This was an interesting choice, I think. The event has impact and the article shows this. It uses way more quotations to convey emotion than the first one:
**"So many people were hoping for the safe return of these boys back home," Red Lake Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. said in a statement late Sunday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family in the wake of this disappointing news, and their heartbreaking loss."**
**"I'm grateful that we found the bodies," Boelter said. "Obviously it's very tragic for the families involved as well as the Red Lake Community."**
These quotations show the impact the event had on the people involved in the case as well as those who live on the same reservation as the boys' family. The article ends in the same way as the first one did, mentioning this former event, with this paragraph:
**The reservation had faced another tragedy less than two years before the boys' disappearance. On March 21, 2005, 16-year-old Jeff Weise killed his grandfather and the grandfather's girlfriend on the reservation, then went to the high school and killed seven more people, including a teacher and a security guard, before killing himself.**
The article does have proximity because it is from kare11.com in Minnesota, where the event took place. Although it was from the Associated Press, the article was appropriately used by a Minnesota news source. The article shows some conflict and unusualness for the same reasons as the first article does. This story also has currency because it is a subject worthy of discussion; the search for the boys has gone on for a long time and finally, their bodies are found.
I think these two articles both explain the situation and the event welll; they use a lot of the same information, obviously, and some of the same quotes. In my opinion, the second one really "hits home," not only because of the proximity but because of the quotes the reporter inserted into the story. Getting quotes from those involved in a case like this makes it easier to read and more interesting to read, as well. The reader understands how people feel about this. Although it may be obvious that people are going to feel sad after a tragic event like this, it is always something people want to hear.