Ali Jaafar's "Expressway to yr News"

(I will analyze this story by the Star Tribune)

This story is a pretty strange one - it covers the fact that the President of Indonesia had recently released an album of so-called "schmaltzy pop songs." This story cover lots of ground as far as diversity goes - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a muslim, a foreign leader, and, apparently, an eccentric.

The article is, as expected, pretty strange. While it seems to maintain a safe distance and separation from the suject matter, it also subtly brings out the "freak factor." Calling the tunes "schmaltzy" and highlighting the indifference of the public all serve to bring out the fact that the reader is definitely supposed to laugh at the singing president who longs for "the queen of my heart."

I'm not sure how to feel about this story. it doesn't really overstep any REALLY taboo boundaries and is respectful to religion and race, but it definitely has a kind of "Onion" feel to it, as if it is lampooning the subject. We're not supposed to do that, right?

Posted by Ali Jaafar at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I will be reviewing this article on job growth from the Star Tribune.

This article, which addresses the slowing rate of job growth in Minnesota, is absolutely packed with numbers. It frequently references percentages, yearly gaps, and dates without pause. In order to understand and appreciate the article, it is necessary to carefully read, internalize, and consider these facts and figures.

That said, the writer does a good job with them. No figure is presented as a solitary, unexplained fact; context is alwys given. For example, when he tells you that he jobless rate rose to 4.9 percent, he also tells you that it was 4.7 nation-wide. Contextual descriptors like "half of the previous year" also help the reader get a holistic picture of Minnesota's job growth.

The presence of numerous analysts' quotes also break up the monotony and make the article more palatable. It also allows the less mathematically inclined to understand the rhetorical point that the article is making. To wit: it doesn't get more direct or non-numerical than "It's tough to grow faster than the nation."

Posted by Ali Jaafar at 6:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I will analyze this obituary in the Star Tribune.

This obituary follows the NY Times format almost exactly, with only slight, sentence-long detours at the beginning and end. It is a very interesting obituary as it takes a subject that most readers would not recognize and weaves a very interesting narrative.

The narrative concept is very important in this obit, as the focal point here is the father-son relationship in the deceased's life. The input from the son here is crucial, as it allows the reader to gain a multi-faceted picture of Myron Jensen's life.

Now that I think about it, I think that this obit has a lot more sophistication and heart than a stock NYT article because it really explores the people involved as people and not as facts. It explores a narrative and draws the reader into a life and legacy that is nostalgic and uncommon yet surprisingly relatable.

Posted by Ali Jaafar at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I will be analyzing this article from the Wake on the Cafe Scientifique lecture series.

This article, advancing an entertaining lecture series on science, is quite odd. It uses a review format to advance the rest of the series. The source is on-site reporting, using quotes and anecdotes taken from one of the perormances in the series. This is interesting, in a way, but lacks the immediacy and insight of a more typical advance. The quotes almost become an obstacle by the end of the article, as they don't illuminate the event or its purpose.

The angle is twofold. First, it is a sort of review of the performance that lets prospective attendees know what to expect. Second, it talks about the outlandish nature of the series, describing strange experiments and parodical awards bestowed upon the fractured, humorous take on serious scientific principles. The upshot here is that it is definitely more than a listing. It really manages to give the reader a clear picture of what to expect and how the series works to make science fun, entertaining and accessible to the Bill Nye Generation.

Posted by Ali Jaafar at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I will be analyzing this article from the Wake on the Cafe Scientifique lecture series.

This article, advancing an entertaining lecture series on science, is quite odd. It uses a review format to advance the rest of the series. The source is on-site reporting, using quotes and anecdotes taken from one of the perormances in the series. This is interesting, in a way, but lacks the immediacy and insight of a more typical advance. The quotes almost become an obstacle by the end of the article, as they don't illuminate the event or its purpose.

The angle is twofold. First, it is a sort of review of the performance that lets prospective attendees know what to expect. Second, it talks about the outlandish nature of the series, describing strange experiments and parodical awards bestowed upon the fractured, humorous take on serious scientific principles. The upshot here is that it is definitely more than a listing. It really manages to give the reader a clear picture of what to expect and how the series works to make science fun, entertaining and accessible to the Bill Nye Generation.

Posted by Ali Jaafar at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's the News story.

Here are the minutes.

As one would expect, the meeting minutes are incredibly dry and descriptive; you will know every comment made by every person present, but you won't get any quotes. The minutes are also surprisingly short on data and elaboration, but very long on theories and questions.

The article, on the other hand, is much splashier. It relies mostly on research that is tangentially related but independently gathered to fill up the space. For example, the middle two sections have little to say about the meeting itself, yet find time to give the context of the meeting.

In this story, it is obvious that the author saw that the real news vlaue was in the meeting's relation to current events and the global warming controversy rather than in the meeting itself. This is why the resultant article is heavy on context and extras rather than the epic saga of the meeting.

Posted by Ali Jaafar at 9:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My two stories are CNN reports on the Myanmar situation. Day 1; Day2

The first story gives the basic details on the situation (namely that monks were being targeted and arrested for possessing weapons). It is relatively short on quotes and details, and relies on contextual information to fill out the article. The lead is relatively vague and sets up the article's tone, mostly as an update on the situation.

The second day story is more robust. It leads with a more concrete fact (an announcement from the government) and gives the reader much more information on the situation. It has quotes from the government and statistics on the number of protesters arrested. It also features comments from other world governments in response to the Junta's actions. It successfully fleshes out the situation and gives the reader a more complete, factual version of the first story, replete with the facts and figures that only the benefit of time can give.

This story is not a response to other organization's comments, but it is obviously shaped by the responses given by people and governments from around the world. In this way, the story is shaped by the popular response to the crisis.

Posted by Ali Jaafar at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I will be analyzing this article from the Star Tribune.

The attribution of this article is kind of strange. While it cites a number of the victims' friends and family in great detail, the lack of a dateline makes me wonder how they have all of this hands-on info about funerary services and tributes. On one hand, they must have been there, but we don't know.

Much of the information seems secondhand or speculative, the lone official source being an "authorities say." This articel is written like a hum interest story, so the personal nature of it seems natural at first, but it could have used more detail and official sources.

Posted by Ali Jaafar at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(For this entry, I have chosen to analyze this lead.)

The lead in this story is very minimal, revealing almost no details except for the basic circumstances surrounding the case. ("A teenager who was found dead six days after her sister was trying to help police investigate her sibling's death, records released Friday show") This lead really only covers what and, briefly, who. All information is presented in a very general way.

While this is appropriate in a hard-news lead, I found it to be a bit lacking. As the reamining text reveals, this is a story about the strange, suspicious circumstances surrounding the murders of two siblings, one after another. In a story such as this, a lead that is bland and so thoroughly general really fails to hint at the potential of the story, instead making it seem commonplace.

It goes without saying that this is story is decidedly NOT commonplace. Sadly, this lead fails to communicate that information.

Posted by Ali Jaafar at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)