Dallas Johnson's News Blog

Analysis: Diversity

by Dallas Johnson

 

For this analysis we will look at the CNN article regarding the United States and China.

For this article, I discussed the diversity issue with a student named Lina., who is Chinese-American.

At first look, it seems like the coverage of the story itself is pretty straightforward.  There doesn't seem to be much stereotyping going on in the actualy coverage.

However, it seems as though there is some accusation of some preconceived thoughts.  Not necessarily stereotyping though.  There is a section about halfway through the article that talks about the President underestimating the Chinese government.

There is even a suggestion that the United States is trying to take advantage of the Chinese, making it sound as though the U.S. thinks China is weaker.

This suggests that the report can move into more substantive issues using quotes and observation, but that it seems like stereotypes are still existing within the topics the story covers.

The article does a good job of providing quotes from the director of the Beijing Private Equity Association, this allows for any stereotypes or prejudice that might sneak in to be neutralized.

Lina and I have discussed stereotypes and prejudice.  It sometimes seems that people dig themselves into a stereotype, perpetuating it.  This makes it difficult for reporters to sometimes put those stereotypes aside.

However, it is also good for a reporter to a least give those being stereotyped the chance to break out and prove themselves to the reporter and the rest of the world.

Diversity is something that is tough to cover.  It requires prejudices and sterotypes to be put aside.  This isn't necessarily easy.  As long as the reporter is making an effort, however, we have assume that progress toward representing people fairly is being made.

 

Titans owner fined for rude gesture

by Dallas Johnson

 

Bud Adams, the owner of the Tennessee Titans, was fined $250,000 by NFL Monday for making rude gestures Sunday, ESPN reported.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell notified Adams of the fine on Monday.  League spokesman Greg Aiello said the fine was for "conduct detrimental to the league."

Adams was photographed giving the middle finger to Buffalo Bills fans from his owner's box near the end of the Titans 41-17 victory over the Bills, CNN reported.

Adams, 86, apologized Monday for his actions.  "I got caught up in the excitement of a great day, but I do realize that those types of things shouldn't happen," Adams said.

The Bills and Titans have a rivalry that has existed since the the 1960s when both teams were in the AFL.  At the time, the Titans were the Houston Oilers.

Adams was one of the founders of the AFL along with Bills owner Ralph Wilson.

"I obviously have a great deal of respect for [Bills owner] Ralph Wilson and the history we have shared. I also understand there will probably be league discipline for my actions and I will accept those," Adams said.

The game was part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the AFL.  Titans head coach Jeff Fisher said he knew Adams was exited for the game because of the history between Adams and Wilson and the two teams.

The two teams have had many emotional playoff games, including the Music City Miracle in 2000. 

This is the biggest fine the NFL has issued an individual since New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 for illegally taping opponents on the sidelines.

 

 

 

 

Dozens killed in mine accident in China

by Dallas Johnson

 

An explosion at a mine in China killed at least 42 workers Saturday, CNN reported.

The gas explosion left at least 66 others trapped around 500 meters below ground in the state-run coal mine in northern China, MSNBC reported.  Rescue efforts are underway.

Rescue efforts have been difficult because the explosion cut power, ventilation and communication links.

Around 530 workers were at the mine around 2:30 a.m. Saturday when the explosion occured at the Heilongjiang Longmei's Xinxing mine which is operated by the Hegang company.

The mines in China are the world's deadliest and he incident shows the difficulty the Chinese government has trying to make mines safer.

The incident is troublesome to the Chinese government because generally larger, state-run mines are considered safer than smaller, private ones.  China now faces a difficult task of boosting the industry's safety.

China has been tracking down on unregulated mines, which accounts for almost 80 percent of the 16,000 mines in the country.

China closed about 1,000 small mines last year, halfing the number of miners killed.

The government faces a difficult balance, however, as the country depends heavily on coal mines to power three-quarters of the country's electricity needs.

 

Fort Hood suspect's hearing to be held in hospital

by Dallas Johnson

 

A pretrial confinement hearing for the suspect of the Fort Hood shootings will be held in the suspect's hospital room Saturday, CNN reported.

The hearing is to determine whether or not pretrial confinement, which the suspect has already been placed under, is appropriate for Maj. Midal Malik Hasan, his attorney said Friday.

The Fort Hood Judge Advocate Office confirmed that the hearing will take place Satudrday.  Hasan's attorney, retired Army Col. John Galligan, is arguing that the hearing is being conducted hastily and without regard to the medical condition of Hasan.

Galligan added that he did not know when Hasan would be discharged from the hospital and that he had not yet been informed where Hasan would be taken when he was discharged.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, is accused of killing 13 people and injuring as many as 30 in the shootings at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, MSNBC reported.

Hasan was shot during the shootings but was found alive and in stable condition, miltary officals said.

Hasan is paralyzed from the waste down but has had coherent conversations with his attorney and understands the next steps in the legal process. 

 

St. Paul firefighter dies: declared in line of duty

by Dallas Johnson

 

A St. Paul firefighter died Saturday after his heart failed due to a disease he contracted while on the job, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

Ramon Hain came in contact with a patients body fluids in 1997, according to Fire Engineering.  Doctors believe Hain contracted a disease that weakened his heart.

Hain received a heart transplant in 1998 but still had to retire in 2000.  Hain's heart began to fail in recent months.  He was 50.

The St. Paul Fire Department considers Hain's death to be in the line of duty, despite the number of years that have passed since the incident.

This is fire department's first such death in 20 years.  Hain's name will be inscribed on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Maryland.

Hain did not know he would be honored before he died.   "I think that would really touch him," his wife, Gail, said.

Hain, who was also an emergency medical technician, described what happened to the Pioneer Press about four months before getting sick.

"I responded to a cardiac arrest call during which I knelt down over the person and came in contact with body fluids on the floor," he said. "I'd had a sore on my knee at the time, and a few days later I developed some kind of massive infection in the thigh of that same leg."

Hain is survived by his wife; daughters Rachel, 14, and Sara,12; father Edward Hain, of Olathe, Kan.; sisters Sherry Duval, of Cottage Grove, ansd Karen Sitzmann, of Lenexa, Kan.; and brother Steve Hain, of Olathe Kan.

 

 

Park Board wants debris from 35W bridge removed
by Dallas Johnson

The Minneapolis park board wants to have the debris from the 35W bridge removed from Bohemian Flats Park where it has been stored since the bridge collapsed in August of 2007, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

In a complaint filed Friday, the Park and Recreation Board said they wanted the pieces removed from the park immediately.  If that does not happen, the board said it would seek more than $50,000 for the loss of the use of the park, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

The board says it is losing more than $60,000 a year in parking and docking revenue.

The steel, which belongs to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, would be difficult to move.  MnDOT says it would like to move the pieces but would have to cut them, altering the evidence being used in several other lawsuits.

The parks board is worried that the parts will be on park property for a long time because the bridge suits aren't expected to begin until early 2011.

The board stated in their complain that MnDOT has refused to pay a "reasonable rent."  The board also turned down MnDOT's latest permit extension request.

Analysis: Numbers
by Dallas Johnson

To analyze the use of numbers, we can look at this CNN article about a new Arlington probe by the Army Chief.

The reporter uses numbers near the end of the story to illustrate some of the points made earlier in the article.  It seems like a good usage of point-support.  The beginning of the article is the story, the end backs up the points made in the article and even helps to provide a little explanation.

The numbers are certainly not overwhelming because the writer does a good job of making sure they are relevant and in context.  They refer to the cemetery and the number of burials and number of staff members.  The writer uses these numbers in an appropriate place relative to the point the numbers make.

The reporter did use math to illustrate their point.  More specifically, the writer used percentages of burials going up over 20 percent while staffing has gone down 20 percent.  This helps to illustrate an explanation to the problems Arlington has been having in its burials recently.

The sources in this case, come directly from Arlington.  This gives legitimacy to the numbers.  There is no better place to get numbers from than the direct source. 

There are a couple of issues with the sources.  The first is that Arlington is going to try and prove that their problems are not a big deal and may provide statistics that paint them in a good light.  However, it is the journalist's responsibility to make sure they get what they need.

The second issue is that the writer does not explicitly state where the numbers come from.  We can see with a little back and forth reading that the numbers come from Arlington, but this is frustrating.  The numbers should be attributed directly.

No charges filed in Kansas University brawls
by Dallas Johnson

There will not be charges filed against Kansas University football and men's basketball players for fights started in September, ESPN reported Saturday.

Jerry Little, the Lawrence city prosecutor, said that evidence forwarded to the prosecutor's by campus police was insufficient to charge anyone with disorderly conduct.

Tyshawn Taylor, a sophomore guard on the basketball team, was treated at a hospital for a hand injury received after a pair of altercations with members of the football team on Sept. 22 and 23, Fox Sports reported.

The injury will keep Taylor out of the lineup for up to a month on a top-ranked Jayhawks squad.  Taylor later apologized for his role in the incident, calling it an embarrassment to the teams and school.

Lew Perkins, the Kansas athletic director, said he spoke with both teams after the second incident, saying that he was "as mad as I've been in a long time."

The fights started after Taylor posted vulgar passages from a rap song on Facebook.  The comments posted by Taylor helped to heighen already existing tensions between the two teams.

Man found dead in Minneapolis under suspicious circumstances
by Dallas Johnson

A man was found dead early Saturday morning on a Northeast Minneapolis street, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

The man, found on the 1000 block of Lowry Ave. NE, is believed to have died under "suspicious circumstances," the St. Paul Pioneer Press said.

Emergency responders were called to the scene around 5 a.m. to help what they believed to be an unconscious man.  When they arrived, responders found the man dead.

The man's identity has not been released and police have not given any information about what they know in regards to the man's death.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is expected to release that information pending an autopsy.

The Minneapolis Police Homicide Unit is investigating the case.  They ask anyone who has information on the incident to call the Minneapolis Police Department tip line at 612-692-tips.

Suicide car bomb kills 11
by Dallas Johnson

A suicide car bomber killed 11 people and injured 25 at a police checkpoint in Pakistan Saturday, CNN reported.

The bomb went off after authorities stopped the bomber at the checkpoint in Peshawar, making it the second straight day with major violence in the area, MSNBC reported.

The blast killed three women, three children, a policeman and four other men, said Shafi Ullah, a deputy superintendent of police said.

This bombing is the most recent of several attacks on the city of Peshawar in the last few days,

The attacks are most likely retaliation against the army for their efforts to rout militants along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, intelligence officials said.

Police forces were increased at all checkpoints after a dual attack Friday that killed 17 people.

While the Taliban took responsibility for the attacks on Friday, no one has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the Saturday attack.

Qari Hussein, senior commander of the Taliban, said that the attacks will continue but their intensity will grow.

Hussein, is angry at the Pakistani government for its un-Islamic ways and alliance with the United States, says it plans to target political parties who have taken an anti-Taliban position.

He added that the illusion that their government will protect them is incorrect.  "We will be able to take them out," he said.

The government responded, saying that the attacks would not stop them from carrying out their operation.