CJones

The University of Minnesota's wrestling team took home the national title last night with a victory over Iowa State. The Gophers earned a 7.5-point lead going into the finals Saturday night over Iowa State. The win was sealed when heavyweight Cole Konrad won his match, the final one of the night, even though the Gophers would have won without his victory.

The challenge in writing this story is conveying the excitement one would get from being at the event live through writing. Portraying the intensity of the sport through words was the challenge.

The Pioneer Press published an article Saturday before the evening match took place. The article sets up what is to come for the night.

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Even though those in southern Minnesota thought they were hit hard by the blizzard, Duluth became the blizzard's "ground zero." Snow drifts were created from the 60 mile per hour winds coming off of Lake Superier leaving Park Point citizens with 15-feet snow drifts. Cars were completely covered, doors to houses were immersed in snow drifts and in some places the snow reached as far up as the phone lines. Also noted was that the University of Minnesota closed completely on Thursday which hasn't been done since 1991.

The challenge in this story is reporting the severity of the situation. Everyone who lives in Minnesota should be used to the snow by now, but shocking some Minnesotans isn't as easy; at least when it comes to snow.

The Pioneer Press reported on the blizzard as well. Their article reported that the iconic aerial bridge that connects Park Point to the rest of Duluth was closed down until Friday leaving many stranded.

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The Academy Awards are here and the Oscars are ready. The Academy of Picture Arts and Sciences have bylaws for determining one of the most anticipated awards, best picture. For one, it must be 40-mintues in length. Covert goes into detail about each of the nominees for best picture, and even ponders the question if Little Miss Sunshine will pull out the win.

The challenge of writing this article would be discovering the research and determining what is news worthy.

Chris Hewitt of the Pioneer Press, wrote a more subjective story about the upcoming Academy Awards. Hewitt found the story in not who will be winning the awards, but who will be 'blowing' it. In a different light, Hewitt compiles a list of who will will the awards and who should have won the awards.

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Despite the humid weather and nagging bugs, couples around Minnesota, and the nation for that matter, are looking to July 7 for their wedding date. Some consider the date to be the luckiest in the century. Lois Fritz, co-owner of the Wedding Shoppe in St. Paul says she has almost 80 weddings scheduled for that date. That is twice her usual number. Photographers, florits, and bakers alike are all experiencing a flood of soon-to-bes wanting their services on July 7. Las Vegas, notorias for aloping couples, is getting ready for a shock-wave of nuptials. "This will probably be the busiest day in the Las Vegas wedding industry," said Greg Smith, owner of the Little Church.

The challenge in this story would be actually discovering the story. Finding the news in the fact that a lot of couples see 07/07/07 to be a great wedding date is a challenge in itself, however, many news outlets found the story compelling.

Patrick T. Reardon of the Chicago Tribune reported on the story as well. Reardon reports a more widespread story. "Evenings at wedding halls have been booked for two or three years," said Terra Hubble, as 23-year-old getting married on July 7. Readon also looks at an unlucky wedding date, Friday the 13. Surprisingly, many couples aren't avoiding the date.

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Summary:
Some legislators, mostly DFLers, want to state to pay off the Xcel Center's $65 million debt and the RiverCentre convetion center's $43 million debt. This comes mostly because the Xcel Center will be holding the GOP convention and would consequently free up money to make some upgrades.
Challenge:
This article required a lot of research. A lot of background information about the cities finacial status was needed to cover this story.
Comparison:
TIm Nelson and Bill Salisbury of the Pioneer Press reported on the same story. Most of the same facts are presented in the two stories, however, the Pioneer Press seemed to be more focused on the finances of the situation. Rather than looking at why, the Pioneer Press was looking at taxes and the how.

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Summary:
From best actor nominee Will Smith to a younger best supporting actress nominee, Abigail Breslin, there was a buzz in Hollywood as the Oscar nominations were announced. The movie taking in the most nominations, "Dream girls" with 8 nominations somehow fell short of a best picture nomination.
Challege:
The challege for this story is to report who the public wants to see. With so many nominations, it was crucial to pick ones that the public wants to see.
Comparison:
David Carr of the New York times reported on the nominations as well. Although the set up was slightly different, the two stories focused mainly on the same points. "Dreamgirls" received 8 nominations and little Abigail Breslin is in the running for best supporting acress.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/24/movies/awardsseason/24osca.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Lede: I noticed the lede was very plain. The word 'Oscar" was enough to grab viewers attention.

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