Kojetin Weblog

StarTribune/News Services: Japanese ruling party chooses new leader
MSNBC: Japan ruling party picks new leader

Yasuo Fuduka, 71, was chosen Sunday as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. This appointment ensures him to become the Prime Minister of Japan in a vote Tuesday of the lower house of parliament. He is son of a former prime minister and has served as a cabinet chief under two others.

MSNBC's coverage was thin, serving as a summary of the event, however the StarTribune's News Services wire provided detailed looks into Fuduka's politics, challenges and views on domestic matters. Frankly I would've expected further depth in the coverage from MSNBC as they are an international news conglomerate.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

CNN: Two arrested in noose incident near Jena, Louisiana
StarTribune: Civil rights era flashback

Reports of the "Jena 6" protests were topped with another racially charged incident in Louisiana Thursday as two white males ages 16 and 18 drove through Alexandria, Louisiana with nooses dangling from the back of their pickup truck. Jeremiah Munsen, 18, was charged of driving while intoxicated, inciting a riot, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor according to the police report. Munsen told police he had an unloaded rifle in the back of the truck, that he and his family were members of the Klu Klux Klan (he also said he had KKK tatooed on his chest), and that he was in possession of brass knuckles. He said he and his friend tied the nooses to get some people angry.

Many protesters were staying in the town of Alexandria this week as thousands marched in Jena Louisiana. News coverage of the protests continues at a heavy level as Jena Louisiana has become the staging grounds of large civil rights protests. The protests started around an incident in August of 2006 in which a black student at Jena High School at a school assembly asked if blacks were permitted to sit under a shade tree which was frequented by white students. The school responded by saying yes, but the next day he found nooses hanging in the tree, a symbol of Old South racism. Three white students were suspended but no criminal charges were filed. The action taken by law enforcement is said to be a double standard by protesters who compare it to the attack on white student Justin Barker. Barker was knocked unconcious in a fight between black and white students resulting from the August incident. Six black students (nicknamed the Jena 6) were arrested (five of which were initially charged with attempted murder). Barker said in court that his face was swollen and bloodied, but that he attended a school function later that night. Jena Louisiana has become the staging ground of further protests against racism and unjust prosecution against blacks.

The StarTribune ran a relatively lengthy article Friday recapping and updating the "Jena 6" protests. I felt the article gave a great summary of the story, giving background depth as well as reporting the currency of the issue and ongoing events.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

StarTribune: Hotel guest facing felony charges in a crime most fowl
Kare11: Man accused of ripping head off duck at hotel in St. Paul

A guest at the Embassy Suites faces felony animal cruelty charges after chasing a domesticated duck through the lobby and tearing its head off. Witnesses say the man chased the duck which the hotel keeps in its fountain, cornered it and after tearing the head from the body yelled "I'm hungry and I'm going to eat it". The hotel guest, a 26-year-old business man from Denver, could be served with jail time and a $5,000 fine. Police suspect alcohol was involved.

Kare 11's coverage of the event are what I am finding to be characteristic of local television news outlets. Just the straight facts on breaking news. The broadcasted video of the story went into further detail but even so did not invesigate as thoroughly as a newspaper source. StarTribune provided thorough detail of the event and background information which Kare 11 failed to provide. StarTribune also followed AP guidelines regarding the status of the man saying he was in jail "on suspicion of" whereas Kare11 simply stated he was in jail on the specific charges.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Pioneer Press:White Bear Lake standoff ends with apparent suicide
WCCO: White Bear Lake Standoff Ends In Man's Death

A 59-year-old White Bear Lake man was found by a Ramsey County SWAT team dead as the result of an apparent self inflicted gunshot to the head following a standoff late Saturday night. Police arrived at the White Bear Lake home shortly after 6p.m. Saturday after reports that tye man was making threats to family members while armed with a gun. The family members were able to escape but the man retreated to and baracaded himself in the basement when police requested to speak with him. The man was unresponsive and refused to leave the house upon several phone calls inside. The SWAT team entered the house at 12:50a.m. Sunday to find the man dead in the basement with the gun on the ground next to him, the death is being treated as a suicide by investigators.

The differences between the Pioneer Press' and WCCO's coverage was interesting simply because the Pioneer Press treated the event as an apparent suicide while WCCO skirted around the notion. WCCO's suggestion of the fact that it was a suicide was only implied by the line "[the standoff] ended when the man who had barricaded himself inside a residence was found dead." The difference leads me to question whether the coverage was an ethics issues, but in no way did I find the Pioneer Press' coverage distasteful, expecially considering they practice under a defined code of ethics.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

AP: Black Boxes Found in Thai Plane Crash
CNN: Survivors recount Thai jet crash

Black Box data recorders have been recovered Monday from a plane crash on a runway in Phuket, Thailand. Sunday's crash killed 88 (or 89, reports varry) and unofficial reports say many foreign fatalities were incurred including deaths representing Britian, Isreal, The United States, French, Australia, Germany, Iran, Ireland and Sweeden. The crash is rising questions about the safety of discount and budget airlines in Indonesia and Thailand, and although this is the first high profile plane crash in Thailand, several have crashed in Indonesia.

Again the story is a mix between breaking news and a followup, giving further detail into the breaking news of the crash, but still recounting the original information as if it were a breaking news story.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

CNN: O.J. Simpson demands belongings back in profanity-laced tape
StarTribune/AP: Simpson arrested in Vegas, held without bail

Former professional football player O.J. Simpson was arrested Sunday on charges related to an armed robbery occuring Thursday night. Simpson tells police he was retrieving sports memorabilia which was stolen from him. Simpson will appear in court at 7:30 am Pacific time on two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit burglary and burglary with a firearm, according to Las Vegas police. Simpson says he he did not approach police about recovering the memorabilia because police have been unresponsive to him since his 1994 murder trial.

This story is continuously developing and therefore there are numerous versions of the story in it's many stages of development. Although the news of Simpson's arrest has already broken, reporters still use leads like a breaking news story to quickly inform readers unfamiliar with the story. In terms of media coverage I don't doubt this would be national news, but I am conviced this is an object of interest primarily as a result of Simpson's 1994 murder trial.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

StarTribune: For Pham, up-and-down year takes more twists
Kare11: Minneapolis restaurant owner recovering after violent attack

Thom Pham, owner of Minneapolis restaurants Than-Do, Azia and Temple was assulted September 4th outside his Azia restaurant. Thom was beaten with a wooden stick and bricks by between six and eight men. Pham has personally put up a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of his assailants. Pham speculates the attack may be retaliation for events in July, in which Pham held and physically tackled two persons who fled one of his restaurants without paying, leaving a bill approximate to $700.

Both the StarTribune and Kare11 news approached this as a followup story, as it is no longer breaking news. Hence the leads were buried and the information was reintroduced slowly throughout the story. I found the depth of reporting, highlights and focuses rather interesting between different sources. Individually they each told part of a larger story, but together (combined with a few other sources) they covered more aspects. I was honestly supprised that the coverage was not more universal, sharing from a similar pool of facts. Instead each news orginization spun the given facts and opinions of Pham into rather different themes.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 1:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

StarTribune: Shots fired inside Target Center; no one injured
KSTP/AP: Shots fired inside Target Center

Police confirmed that after an altercation Saturday night around 11:00pm a gunshot was fired inside the Target Center. Both parties involved fled the scene and no people are in custody. A mixed martial arts event "Downtown Throwdown" continued after the incident, no injuries were reported.

The KSTP/AP lead was as follows:
"A Minneapolis police operator confirmed that a shot was fired shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday during the professional mixed martial arts card at Target Center."

The StarTribune Lead was as follows:
"Two men fought late Saturday inside Target Center and then one shot at the other as spectators sat nearby, police said."

The two leads differ greatly, as the KSTP/AP lead is more plainly a direct lead. The StarTribune lead is an indirect quotation which pulls the reader in, but does not give as much information immediately. The StarTribune lead is delayed and is almost intentionally burried. Each news story was brief and based on the few details available for the story, however the StarTribune attempted to flesh out the story a bit, and therefore gives some insight as to why the lead was burried.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

StarTribune/AP: Ex-Premier Sharif Lands in Pakistan
CNN: Exiled ex-PM back in Saudi Arabia

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawez Sharif made an attempt to return to Pakistan today as he arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan by plane from London. Police quickly ordered him to board a plane to Saudi Arabia where he arrived and was greeted with a convoy at aprox 3pm local time today.
Sharif was exiled eight years ago in a Military coup by current Pakistan leader Gen. Pervez Musharraf as Sharifi was suspected of curruption. Sharif obtained legal documentation to return to Pakistan, however his return was denied.

Both the StarTribune and CNN provided detailed coverage with no major holes in the story. The StarTribune/AP focused heavily on protests and the response of Pakistani citizens whereas CNN gave synopsis of the political turmoil surrounding the return.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

CNN: Tribal fishermen held after whale killed with machine gun
MSNBC:Tribe Denounces Whale Shooting

In Neah Bay, Washington the Coast Guard detained five men who were believed to be paft of the Makah Tribe after they harpooned the gray whale and shot it with a .50-caliber (or .460-caliber, reports varry) machine gun.

A spokesperson for the Makah Tribe denounces the shooting saying it is in violation of their law and those responsible will be prosecuted. The five men were detained by the Coast Guard after the incident on Saturday and were then turned over to the tribe's legal authorities. All five men are out on bail and no trial dates have been set.

Although both CNN and MSNBC cite the Associated Press the reports are quite different. CNN's report is considerably more extensive and goes into a similar situation involving some of the same parties in 1999. MSNBC's report is focused strictly on this incident while CNN's explores the idea and legality of tribal whale hunting in depth.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

AP: Man: Golden Valley Police Used Excessive Force
StarTribune: Plaintiff testifies in Golden Valley excessive-force trial

47 year old Al Hixon is seeking in excess of $75,000 in damages after Golden Valley Police Officers Christine McCarville and Mario Hernandez allegedly violated his civil rights with use of excessive force, battered, and assulted him after a crime he did not commit. Hixton said he now suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and depression as a result of the attack.

Hixton testified that on April 2, 2005 he removed his car out of winter storage and was getting oil a a Sinclair station near his Golden Valley home. McCarville and Hernandez at this time "threw him on the pavement, jumped on his back, handcuffed him, put a boot on his neck and shot pepper spray in his eyes and nostrils."

John Iverson, an attorney representing Golden Valley and the two police officers said Hixton was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A nearby bank was robbed and Hixton allegedly tried to run from the police. Stories varry on how the actual events occured, Hixton says he was handcuffed, then sprayed with pepper spray while police say Hixton was sprayed when he resisted them, then handcuffed. Another exchange including discriminatory remarks made by McCarville is also in question.

The AP's report of this story is detailed enough to hold up on it's own, however the added detail provided by the StarTribune helps understand the entire scope of the trial. The AP report introduced the racial aspect of this case rather awkwardly stating, "Hixon, who is black, is seeking damages in excess of $75,000." The StarTribune was much more subtle introducing the subject with, "Although Hixon's lawyers are not formally making this a racial discrimination case, skin color is key to the trial, which is expected to go to jurors next week." Frankly I was suprised at how the AP report phrased this , seeming slightly awkward.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

StarTribune: Mortgage fraud infiltrates suburbs

Kare11: Feds: 'Straw buyers' plan let to suburban home foreclosures

KSTP: Federal indictments expected in mortgage fraud case

Established home builder Parish Marketing allegedly are part of a $50 million plus mortgage fraud scheme. Intictments will likely occur within the week and two parties have already plead guilty in connection. The scheme may be the largest case of mortgage fraud in Minnesota history.

Parish's attorney Ryan Pacyga suggested the homebuilder built too many upscale homes and because the homebuyers market is in decline, the houses are in low demand. "Straw buyers" purchased many homes in New Prague and New Market using falsified documents to recieve the loans. The housing market went into steep decline this year and the "straw buyers" were unable to sell the homes. Many of these homes are now under forclosure, with more expected. The forclosed homes are unable to be occupied and many renters have been evicted.

The StarTribune's coverage of this story was extensive, offered a fair amount of details pertaining to to the stance of Parish Marketing and heavily quoted Pacyga. Kare 11's was much more concise (which makes sense simply because it was based off of a television news report) and was the easiest to follow. KSTP's coverage was relatively thin and lacked detail. KSTP reported that Parish Marketing was based out of New Prague while both Kare 11 and the StarTribune sourced public records that Parish Marketing is based out of Eagan.

Posted by Matthew Kojetin at 2:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)