« November 2007 | Main

December 10, 2007

Eden Prairie store closes after receiving threat

StarTribune:Eden Prairie store reopens after threat
PioneerPress: Eden Prairie Von Maur store receives threat, closes Saturday night

An Eden Prairie Von Maur department store recieved a "general threat" on Saturday evening causing the store to close early. The store reopened Sunday, and police say an investigation is ongoing to investigate who made the call.

I thought that this story was interesting in the sense that both papers referenced the shooting in an Omaha mall on Wednesday. Each story was very brief, but covered the news in a very straightforward mannor.

Two Colorado shootings may be linked

CNN: Gunman killed after opening fire at church
StarTribune/AP: Two Colorado shootings, same shooter?

Two seperate shootings occured aproximately 12 hours apart in the cities of Arvada and Colorado Springs, Colorado. The first shooting occured in a ministry training center in Arvada and two people (Minnesotans) were killed, as well as injuring two others. The second shooting occured 65 miles away in Colorado Springs, killing one and injuring five.

I thought there were two interesting aspects of this coverage. The fact that the StarTribune suggested the shootings were related was interesting, considering that CNN reported one of the shootings as the story, with the second as a detail in the story. I think that it is important to report them both in the same story to avoid confusion, but I feel like the StarTribune's approach was more effective.

Secondly, the StarTribune's additions to the AP story was interesting in that they included an amateur photograph of the victims from Minnesota, and changed the victim identification tags to say they were Minnesotans. I feel as though if this photo ran in the paper it would end up looking tacky.

Two Colorado shootings may be linked