Pamela's News Views

Monday’s Star Tribune talks about how six months ago the Guardian Angels citizen-patrol group returned to Minneapolis, re-establishing its presence after first surfacing here 20 years ago. Curtis Sliwa, who founded the Angels 28 years ago in New York City, is impressed with how well the Minneapolis Guardian Angels helped in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras, calling them “outstanding and well-trained.�

After the Minneapolis Guardian Angels ventured into St. Paul last month to help police capture a possible serial rapist, St. Paul let Sliwa know they would like their own Guardian Angels.

The red-beret-wearing patrol has already made an initial positive impact in St. Paul. Sliwa told the Star Tribune about plans to expand the Guardian Angels into St. Paul to better meet the needs of the Twin Cities.

The most recent comparative articles are both from late January.

The Pioneer Press issued an alert that the Minneapolis Chapter of the Guardian Angels would patrol the St. Paul East Side after two recent rapes. This article gave a short description of the Guardian Angels and noted that St. Paul did not have its own chapter.

WCCO.com offered details of the Guardian Angels’ efforts to help police find a rapist in St. Paul. This story explains that even though the volunteer citizen patrol is well-trained, it’s their neighborhood visibility that acts as a strong visual deterrent and empowers and inspires neighbors to look out for each other.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 3:29 PM | Permalink

The New York Times reports a Japanese history professor at Middlebury College in Vermont decided to ban students from citing Wikipedia after incorrect information was appearing too frequently on exams. His research determined that these errors originated from Wikipedia. The same error that turned up on a recent test (that the Jesuits supported the Shimabara Rebellion in 17th-century Japan) is still incorrectly stated on Wikipedia.

A student majoring in economics at the college, Keith Williams, said students understand Wikipedia is not a reliable source but they’ll still continue to use it as a research tool.

Middlebury College itself talks about the history department making news by banning Wikipedia, but offers little more information.

In this WNBC.com article, more detail about the ban is given. History Professor Neil Waters gives said Wikipedia can be used to point a researcher in the right direction, but it can't be used in a footnote and further, Professor Waters admits to using Wikipedia himself, but only as a beginning point.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

According to the Star Tribune, Minneapolis agreed to pay $2.3 million to a local produce company when a federal judge sided with the company that an anti-noise ordinance illegally hurt its business. Longfellow neighbors complained about noisy operating overnight and the Minneapolis City Council tried to ban Metro Produce Distributors Inc. from loading or idling its trucks or operating units between 10:00 p.m. and 6 a.m. causing the produce company to sue the city for causing business losses.

The only other related story also came from the Star Tribune, a Feb. 9 article that gave more background details. This story gave the important information that I was looking for, that Metro Produce Distributors Inc. moved into the neighborhood in 2002 and that the area is zoned for this business. Those two important points are missing from the settlement article.

Before I found the background article I searched business records to determine when the company either became a business or moved into the area. According to a Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. company profile, Metro Produce Distributors Inc. has been in business since 1986 but from the report I wasn’t able to determine when it moved to its present site.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Dramatic video of rats having a field day in a NYC KFC-Taco Bell led to the city Department of Health to close the restaurant until the vermin problem is resolved. Yum Brands Inc., the parent company of the restaurants suffered its second public relations nightmare only a few months after enduring an E. coli outbreak.

The Star Tribune mentioned the worldwide dissemination of the restaurant rats video. Here’s some NBC-TV footage of the rats.

The New York Daily News front page has fun with the story, its headline reading “Some rats with that?� and shows a great photo of a rat hanging from a chair, described as “It’s swing time for Village rat pack.�

Analysis
I notice with the New York Daily News article the point/support writing style is evident.

Point that this is nothing new for this particular restaurant:

Those familiar with the location said the rat pack was not a surprise.

Support in form of a Quote from neighbor:

"It's the dirtiest place in the neighborhood," said Joel Cohen, whose apartment overlooks the restaurant. "It's a blight."

Point from a fired whistleblower:

Marcus Bonner, 19, who had just finished his night shift at the McDonald's across the street, said he had been fired by Taco Bell because he complained about sanitary conditions at the eatery.

Support in form of Quote describing unsanitary conditions:

"There's a hole in the wall behind the grill," he said. "The rats come through the back of the building where the trash is kept."

Posted by Pamela Koller at 1:04 PM | Permalink

The Star Tribune ran a Washington Post story explaining the Chinese government has expanded on its broader effort to control what its citizens can see on the Internet by helping to fund eight inpatient rehabilitation clinics across the country. The Communist government already runs an extensive program that limits Web access, censors sites and seeks to control online political dissent. Now citizens, usually concerned parents whose child might play online games for 15 hours nonstop, pay upward of $1,300 a month for treatment, which is about 10 times the average salary in China. Tao Ran, who leads the largest clinic in China, feels that Internet addiction is usually an expression of deeper psychological problems and uses a tough-love approach for treatment that includes counseling, military discipline, drugs, hypnosis and mild electric shocks.

The Toronto Star ran a similar story highlighting the connection in terms of withdrawal treating Internet addicts as if they were heroin addicts, so Tao Ran treats them similarly at his clinic in Beijing.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 10:28 AM | Permalink

The Star Tribune news obituary highlighted the death of Chase Korte, 24, who is best known in Minnesota for playing a teen who drag races a policeman in TV ad for Treasure Island Resort and Casino. Korte died in a car crash in California last week. Korte was born in Minneapolis and graduated from the U of M. Last year he moved to Hollywood where his acting career took off.

The Minnesota Fringe links to a tribute page of the actor which includes YouTube films from his latest film, “Peace Walker� in which Korte walked the length of Great Britain, 1,100 miles.

The obituary in The Minnesota Daily said Korte was a University theater alumnus, graduating in fall 2005.

The Minnesota Daily also carried a personal tribute to the death of Korte by columnist Adri Mehra. This heartfelt piece mentions that a drunk driver killed Korte. Mehra calls readers to action to lobby Congress for zero tolerance for drunk driving.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 8:54 AM | Permalink

Billionaire T. Denny Sanford, a St. Paul native and University of Minnesota alumnus, is busy giving away millions to Midwest medical groups, according to Saturday’s Star Tribune. A few years ago he tried to pay for the new U of M football stadium. This failure led to his present sweep of philanthropy, including a $400 million gift to create “a Mayo clinic for kids� in South Dakota. His wealth is estimated at $2.5 billion and he’s on his way to his goal to “die broke.�

A few weeks ago Bloomberg.com reported this South Dakota gift crediting Sanford as being 117th on Forbes magazine's 400 richest Americans list last year.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 7:55 PM | Permalink

According to the Chicago Tribune last week, Sen. Barack Obama is trying to quit smoking just as he’s facing another big stress in his life – running for president. Americans haven’t elected a smoking president since FDR brandished his trademark cigarette holder during his 12-year presidential tenure into the 1940s. Attitudes towards smoking have changed since that era during which smoking was glamorized. A communications studies professor from Northwestern University, Irving Rein, said that Obama’s image would suffer until he quits smoking. The social, environmental message he’d like to project doesn’t gibe with him being a smoker.

Maureen Dowd’s OpEd piece in the New York Times seems to use Obama’s stressful decision to quit as an explanation of his “testy� “huffy� style on the recent campaign trail.

On a personal note, I was frustrated trying to get a link to this Dowd column that I read in Saturday’s Star Tribune because apparently the Strib doesn’t pay for her syndicated columns to appear on Startribune.com, only in print. I also couldn’t pull it up with my U of M library access nor could I through my Hennepin County ProQuest access, nor could I thorough my New York Times.com email subscription because I wouldn’t pay extra for it. Rats. I eventually pulled a reprint of the column from google.com that ran in 1918.com. After reading that version and a few other online reprints I realize that the Star Tribune version is different. In my personal opinion I prefer the original version that is titled, “Obama, Legally Blonde?� and refers to his bathing suit attire. Too bad it’s so hard to get the full story here in Minneapolis unless you subscribe to the actual print version of the New York Times (or I guess go read it in the library every day or pay a buck for it which I often do.)

Posted by Pamela Koller at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Star Tribune warned Minnesotans against inadvertently purchasing flood-damaged cars in its Consumer Lookout column in its Money + Business section Sunday. The three 2005 hurricanes in the Southeast are the reason for the 173 percent surge in number of cars, trucks and vans with water damage compared with the national average being 103 percent. Carfax, a company that sells vehicle-history reports, provided much of the information describing water damage details. A spokesperson from the National Insurance Crime Bureau describes how crooks “wash� titles or once-soaked, scrapped cars, among other “worst-possible� scenarios buyers need to watch out for. In my opinion, this article is news for its timeliness, its proximity to our state and clearly conveys the relevance to local car buyers and how much this impacts those consumers. Business Wire publication of New York must have used the same Carfax press release for its story. The Star Tribune localized the press release by including details pertaining specifically to Minnesota in its second paragraph.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 6:15 PM | Permalink

The Star Tribune reported that early last Saturday morning Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryback and a group of Minneapolis and St. Paul firefighters and police officers led 700 civilians in a race up the 1,280 steps of the IDS Tower in downtown Minneapolis. The 26th annual Climb for a Cure charity benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It took Minneapolis firefighter Dan Casper, 40, just over 6 minutes to complete the climb although the average person takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes to scale the same 50 flights. They all took the elevator back down. In my opinion, The Star Tribune tackled the challenge to approach this straightforward story in an exciting way by use of a photo showing Roseville Fire Department members wearing full gear standing next to at sign indicating the 49th floor hinting at the tough conditions they endured for the climb, causing readers to realize their burden they endure when they fight real fires. In my opinion, another aspect that draws the readers into this story is the sub-headline is printed as though they are climbing down stairs! A search of Pioneer Press archives and ProQuest database shows that this local story ran only in the Star Tribune.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 5:42 PM | Permalink

The London Daily Mirror is reporting that Prince Harry, the third in line for the British throne, will be serving on the front line in Iraq within days, according to an unnamed senior military source. The 22-year-old prince graduated from Sandhurst Military Academy last year. Second Lieutenant Harry has been quoted as saying he doesn’t want any special treatment; he just wants to serve. Troop Commander Wales, as he will be known among his military colleagues, was groomed to lead a troop of 12 men in light armored vehicles on missions to gather intelligence. CNN.com as an AP report has picked up the story from the Daily Mirror, with the only difference in reports stating he’ll be leading 11 men and 4 tanks.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By William Yardley in Seattle
The New York Times, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007

A military judge on Wednesday declared a mistrial in the court-martial of the Army officer who called the war in Iraq illegal and refused to join his unit when it deployed there last June. Lieutenant Watada’s lawyer, Eric Seitz said that the circumstances surrounding the mistrial could allow his client to avoid prosecution altogether although a spokesman for the base said Watada could be retried in March.

Judge declares mistrial in case of Iraq refusenik

By Ewen MacAskill in Fort Lewis, Washington
The Guardian, London, Friday, February 9, 2007

Looking for the international perspective I found the Guardian’s cynical take on Watada’s mistrial, starting with choosing “refusenik� to label Watada in the headline. In my opinion the Guardian is showing its bias against Watada by using that negative term, as well as by describing him as “refuses to serve in Iraq� and being “morally opposed to the war.�

The Star Tribune's blurb about the mistrial development showed no bias in my opinion, although it did use the phrase “refused to deploy.� This short story included the exact date set for the retrial – March 12, a detail I didn’t learn from my reading 5 or 6 various other renditions.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 12:02 PM | Permalink

By Paul Levy
Star Tribune, Saturday, February 10, 2007

Story Structure Analysis
The story starts with, “What sounds like a gunshot is heard . . . ,� then quickly progresses to the most important feature of this story, that 13-year-old Alec Kruger was shot to death moments after he frantically tells the 911 operator as an intruder is threatening his family. All of this action, plus the location of the home are conveyed in the lead.

The next fact block paragraph mentions his father was also shot to death, the other most important feature of the story.

Next comes a paragraph paraphrasing the 911 transcript attributing the conversation to the Waseca County Sheriff’s Office and explaining the medical condition of the third victim, Alec’s mother, Hilary Kruger. This effectively introduces the direct quote sequence of the 911 call between the dispatcher and Alec, save for one line from his mother explaining to the dispatcher there’s been an intruder.

After the quote sequence the dispatcher’s reaction to the possible gunshots and shrieking on the phone logically followed.

Next came a more thorough detailing of the mother’s critical medical condition, attributed to her family telling the Sheriff’s Office.

Next came the first detail of the intruder, starting with his name, Michael S. Zabawa, age, and paraphrasing without attribution what he was accused of.

The next paragraph included attribution and further details of his charges, and also paraphrased Zabawa’s explanation to the authorities that the shooting was accidental.

The third paragraph in this sequence relating to Zabawa lists the chronology of the event as attributed to “authorities� and “court records.�

The penultimate paragraph starts with the Chief Deputy’s last name, “Millbrath said� to continue the step-by-step path that led Zabawa to the Kruger home.

The final paragraph paraphrases the mother’s account attributed to court records accusing Zabawa of shooting her husband, herself and her son.

The article was written in logical sequence, beginning with the most important information in the lead, with details explained in later paragraphs. Even though the basis of this article was a 911 transcript, most of it was (clearly) paraphrased and in my opinion the writer chose a dramatic segment of the transcript to quote directly.

The details of the victims were disclosed before the details of the intruder, and those paragraphs concerning Zabawa, “like material,� were kept together. The final paragraph highlighted a powerful summary.

In my opinion 911 transcripts shouldn’t be public knowledge and shouldn’t be released as news stories. I know that must seem to go against everything a journalist stands for and I know that a 911 call transcript is essentially an eyewitness account and therefore extremely newsworthy, but I think that publicly publishing 911 call details may prevent proper emergency help from being administered because a person who calls 911, fearing later possible public repercussions as a result of revealing, say, details of a delicate nature, could subconsciously hold back information that would have been pertinent and vital to giving the best response for the victim. And in my opinion they should be private just because articles and news stories detailing 911 transcripts seem morbid, intrusive, too upsetting to the reader and exploitative to victims.

Waseca county officials release 911 call from shooting

In this related ABC TV News/AP story from the town where the tragedy occurred, Alec is labeled a hero and a different slice of quotes is given. This shorter story mentions the intruder in the last paragraph.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 7:39 AM | Permalink

Local site sends messages with letter-shaped buildings in satellite photos

By Julio Ojeda-Zapata
Pioneer Press, Wednesday, February 7, 2007

The sub-heading above wasn’t included in the actual newspaper that highlighted this website as its “above the fold� top story of the day. I suppose this story counts as news because its accompanying picture spells out a valentine greeting, so that’s timely. Or because a Roseville man, Jesse Vig, developed the site, so because of proximity that’s news too.

But in my opinion this article shouldn’t have been so prominent, or even in the main section of the paper at all. It should have been in the Daily Life section or the business technology section because on the front page it just smacks of a pure news release story generated for publicity. The article’s penultimate and ultimate paragraphs (in the manner of paraphrasing/direct quote) even speak to the question of how Vig will profit from his site and answers it by explaining it will be from the Google ads, another plug.

Spreading holiday cheer

By Randy Salas
Star Tribune, December 21, 2006

I did find a related story in my research that was mentioned in a Christmastime 2006 online blog about holiday cheer, so in my opinion this story wasn’t even that timely if the original press release has been hanging around for at least a few months.

Virtually Visiting

By Julio Ojeda-Zapata
Pioneer Press, Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Coincidentally, the same reporter who wrote the Pioneer Press rooftops article wrote a similar story the day before. This article describing 3-D computer software tweaked by another local man, Todd Goehring of Minneapolis, took up most of the entire front page of the Daily Life section of the Pioneer Press.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 8:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

By Richard Siklos
The New York Times, Saturday, February 10, 2007

This follow-up to the Cartoon Network “Aqua Teen Hunger Force� marketing campaign that was misinterpreted as a bomb threat in Boston explains that the network president accepted responsibility and resigned.

The following is an example of the “paraphrase followed by direct quote� style:

*In an e-mail message to Cartoon Network employees yesterday, Mr. Samples said he regretted the panic the campaign had caused.

“I feel compelled to step down, effective immediately, in recognition of the gravity of the situation that occurred under my watch,� he said.*

Toon Network boss decides: That’s all folks!

By Michele McPhee and Laura Crimaldi
Boston Herald , Saturday, February 10, 2007

I looked for a local angle of this national topic and found the Boston paper having fun with the cartoon connection in its headline. This article includes more details specifically pertaining to Samples and more story background in general, and further updates about the two suspects charged in the hoax.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 7:50 PM | Permalink

By Richard A. Oppel Jr. and James Glanz
The New York Times, Thursday, February 8, 2007

This front-page top story leads with details of the most recent US copter crash in Iraq and also refers to the crash toll update of US helicopters in Baghdad – six in three weeks. This report is heavy on detail beginning with individual crash descriptions, followed by speculation as to why there has been such an increase in the success of these deadly attacks. The challenges these reporters faced were to not only report the latest copter crash but to fill in the blanks of all of the recent crashes which involved a lot of detail, and also to answer the question, “Why the sudden increase?�

Fifth U.S. copter crash in a month kills 7 troops

By Tina Susman
Los Angeles Times, February 7 ,2007

In contrast to the first article, this related article syndicated in the Star Tribune used the “set the scene� lead approach, describing a first person account of the latest copter crash, before settling into the traditional lead in the 2nd paragraph, which links this crash to the bigger picture of the increase of copter crashes mentioned in its headline. The article uses many eyewitness accounts, touches on explanations for the crash increase, continues with a fact block on general helicopter details and winds up with general related Iraqi war news.

In my opinion the New York Times lead approach is more appropriate to this story and satisfyingly gives the reader the important information right away.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 6:11 PM | Permalink

By Louise Roug
Los Angeles Times, Sunday, February 04, 2007

Mohammed Raad of Baghdad, Iraq described a dramatic eyewitness account of the heroic gesture of an Iraqi policeman. Raad heard the policeman shout: “suicide bomber� and then saw him run toward the man who turned out to be a suicide bomber. The policeman shielded others from the force of the blast and died. The bombing occurred in a crowded market killing at least 45 people and wounding 150, police said.

The article goes on to describe the scene at the local hospital dealing with the victims. Then it describes other related attacks in Baghdad.

Policeman dies a hero smothering bomb blast

By Louise Roug in Baghdad
The Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday, February 04, 2007

The Sydney Morning Herald, Sunday, February 04, 2007

The other stories I found in other papers are based on the account by Louise Roug.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 5:02 PM | Permalink

By Paul McEnroe, Mary Lynn Smith and Howie Padilla
Star Tribune, Sunday, February 04, 2007

This important local story about an aide, Mark Naylon, to the Ramsey
County Sheriff Bob Fletcher being investigated by the FBI seems to be just the beginning of a deeper web of corruption touching not only the Ramsey County Sheriff’s office, but the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office, St. Paul Police Department, and even the St. Paul Mayor’s office, if not the United States Senate, since Sen. Norm Coleman’s name has also come up in connection with Naylon.

The FBI is investigating Naylon concerning allegations that he stole money, tampered with evidence and tipped off suspects and informants. Unidentified sources have told the Star Tribune that the FBI is particularly interested in his connection with the Hell’s Outcasts motorcycle gang.

This attention on Naylon has brought up questions on the qualifications of Naylon’s employment as the Ramsey County Sheriff’s office public information officer despite Naylon’s lack of formal training for the post. He has neither a college degree, nor any experience or education in law enforcement or in communications yet Fletcher lauds him for his work.

Naylon’s close association with Mike Ogren, who was convicted in 2003 of illegal gambling, is also questioned. Ogren owns the nightclub Myth in Maplewood where Naylon provides security for the club through his private security business using moonlighting Ramsey County deputies.

FBI investigates high-level aide to sheriff
By Mara H. Gottfried
Pioneer Press, Saturday, February 3, 2007

This newspaper’s version of the investigation of Naylon details more closely the friendship connection between Naylon and Ramsey County Sheriff Fletcher, mentioning the fact that Naylon served as best man at Fletcher’s wedding in 2004. Fletcher also said that although the sheriff’s office will conduct an internal affairs investigation, that Naylon’s job status won’t change because he takes the approach that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Fletcher said that although when he hired Naylon to be his public information officer in 1998 Naylon didn’t have a background in law enforcement or media relations, but now Naylon hopes to get a part-time peace officer’s licence and start a career in law enforcement. Naylon’s salary is listed as $64,660 and he also moonlights as security director for the Myth nightclub.

This article highlights the relationship between Naylon and the owner of Myth, Michael Ogren. When Naylon was deposed in 2005 about gambling at the Rock, formerly owned by Ogren, Naylon said, “I don’t think gambling is a crime.�

Posted by Pamela Koller at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From staff and wire reports
Newsday, Thursday, February 1, 2007

A promotion for the cartoon “Aqua Force� featuring the characters of a talking milk shake, a box of fries and a meatball, resulted in a bomb alert in Boston. Turner Broadcasting, a parent of Cartoon Network regrets that the light boxes depicting a character giving the finger were mistakenly thought to pose a danger. Although the illuminated electronic devices were planted on bridges and other public areas among 10 cities in the past few weeks, it was only this week that 4 complaints were lodged in Boston, resulting in the city closing bridges, subways, highways and part of the Charles River until the boxes were deemed harmless. New York City officials stated that they were aware of the boxes but received no complaints.

Boston Scare Case Could Be Hard to Prove
By Mark Jewell
Associated Press, Friday, February 2, 2007

The AP account of this story focuses on the two men, Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens, who were arrested on felony charges of intent to scare. They face up to five years in prison if convicted. The men were paid to plant the lighted devices to promote “Aqua Force� in a guerilla marketing tactic.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 7:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By David Peterson
Star Tribune, Wednesday, January 31, 2007

This top story on the front page tells the results of a court decision siding with the city of Minnetonka saying they had the right to order the power cut off to the new digital billboards put up recently by Clear Channel Outdoor. The reason for the decision given by Hennepin County District Judge Lloyd Zimmerman was because ample evidence showed the billboards’ owner tried to sneak the new technology into place.

ATTRIBUTIONS were hinted at right away in the first sentence, "a judge in Minneapolis ruled . . ." The second paragraph began with that judge's title and name and more details. Next came a different ATTRIBUTION, detailed as follows: paragraph three started with a paraphrased introductory sentence, “Officials in Minnetonka hailed the decision as a major victory.� Next came a paragraph containing direct quotes of an official in Minnetonka: “’People are agitated about this,� City Attorney Desyl Peterson said. “Our mayor is getting a lot of e-mails and phone messages saying, “Please fight this, it’s terrible.’��

Another paraphrased article explains that other cities are monitoring this dispute because they’re worried about the driving danger caused by the distracting flashing lights of these billboards, and about the negative potential of having our roads become a flashy Las Vegas-like Strip.

Twin Cities/Billboard company loses court round
By Meggen Lindsay
Pioneer Press, Wednesday, January 31, 2007

This article in the Pioneer Press doesn’t include an ATTRIBUTION until the fourth paragraph, and any reference to Clear Channel’s sneakiness wasn’t mentioned until the 13th paragraph.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By Joe Kimball
Star Tribune, Saturday, February 03, 2007

This front-page story informs us that although it’s cold outside, even for Minnesota, the parade will go on. The carnival has never been cancelled in the carnival’s 120-year history because of cold, however carnival officials worried all week that frostbite would threaten parade-goers’ exposed skin. The Winter Carnival Torchlight Parade has been shortened three times before, as it will be tonight, too.

The article gives details on the parade route, such as “So tonight’s parade will begin at 5th and Wabasha Streets – outside the Dunn Bros. coffee shop – proceed the two blocks west to the St. Paul Hotel at 5th and Market Streets, then south on Market for one block,� yet my opinion on this extreme journalistic technique of mentioning the name of the coffee shop on one of the four corners is unnecessary and inappropriate, possibly even unethical. Why should that particular business get singled out for publicity in the newspaper article? I’m more upset by the coffee shop mention than the St. Paul Hotel one because that hotel has been a city landmark for 96 years but coffee shops come and go.

On second thought, the parade prevails
By Laura Yuen
Pioneer Press, Saturday, February 03, 2007

The St. Paul newspaper placed this important local story “front and center� as the top of the front page, above-the-fold story. The sub-headline hints at the contradiction of opinions about whether to cancel the Torchlight Parade or not between carnival officials and the mayor.

By keen use of ATTRIBUTES, the story details the back and forth that happened. The explanation began with paraphrasing, “With the city's "encouragement," the group decided on a three-block long procession beginning at Fifth and Wabasha streets and concluding at Rice Park, said carnival spokeswoman Mary Huss.� And then continued with a direct quote, “"The mayor wants it to go on and be a mobile parade," Huss said Friday afternoon.� What then follows is more clever paraphrasing, then finishing with a direct quote. “Did Coleman order up a parade? Mayoral spokesman Bob Hume wouldn't say. Either way, the mayor's preference was clear. "It's very important to the mayor that we reflect the decades-long tradition of the Winter Carnival," Hume said.�

Please note: in the Pioneer Press’ article, they also mention the starting point of the parade “procession beginning at Fifth and Wabasha streets� yet never mention any landmarks. I think this is more suitable for the article; product placements in the form of coffee shop mentions are not necessary to get the point across.

Posted by Pamela Koller at 5:32 PM | Permalink