The News Blog of Marco LaNave

There was no indication as to what spurred the story idea for research in a story by The Associated Press about pharmaceutical concentration in water throughout the United States.

It was clear, however, that the writers (and those working with them) poured over data from government documents and data from companies and institutions. The reporters were not handed the comparisons that they presented within the story. In fact, the story often referred to an AP investigation.

Naturally, the reporters would have had to pick out the key statistics or facts among thousands of less meaningful, non-newsworthy data. The story likely also required manipulation of many of the data to even allow for comparisons.

The reporters were careful to draw on other sources, but not before a thorough analysis of most, in not all, of the data.

It was typical in the latter part of the story for the writers to present data of a particular case or institution, and then state the response by that institution or organization. It seems probable that the reporters would have presented their findings to these people, asking them to comment. The reporters included a comment or reaction (or non-reaction) from almost every institution or company mentioned.

Careful record-finding skills was critical to the story, and a statistical grounding was likely necessary. It seemed that the reporters had at least a basic knowledge of the chemistry and biology behind the subject.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A story by Minnesota Public Radio attempted to reveal how Somalis are thinking and feeling about the recent focus on their community in local and national headlines.

In a way, the story tried to tackle the issue of stereotypes surrounding Somalis. However, it was more about how Somalis feel about the stereotypes that seem to be emerging from stories about Somalis returning to their country to join militant groups, issues with money-wiring services, or Somali pirates.

The story includes brief perspectives from three different "everyday" Somalis. Allowing these people to share insight moves away from stereotypes.

Nothing in the story was too surprising, although the level of awareness among Somalis of their own social image is striking. They are concerned about how they are perceived in the larger community, and realize the effects on that situation brought about by the recent news surrounding Somalis.

This idea comes through from the quotes and ideas from the Somali sources. Because the story was for a radio broadcast, solid quotes needed to be built around, so the nature of the story forced the seeking-out of these relevant sources.

The most compelling story was from a young woman's personal story of harassment, which was critical to telling the story that Somalis have been treated differently (in a negative way) as a result of the recent news about Somalis.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 2:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune article uses numbers to fill out the story that discusses a finding by the Minnesota Department of Health that the proportion of children participating in preschool autism programs in Minneapolis is greater among Somalis than non-Somalis.

The reporter used data from a study by the Minnesota Department of Health.

It was virtually mandatory that the reporter include the found percentages of children in autism programs. A range of percents was quoted in referring to the Somali children and the non-Somali children.

The reporter also either did a calculation or reported a finding from the study regarding the ratio of percents among the two populations, making it clear that population A was X times more likely than population B to be Y.

The numbers were by no means overwhelming, as the story only used numbers where they were critical. The rest of the story described the context of the numbers and their meaning, rather than being obsessed with listing them.

The reader might actually be more likely to take away the numbers from the story, because there is a background connection provided by the story that made those numbers relevant.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 2:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The lead of Ed Grothus' obituary that appeared in the Guardian on March 24 was slightly different than a standard obituary. The first sentence included an identification of his notoriety, but included his age as well. The following three sentences described his "claim to fame," but remained in the same paragraph.

The second paragraph began a chronology of his life, although his full name and date of birth was not included until the "endcap" of the story. Several paragraphs told the story of his life work as a bomb builder-turned-anti-nuclear activist.

The story listed many of his career positions and awards, but it was not resume, as many events or achievements were intertwined with colorful description of that time or place in his life.

Quotes by Grothus were included. Other sources were not named, but the information about his history and work must have been gleaned from a variety of sources outside of Grothus.

The final sentence listed the surviving members of his family, but their names were not included.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune advanced a Feb. 25 event at a Minneapolis mosque, focusing on the controversy surrounding the mosque, and suggesting that the event was intended to address concerns among the public.

The event was a prayer and dinner at a local mosque, but its context was important, and that was included in the story. A major point was that the FBI director had been invited.

The second paragraph of the advance gave the details of time and place of the event.

The rest of the story explains the context of controversy leading up to the event.

The sources included a spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-MN, which seemed to be a sponsor of the event, and a special agent for the FBI in Minnesota. In this case, the sources were from two different perspectives in the story.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A brief Pioneer Press story highlighted one decision made at the St. Paul City Council meeting on Feb. 25.

The city council approved a plan to put a sidewalk and bicycle lane on Marshall Avenue on the border of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the Pioneer Press reported.

The city council agenda only listed the matter in one line under a subject for discussion. It was described as improving bicycle and pedestrian facilities. On the agenda Web site, the line was linked to a video of the council's discussion of the matter.

While it was one of a few dozen lines in the agenda, it was the only one mentioned in the Pioneer Press story. But the story did include some points that were clearly part of the deeper discussion, and were missing from the council's posted agenda.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune's stories on consecutive days covering a shooting differed in length, leads, and content.

The first story detailed the medical condition of a Mahnomen County sheriff's deputy after he was shot on Wednesday. Its lead detailed the latest medical information in the first few paragraphs, and then described the events surrounding the shooting, and information about the suspects.

The second story was a short update of the subject's condition, leading with the latest activity of the subject in the hospital. It included the reports of doctors who had operated on the subject. The final paragraph mentioned the names of the suspects and the status of the charges.

The first story may have been built from an original report of the events surrounding the shooting. The medical update that began the story might have simply been added to an original draft.

The second story, which came a full day later seemed to have been written with the assumption that most of the information in the first story was not necessary. This was probably correct, since many parts of the overall story would have been old news at that time. After tying the lead to an ongoing story, it starts right into the latest news. It only additionally includes the most crucial other part of the story: the identification of suspects and the charges. This is a good choice, because those will likely be pieces of whatever further news develops from the story.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A story in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about the proposal for a massive green power line across the Midwest opened with a standard lead. The monetary figures were in the lead, clearly stating the financial weight of the story.

The second paragraph explained which company had offered the plan and a little more about exactly what it is.

The story was broken into sections by sub-headings, which were carefully titled with generally positive terms: "Renewable energy" and "Power upgrades." Such a structure, which allowed for a more thorough explanation of the plan, could have been designed to inform readers who may not be able to quickly identify the factors in a green energy effort.

Clear statistics about costs are included early in the story. Key statistics of concern are repeated throughout the story, but the story generally consists of pieces that are held together in one spot per idea.

The story seems to be built by an introduction of the news - the proposal for a green power line - followed by analysis of major components of the proposal that may be of interest to those who would be affected by the project being considered, and those who have interest in the project and its planning process.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sports Illustrated broke huge sporting news on Saturday with a report that baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez had tested positive for steroid use over five years ago.

For obvious reasons, SI did not name its sources in connection to Rodriguez's positive test, but carefully stated that four independent sources were giving information, and directly stated that the sources had spoken on condition of anonymity, and generally why they had done so. In addition to the four anonymous sources that supplied the main information of the story, SI cited three anonymous baseball players and two anonymous people with knowledge of Rodriguez's contract.

Relevant individuals or organizations were also sought for responses to the information of the anonymous sources. SI asked Rodriguez about the reported information before it was released. SI added parts of statements by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association that were released after the story was published.

SI also included information attributed to steroids experts, and a previous MLB-conducted investigation into steroid use. After stating a claim made by the investigation, the story included the reaction (or lack thereof) by the subject of the claim.

All of the sources seemed to have authority on the subject of the report, and contributed relevant information. Although the reader might be compelled to doubt some of the story because of the frequent use of anonymous sources, the story's credibility is bolstered by citing multiple sources for every fact contributed by anonymous sources.

The only direct quotations in the story were from the individuals who were asked to respond to claims in the story, and the statements issued by two organizations in response to the story. This seemed correct, since the information from other sources was largely factual and needed no embellishment as part of quotations.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The three men who gunned down Jeffery Lamont Logan during a botched robbery in St. Paul early Saturday could have just asked for the money.

Logan, 44, who had stepped up to defend his cousin when the trio accosted them, would have handed it over not out of fear, but from the goodness of his heart, his brother said Saturday. (Star Tribune 31 Jan. 2009)

This lead clearly identified the people in the story, including Logan, the man who was killed, and the three robbers who seem to be have been his killers. It says exactly what happened (a homicide); it contains the time and place of the incident, and a potential reason for the incident (the man tried to defend his cousin in a robbery). So, it does accomplish the usual tasks of a hard news lead: who, what, where, when, why. By naming the man, and adding the extra insight about his personally, the lead tells the reader that there is more to the story than just a local homicide.

The story discusses the facts of the homicide, but also provides a look into the life and personality of the homicide victim. Most of the information is provided by the man's brother. The lead prepares the reader for both of these elements, by both explaining the action of the event, and describing the behavior of the victim from a view of (perhaps admirable) personal qualities, and hinting at the picture that will be painted of the life of the man who is the subject of the article.

Posted by Marco LaNave at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)