Larson, Chelsey

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/18/AR2009041801737.html?sid=ST2009041801738

This story by the Washington Post was about a 14-year-old boy who was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer after he was accused of stealing a bike. The incident brought a lot of uproar to the community. The police were not open about what exactly happened. They did, however, pay for the boy’s funeral, which caused an even greater amount of turmoil. Officials said their hands were tied by federal grand jury secrecy rules that ordinarily do not apply to local police shooting cases.

The Washington Post investigated the police records of the shooting and found many missteps by the police that had not surfaced before. For example the officers involved in the shooting didn't identify themselves as police officers, didn't attend to the wounded suspect and fled the scene.

Also, the officers said that the boy fired first, causing them to fire back at him, which lead to his death. However, records said no gun was found.

The actual events of this crime may have never come forward if it weren’t for the journalists who investigated the records. They had to be suspicious and look deep to find what really occurred that evening.

This article includes an interactive timeline of the boy’s shooting. It goes through the steps in which the incident took place. By clicking on parts of the timeline, additional information comes up. This is a great visual tool for readers to gather more information about exactly how the shooting took place.

Posted by lars3364 at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I found an article by the AP about a 73-year-old black man who was shot by two white police officers in Homer, La., a small town of 3,800 people. The shooting has caused much racial tension in the town. The reporter reported the details of the story. She did not stereotype, yet it's such a controversial topic. There's so many fingers pointed within the story, but this is unavoidable, since the people of the town, both black and white, feel so strongly about the incident. The reporter did a great job of reporting the facts, leaving her own beliefs and feelings out, but capturing the town's emotions. The story reinforces that racism still exists through showing, rather than telling. She used quotes from police officers, both black and white. She also used quotes from neighbors who witnessed the shooting. And from family members and people of the community to describe the victim shot. The description of the man, gathered from family and the community, really showed what kind of person he was. The reporter used much observation that she gained herself, and also information from people's observations around her.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jc5lFviUr1X8LRoylLE50YAIGfdgD97FMKMG0

Posted by lars3364 at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I looked an article from the Star Tribune about Fairview's losses. The reporter used numbers to explain the fluctuation in net gain and loss. He used numbers in percentages to further explain these increases and decreases in a way that the reader could better grasp wait was occurring. He also used numbers to explain the number of jobs affected by these fluctuations. The numbers are a bit overwhelming because he included both the exact number and percentage of difference for each. However, without both, it would have been extremely confusing for the reader to understand the significance of each. The reporter did use the numbers to enhance the story. The story's purpose was to give and explain the numbers and percent of differences. Fairview Health Services released the numbers.

http://www.startribune.com/business/42448672.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUZ

Posted by lars3364 at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I looked at an obituary of a University of Minnesota professor and a member Metropolitan Waste Control Commission. Some sources included family members such as her daughter, and co-workers at the university. This obit uses a standard obit lead. The lead is clear and concise; it works. This obit had the woman's prominent achievements throughout her life. It didn't simply list everything she has done. It also used quotes to bring in emotion and to show rather than tell about the woman and what kind of person she was.
http://www.startribune.com/obituaries/42094747.html?elr=KArks:DCiUg4PaOEyPDiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

Posted by lars3364 at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I chose an advance article from the Minnesota Daily about the event “The Great Debate: Heads Vs. Feds." The sources of the article aren't entirely clear, but he did list several names within the article. The writer included: Steven Hager, the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine and Bob Stutman, a former New York City agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The angle of the story is the dynamics of these two individuals teaming up to do this traveling event together. Also, the angle is the purpose of the event itself, being that the Minnesota State Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill on Tuesday to protect patients using medical marijuana from arrest by a close vote.
The writer includes the what, when, where and why. But she also included several interesting facts including that about the amount of marijuana seized in the United States last year.
http://www.mndaily.com/2009/03/03/marijuana-legalization-debate-west-bank-tonight

Posted by lars3364 at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I chose to look at a story from the Star Tribune about Ford expecting to reopen the Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1.
http://www.startribune.com/business/40414207.html?page=1&c=y

The press release was much more detailed than the news report. The news report chose the key aspects of the press release; the key quotes were also used in the news report. The news report chose the elements of the press release that really grabbed the listeners' (and later readers') attention. The length of the news report is much more limited, so the most important information must come first. This was similar in the press release as well. The most important information was said first and the rest came in a descending order. The biggest difference between the press release and the news report, besides the length, was the use of quotations chosen for the news report. These were the strong and very prominent quotes; the quotes that guaranteed a reader would read and consider.

Posted by lars3364 at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First lead, Feb. 18
MAHNOMEN, Minn. - A Mahmomen County sheriff's deputy was in critical condition after being shot several times early Wednesday while investigating a report of a shots fired, and officers surrounded a mobile home where two suspects were holed up.
http://www.startribune.com/local/39781067.html?elr=KArksUUUU

Second lead, Feb. 20
Two suspects from the Twin Cities were charged today with critically wounding a western Minnesota sheriff's deputy this week.
http://www.startribune.com/local/39910027.html?elr=KArksUUUU

The first lead focuses more on the sheriff while the second lead focuses more on the suspects. The main news in the first story consisted of the sheriff getting shot while investigating a report and the second story’s main news is that the suspected shooters were charged. The second story fills in the gaps that were unknown at the time the first story was written. It gives names and more detail about what happened. The Star Tribune reported both stories. This being so, the story is very detailed without too much overlap. The first story is the basic information known at the time, and the second story brings about a lot of new information and fills in many missing elements from the first story.

Posted by lars3364 at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I used the news story from the Star Tribune about the commuter plane that crashed into the home near Buffalo, N.Y., killing 50 people.
http://www.startribune.com/business/39549787.html?elr=KArksUUUycaEacyU

The reporter structured the article in this order: lead, cause of accident (investigation), back ground information, witnesses/survivors statements.

In the lead he included brief facts, but enough to catch the readers attention. Also, the what and who were mentioned.
The cause paragraph (second paragraph) included the how and why.
The background paragraph included more information about the crash and also the what, when and where.
The rest of the story talked about the survivors and witness and their comments.

The reporters structuring broke up the article in a orderly manner. It was easy to read, follow, and understand.

It was effective, but could have been written differently; however, it would not have been as effective. His structure was from most important information to least important information. By disrupting this order, it would not be as effective.

Posted by lars3364 at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I looked at the article from the Minnesota Daily about the suspected serial groper being charged. http://www.mndaily.com/2009/02/04/serial-groping-suspect-chargedSpecific Minneapolis police officers and University of Minnesota police officers were named. The article said that the Daily doesn’t name sexual assault victims, but they did use a quote from a girl that was assaulted. Their statements were scattered throughout the story. The majority of the information was from both the Minneapolis police and the university police, but it was said that some of the information was collected from a press conference early this week. The majority of the attributions are set up almost identically how we learned in class. An example from the story would be: “I just feel a lot better about walking to class,� she said. This method is effective. It keeps the information and who’s saying what clear and less confusing for the reader.

Posted by lars3364 at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I choose a story from the Star Tribune about the flu pandemic reaching Minnesota. It was very interesting to me because the lead was in the form of a question. By using this style, it really engages readers to think about the subject at hand right away. The lead includes proximity, emotion, impact and conflict.

Proximity is obvious, being here in Minnesota and emotion is the fear and awareness the the lead creates. The flu pandemic reaching Minnesota will impact thousands. Finally, the conflict is brought up immediately. The news story is based around the conflict. Detailed in the lead are specific questions that many Minnesotans want answers too: who will receive care first? Who is likely to be affected? More general is the severity of the occurrence of such an event and other options to accommodate all those in need.

http://www.startribune.com/local/38705357.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU

Posted by lars3364 at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)