February 2010 Archives

I looked at the BBC and NY Times' websites.

Both websites have print stories and a picture that goes with the story, but they also have videos.

One thing the Times does different is their pictures change on their own, like a slideshow. The BBC has something similar, but the picture changes when the viewer's cursor moves across the different stories.
I like the BBC's method better because it is distracting to see a bunch of random pictures in a slideshow.

The multimedia, definitely complement the news stories because visual makes the story more real.
At the same time, when a picture accompanies the stories, there seems to less picture painting, probably because there's a picture, but I can see how multimedia can hurt news stories' quality.

Hundreds of Dutch activists in 's-Hertogenbosch left church Sunday after the priest refused to distribute communion to a practicing homosexual.

Protestors in pink wigs and shirts left church after discovering the church was not serving communion to anyone that Sunday.

The dispute came when the carnival 'prince' was told he would not be served communion at a Roman Catholic church.

The Netherlands was the first country to initiate gay marriages, and many Dutch support gay rights, according to the BBC.

One man said he just wants equal rights. If he is a sinner who cannot receive communion, the priest should refuse communion to all sinners.

The church diocese issued a statement saying church is not an appropriate place for a protest and will maintain its stance on refusing open homosexuals communion, according to Lifesite. .

With snow blowing in horizontally, a model posed, naked, in a gallery window in Greenwich Village.

Megan Hanford, 26, said she's art, and it's her right to free speech and expression to pose nude in a New York gallery's window, according to the NY Post.

Police had Hanford removed on Sunday, but she is not breaking any laws, and the store manager is going to keep her in the window, naked, for the next couple weeks from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to the Times.

Hanford stands under a web made of shark eggs, shark teeth, beads and clay pipes. Artist Brian Reed said her nakedness is essential "so she can be fully at the center of that connectivity" of energy, a quote pulled from the Times.

Paul Browne, the department's chief spokesman, said they could not take any legal action because there was no lewd act.

The emerald ash borer was found in a scenic Minneapolis park, according to state officials.

On Thursday, the State Department of Agriculture confirmed the tiny green bug's debut in Tower Hill Park in Prospect Park, not far from the St. Paul border, according to the Star Tribune.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board said it will cut down the diseased trees before spring and avidly search for any other infested trees, according to the Pioneer Press.

Officials said they expected the beetle to spread after it was found in St. Paul three years ago, and were awaiting its arrival in Minneapolis.

Last year 82 diseased ash trees were cut down in St. Paul, and last month city crews cut down 355 nondiseased ash tress in an attempt to slow the spread, according to the Press.

Someone took 150 cases (407 boxes) of Girl Scout cookies on Thursday from a garage in Lakeland.

Homeowners reported the robbery around 7 p.m., and said the cookies were probably taken between 11 a.m., and 2 p.m., according to the Pioneer Press.

"When I read the report this morning, all I could think was, 'you've got to be kidding me,' " said sheriff's commander Patrick Olson. "I've never heard of such a thing," a quote pulled from the Star Tribune.

The garage door was closed but not locked, and the cookies were waiting to be distributed.

So far there are no suspects, Olson said

Thailand's Supreme Court seized $1.4 billion from former prime minister on Friday after finding he gained assets illegally through a conflict of interest during his term, according to the BBC.

Thaksin Shinawatra will still get to keep $2.3 billion in frozen assets, but must return a portion of money he illegally made by concealing his ownership of his family companies and using his power to benefit those companies, according to the Times.

The nine-judge panel said Thaksin's business was "unscrupulous,"

The court said Thaksin tailored government policies on cell phone stipulations to benefit his former telecommunications company, Shin Corp.

Security forces were ready to act as red-shirted supporters waited to see if the court decision went against Thaksin.

As predicted, the crowd was upset about the judges' decision and chanted, "Thaksin, fight! Fight!"

Thaksin said he gained the money legally and would continue to fight the bureaucratic elite.

I looked at the Madeira flood the BBC wrote about on Saturday and again on Sunday. Saturday's lead has the flood waters doing the main action, which is different from Sunday's lead when Portuguese workers came to help flood victims.
The flood is central, it's important, but Sunday's lead is more entertaining because people are intrigued (more so) by people, rescue workers, rather than water.
Also, Sunday's story is better developed. It has more quotes, more information, and obviously it is more up-to-date, but it has more questions people have answered. For example, Saturday's story did not know if tourists were involved in the casualties, but Sunday's story said no tourists had been injured by the floods.
I do not believe the Sunday's story is a 'competition' story because I have checked out the Times and CNN, but the BBC has the most thorough and well-informed stories.
However, I have seen stories that 'feed off' the competition.

I looked at the Madeira flood the BBC wrote about on Saturday and again on Sunday. Saturday's lead has the flood waters doing the main action, which is different from Sunday's lead when Portuguese workers came to help flood victims.
The flood is central, it's important, but Sunday's lead is more entertaining because people are intrigued (more so) by people, rescue workers, rather than water.
Also, Sunday's story is better developed. It has more quotes, more information, and obviously it is more up-to-date, but it has more questions people have answered. For example, Saturday's story did not know if tourists were involved in the casualties, but Sunday's story said no tourists had been injured by the floods.
I do not believe the Sunday's story is a 'competition' story because I have checked out the Times and CNN, but the BBC has the most thorough and well-informed stories.
However, I have seen stories that 'feed off' the competition.

At least 40 people have died, hundreds more were injured and many more are missing after a flood ravished through Madeira, CNN reported Sunday.
Water, mud, stone and trees are just some of the debris that is charging off Madeira's mountains, and British Holiday Maker Kathy Sayers told the BBC that Funchal's infrastructure is destroyed and the city's drains cannot cope with the sludge pouring off the mountains.
The floods destroyed houses, buildings, bridges and lives. At least 250 have been evacuated, and search and rescue teams are still trying to locate missing people, according to the BBC.
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said "the situation is under control," a quote pulled from CNN, and the government is offering its support.
The BBC Weather Centre reported the floods were due to a low pressure system and Madeira could expect more rain, but more rain will not result in another flood, BBC said.

An Independence family's 11-day-old son died Thursday after the family dog bit his head, police said.
The infant, Robert Hocker, was unattended and in his car seat when the family's Siberian husky bit his head, the Star Tribune reported.
Public Safety Director Ron McCoy said emergency crews tried to resuscitate the baby for 40 minutes before pronouncing him dead, MyFox reported.
"As you can imagine, the family is grieving," McCoy said. "This is a horrible tragedy. The loss of their baby boy has had an extreme effect on everyone," a quote pulled from the Tribune.
McCoy said police have been called to the home's address on Lake Haughey Road numerous times for code violations and nuisance complaints, none that involved the dog.
The 71-pound dog, Dealer, was locked in a room when the emergency team arrived. Dealer will be tested for rabies, and put down within 10 days.

A 1-year-old girl was found in Connecticut after being abducted in Swansea, Mass., Thursday afternoon by a woman with Minnesota license plates, according to WHDH.

Jaylin Boudria was found in Middletown standing in a parking lot and was immediately taken to the children's hospital in Hartford, but she did not need treatment.

The abductor, Kimberly Johnson, 38, is Boudria's half aunt, and police do not believe her kidnapping was random, according to Southcoast.

The 1-year-old, her mother and Johnson were shopping when Johnson asked Boudria's mom to get her a coffee while Johnson and the baby waited in the car.
When the mother came out, Johnson was gone.

Johnson is still at large and may have changed her name to Alyssa, Swansea Police Chief George Arruda said.

Police have urged people with information on Johnson's whereabouts to call 911.

A blazing fire erupted on a popular retail block Thursday afternoon on the south side of Minneapolis, according to the Star Tribune.
Flames shot 20 feet into the air as the fire engulfed the entire building on the southeast corner of W. 50th St., and Bryant Avenue S., in the Lynnhurst neighborhood, according to the Tribune.
No severe injuries were immediately reported, but two firefighters were harmed by glass and falling debris, it's unknown if they went to the hospital.
The flames erupted from a grease fire in Heidi's restaurant.
Crews said restaurant workers thought the hood system above the oven extinguished the fire, but the fire spread into the duct work, and with no fire wall to separate the buildings and shops, the fire spread through the whole roof, according to WCCO.
Several of the shops in the building that burned were Patina, Blackbird Café, Heidi's, and Stacy Johnson Jewelry Design, reported the WCCO.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton encouraged Iran's political and religious leaders on Monday to stand against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who are taking over large portions of Iran's political, military and economic organizations, according to the Times.

The United States fears Iran is becoming a military dictatorship, which is why Clinton visited a university in Doha, Qatar, Iran's close neighbor, and later visited Saudi Arabia to speak out against Iran's Revolutionary Guards rising militarism.

Iran's leading figures must "take back the authority which they should be exercising on behalf of the people," Clinton said, referring to the marginalization the Guards have imposed on Iran.

The U.S. is also trying to get the United Nations to impose stricter sanctions on Iran.

Russia has considered harsher sanctions for Iran as well.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, "If anyone does anything against Iran, then our response won't be the same as in the past. No, we will definitely react and make them regretful," quoted the BBC.

He also attacked Clinton for calling Iran a military dictatorship.

As it is, the five permanent members in the UN Security Council and Germany told Iran to swap their nuclear materials for enriched uranium in a monitored process in order to pursue their nuclear development.

Iran did agree to swap their nuclear materials, but they want French nuclear isotopes and a swap that is done in their territory.

The biggest concern for the U.S. and its allies is the notion that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies it and insists its program is wholly peaceful.

St. Paul police and fire crews have new rescue competition in town: Mayor Chris Coleman.
The mayor was on his way to greet some convention visitors Friday evening when he came upon two young parents whose child appeared to be having a seizure. He rushed them about 2 miles to United Hospital in his official mayoral car.
"I will admit to speeding over the Wabasha Street bridge," Coleman said Saturday.
The structure of this story almost has a feature story feel to it. The St. Paul Mayor was driving down the road when a man and woman came running to his car with a baby in hand. The child was having a seizure, and the major rushed them to the hospital, but in this story, the reader would not find this out until the bottom of the story.
Generally that is not how a news story is written, and although the story has a unique approach to being written, I probably would have written it differently.

St. Paul Mayor rushes desperate parents to a hospital after their infant began having what looked like a seizure on Friday.
It's not the best lead, but it gets to the point faster. The way the story is written now is fine, but I would not say effective because the story 'lollygags.' There's no sense of urgency to the story when, it's kind of a big deal: a baby could have died, and the mayor of St. Paul was involved.
The story could've taken on a new life filled with urgency and excitement, but its set-up doesn't do that--at all.

A 60-year-old grandma fought off a shark after it tore into her buttocks and legs in the tug of war match, according to SMH.
Patty Trumbull was snorkeling with her husband and friends near Whitsunday Islands, Queensland when she felt a huge tug at her, the BBC reported.
"I turned around and saw this huge shark," Trumbull said, as she told herself the shark was not going to get the better of her.
Trumbull began repeatedly punching the shark in its nose, and when it pulled her under, she kicked it in the neck until it released her.
Doctors said Trumbull is lucky to be alive.

Police have two suspects in custody for a series of crimes that were committed Jan. 25 and led to the shooting of a young man on the U of M campus.
University of Minnesota police obtained a court order to track the GPS of a stolen cell phone, which led to the capture of two men police believe are responsible for several robberies and the shooting of a 19-year-old sophomore, according to the Star Tribune.
Derrell Cole, 16, was charged Wednesday with two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery in relation to the two females who were robbed outside Moos Hall, according to the Star Tribune.
The other 21-year-old man was arrested outside his house, but has been released with no charges, according to an updated article from the Star Tribune.
Police do not have sufficient evidence to ascertain who the shooter was, but University Police Chief, Greg Hestness, said they were confident Cole was definitely involved.

A Saudi Arabian man was arrested for boasting about his sex life on TV and will receive five years in prison and 1,000 lashes.
Mazen Abdul Jawad went on a Lebanese Channel LBC and told stories of sex, foreplay and his first time losing his virginity at age 14, according to The Huffington Post.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative societies in the Arab world and is the country where the prophet Muhammad came from, according to the BBC.
A segment of Red Line's show that has Jawad's interview can be viewed on YouTube, according to the Huffington Post.

Michael Jackson's personal doctor pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of involuntary manslaughter for the pop star's death.
Dr. Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist and Jackson's personal physician, entered his not-guilty plea in a Los Angeles Superior Court, according to the Star Tribune.
Officials said Murray gave the singer propofol, a powerful anesthetic, and two other sedatives to help Jackson sleep.
According to the coroner's report, the drugs Murray gave Jackson, along with other drugs, were the cause of Jackson's death.
Investigators originally hoped to charge Murray with second-degree murder without the presence of a motive, according to FoxNews, but did not think a jury would convict Murray.
Murray is out on bail, but must return for his April 5 preliminary hearing.
If convicted Murray could face up to four years in prison.
The Los Angeles Court judge ordered Murray to turn in his passport so he could not flee the country until then.

Bloggers are in a tiff about a St. Paul church opening its doors to Haitian immigrants in an attempt to offer hope to victims who lost loved ones.
A small church in St. Paul attempts to open its doors and help support the Haitian immigrants who have recently heard about the deaths of wives, cousins and other family members who died in the Jan.12 earthquake in Haiti, according to the Star Tribune.
After reading the Tribune's article regarding Haitian immigrants, upset readers voiced their opinions about America's immigration situation.
"Immigration to US and MN from everywhere should be curbed. America and Americans and Minnesotans needs and interests come first, but unfortunately they do not. What comes first is immigrants even illegal immigrants rights and minority interests. This is wrong and it must change," said Oimmigration.
Other readers agreed with Oimmigration's post.
One person, in response to Oimmigration, said "Do people like you EVER tire of twisting every world situation or news story to make them about your bigoted views?"
In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported 37,960,935 foreign born in the states, making 12.5 percent of the total U.S. population immigrants.

Attribution is crucial to a story and has the potential to 'save face.'
"Make sure sources get proper credit (or blame) for what they say," said Tim Harrower.
i.e. if someone said something happened and a reporter writes that but comes to find out that the event never occured, the reporter will be fine as long as he/she has attributed the untruth to the person.
Commas come before the attribution, according to a hand-out Gayle Golden gave journalism students.
Everything in a news story must be attributed; however, accepted truths don't really need attribution. The sun will always rise in the east and set in the west.
Attribution allows facts, opinions and quotes, which can spice a story up.
It's abetter practice to put the noun before the verb.
John F. Kennedy said.
For hard news, 'said' should be used; however, 'says' can be used for reviews and feature stories and broadcast newswriting, according to Harrower.
And along those lines, 'said,' for clarity reasons should be used. One should avoid jargony words, snorted Harrower or chuckled Chuck.

A huge plant explosion rocked Middletown, Conn., where two workers died and seven more were injured, authorities said.

Fire raged through the Kleen Energy plant at 11:45 a.m., and black smoke filled the air after the plant exploded--an explosion that shook people's homes, according to the Times.

"There are fatalities, but we don't have a confirmed number," said a Middletown police officer. Two deaths have been confirmed and seven more were taken to the hospital and at least 50 construction workers where at the plant when it exploded, said Middletown Fire Marshall.

The Governor of Connecticut, Jodi Rell, has deployed Connecticut's Urban Search and Rescue team to find anyone trapped under the rubble, according to the BBC.

The Middletown Press newspaper said a gas line exploded at 11:30 a.m., which has been the root of the explosion.

Authorities on Friday said the Minneapolis man who was found dead in a snowbank died of "complex homicidal violence."

Michael M. Fonta, 45, was found in a snowbank outside his home on the 300 block of 8th street SE, near Marcy-Homes, according to the Twin Cities Press.

Fonta's record shows he had a criminal past, mostly minor crimes, said Star Tribune.

People with any information should call the Minneapolis Police Department Tip Line at 612-692-8477.

A 12-year-old Pakistani girl died from unexplained injuries she acquired while working in her wealthy employer's house.

Shazia Masih, a bone-poor girl, died Jan. 22 at the home of her wealthy employer, Mohammad Naeem, a prominent lawyer and former president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association.

Naeem was arrested the day after Masih's death but claimed the girl fell down the stairs and died from skin disease complications, according to the Times.

Masih's family said she was tortured by Naeem, and according to The Catholic Herald, Masih was repeatedly raped and beaten.

A medical examiner's report supported the evidence of Masih being beaten, according to the Times, and a more thorough report is due out in coming weeks.

There's a high amount of injustice for the poor in Pakistan; it is not unusual for a small boy or girl to work for minimal pay and under harsh conditions for the rich.

Masih worked for close to $8 a month to clean Naeem's house; however, the middleman who hired Masih also received a portion of Masih's small earnings.

So far Naeem has not been sentenced, and according to Masih's family, he tried to for their silence saying, "If you shout nobody will listen and they will never get anything." He also said, "I am a lawyer and will see that you cannot pursue this case because the court and the lawyer community is with me," according to The Catholic Herald.

Masih's parents were given help in pursuing the police to take action against Naeem.

The death of Masih, has been a clear-cut reminder of the powerlessness of the poor in Pakistan, said the Times.

A Minneapolis man was found dead in the snow early Thursday morning, and police have classified the death as suspicious.

Police were called to the 300 block of 8th street SE., where the body was found shortly before 4 a.m., said Star Tribune.

The cause of death is unknown; however, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office is performing an autopsy, according the MN Daily.

If his death is ruled as a homicide, it would be the eighth murder of the year in Minneapolis.

People with any information on the case are asked to call the Minneapolis Police Department tip line at 612-692-8477.

A Kenosha, Wis., woman was sentenced to jail time Friday after her relationship with a 17-year-old West St. Paul high school student was exploited.

Melissa Diana Koehn, 31, was sentenced to five months in jail and 10 years probation after a jury deliberated for three hours and found Koehn guilty on three counts of fourth degree criminal sexual assault, according to the Star Tribune.

Koehn taught the 17-year-old girl when she was a freshman and coached her in basketball; when the teen became depressed, Koehn mentored her.

The teen's family had invited Koehn over for family meals, holidays and even over-night stays, according to St. Paul Pioneer Press.

In December of 2008, their love affair was exposed when an Apple Valley Policeman found them partially undressed, kissing and fondling in a parked car. Koehn was arrested the next day.

Koehn will begin her jail time Feb. 11 and will have to register as a sex offender when she gets out.