NMalec

Republican hopefuls debated one another, each one trying to prove that they were the most conservative, and that they represented Reagan the most.

The Guardian Unlimited wrote a beautiful article about this. From the lead to the end they tie the story together with the presidential hopefuls wish to be more like Reagan than Bush. After the lead they list a quote from the top 3 presidential canidates about Reagan. They even mention that Reagans nave was "invoked" 19 times, where Bush was barely mentioned.
The Herald Tribune basically just gives an overview of the competitor's stances. The issues are layed out very orderly, with each person's quotes being clearly distinct, while still giving many views on the same issue.

Posted by Nicholas Malec at 6:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

China failed in convincing the UN delegation to "water down" language in a report on global warming.

The Times Colonist has a much broader outlook than the Voice Of America. Most of this comes at the end, when the Colonist says that America is backing off and letting China take the lead in softening the language. Prior to this America often played this role. The Voice Of America, which is run by the US governmnet, also has very good insights about China, saying that China says it's developed when it's helpful to them and undeveloped when it's helpful to them. But it fails to mention many of America's past short-comings in this area.

Posted by Nicholas Malec at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Obama is given security by the secret service much earlier than most "presidential hopefuls."

I like the lead in the Chicago Sun Times, it is very catchy and highlights the unusualness of the story:
"Major presidential candidates and their families usually get Secret Service protection within 120 days of the general election.
That's 551 days away, so how did Obama get protection?"
But that report on the whole, is mostly just a look at quick explanation of the issue, without much background reporting. The New York Times, gives a much broader look at the situation. It gives some reasons why Obama is recieving protection, including race and the big crowds he draws to speeches.
They interviewed his wife who gave good background into the risks of running for president, or being the wife of the person who runs for president.
It also tells us other people who have recieved protection early, and the reasons why. This also gives us a broader look at the subject.

Posted by Nicholas Malec at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hundreds of people who ate at the PIzza Ranch in Slayton, MN lined up to get hepatitis A shots. The restaurant is being investigated for cleanliness.

I think the Star Tribune article's lead is clever, but confusing. It begins by mentioning:
"The Pizza Ranch on Broadway was empty Friday morning, as hundreds of its customers lined up for hepatitis shots just a few blocks away at the county fairgrounds."
and even though it explains the rest in the second paragraph they use "restaurant" to describe the pizza ranch and it still comes off as very vague.
The quote used is even worse. The superintendent, they interviewed, is worried about losing the support for his school, because the pizza place is being shut down. But I have no idea how they support them. At the end they requote him and then it is made clear how, but we have to wait like 10 paragraphs.
A lot of the other stuff is okay. They interviewed a lot of informal sources that really showed that the pizza place is in a small city, and that everyone will pitch in to make sure the pizza place prospers.
The AP article is pretty much a smaller version of the Tribune. Actually some of the quotes used in the Star Tribune are the same. To be honest, I'm kind of curious about plagarism here.

Posted by Nicholas Malec at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Metro Transit will be putting more cash towards security, by increasing the amount of hours cops spend on buses and getting new surveillance cameras.

The Star Tribune argue is very thorough. The lead tells us that police will be riding the bus more to "reassure passengers" and then is followed by a sentence that explains the two recent homicides that caused the unassuradness in passengers. The story says that hiring policeman for buses has helped in cities like Houston and Boston, and that there has only been 8 homicides across the nation from 2002-2006. These facts are very important for the reader to understand how the Minneapolis situation compares with other cities throughout America.
For some reason the Pioneer Press has not written a worthwhile story about this yet. Their story literally just gives a list of what the $2.4 million, which will be spent on improving security on buses, is going.

Posted by Nicholas Malec at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)