March 2011 Archives

By Mike Munzenrider

Geraldine Ferraro's obituary in The New York Times is a prime example of the Time's standard obituary formula.

It uses a variety of sources, such as past reporting, Ferraro's own statements and work, and a variety of statements from those in the political spotlight.

The lead follows the guidelines of the formula. It's effective because it relays the most important fact about Ferraro's life right off the bat.

The obituary is unlike a resume because it goes into great deal about the 1984 presidential campaign before dealing with Ferraro's life story.

By Mike Munzenrider

Flood season is expected to last through April across Minnesota.

Rivers in the Twin Cities area will crest first this spring, followed by cresting on the Red River in Fargo-Moorhead reports the Star Tribune.

Because there's still snow on the ground, forecasters are saying there's a 20 percent chance of a top five flood in the Twin Cities reports the Star Tribune.

Fargo-Moorhead is said to have a 45 percent chance of breaking it's all time flood record set in 2009 according to the Star Tribune.

Flooding in New Ulm resulted in a broken natural gas pipe line, but there were no fires or explosions reports the Associated Press

By Mike Munzenrider

The Anne Frank Museum is very close to moving into a building across the street from Park 51, the center also known as the "Ground Zero Mosque."

The museum is moving in order to have more space, and to recreate the "secret annex" in which Frank and her family hid from the Nazis reports the New York Post.

"It's appropriate to have a mix of diverse organizations as a part of the lower Manhattan community," said Julie Menin, chairwoman of Community Board 1 to the Post. "We want it to reflect the melting pot that is America."

Despite setbacks and months of controversy, the Park 51 center is still under construction reports Gothamist.

By Mike Munzenrider

Rebel forces are advancing westward across Libya towards Tripoli as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi appear to be in retreat.

With the help of coalition bombing the rebels have seized control of several key cities along the coastline reports Al Jazeera.

The next town in the rebels' sights is Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte which is under coalition bombardment reports Al Jazeera.

Appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that there were reports that Gaddafi has been placing people he's killed at coalition bombing sights to make it appear they were killed in the bombings.

By Mike Munzenrider

Geraldine Ferraro, the first female candidate for national office from a major party, died Saturday in Boston. She was 75.

The cause was complications from blood cancer according to her family, reports ABC.

Ferraro, a former Queens congresswoman, was the Democratic candidate for vice president in 1984, running alongside Walter Mondale reports The New York Times.

The former vice presidential candidate last made headlines for racially charged comments she made about Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign reports ABC.

By Mike Munzenrider

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann will form a presidential exploratory committee by June if not sooner.

There are GOP presidential debates that will occur before June, and Bachmann may officially enter the race in order to participate reports CNN.

Bachmann is close to having a political team established in Iowa and will soon have them established in other primary states, New Hampshire and South Carolina, reports CNN.

Time's Swampland blog writes that Bachmann's move is bad for the GOP, but a boon for journalists and comedy writers.

By Mike Munzenrider

The Republican held Minnesota House has proposed a plan that would drastically cut aid to cities and counties around the state.

The plan would cut $300 million in local government aid, hitting metro area suburbs the hardest, reports the Star Tribune.

The plan would phase out all governmental aid to the Twin Cities and its suburbs in two years, reports the Pioneer Press.

The plan also cuts $118 million from the renters credit program, though according to the Star Tribune, the chances of it passing are slim.

By Mike Munzenrider

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michelle Bachmann spoke in New Hampshire this week gauging presidential bids.

Pawlenty outlined his market-based national health care plan, contrasting it to President Obama's recently passed health care legislation, reports Minnpost.

Relying on her Tea Party credentials, Bachmann toured the state to warm receptions after arriving as a mostly unknown commodity, reports Minnpost.

Much of the press around Bachmann's tour has been about a gaffe she made during a speech, when she incorrectly said that the Revolutionary War began in New Hampshire, reports MPR.

By Mike Munzenrider

Vivian Shiller resigned as CEO of NPR on Wednesday following the release of a video showing one of the public radio organization's fundraisers disparaging conservatives.

Shiller's fate was ultimately decided by NPR's board of directors, which decided she should step down reports NPR.

The video, released by conservative activists, shows an NPR fundraiser speaking to activists posing as Muslim philanthropists. He says the Republican party has been "hijacked" by the Tea Party, which he also calls "racist," reports The New York Times.

Shiller also presided over the firing of Juan Williams last fall, and the controversy surrounding her tenure was the main factor in her resignation, reports NPR.

By Mike Munzenrider

Japan was struck by a massive earthquake Friday, triggering a tsunami and causing problems for the country's nuclear power plants.

The death toll from the quake, the biggest ever recorded in Japan, is estimated to be over 10,000 reports The New York Times.

Threats of nuclear meltdowns in several reactors remain. One reactor exploded, and officials fear a second reactor could explode reports the Associated Press.

The government has mobilized 100,000 troops for humanitarian purposes, the largest mobilization in the country since World War II, reports The New York Times.

By Mike Munzenrider

Minneapolis' First Avenue will no longer be using Ticketmaster for online ticket sales, beginning April 1.

The club partnered with Ticketmaster for nearly 20 years, though cited skepticism over the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger, and decided to seek out other ticket distributors, reports Citypages.

Ticket buyers can expect a decrease of 20 to 49 percent per show, now that Ticketmaster is not in the picture, according to the Pioneer Press.

First Avenue chose to partner with eTix moving forward, because of the company's modernity and the savings for its customers, reports Citypages.

By Mike Munzenrider

The United Nations General Assembly suspended Libya from the Human Rights Council. The U.N.'s press release is here, and the Associated Press' story about the suspension is here.

The two items tell the same essential story, though the press release lacks context and background when it comes to telling the story in an in depth way.

The AP reporters told a better story because they reported a full story, context and all. They reported from around the world and really sussed out all the angles.

The reporters may have used the press release as a resource, though much of their story appears to be original reporting on what the release said. They also went beyond the release to gather a broader scope of information important to the story.

By Mike Munzenrider

A man attacked a bus carrying U.S. airmen on Wednesday, killing two and wounding two others, at the Frankfurt, Germany, airport.

The man was taken into custody following the shooting, and has been identified as a 21-year-old from Kosovo who works at the airport, reports the Associated Press.

Family members of the the alleged shooter described him as a devout Muslim, according to the Associated Press. German officials have said that it's unclear whether the shooting is linked to terrorism, reports Reuters.

The attacker and the airmen apparently had an altercation before the shooting, reports the Associated Press.

By Mike Munzenrider

With the addition of 2,000 more jobs to the economy, Minnesota's jobless rate dropped to 6.7 percent.

This is the lowest rate since December 2008, reports the Star Tribune.

Minnesota's job market has fared much better than the national job market. The national jobless rate for January was 9 percent reports MPR.

The strongest job growth was in leisure and hospitality, while surprisingly, there was growth in the construction sector as well, reports the Star Tribune.

By Mike Munzenrider

The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of a church that conducts hateful protests at military funerals on Wednesday.

In an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the ruling affirmed the church's First Amendment right to free speech, reports the The New York Times.

The church in question, the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., picketed the funeral of a Marine killed in Iraq in 2006. They carried signs with slogans like "God Hates You," "You Are Going To Hell," and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers." Following the funeral, the Marine's father sued, reports Reuters.

The case pitted free-speech versus privacy rights, and ultimately, the court sided with freedom of speech, according to Reuters.

The single dissent came from Justice Samuel Alito, reports The New York Times.