joenels21

In this article from 11 News Defenders, they went to various Houston banks to analyze robbery patterns. They wanted to know "exactly where are consumers most likely to be robbed at ATMs: in bank parking lots or drive-thru lanes?" THey looked at four years worth of crime data and narrowed down the hot spots. They noticed trends such as poor lighting with banks that were robbed more frequently and talked to victims. They also compared police reports to other robbery records and found discrepancies. The computer skills they used related to gathering crime reports, police records, finding related laws that pertain to the story.

Posted by Josef Nelson at 4:58 AM | Permalink

This article from the USA Today discusses the growing number of Hispanics seeking health care nationwide. It doesn’t really go beyond stereotypes because it portrays most of them as poor and illegal with no health care. It provides new statistics regarding the subject, quotes from health care workers, and mentions growing trends. Here are some of its points:
- The number of Hispanic patients seeking care at health centers grew by 52% to 4.8 million between 2000 and 2005, outpacing all other racial or ethnic groups, according to data from Health Resources and Services Administration, which oversees the centers.
- Many centers have added interpreters, mostly Spanish-speaking, to help doctors and patients communicate.
- Many centers have added interpreters, mostly Spanish-speaking, to help doctors and patients communicate.

Posted by Josef Nelson at 1:10 AM | Permalink

Sports stories use numbers in a variety of different ways. In this basketball game recap, the writer has used numbers in the form of statistics, representing how many points players scored, rebounds grabbed, assists given, how long ago other team milestones occured, dates of other notable games relating to the story, teams' win-loss records, winning and losing streaks, how much time was left in the game when notable things happend, shooting percentages, the number of games a player was previously suspended, and the final score. The numbers are put into the story in a way that doesn't overwhelm the reader. These numbers were necessary to make the reader understand what happend and how each team performed. The sources of the numbers are all from recent history and statistical data from the game. There were several other numbers that could have been mentioned, however it is up to the writer to decide what is most important for the reader.

Posted by Josef Nelson at 3:52 AM | Permalink

Myron Jensen, fur trapper and potato broker of Ramsey. The sources used in this news obituary from the Star Tribune, were his son Jeff, and a longtime friend. The lead differs somewhat from the NY Times style. In the first paragraph, it described his life without saying when or where he died. Those came in the following paragraphs along with the cause of death. While the lead doesn't follow the NY Times style, it works fine. The obituary differs from a resume because it includes some of his medical history, quotes from friends and family, financial information ("He grew up dirt poor"), and family information.

Posted by Josef Nelson at 2:34 AM | Permalink

According to the Star Tribune, Miley Cyrus a.k.a. Hanna Montana will perform Sunday night at Target Center. This article had no attribution of any information. I assume that Ticketmaster and Target Center are sources; however, they aren’t listed as such.

The angle taken is that Cyrus, a 14-year-old singer and star of the hit Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana� will perform Sunday night to a sold-out Target Center crowd. Fourteen-thousand fans, mostly girls her age and accompanying parents are expected to see her perform. Controversy arose after ticket brokers and online resale stores bought and resold the tickets for much higher than face value. Few were lucky enough to get tickets at their regular price. .

The reporter made the advance more than a listing by going into detail about how tickets were bought and sold, and the controversy that surrounded it, as well as noting the teen star’s popularity.

Posted by Josef Nelson at 2:23 AM | Permalink

The news report I found was about Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize for spreading awareness of man-made climate change, and for laying the foundations for the measures needed to counteract it. The reporter used and introduction paragraph first, and two paragraphs directly from the Nobel Press Release. Two updates were later added including Gore’s reactions and meeting plans. The press release itself mentioned the other winner of the award, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and also talked about environmental concerns which helped explained the committee’s decision to give them the award.

Posted by Josef Nelson at 3:34 AM | Permalink

In regards to an explosion in a New York City apartment building, the leads differ with the first telling about what happened and who was injured, and the follow explaining why it happened. The follow’s lead also has an increased number of injured residents and a longer description of the explosion. The main news of each is summarized by the injuries caused; however the follow story was much more descriptive, including names, family information, and their current conditions. The second day story had several advancements including a better description of the cause of the explosion and who was injured. It also listed the current conditions of the residents, had interviews of relatives, stated what hospital the were sent to and when many had been released, who was allowed to return and when. Information about previous gas inspections, accounts of people smelling gas were included as well. The second day story was a response to more information being released by victims, the hospital, fire officials, the building department, the Red Cross, gas line inspectors, the Manhattan borough president, and the company that owns the building. That vast array of additional information gave the reporter plenty of valuable information to include to make the story effective, using a variety of sources, to tell the reader what they want to know.

Posted by Josef Nelson at 4:53 AM | Permalink

This story from the Star Tribune is about two children who accidentally struck a truck driver while shooting at a squirrel in St. Louis County. The reporter did a good job of summarizing the most important information in the first and second paragraphs. In the "hard news" lead, the reporter tells the reader what happened. The second paragraph more specifically explains who, what, when, where, and how it happened. The third paragraph mentions a little about what happened to the driver afterwards, and the last listed the juveniles’ ages. It was ordered this way to keep the reader’s attention, effectively answering questions they might have, without too many minor details. The information could have been ordered differently, for example the kids’ ages or the time of the incident could have been listed earlier, however, the printed order worked fine.

Posted by Josef Nelson at 3:39 AM | Permalink

I read an article on a possible bottomless drink ban in Green Bay from the Star Tribune. In this article the author used nine sources. Of those sources, six were named, including the Green Bay mayor, three bar owners, a bar manager, and an administrator from another city that had already issued a ban. The sources are evenly distributed throughout the story to provide balance, and the information was obtained primarily through personal sources. The attribution is set up in an easy to understand format. Most of the sources are introduced first, which provides interest and credibility. Others were commonly written: … he said, or … says. One attribution worth noting was when the author reintroduced Green Bay’s mayor to remind the reader, who he was, which keeps the reader from having to look back to the beginning to see who the source was.

Posted by Josef Nelson at 1:38 AM | Permalink

USA Today- O.J. Simpson arrested, faces multiple felony charges
“Police arrested O.J. Simpson on Sunday, saying he was part of an armed group who burst into a Las Vegas hotel room and snatched memorabilia that documented his own sports career, long ago eclipsed by scandal.�
This lead does a good job of telling “who, what, when, and why,� but “where and how,� are not made clear. This is definitely an immediate identification lead because of O.J. Simpson’s high-profile name. His murder trial was one of the biggest stories of the 1990’s, and after his acquittal, any further arrests are major national news stories. The lead provides a good amount of detail as to what the charges are, and successfully provides the audience with questions to entice them to read on. It’s a fairly straightforward lead that gives the reader a good understanding of what happened. The crime isn’t easy to describe in one sentence, however this writer made it pretty clear.

Posted by Josef Nelson at 2:59 AM | Permalink