February 2010 Archives

According to the Star Tribune....VANCOUVER - The players donning the red, white and blue sweaters already got a taste -- a very small taste -- of what's in store for them Sunday when they step onto enemy ice and play Canada on its home turf in front of its home fans.

I like this lead, but I don't believe it is very effective. The reason for this is because although this lead is catchy and may spark your interest it doesn't really explain what it is you're going to be reading about. You know it's going to be about Canada and the U.S. and them maybe playing against each other, but you don't really catch the gist of the story.

According to the Star Tribune....WHISTLER, British Columbia - Bode Miller finally won his elusive gold medal, using a blistering slalom run Sunday to complete one of the most unlikely Olympic comebacks ever.

I like this lead and believe it is a good lead because it is short and sweet. For most Olympic stories you want the facts right away, and the reporters to say what happened and what was the most important thing right away. This lead does that by stating what happened and the most important part.

An article by the Associated Press in Washington reported that after being interviewed about the war in Iraq, Vice President Joe Biden said that "I am very optimistic about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration." This was criticized by former Vice President Dick Cheney who said that the credit for the war should be given to the Bush administration. He said that while the Obama administration can take credit for what they have accomplished while there in this presidency, they must also give credit for the earlier achievements of the the Bush administration. It also talks about how both Obama and Biden opposed the war and Cheney commented on that saying that if they had their way the situation would have been quite different.

The news values for this story include conflict between the former and current vice presidents. It also includes novelty as this conflict hasn't come up before this time. Then there is impact because the war in Iraq has affected a lot of lives and a lot has changed in the country and around the world because of the war in Iraq.

The Star Tribune reported Sunday that a man in St. Paul who had been shot to death was identified and his son was arrested for his murder. The man was shot several times and a little while after the shooting the son was arrested not far from the duplex where the man, who was identified as Anthony Gaither, was found. The shooting occurred Saturday and the man was found at 1:30 p.m. The son was suspected as according to the police report there had been an argument between the son and father and the son somehow obtained a gun. Neighbors heard the shots but didn't think it was from their neighborhood.

The news values include immediacy as the shooting happened just yesterday. It also has relevance as the shooting didn't happen far away and was in the Twin Cities. It also has conflict that is shown between the son and the father.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that a drunken man stole an ambulance from a Wisconsin ski area with a patient inside.

The Star Tribune reported Sunday that the President Obama has asked GOP leaders to come together with democratic leaders to try to find a solution to the health care problem in a televised talk. Experts say he is doing this because he is not only trying to revive the health care issue after his loss of another Democratic seat in the Senate, but also to address the issues raised by Republicans. That issue is that the talks about health care were secretive and partisan.

This article shows immediacy as this talk will come later this month. It also shows prominence because the health care issue has been a major factor in the U.S. for the last few months. It also shows the conflict between Republicans and Democrats over the health care issue. There is also impact because the bill that they want to pass in the Senate would affect a lot of Americans.

The Star Tribune had a report Sunday about the use of Facebook and other social networking sites as a screening process for future employees. It is widely known that employers now use these sites as a sort of test to see what people that are thinking of hiring. But now lawyers are saying that this could become illegal due to discrimination and other factors that would prevent employers from hiring someone.

The news values that this article uses include novelty as I haven't seen anyone else do on a story on this particular subject. Also impact because it affects a lot of people from employers to people trying to get hired, especially in this economy.