Dinky Town Weekly

IS Varietal is setting the bench mark for fine dining in New York City. There servers undergo extensive training on wine throughout the world. A specialty of the IS Varietal is their "growers champagne", " identified that way on a special matte card, which conveys the odd impression that sparkling wine is a crop, like soybeans"

Challenge� The restaurant only received 1 star, which according to the New York times means "good". The reporter did not go into detail on why it received the lowest rating.

Comparison: The New York Times reported that the décor is" a minimalist wonderland of white and more white, as if only a canvas this pristine could do justice to the kitchen’s brushstrokes".

Opinion: It was difficult to get an understanding of the restaurant. The decor was very plain but the reporter mentioned that the food was terrific and the wine list is second to none, yet the restaurant only received one star. This was an unsuccessful review.
http://events.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/dining/reviews/21rest.html?pagewanted=1&ref=dining

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Summary: A French court ruled in favor of the Danish newspaper that published controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. The charges accused the newspaper and the editor for "publicly abusing a group of people because of their religion".

Challenge: The reporter focused on the history of the case. He retold the entire course of events which was not necessary.

Comparison: StarTribune reported that the news paper's editor, Phillipe Val, and the news paper could face charges up to $29,000 and a six-month prison sentence.

Opinion: This was a very brief story if gave the history of the procedural history and then gave an explanation of the courts final ruling. The story was successful
Startribune march 23, A2

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Summary: Gasoline tax could rise in the next year. There is a proposed 10 cent gasoline tax that is going thought the state Legislature. Gas tax could raise from 20 cents a gallon all the way up to 40 cents a gallon over the next 10 years. Currently the Minnesota borrows $200 million a year. It is a $1.2 billion bill that is waiting to be passed. the bill also includes many levies, some of them being higher registration fees renewal fees. A half cent rise in seven country's surrounding Minneapolis..

Comparison: Star Tribune reported this bill could add more than a $1,000 in family's taxes.

Challenge: The reporter did a good job with using numbers. He used the more than less than technique when describing number as opposed to printing the specific large number which can be distracting for the reader

Opinion: This was a successful story. The reporter did a good job reporting numbers. The reporter had quotes of people who were for and against gas bill, this made the story non-biased.

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Summary: young chefs are gathering at children’s cooking schools in Eden Prairie and Edina. Way-Cool Cooking School has been open for 18 months. There are six employees and a many students including parents who want to learn more about cooking along with their kids

Challenge: The reporter chose not to use many quotes. A student and the owner of the cooking school were the only ones quoted.

Comparison: StarTribune reported that Lynn Elliot (owner of Way-Cool Cooking School) left her position as vice president for a food distribution company.

Opinion: This was a successful story. The reporter chose an interesting topic and did a good job reporting on it. The story covered how it got started and why gave a detailed look at the business to give the reader a clear understanding.

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Summary: Tubby Smith was announced the new Gopher men's basketball head coach on Thursday. This is a very important for the University of Minnesota after having lost the most games in history last season. Tubby Smith was the head coach of Kentucky. Smtih was formally introduced as the new head coach Thurdsay at Williams Arena.

Challenge: There was no apparent challenge in the story. The reporter used a quote that was taken out of the Herald Tribune. It seemed that the reporter did not have any direct contact with Smith since there were no direct quotes with the StarTribune.

Comparison: The Star Tribune reported that Smith resigned from Kentucky to avoid the possibility of being fired.

Opinion: This was a successful article. The reporter gave history of the Gophers past and explained why Smith's presence will add instant credibility to the Gophers.

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Summary: As you age your metabolism decreases, often up to 30%. There are many ways to help raise your metabolism that are easy to do on an every day basis. Always eat breakfast, get seven to eight hours of sleep a night and take vitamin C to name a few.

Comparison: Newport News reported that Water is key to the energy-burning process, while green tea appears to speed up metabolic rate. On the flip side, alcohol can make the body burn fat more slowly than usual.
http://www.startribune.com/1244/story/1035850.html
Challenge: The reporter said that stretching is a good way to raise you metabolism, but there is research that states that stretching doe not affect your cardiovascular system and therefore will not raise your metabolism.

Opinion: This was a very successful story. It gives simple easy to understand steps that layout ways to raise you metabolism. The article was short and to the point.

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Summary: The Dream Act is when children of illegal immigrants are granted in state tuition. Minnesota is one of the states that is trying to get this passed. In other states, such as Kansas, children of immigrants are getting receiving in state tuition but there is still a low number of people go on to higher education because the cost is still to high.

Challenge: The article does not make clear when the bill will be passed onto congress.

Comparison: The Star Tribune reported Gov. Tim Pawlenty is in opposition of the Dream Act.http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1063714.html

Opinion: this was an unsuccessful story because the reporter did not give enough background info and description of the details of the bill and what it would mean for the state of Minnesota. The reporter did not mention any other states that has had the same problem as Minnesota in dealing with the “Dream Act�

Posted by Johan Quie at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Summary: A story is told about three Iraqi families. The first, is about an Iraqi mother who shares her thoughts on the Saddam’s ruling over Iraq. When Saddam died the Iraqi mother was happy so see that her son’s will finally see freedom. She explained the first time she was able to vote with her two sons and how happy she felt having such power. Shortly after Saddam’s death the mother realized that they are dealing with more problems than when he was alive. The Iraqi mother has lossed multiple family members since the fall of Saddam

Challenge: The reporter did not mention what changes are being made to help out all of the problems. The story went in depth about the deaths of the family members and other problems the family’s were facing but did not mention why they got shot or why they are dealing with the problems. It was left unclear.

Comparison: The St Paul Pioneer reported that Layla Muhammad, a Sunni Muslim mother of three, can't afford to keep her house warm and no longer goes to her pharmacy in the neighborhood of Hurriyah due to the chaos of the new government ever since the fall of Iraq

Opinion: this was a successful story because it dealt with the common people of Iraq and the problems they are dealing with since the fall of Saddam. It was interesting because the story looked at another angle of Iraq with Saddam this article is making the point that when Saddam was in power it was beneficial towards some people.
http://www.startribune.com/722/story/1063599.html

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Summary: UNLV upset the Wisconsin Badgers, No. 2 seed, Wisconsin Badgers Sunday. Wisconsin is the highest ranked team to become knocked out of this years NCAA tournament.

Challenge: The reporter chose to focus on the significance of the coach’s son while also giving a brief summary of the how the game played out. The Associated Press did not choose to get any quotes from the loosing Wisconsin team.

Comparison. The Associated press reported that Kruger was shooting just 1-of-15 in the NCAAs -- including 1-of-7 Sunday . ESPN.com reported that Lon Kruger was “really happy to beat such a good Wisconsin club�. Bob Kruger said that he does care for players transferring schools to play their fifth year such as Lon Kruger’s son did for UNLV.

Opinion: this was a successful story in terms of giving a proper summary of the game and giving the reader a sense of emotion of the game. The reporter did a nice job giving importance to the father son relationship on the team.
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=274000059

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Summary: Japan has a very structured baseball system which include farm leagues and minor leagues similar to the U.S. The story focuses on some of the young start players of Japan and also one player specifically who was just signed to the MLB

Comparison: USA Today reported that the Japanese team uses aluminum bats in games and for normal batting practice. But these drills are done with one-kilogram (35.27-ounce) wood bats which are a few ounces heavier than what Red-Sox Slugger Manny Ramirez uses.

Challenge: The reporter of the USA Today really focused on one specific team instead of multiple teams. This was a very specific article.

Opinion: There was an interesting story for the reader. It was very focused and paid close attention to detail. This story has a very specific audience which are baseball fans.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2007-03-02-baseball-japan-cover_N.htm

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Summary: Senator Clinton and Obama both spoke 3 blocks apart on a street named Martin Luther King St. Clinton and Obama each spoke on Civil Right movements and talked how it has affected them personally.

Comparison: the USA Today reported the Senator Clinton said she described herself as a "grateful friend" and "beneficiary" of the civil rights movement

Challenge: The reporter did not go into great detail of what about each of the speeches.

Opinion: The article was effective, the main point of the article was not what the two presidential candidates spoke about it was focusing more on the fact that this is their first time that their campaigns crossed trails.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-04-clinton-obama-selma_N.htm

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Summary: The new 2007 Volvo S80 is finally out in all U.S. show rooms. There are a series of changes made to this new generation of 180’s. The most noticeable is the sleek design which takes from style points from the smaller model the S60. The 2007 S80 has a longer wheelbase and its taller than the following generation. For the first time ever Volvo is using the V-8 that was only in the XC-90 SUV in the S80. There are many technology features as well including active suspension and steering.

Challenge: The reporter did not mention any of the competition the new Volvo is up against in its class. It would have been helpful if the reporter would make mention of the BMW 5 series, Mercedes E class and also the Audi A-6. This would have helped the image of Volvo by comparing it to other fine foreign automobiles.

Comparison: Consumer Reports magazines just published that Volvo was ranked 15th among 36 auto manufactures in terms of overall reliability and quality surveys. USA Today reported that the car drives better than ever but could use a little more space.

Opinion: This was a very successful article it went into depth about all of the new features of the car while still focusing on what the Volvo focuses on which is safety. The article was unbiased. The reporter complained about the lack of room in spite of the longer wheel base and higher overall height.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/reviews/healey/2007-03-02-s80-3_N.htm

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Summary: The Wolves lost another home game, it’s their second consecutive 26 point lose at home. Kevin Garnet showed his frustration when the Randy Wittman tried to mix up the lineup in the game. Nothing seemed to work.

Challenge: The reporter of the Star Tribune did not go into detail about the lack of people in attendance of Friday’s game nor did not state why the basketball hoop had a malfunction.

Comparison: KFAN reported that the reason why the basketball hoop had a
Malfunction was because “Disney on Ice� was held at the Target Center the following nights and there was ice under the hoop. The Star Tribune reported Friday marked the first time in franchise history the Wolves had lost two consecutive home games by 20 or more points.

Opinion: This was an affective story. The reporter only quoted Kevin Garnet. They were good quotes but quotes from coaches and other players would have been suiting.

http://www.startribune.com/511/story/1032278.html

Posted by Johan Quie at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Summary: The courts are getting tougher on first time child porn
offenders. Over the last three years the penalty for the crime has become Stricter than ever. On Tuesday Bruce Betcher, child pedophile, could serve up to a life sentence for being involved with child pornography.

Challenge: This story focused on the overall crime of child pornography
and also one specific man who is being charged with child porn.

Comparison: The Star Tribune reported the “Protect Act�, passed in 2003, set stiff mandatory minimum sentences. The “Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act�, enacted last summer, stiffened sentences even more, and also established the “Dru Sjodin� National Sex Offender public website.

Opinion: This was a successful story. The story raised many interesting
Points about how big of a problem this is while also stating the how the government is becoming stricter on these crimes.

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1032190.html

Posted by Johan Quie at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)