Recently in Analysis Category

By Justin Reis

For this analysis, I researched nicar.org for computer assisted reporting. This is a technique commonly used today and is used here.

The link in the story brings the reader to a page about fracking wells, which are blamed for polluted water due to the extraction of natural gas and is a growing problem in 28 states, according to the site. Here one will find a step-by-step guide to a clear definition and picture about fracking and how it occurs.

Also, the report includes a picture talking about horizontal drilling practices and its effects on water pollution. Additionally, an interactive map of the U.S. outlining "States where hydraulic fracturing is done, and total wells per state".

This information is clear to read ann navigate through. Also, this form of reporting make the story more informational and interesting in that the reader can see how the issue effects them.

CAR lets the reader go beyond the written story.

By Justin Reis

The death toll in Port-au-Prince, Haiti continues to rise due to the cholera outbreak, reported CNN.

While the numbers in the story primarily are tailored to the death toll and the number of hospitalizations, the numbers offer accurate news and supply credible information. The story of course is not about the numbers themselves, they tell the story of the large disease outbreak.

The rule of a max of two numbers per graph is prove where there is not confusion of too many numbers or making the information weighted down by numbers.

The numbers tell the reader about the importance of the outbreak and the overall scale.

By Justin Reis

Artie Wilson died.

The source used was his wife, Dorothy. The type of lead is standard NYTimes style. I see the age is listed last, as we learned in class, with a briefing on his career in baseball. The lead is effective as it educates readers who he was, what he did, and when and where he died. The information is detailed enough to educate a reader such as myself who he was as I am not familiar with his past.

The lead and overall obit is sympathetic to the emotions of readers and play tribute to his accomplishments. This leads into how the obit differs from a resume.

There is chronology which lists his accomplishments. All of these facts I am confident could be researched online, however the small message of personality and passion for the man she lost and adding to the man he was are not facts that could be researched.

By Justin Reis

University of Minnesota statement in reference to visit by President Obama

"President Obama's visit will give our students and the entire university community a unique opportunity to see and hear a historic figure." This is the quoted theme of the release which can be found clicking the above page link.

Additionally, the release mentions the last sitting president to visit the U was William Taft in 1911.

Here the decisions Daniel Wolter from the University News Service kept the information brief and not mentioning anything about topics during the speech itself.

Here I compared the websites of The Huffington Post and the Guardian.

One notable feature the two sites share in common is the use of photos within the stories. It appears The Huff includes more in each story.

I also see video playing a major role in The Huff with many stories either featuring a video within the story or a link routing the reading to a video.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are big players in each site as well.

These all compliment news stories because the photos, videos, and ability to talk to your friends about news adds an additional element of emotion and coverage to a story. The visual aid allow the reader to fill in any gaps in a news story and allow a more accurate picture of the event to be portrayed to the reader.

The writing styles of each are both similar in that they are both AP driven.

I have been following the caustic sludge story in Hungary since reservoirs first broke. I have been getting a lot of my information fro The New York Times and keeping tabs on the updates. Just reviewing the story from Friday to today is much different as what was discussed on Friday is now old news and summarized into key facts combined with new info. The news from Friday had a long explanation of the villages that were already effected and in-depth coverage on the reservoirs in the industrial area. Today, facts surrounding each of these points are included in the coverage, however, secondary to the hot topics. Today the topic is "when is the second wave of sludge going to pour into the towns and precautionary measures.

Today's story is advanced from Friday's coverage in that the points from Friday are much lower down in the story. The news is much higher up. I don't see a a response to a competing news organization, however, when I review similar stories on The Huffington Post's website theirs appear to compete with NYT's.

NYT makes a stronger attempt to break the news in this case.

By Justin Reis

After reviewing the Star Tribune story of the Twin Cities Marathon winner, the progression appears to b inline with what we are learning about the inverted triangle and overall style structure. Kent Youngblood appears to do an exceptional job on leading with the most important facts and telling the reader about the "bear", or talking about the news.

Youngblood captures all facts in each graph within one, concise sentence. The attribution is brief and placement of the graphs provides good overall flow.

The structure order begins with the marathon winners time, what the runner did to prepare for the win, other runs he took part in, and concluded with quotes (kicker) and weather in the area.

This is all effective when painting a picture of the runner's experience.

By Justin Reis

Story by The Washington Post

It appears there are several sources used: Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Rev. Graylan Hagler, and Bishop Harry Jackson.

They are sourced in clusters, not scattered throughout the story. The information from these people provides verification and hard, factual evidence of who Long is as a person, what he is up against with the lawsuits, and these sources also tell the reader more about the life Long lives as a megachurch bishop.

Grassley talks about other run-ins he encountered in the Bishop's past when he previously investigated Long for his flashy lifestyle and possible tax fraud. These records provide further background of Eddie Long.

Attribution is most often at the end of sentences, rarely at the beginning. Also, the name of the source is consistently followed with the verb: said. This is effective and keeps the story clean and even flowing.

by Justin Reis

The lead in the Star Tribune report provides clear indication of what to look for to identify the missing man. However, I feel it may be a bit too brief, not getting to the who, what, when, and where until much later in the article.

News elements in the lead are: The man is missing, he was talking to his wife, and he called her saying he was kidnapped. These all outline the "what". The "who" is clear, as well as the when and where. The downward pyramid is used in displaying the information.

The lead is straightforward due to the facts outlining what he may be found driving. The facts that are missing from this are his physical attributes: hair color, build, "was last seen wearing"... This all is identified later in the story.

I believe the reporter chose this approach due to the importance and relevance of what the man is seen driving due to the national missing alert, alerting the public of the license, make and color of the vehicle.