April 2010 Archives

http://www.startribune.com/local/north/92041709.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU1yDEmP:QMDCinchO7DU

This story involves a lot of ethical issues because of the extreme amount of sadness it involves. This is such a recent and hard-hitting issue state wide and the fact that the story includes all of the names of the drivers, passengers and family members makes the story hit home even more. The video included with this story is heart wrenching and the quotes from the family members involved make you feel like you're at the scene. Also, when the reader sees the ages of the kids, it's hard to read the story thinking that these kids have any good in them.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/15/chicago.students.haiti/index.html

There have been countless stories done about efforts in the United States and around the world about what is being done to continue helping efforts in Haiti. This feature focuses on one girl's effort to do activities and fundraisers where the profits are donated. This girl has also gotten other schools in her community involved and has created a community effort for helping people in Haiti get back on their feet. This is a great example of a feature piece that has been done hundreds of times before this, and where the author took a new stand on the issue.

http://www.twincities.com/ci_14901593?nclick_check=1

This piece takes a look at one person involved in the economic problems that libraries and the future of print are facing. This story features one librarian in one library that is facing a lack of funding and will have to start decreasing the amount of hours and wages that the librarians are getting paid. The story then transitions into a broad look at the funding problems libraries are dealing with and what has alreaday happened and what is predicted to happen. Alternatives to keep libraries alive are also discussed in the story. Although there are many librarians and libraries that could have been profiled, one with a particular and real passion for her job was chosen.

http://www.startribune.com/local/91282359.html?elr=KArksUUUycaEacyU

This feature is a detailed piece about two families affected by the war in Iraq and Iran whose children aren't soldiers. The two mothers in this story have kids that were captured when walking through Iran as reporters and visitors, with no specific involvement in the war. It seems like this story came of a casual conversation between a reporter and someone who knew that these women took walks together because their kids were being held captive in Tehran. There are thousands of American parents being affected by the war but this story is ocuring right near our community which makes it legitimate for a feature piece.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/14/children.adoption.mental.health/index.html?hpt=C1

This story highlights some of the emotional challenges that can be associated with adoption when children move into different countries. Psychological problems sometimes exist when a family chooses a child and sometimes develop as a child grows up in a different country. The story talks about the different reasons behind the existence of a disorder, for example drug and alcohol related problems that were passed onto the child via DNA. Also, if children live in orphanages or foster homes without proper care and attention, problems can arise as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/us/18border.html?hp

This piece focuses on the Mexico/United States border control issues that tell a different story than illegal immigrant problems. The story highlights how the war on drugs and violence is causing an increase in the amount of Mexicans trying to escape into the United States and the increase of American families trying to get their Mexican friends and relatives into the country to create a much safer situation. This story is just one of many angles taken on the drug war occuring in Mexico. It is no longer only people who are unemployed or have extremely low paying jobs trying to sneak into the U.S.; there are now hundreds with average income jobs trying to get themselves and their families to a safer place. This features a small part of the large issue at hand.

http://www.metromag.com/0p176a4082/three-timetested-chefdriven-restaurants/

Street reporting would have been involved in this piece that focuses on 3 "chef-driven restaurants" in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area because of what would have been done to find these places. These stories include emotions, mannerisms and expressions on people's faces that could have only been observed in person. Although the article says that there are fewer than ten restaurants like this in the Twin Cities, some exploration and observation would have needed to be done to decide which restaurants to focus on. The profiles of the owners of these restaurants have clearly taken a lot of time and thought. It is evident that the writer spent time with these people in order to get them to loosen up and talk to them on a comfortable level.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/04/11/sudan.elections/index.html

This story includes a huge element of street reporting. The details in this piece could have only been gathered from being on the scene, for example, hearing Sudanese people complaining about their names being on the list, or knowing that Juba voters were calm and got blue ink on their hands while voting. The quotes are clearly from the day of the vote, and the video that accompanies this piece also shows that CNN was present during the voting action.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/11/west.virginia.mine/index.html

This story focuses on those who died in the West Virginia mine explosions. The main thing that makes this piece what it is is the on-site reporting that occured here. There is some explanation of the ceremonies that are occuring for those who have died and many quotes from people who attended the ceremonies. The quotes in this piece are ones that you could only get from being at an event and speaking with people during the moment. Although you can get good quotes from people about tragic events via phone or during other times after the incident, national ceremonies such as these vigils can spark emotions in people that would've never existed without being present at a vigil.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/family/90430624.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DU2EkP7K_V_GD7EaPc:iLP8iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

Because this story doesn't have a time peg, it was probably found by a reporter driving around a certain area or via connections that this reporter had to the children's center. This story has more of the soft news element and obviously involved hours spent at the daycare observing the children and talking to the people that work in the facility. In essence, this is a profile of Baby's Space, which is what many street reporting pieces seem to turn out to be.

http://www.startribune.com/investigators/89567652.html?elr=KArks:DCiU6:5DiaPQEacyiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUs

This story from the Star Tribune not only includes the news element about the carbon monoxide risks but also required some on-site reporting to make the story what it is. The details about the hockey rink, the players, etc. Although the story takes a turn into what the major news element is and the details about regulations regarding carbon monoxide testing and such, the lede of the story is based on first hand reporting and physically going somewhere to find the story.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/health/24birth.html?ref=health

This is a differnet genre of articles that I usually read which made it interesting to read. The comparsion of C-section births in different years seems kind of bland but was interesting because I don't usually read things like this. The percentages were informing and easy to understand. Also women of differnet ages are compared but like some of the other figures stories I've read, this is written in more of a story-telling manner and without a chart. In this case, because I'm unfamiliar with the information, a chart would've been helpful.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/local/84868207.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhUHc3E7_ec7PaP3iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

This is an old article about what to do with the tax money for the city and state. Although a lot of monetary figures are included in this, it's still easy to undersatnd because of the way it's written. This is different than a lot of articles I've read about taxes and such because the organization and sentence structure makes it less dry. Also, the focus of the story is about the debate and arguement about what to do with the money, giving it a more interesting perspective.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/04/04/mexico.earthquake/index.html

This article from cnn is about the Baja, CA earthquakes and is filled with numbers and figures because of the topic. The numbers in this article include the earthquake magnitudes, the times they occurred, and the distances from various places that they happened. All of these are vital figures because of the proximity of the earthquakes and the closeness they had in relation to one another. Also the time length for which the earthquakes lasted are relevant.

http://www.startribune.com/nation/89881447.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl

It's interesting to compare to the Star Tribune's because this article also uses a lot of figures but in a differnet way. Cnn's is more of a fact upon fact sequence while the Star Tribunes feels more like a story.