January 2010 Archives

The lead I decided to analyze was from WCCO.

"An off-duty officer is dead and another man in serious condition after an Alexandria snowmobile crash Friday night, according to Douglas County dispatch."

The lead does include all of the important "W's": who, what where, when.

Who: an off-duty officer and another man
What: one dead and one injured in snowmobile crash
Where: Alexandria, MN
When: Friday Night

This is a great lead. However, I would expect nothing less from a hard-news lead. It is not too general but it gives the reader enough information to know what the story will be about. I think the reported chose this approach because, not only is this how a well-wrote lead is supposed to look, but also because this is the most effective way.

Also, they established credibility right away by stating where the information in the lead was originally generated.

Last Friday, MTV announced it's latest reality project, The Jersey Shore, will be returning for a second season, despite the controversies that surround it, as well as the casts request for raises, reports The Daily Beast.

While the show has pulled in big ratings for MTV, it has been labeled as "derogatory" and "wildly offensive" by the New Jersey Italian American Legislative Caucus, according to WBZTV.

The Huffington Post states that the show will bring back all twelve, tanned, self-proclaimed guidos and guidettes, but will be taking them in a new direction by having them in a new, unannounced destination.

Two men, accused of murdering a women, her son and her boyfriend in 2007 are pleading not guilty, according to WCCO.

The Minnesota men have been charged with three counts of murder. The weapon used in the attack was a gun the men had obtained during a drug trade, states The Lacrosse Tribune.

If the men are found guilty on all three charges, both could face the death penalty.

Apple has been changing technology as we know it, the iPhone is now in the hands of over 42 million people, and that same popularity is what Apple is hoping to achieve with their latest invention.

The newest invention from Apple is the iPad, expected to hit stores in March, according to The New York Times. The iPad will be a cross between a laptop and an iTouch.

Computer World states that the iPad will be a half-inch thick and weigh about 1.5 pounds. Not only will the computer be compact, but it will also offer up to 64GB.

Wired conducted a poll to determine just how many of their readers would purchase Apple's new innovation, discovering only 60 percent are planning to own, mostly because the technology they currently own take care of their needs.

According to the New York Daily News, James Cameron's newest flick Avatar, has just replaced his last film, Titanic, as the highest grossing film ever.
The film grossed a whopping $1.292 billion worldwide. While Avatar has taken the world by storm, the film still has $49 million left to gain before it claims the highest grossing honor in the United States, at which time, it would again, replace Titanic.
The Hollywood Reporter states this was the sixth week in a row that Avatar has earned it's top spot in the box office. The foreign market has truly played a big role in the success of Avatar, which was the lacking factor when Titanic was released.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Osama Bin Laden claimed responsibility today for the attempted airline bombing incident during an Arab broadcast. In the excerpt, Osama not only admitted that his group was behind the plot, he also claimed that the attacks would continue as long as the United States is allied with Israel. While U.S intelligence is sure that Al-Qaeda was behind the attempted Christmas Day attack, they are doubtful that it was carried out with Osama's consent.
The New Zealand Herald quoted Rohan Gunaratna, author of Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror, as saying, "So, in many ways you can say Bin Laden is exploiting for his benefit this particular attack. Bin Laden still wants to claim leadership for the global jihad movement."
The Nigerian bomber, Abdulmutallab, admitted to federal agents that he was instructed by Al-Qaeda leaders in Yemen to hide the explosive in his underwear, detonating it on the Northwest Plane in Detroit, The Guardian reported.
MSNBC states, "There was no way to verify the voice on the audio message was actually bin Laden, but it resembled previous recordings attributed to him." By request of the United States government, Yemeni officials have increased monitoring over the groups hideouts in the country.