February 2010 Archives

The story I chose to analyze is from WCCO. http://wcco.com/crime/police.deadly.shooting.2.1524895.html

The Lead: Minneapolis police are investigating a deadly shooting that happened outside of a party Friday night.
-This lead does not do the story justice. It does not get to the action, it focuses more on the investigation than on what specifically happened. It was not just a deadly shooting, a 17-year-old girl in-fact died after being shot in the neck. That detrimental piece of information was not included in the piece until the third paragraph, while it should have been in the lead.

A 17-year-old girl was killed late Friday after being shot in the neck in Minneapolis, according to KSTP.

The police responded to a call around 35th Ave. North and Humboldt Ave. North where they found the victim. The teen was taken to North Memorial Hospital where she died, reports WCCO.

Chile was struck by a 8.8 magnitude earthquake early Saturday, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The earthquake is tied in fifth place for the largest earthquake in history and is the largest in the past century, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The quake generated about 500 times the energy that the quake in Haiti did, but is expected to cause fewer deaths, Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., said, reports The New York Times.

More than 20 aftershocks have already hit Chile and more are expected to come within the next few days, The Miami Herald reports.

A Minnesota man is in custody for the murder of his half-sister 22 years ago in California, KSTP reports.

The suspect allegedly killed, 18-year-old, Gehmine Chandler, by strangulation. Interviews were investigated at the time of Chandler's death, but no arrests were made, KSTP reports.

The suspect is currently in custody in Minnesota, but Buena Vista investigators are hoping to obtain enough information to extradite him to California and prosecute him, The Pioneer Press reports.

A United Kingdom woman battling multiple sclerosis has been fighting for her right-to-die, The Telegraph reports.

Purdy, who is wheelchair-bound, has been fighting the law to ensure that her husband, Omar Puente, would not be prosecuted if he in fact helped end Purdy's life, The Telegraph reports.

Assisted suicide remains illegal in Wales and the UK but cases will be evaluated on a case-to-case basis in regards to the prosecution. If the suspect acts in compassion and without personal benefit for themselves in the act then it is less likely they'd be charged, Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer said, according to the Washington Post.

A SeaWorld employee was killed by a killer whale Wednesday afternoon at SeaWorld's Shamu Stadium in Orange Count, the Orange County Sheirff's Department said, reports The LA Times.

The 40-year-old victim was standing in the whale holding area when she accidentally fell into the water where she was attacked by a whale. Victoria Biniak, a CNN affiliate, was an eyewitness to the occurrence. "The trainer was explaining different things about the whale, and then the trainer that was down there walked away from the window. Then [the whale] took off really fast in the tank, and he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing [her] around," Biniak said, reports CNN.

There has been some confusion surrounding exactly how the victim ended up in the tank. Some reports state that she simply fell into the water where the whale grabbed her, while other reports said the whale grabbed her from out of the water. An homicide investigation will be conducted, reports ABC.

MARANA, Ariz. -- Tiger Woods' broke his silence for the first time Friday since his marriage infidelities.

Woods appeared in a tightly controlled room of about 40 people to give a 14 minute apology speech. Supporters thought the apology was heart felt, while others believed it to be insincere, reports USA TODAY.

Only three journalist were allowed to attend the press conference, one from the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg News Services. The journalist allowed to attend were permitted from asking questions. "A very large segment of the media is like the women Tiger was sleeping with. It only cares about access", The NY Daily News said.

MINNEAPOLIS -- A 7-year-old boy has been accused of trying to stab two older children on a school bus, reports WCCO.

The 7-year-old was attempting to stab the two others with scissors in order to maintain the desired seat on the bus. The suspect has not been charged and no one was hurt, reports the Pioneer Press.

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- An angry software engineer crashed a small plane into an Internal Revenue Services building in a suicide attempt, repots the Times.

The man, Joseph Stack, was angry with the IRS specifically and set the building on fire when he crashed the small plane into it. One person in the building is missing, reports the Times.

Stack left a suicide note behind on a software Web site he had the rights to. " "If you're reading this, you're no doubt asking yourself, 'Why did this have to happen?' " the message says. "The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time" ", reports CNN.

Police have been searching Stack's car at the airport, where they have reason to believe he may have left a bomb. The airport is located 30 minutes away from the site of the crash, reports CBS.

EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Three Tesla Motors Inc. employees were killed on Wednesday in a fatal plane crash, reports The Associate Press.

The plane had taken off from the Palo Alto airport in heavy fog and hit power lines, causing the airliner to crash into a Northern California residential neighborhood, The Associated Press said.

While the plane caused house fires, damaged cars and destroyed power lines, the passengers on the plane were the only three people injured. The crash not only tore apart several blocks and destroyed houses, it also caused a power outage for an extensive area which included Stanford hospital, where they had to postpone all non-emergency surgeries, a spokeswoman for the hospital said, repots The Los Angeles Time.

KABUL -- Taliban's top military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, was arrested on Wednesday with the help of Pakistan, reports Google News.

Baradar is believed to be second in command inside the Taliban operations. The arrest is the most significant arrest since 2001, "Certainly, he'll be replaced, but his experience and his leadership inside Afghanistan have been a significant factor for the Taliban and he will be hard to replace," said, Former U.N. Ambassador for the United States, John Bolton. Bolton believes that other arrests will be made shortly as well, reports Fox News.

The story I chose to analyze was from the Boston News.

The story is very "wordy." It focused on the fact that the charged shooter may have been guilty of shooting her brother in 1986, while it should have focused on what she is currently being charged with. The woman, Amy Bishop, 42, killed three professors at the University of Alabama, injuring many others. The three casualties at the University of Alabama were not mentioned until the end of the article. The focus on the structure of the article was backwards, the focus should have been placed on the charges at hand that Bishop faces, rather than the charges she dodged in 1986.

Three faculty members of the University of Alabama were killed on campus Friday when a women open fired during a staff meeting, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Three biology professors died and others were injured after the shooter was denied tenure at the University. Amy Bishop, 42, was charged with capital murder and could face death by lethal injection, according to Times Online.

This was not Bishop's first run-in with the law. She was priorly investigated in her brothers death in 1986, said NECN.

Two Minneapolis police officers were injured after being hit by a drunk driver early Sunday.

As the officers were exiting their vehicle to assist with a domestic dispute, a 17-year-old male rear ended the squad car, injuring the officers, says WCCO.

KSTP reports that the officers are being treated for minor injuries at Hennepin County Medical center, according to Sgt. Jesse Garcia.

The teen was arrested for drunk driving and illegal operation of a vehicle.

Criminal investigation is currently underway regarding two Lake-Park Audubon basketball coaches and two of their 17-year-old players.

While no charges have been filed, the sexual allegations were enough to place the coaches on leave, both quit shortly after, according to a WCCO report.

The event occurred in a hotel room, while the team was at a tournament. Both coaches currently face felony-level accusations, according to The Star Tribune.

LILBURN, Ga -- A man rampaged through a Walmart in Lilburn, destroying 29 flat-screen televisions on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The accused man, 23-year-old, Westley Strellis of Lawrenceville GA grabbed a bat from the stores sporting section before heading over to the electronics section to smash the televisions, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Strellis was charged with 29 counts of criminal damage as the televisions were valued over $22,000, reports the New York Times.

Police arrested Strellis while he was in the electronics section, bringing him to the Gwinnett County Jail, according to CBS Atlanta.

A Haitian man was found on Tuesday after spending four weeks in a collapsed market in Port-Au-Prince.

The 28-year-old man, Evans Moussignac, was discovered luckily as neighbors dug through the remains of the market. Moussignac was reportedly at the market selling rice when the earthquake struck, collapsing the walls, reports The New York Times.

With fewer than 140 people pulled alive from the rubble, Moussignac surviving for four weeks has impressed doctors. It is speculated whether or not he was able to survive on the food from the market around him, or if he had someone else giving him water. He was lucky enough to not have sustained any major injuries but is however dehydrated, reports BBC.

Moussignac is currently being treated at a field hospital.

The attribution I chose to critique is from Rueters.

"At least two people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday when a massive explosion rocked a gas power plant under construction in Connecticut, police said."

What I found most interesting about this news attribution is that it is inside the lead.
While it does lend credibility, I think it makes the lead to "wordy" and overwhelming.
The lead should be short and to the point, the attribution would be better placed within the story rather than in the lead.
There were also numerous other attributions in the news story, which was overpowering. However, all of the attributions inside the story that were done, used the word "said," which was good.

One of the original American Idol judges, Simon Cowell, will be leaving the show after this season.

Cowell has brought much controversy and excitement over the years and Fox is wanting to continue bringing in that type of Entertainment to the show by hiring Howard Stern reports, Television Gearlive.

Stern's contract with Sirius XM radio expires next year, putting him in the ideal position to be a judge on the show. Even though Stern is not thrilled about the opportunity, Fox is willing to push hard to have him sign a contract according to, The Envelope.

People magazine's poll about the prospective new judge reveals that 67 percent of people polled believe Stern should stick to radio.

A Minneapolis man was found dead in the snow Thursday Morning.

The 45-year-old victim, Michael Fonta, died of "complex homicidal violence" according to a report done by the Hennepin County medical examiner, reports KSTP.

WCCO reports that the man was found on the 300 block of 8th Street Southeast and that there are currently no suspects being held.

A 12-year-old girl was arrested for doodling on her desk this past Monday in New York.

The Gothamist reports that Alexis Gonzalez drew two doodles on her desk in erasable marker thinking her actions could result in nothing more but detention. However that was not the case, the NYPD handcuffed Gonzalez and detained her for eight hours.

City officials are now admitting that the arrest was a mistake after reevaluating the arrest. While Alexa has been released without bail, she is still suspended from her school according to The New York Daily News.

Brittany Murphey's cause-of death has finally been revealed since her shockingly passed on December 21st.

Mystery has been hanging over the death of the Hollywood starlet since she passed, but the coroner's report has finally shone light on the supposed cause of death. The New York Times reports that Murphey seems to have passed from pneumonia combined with anemia and multiple drug injections.

CNN reports that investigators are currently reviewing her previous health records and it could take up to two months to learn her true cause of death. However, at this time, it seems the actresses death was not a result of fool play, but rather natural causes.

A bombing in Pakistan killed three U.S soldiers this past Wednesday.

The deaths were the first to take place in years, even though Pakistan currently has up to 100 military troops there. The blast injured many and took the lives of not only the U.S. soldiers but also Pakistan natives and three schoolgirls, according to The Washington Post.

The Miami Herald has reported that the soldiers have been in Pakistan for 18 months training their Frontier Corps in the battle against the Taliban.

The Guardian reports that a Taliban spokesperson has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which was meant to be a direct attack on America. He was quoted as saying that the attacks on the U.S. will continue.