Pulled Quotes

In Monday, January 28th article of USA Today on page 1D there was an article written by Scott Bowles named We’re seeing red (carpet) again… (http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/2008-01-27-sag-main_N.htm).While I do believe that Scott Bowles wrote an informative article in the limits of only six paragraphs, I felt that it wasn’t enough. The SAG Awards may not be a huge award ceremony, but I still think that it is important to give it more coverage especially since it is one of the first award shows that many celebrities have attended since the writers’ strike. I felt that Bowles forget to really mention what the SAG Awards is and what it is all about. While I personally know what the Screen Actors Guild is, what about those readers who don’t know what it is? Bowles fails to mention how the SAG Awards differ from other award shows. Along with that, Bowles forgets to discuss what the SAG Awards present awards to? Just films? Or television shows and films? While Bowles does mention that 30 Rock’s Tiny Fey received an award and The Sopranos received awards, it still isn’t clear who and what the SAG Awards celebrate.

Since the focus of Bowles article on the SAG Awards talks mainly about the ceremony in regards to the writers’ strike, I would have liked to know if any writers appeared at the ceremony, which Bowles forgets to mention. Even though, the article is not about the awards won, I personally would have liked to know more about the winners and who won.

However, I do have to say that I did like how Bowles took a different angle in writing about this award ceremony. Instead of discussing the SAG Awards as any other award ceremony, he took a different approach by looking at the SAG Awards through and relating it to the writers’ strike, which was very interesting to me. I also thought that the headline was clever since it represented the entire theme of his article. Another thing that I thought was interesting and done well was in how Bowles concluded the article. He concluded the article with a quote from an actress who won an award and said something in her acceptance speech about the writers’ strike. Not only did I find it interesting and different that Bowles ended his article this way, I also thought that it was the perfect quote and the perfect way to sum up the entire theme and point of the article as a whole. It really tied the whole article together.

In terms of the sources Bowles used, I was a little disappointed. While I know that the article was short, I still would have liked to see other interviews. I think that it would have been useful to see the opinions that other actors, producers, directors, or even writers (if any attended) had about the writers’ strike and how it affects their lives as well as how they think (like Bowles questions) the other award ceremonies to come.

Even though the article was short, I think that the structure of this article was very well done. While I still think that some information was missing for my personal taste of what I would have liked to read, it was a nice, short, unbias and informative article that gave readers a glimpse into the SAG Awards and how the ceremony went on during a major obstacle that affects Hollywood’s life.

Now be honest, who really watches the Super Bowl for the game? These days, bathroom breaks and beer refills are reserved for precious seconds during game play rather than during commercial breaks. With millions of dollars and viewers on the line, advertisers have managed to turn the masculine, burly event into a cultural phenomenon centered around advertisers and the lines they are willing to cross. But advertisers aren’t only faced with high price tags and the need to go over the edge. Perhaps the biggest obstacle facing those clever ad gurus is the dreaded advocacy group.

According to the USA Today article, “Advocacy groups keep marketers on their toes,”  groups such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are the ones with the real power when it comes to Super Bowl advertisements. Advocacy groups of all shapes and sizes are keeping a watchful eye on not only the ads that run during the games, but on the companies who run the ads. During last years Super Bowl, for example, GM, a global powerhouse with an annual advertising budget of $3.3 billion, debuted a humorous ad featuring a washed-up assembly-line robot. After the robot dropped a screw during work, he/she (it?) had suicidal thoughts of jumping off a bridge. Millions of viewers found the ad to be clever and entertaining, just as Super Bowl ads should be. Robert Gebbia, executive director of the AFSP, and his colleagues, however, did not feel the same. The advocacy group saw the message in GM’s ad turning suicide into a comic punch line and demanded that the ad be yanked. A similar situation occurred with the Mars Masterfoods USA ad for Snickers. When two brawny auto mechanics accidentally smooched while sharing a Snickers bar, followed by their attempts to regain their masculinity by ripping out their chest hair, gay-rights groups went up in arms. Human Rights Campaign bigwigs complained in the morning and by the afternoon the controversial ad and all of its remnants had vanished from the web and all network television stations.

Obviously, advocacy groups have quite some power over corporations and the advertisements they spend millions of dollars on. Advocacy groups insist that their involvement in the cultural phenomenon that is the Super Bowl is not to garner support for their causes. Rather, the goal is to keep a critical eye on what messages are being sent to millions of viewers and more so to destroy those they feel are detrimental to society.

In today’s USA Today, I came across an article that addresses an issue that has received a lot of press in recent times, in “Heat causes chemical to leach from plastic” the safety of the plastic used in baby bottles is examined. It seems that after the lead scare with toys made in China, people are becoming more aware of what the products that they are purchasing contain and the possible side effects of a product. This article presents the idea that something as simple as placing a baby bottle in the dishwasher will cause the release the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA). This chemical is thought to act in a similar way as the hormone estrogen.

I think the author did a relatively good job in this article, though I feel that they choose to address baby bottles to stir interest around this article. The fact that the study that is used to support the claims made was conducted with hiking water bottles that contain similar plastics, though no study has been actually conducted with either baby bottles or the formula cans that the author focuses on.

While the article provides insight into the basic understanding of the issue at hand I was left with a few questions surrounding this issue.

1. At what temperature is the BPA released?

2. Is the BPA only released if liquids are put into the bottle while it is hot?

3. Is the claim that the plastic in the hiking bottle and the baby bottles accurate?

4. Do all baby bottles contain the BPA? If not, which do?

5. What other products contain BPA?

6. What action is the FDA taking to test the safety of BPA?

7. What types of neural and behavioral problems stem from BPA exposure?

8. Do the same problems occur in adults who are exposed to BPA?

9. If the Japanese and European agencies have found that ingestion of small amounts of BPA is not harmful, is it necessary to scare parents away from purchasing plastic bottles?

10. What is the author’s true intention by writing this article?

Larry Copeland successfully reported the views of both sides of the animal rights movement in his article, “Animal Rights fight gains momentum” in the January 28th edition of USA TODAY.  Within this movement it was easy to classify the extremists, the moderate and occasionally involved supporters, and those who choose to ignore the issue.  Copland took the time to ask the opinions of both the animal activists, such as the Humane Society and the food industry supporters, such as Animal Agricultural Alliance.   
Copeland included photos from Animal Rights rallies that gained publicity from previous events, such as the M&M rally, and the Mepkin Abbey which was targeted because of its use of caged hens. 
The Copeland article is the best example of reporting I have seen so far, and contains many of the tips our class text included to successfully write a well written story. 
Several times throughout the article Copeland uses excerpt points or side stories to illuminate the issue and target readers. 
Mentioned in the article was an interesting fact about college statistics.  According to the article, Copeland found that over three hundred colleges have stopped or reduced the use of eggs from caged hens. 
This spurred an article idea for the Journalism class.  I began to wonder whether or not Stetson had followed in the footsteps of many other colleges and has stopped or reduced the use of caged hen eggs. 
I also began to wonder whether or not Stetson has its own animal rights group and what their involvement in campus activities has been.   
Copeland’s article was a great article because not only was it informative and cover all the angles, it also gave me an idea for a story on campus to pursue. 

While reading the USA Today from January 23, 2008, I came across an article regarding the decrease in numbers for heart disease. As I continued to read, I was noticing I had a few questions:

1. Where is this information being taken from?

2. Better yet, how can this information be brought to our attention without a specific credible source? The AHA is the primary source, but what about the information regarding different facts within various states?

3. If heart disease has decreased at a rate that was unexpected, how are obesity and diabetes on the rise?

4. What knowledge or evidence does the AHA have?

5. What is a potential reason for the numbers being lower than expected?

6. What are some facts that could justify the reasons for the decrease in numbers and the increase in other diseases among Americans?

7. What are new studies being done to treat those with heart disease?

8. Why would studies suggest that Americans are eating heathier and smoking less? What evidence is there?

9. In general, who is heart disease most commonly found in? Males or females?

10. What age is most common to develop heart disease?

I found the article to be interesting and it gives a more positive outlook on heart disease and the hopes for a healthier future.

In today’s issue of USA Today, there’s an interesting article about states that are implementing incentive programs that will reward over-achieving students with money or cash.  In Baltimore, for example, a high score on a state graduation exam could earn a student up to $110; in Atlanta, students can earn $8 per hour in a “Learn & Earn program,” and in several states, ExxonMobil has funded a program that gives students who pass Advanced Placement (AP) courses with $100 for each passed test.

As would be expected, the major split over this issue is rooted in ethics- are students being bribed, or rewarded?  While I believe it is important to reward and acknowledge good performance, is it really fair to reward good performance in only one of the many areas of high school education?  Further, I believe it’s up to each family to determine how to reward (or not reward) good performance for school-aged youths.  When I brought home straight A’s through high school, I would receive a pat on the back, and maybe a tank of gas on Mom every now and then; however, unlike several of my friends, I was never monetarily “reimbursed” for my efforts, because my mother wanted to instill within me the desire to work hard, simply for hard work’s sake; not because there’s a reward behind it.

I can’t help but wonder why only a dozen states have implemented these programs.  Also, what will be the minimum threshold of “passing” scores?  I scored a 3 on an AP exam- which is considered passing- yet was denied the transfer credits by Stetson, because they require 4’s or 5’s to earn credit.  Will 3 be considered enough to earn money? 

As for the “Learn & Earn program,” I want to know if these kids are being taxed, since it’s funded by donors.  I think they should.  If we’re going to teach them that hard work earns rewards, we might as well teach ‘em that with hard work comes a harder working IRS to take that money back from you, too.

In today’s issue of USA Today, the article “Drivers to see increase in tolls” caught my attention immediately. As a driver (and a college student with a practically microscopic income), this seemed relevant to me. Though the article didn’t specifically mention toll changes to any Florida roads, it did discuss changes to roads in California, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. What if I wanted to go on a road trip through Indiana sometime after April? I would have to pay $8 instead of $4.65. Yuck.

So while I was a little disgruntled about the subject at hand (I really don’t think it’s fair to make people who have to commute to work day in and day out pay more money for driving, especially with the price of gas still being a cause for complaint), I have to admit that the reporter of the story, Dennis Cauchon, did a pretty good job at giving the facts. I did, however, have a few questions when I was done reading.

1) The subheadline of the article is “Strapped states look to roads to raise cash”, but only six states are mentioned. Surely the other forty-four states have financial troubles, as well. So what about them?
2) Is there any way, other than increasing the price of the highway tolls, to gain revenue in order to maintain or better existing infrastructure?
3) How soon are all of these changes going to be in effect?
4) How do the commuters feel about these changes? There are quotes in the article from associates, spokespeople, and and consultants, but nothing about what the people think.
5) Port Authority spokesman said that “the decisions [for a toll increase] are often avoided until the need is desperate.” What were the other options that were tossed around before they finally settled on this?

I recently found out that the earth is in danger of being hit by a space satellite that has gone awry.  However, because of the secrecy of what the satellite holds, Eileen Sullivan is unable to give a detailed story of a spy satellite the size of a small bus, hitting the earth within a few months.  This is frustrating for the reader, because the NASA representatives will not release any specific information.  This makes me question whether reporters should even run stories like this, when specifics cannot be released.  It leaves the general public in a state of wonder.

I do believe the reporter did the best she could with the limited amount of information she had, however.  She spoke to members from NASA about possible landing sites and what the spy space satellite could possibly carry.  Since this satellite could rain down shrapnel on my house or my car, I would just like to know where they expect for it to land.  Jeffrey Richelson, a source from the National Security Archive speculated as to what might be contained within the spacecraft.  That would be something that I would prefer to be known, instead of speculated upon. 

To ease the readers mind, she ends with three other instances of rogue spacecrafts hitting the earth.  She asks all the major questions to the sources such as, the possibility of shooting the spacecraft down with missiles, what contaminants it could contain, and how much debris will fall onto the earth’s surface.  I believe that the reporter talked to as many sources as she could to get the most relevant information, although she was unable to get specifics into the story. 

Overall, I do not consider this article very informative, since it lacks the important details of the possibility of a huge object crashing into the earth.  Nonetheless, I believe that Sullivan did the best job informing the readers, with what little information she had.     

An article in USA today titled, Woods makes statement, wins Buick Invitational has me wondering about the current sports world. Over the last 8 years, everyone that has not been residing under a rock has heard of the magical, inexplicable, and downright amazing talents of Tiger Woods. We have seen the unbelievable shots that leave us wondering if they could be real. It seems to me that a consensus has been made among the world that deems Tiger as for the most part, simply unbeatable.

Maybe I am wrong, but if not, then why are we surprised that Tiger has done it again in his PGA tour debut? Were we not sure that he could keep his talents over the break? Did we really believe that a misconstrued racial comment would render Tiger useless? Or are we just dumbfounded at the fact that he just might be getting better? As opposed to being surprised that Tiger was won yet again, by an 8 shot margin, I believe that what is really hard to grasp is that he believes he is improving.

Without enhancing his already immaculate game, Tiger Woods would still undoubtedly go on to showcase his abilities and become the best to ever play the game. The fear of improvement is what is striking the USGA as well as Tigers “opponents”. The USGA is now looking into ways of challenging Tiger in the hopes that he will no longer dominate all of his “opponents.” Once again, I could be wrong, but it seems to me that making the courses harder, would clearly bring Tigers scores down, but wouldn’t the “opposition” perform worse as well?

I believe that this article is excellent in its broadcasting of Sundays outcome, but what I don’t understand is the mere fact of why we can’t believe that he is still the best golfer on the Tour.

Today’s cover story in USA Today, A small town mourns its big sacrifice in Iraq, written by Rick Hampson, impressed me with its clever exposure of Iraq-war plight on both the ‘front lines’ and the home front.  This unfortunate tale of the death of two soldiers from the same tiny rural town of Lee, Maine reveals the kind of emotional battles left-behind family members now face in the wake of Iraq killings, while also demonstrating the disheartening strife touring soldiers face in the war-torn country of Iraq.  Meanwhile, it explores an underlying issue:  history repeating itself as war-for-profit hits lower-class households the hardest.   Hampson effectively shows the harsh impact on Lee, Maine the loss of two of its brightest youths has caused.  I like how he opens comparing the Iraq death toll for Lee to that of World War II–so far, the same number of its citizens has died in both wars: two.  Such a comparison holds significant shock value, because few would be quick to suggest that Iraq has been as devastating to American families as WWII was.  However, the numbers don’t lie.  And two deaths in Lee–a town that has yet to need a single stop light–is devastating indeed.  Hampson’s account of locals’ mourning, as well as his depiction of the childhoods of House and Emery (which had scarcely ended before they went on their first tours of Iraq), further made their deaths’ significance ring true.   Although Hampson doesn’t state it explicitly, he lets the facts do the talking to imply that our soldiers in Iraq are fighting a confusing, seemingly-hopeless, scary war, much like that of Vietnam:  Both soldiers were killed when roadside explosives destroyed their Humvees (denying both men any chance at all to actually battle for their lives).  And Blair’s father recalls his disillusioned son frustratingly exclaiming, “We don’t know who we’re fighting!”  Details such as these are implied calls for action against a war that targets a seemingly implacable enemy, just like that which the guerilla warfare of Vietnam presented to American troops–another war that sent home in body bags a disproportionate number of citizens from rural areas and underprivileged households.    House and Emery are just two examples of young men from lower-class backgrounds who have made the ultimate sacrifice for an unclear cause since America’s invasion of Iraq in 2003.   The theme is nothing new:  the poor fighting a rich-man’s war and dying in the process.  Even if democratic idealism were to have outweighed profit (in both the oil and the arms industries) in terms of motivation for the war, these kids would have likely been apathetic towards the cause if had it not been for their tough financial situations and dismal hopes of getting out of Lee without joining the military.  (I’m sure House and Emery would have cared less about who was in power in Iraq if they had not been raised into such dead-end circumstances.)  As Hampson points out, these young men, like so many others in this country still do, saw the military as a means to an end.  Sadly, what they got wasn’t the type of end they were hoping for.  As Ozzy Osbourne says in Black Sabbath’s War Pigs:   Politicians hide themselves away.  They’re always starting the war. Why don’t they go out to fight? They leave their all to the poor.      

The USA Today article “Mormon church president dies at 97” could be classified as breaking news since President Gordon B. Hinckley only died today (Sunday, January 27, 2008) so I understand that the person writing this brief article most likely doesn’t have very many facts and details yet. However, as a member of the Mormon church, I know that President Hinckley had a loving family and was in good health, so the article leaves me with a number of questions as I break the news to friends and family with nothing concrete to tell them:

1. Who’s the church spokesperson who reported his death?
2. Where did he die?
3. How did he die? Did he die of natural causes?
4. Who is going to be his successor?
5. When will the new successor be installed as the president?
6. How does his family feel?
7. Was his death expected?
8. What time did he die?
9. Who was with him when he died?
10. Did he pass peacefully?

In the article, I found that the writer filled space by talking about the progress of Mormon temples being built and some of Hinckley’s other achievements while he was president, instead of focusing on the issue at hand. But again, that’s what happens when you have to write a news story without the facts that you need (like the Jenny Deadline comic strip on pg. 21 in the book).

This article can be found at
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-01-27-obit-hinckley_N.htm

According to a recent article in Information Week’s online publication, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is being scrutinized once again for its questionable means of attaining evidence that accuses students, among others, of copyright infringement.

In this instance the state attorney general of Oregon has submitted a brief that calls into question just how the RIAA discovers illegally downloaded songs on distant computers.  Serious issues with the way the RIAA conducts “data mining” and issues subpoenas will be brought before the court in the near future, a process which will cost the RIAA more money than it might be willing to spend.

With 17 University of Oregon students being accused recently, the university is standing by them, and worried that the RIAA may be accessing more than just downloaded songs, but important personal information from their students’ computers.

Another issue that branches out to all students across America is a new initiative that would strongly urge (it has no ability to mandate such a program) schools to require students to install p2p blocking software on their computers.

Students should be enraged by this. Such a program would hinder the transfer and storage of files, regardless of whether the files are illegal or important to schoolwork, i.e. drop box submitted homework and information/research from storage databases.  The RIAA (and every mainstream media outlet reporting on this subject) is also oblivious to the fact that hardcore downloaders have already found faster, higher quality, wider spread ways of downloading and distributing illegal music.  The people still clunking around on p2p networks are minor offenders downloading small handfuls of single tracks while other services are distributing better than iTunes full album downloads.

The RIAA is wasting time and money.  The majority of downloaded content has been found to only support bands; I for one buy the same amount of albums a year as always—say, 5 or 6 albums—but I have much more than that on my computer.  For every band I buy a CD for, I might download some of that band’s label mates.  From finding these new bands for a reasonable price (free) I go and support them live, most likely end up buying a t-shirt, and leave the band with a handful of cash with no middle man, no big label to rip them off.  The music industry is changing, labels are dying, and no one is catching on.

This Yahoo News/Reuters article discusses the implications of Barack Obama’s South Carolina primary win. The article has a lot of information in it, but ultimately it doesn’t flow well, uses a lot of recycled, uninteresting quotes, and is sort of boring.

The article has a lot of quotes from Obama and Hillary Clinton, but they’re mostly from other sources (“Obama… told ABC’s ‘This Week’”). The quotes also tend to be really meaningless: “‘This has been the most intense election process I know of,’ Clinton told reporters. ‘It is a marathon run like a sprint. There is no stopping. There is no resting.’” Although it’s sort of interesting to get a quote directly from a candidate, this doesn’t really tell us anything at all about Clinton and her campaign.

The article doesn’t seem very well organized either. There’s just a random sentence in the middle: “Republican President George W. Bush’s second term ends next January.” This vaguely relates to the election, but if someone’s reading about Super Tuesday, odds are they already know this.

The article’s focus is on Super Tuesday, but opinion polls are noticably absent. The piece probably would’ve benefited from a nationwide opinion poll. John Edwards is also absent from the piece; he is still in the race.

 All these problems might just be because the article is from a wire. I guess we’ll learn more about this further in the class, though.

The article entitled “French bank: Trader hacked computers, faked papers” can be found at www.usatoday.com.  It attempted to cover the story of a French trader who hacked into computers and gambled company money on the activities of the stock market.  However, the article left many unanswered questions.

1. When did this happen?

2. Who is the Kerviel?

3. Is there any background information on him?

4. How could one man accomplish this task?

5. Who are the experts questioned about this event?

6. Why was Kerviel not interviewed?

7. What was the document released?

8. What was stated in this document?

9. How were the stocks sold off so easily?

10. If it can’t be guaranteed that there wasn’t complicity, what can be guaranteed about this event?

Overall, this article was interesting.  However, I feel that it could have been improved by providing more information on the story, as well as more information about the man who caused this story as well.  The story can be found at http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2008-01-27-societegenerale_N.htm.

The Associated Press reported on ABC News that two people in New York were infected with meningitis and died shortly after contracting the disease. I found this article to be relevant with a lot of what our reading talked about, especially concerning news sources and  the portrayal of emotions. I think there’s important news worthy material when a fairly common disease is culprit of killing two people, especially when the disease is killing without allowing time for treatment.

The reporter seems to have adopted an interesting methodology writing this article. They wanted to make sure there wasn’t any emotion to contaminate the story. There isn’t any mention of scheduled funeral services, not even reports of the respective schools organizing any mourning assemblies for the dead. On the other hand, the reporter does seem to provide the reader with information  regarding the two separate incidences followed by facts about meningitis and it’s effects on the human body. Afterwards, there’s a little blurb on the activities in which the teen participated.

After reading the article over again a second time I noticed that the reporter didn’t discuss any extenuating circumstances both of the victims had in contracting the disease. What stood out in my mind, however, was how quickly the teen died after getting meningitis. That kind of information should be accompanied with more urgent enthusiasm for health and wellness and perhaps scheduling checkups with your physician to mitigate and reduce the chances of coming down with meningitis.

Finally, I’d just like to comment on the reporter’s use of varying sources. Chapter 4 talks about the importance of quality sources and what that can do to your article. I think the reporter did a pretty good job in varying the sources. There was a good mix of health officials and relatives interviewed. Again, I would have liked to have seen some mention of the school’s responses to the deaths and perhaps their plans on health awareness programs and the like.