Pulled Quotes

The msnbc.com news story “Boy found hanging from clothing hook” is as vague as it gets, although I give the writer some credit for making the article as engaging as possible with limited facts. To briefly summarize, a 7-year-old Texas boy was found hanging from clothing hook by his collar in his charter school dressing room, which cut off his oxygen supply and resulted in him being in critical condition in the hospital. I would have liked to heard some comments from his parents, or at least some additional comments other than the generic school’s response of being concerned for the students’ safety and taking measures if necessary.

I definitely think this article is newsworthy because this incident could either mean that bullying is getting more dangerous than ever before, there is a predator lurking on that school’s campus that people need to be aware of, or that elementary schools need to be aware of possible dangers regarding the way schools are designed (since they think he might have gotten stuck on the hook accidentally). Although this is a small news story, it could still cause some changes in the way schools handle bullying problems, secure the campus from unsafe outsiders, or design sections of school.

This story is journalistic in that it attempts to answer Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How, but it fails to give the boy’s name, explain what exactly happened, when it happened (or how long he was hanging there before someone found him), why it happened, or how it happened. I’m looking forward to a follow-up article on this event to clarify the questions I have.

A secret affair with Mary-Kate Olsen? A hidden drug problem he kept for years, even from his ex spouse, Michelle Williams? So much about Heath Ledger has been talked about since his sudden death last week, I’m beginning to wonder what’s next. Well, we can add ‘videotape scandal’ to the list now, too. According to  an article from The New York Post’s website, obtained footage of Ledger snorting cocaine at the infamous Chateau Marmont was scheduled to air on “Entertainment Tonight” but was cut from the plan at the last minute, out of respect for Ledger’s friends and family.  This article, like most of the other articles circulating around lately, did one thing: it furthered the exploitation and speculation of a gifted actor, whom was less than two weeks ago, respected for his talents as an actor, adored by endless fans, and loved by family. Technically, the article fulfills questions that fans are eager to have answered. Was the star of 1o Things I hate About You really a drug addict? What I didn’t like about the article was the way it closed. It ended with a quote from one of Ledger’s so-called “pals”, in which he compares Ledger’s downward spiral to that of River Phoenix’s.Where are these sources of information really coming from? Next thing you know, someone will write an article about something even further off the map, or better yet, that everything mentioned has been a complete fabrication. It is just all so dramatic. This article didn’t close up any loose ends, it just contributes to the already endless amounts of articles out there supporting all these claims that Ledger was not the person we all thought he was. So, what? Let him rest in peace.