Pulled Quotes

The Daytona Beach News Journal, www.news-journalonline.com, captured readers in its article about the Oscars and the staring candidate: “No Country for Old Men.” The article features the big celebs and their debutes as the Oscars take over Los Angeles. I enjoyed how the article presented the winners again, in case anyone forgot, but I also liked how they incorporated the memorable quotes of those who won. For example, Tilda Swinton, best supporting actress from “Michael Clayton,” gave a memorable speech about how she would not be here if it was not for her agent. While watching the Oscars last night, it was emotional to know how passionate she is about acting and how thankful she is for her career. To include quotes from those special talents brings a close to home feel and spoke to me as a reader. The article continues to include excerpts from the Coen brothers as well as Spanish actor Javier Bardem.

The article incorporated the facts of the whole night and gave readers an opportunity to relive the event. The various films and actors that represented the best were listed and a list of those that were nominated were included as well. As I was enjoying the Oscars last night, I remember thinking they did not do much of a tribute to Heath Ledger. To me, the papers seem to constantly have articles in regards to the actor’s death; therefore, I found it odd that they did not dedicate more of the event to him with a small clip of his work and life. That was more of a side note; nonetheless, the article made me feel as though I was watching it all over again. It was a fun read.

In Thursday, February 21, 2008 USA Today, there was an article on page 5C written by the wire reports called “A-Rod expects scrutiny.” I thought that this article was really interesting because it focused on how Yankee baseball player Alex Rodriquez is encountering scrutiny about taking drugs during a time where he approcahes Barry Bond’s career home run record and during a time where it has been discovered that many atheletes are taking performance-enhancing drugs. I thought that this article was very newsworthy especially because it definitely is a news article that changes the status quo and is prominent because of who Alex Rodriquez is and the timeliness of the issue.

I really liked how the writer of this article gave us background information about baseball’s drug testing rules. I think that it shows that the writers did their research and provided readers with the background information necessary to understand the scrutiny that a player like Alex Rodriquez is getting. I also think that the sources used in this article was great. I feel like some writers will write an article about a specific person without having any quotes from that person about that issue, and the story loses both credibility and newsworthiness. However, the sources used in this article come from Alex Rodriquez and those who are prevalant to baseball, the baseball team Alex Rodriquez is part of and those who know about this issue at hand. I also thought that giving readers a glimpse into the controversies and comments made about A-Rod and this issue of steriods was important and newsworthy information to provide, and it gave me a glimpse as well into why this article is being written to begin with.

 One thing I really did not like about the writing of this article was that I think that the writer was a little bias by adding his/her opinion to the article. There was a part of the article that said, “The New York Yankees star could have been exaggerating about the amount of tests, he could have been selected for an unusually high number of checks or he might have dropped a clue about something else.” I think that writing this takes away from the quotes and statements that the writer is using in the article from A-Rod. The writer is also putting in his/her opinions that A-Rod may not be a credible guy, and I think that is unfair for I am sure that the writer does not really know A-Rod on a personal account and even if he/she did, it is not right for a journalist to put in his or her opinion in an article that is not in the op-ed section.

All in all I thought that this article was great. It was written well, structured well, had great sources, was completely newsworthy and had a great focus. My only criticism is that the article could have done without the paragraph I just mentioned, and opinions should have been left out.

On a side note though, I think that this article was also interesting and controversial because it shows how during a time when many atheletes are taking performance-enhancing drugs, we as a society accuse those who do well merely because of talent. I think that we accuse those who are great because we are either jealous or we do not think it is possible for those to do so well while others who do as well as them are taking drugs.

This may be a little old, but I wanted to do something about ledes in the Reporter and this is the most recent news story on its website. The article is about the minimum wage increase and the effect it has on Stetson financial aid, but I think it focuses on the wrong aspect of the story and buries the interesting stuff.

The lede for this story is: “Minimum wage in the state of Florida was increased by the Federal Government from $6.67 to $6.79. While the increase allows the public to earn more money, the issue of “using up” the financial aid awarded to work study students is becoming more apparent.”

It seems like the most newsworthy part of the story is the second sentence, since it not only affects Stetson students more but is also something they probably don’t know about. In addition to not putting this first, the article doesn’t really go into the issue of the school running out of money. Also, the lede that the story goes with is just a piece of very specific information, which in inverted pyramid style should probably go further into the body.

Here’s my idea for a better lede, after reading the rest of the article: “Stetson work study students will work fewer hours for the same amount of pay this semester after a rise in the state’s minimum wage.”

Also, for some reason this article is called “A Dollar an Hour?” I can’t tell why, since the minimum wage only increases by $0.20 an hour and nowhere does it mention a dollar an hour for anything.
 

When it rains it pours, according to the recent article from USA Today, “Spirits high on Oscar’s Red Carpet Despite the Dreary Weather,” this did not ruin a night at the Oscar’s! The article which fails to state exactly how much rain there was or what was done to stop these Oscar worthy actors from getting soaked was not exactly award winning itself. One might even question why the spirits of these stars was so high especially when they have to put up with such terrible weather.

Unfortunately the rain doesn’t stop, not even for celebrities but apparently it doesn’t matter as the awards were still given out and the stars still came out in their most glamorous attire. Would it even be possible to cancel the Oscars because of rain? I think not, especially when so much time and effort that obviously goes into planning the very large event. As the famous saying goes “the show must go on” and apparently it did!

I decided to comment on both of these stories because it’s rare to read feel-good stories in the news that were in no way related to negative events, but I stumbled upon two of them in the same day on msnbc.com. A really nice, hard-working couple from a town near Savannah wins $270 in the lottery, and a college in Philadelphia gets $5 million anonymously in the mail. I love to read stories about nice, humble people who catch a break in life, and those about people who help without expecting anything in return. Positive stories in the news are newsworthy, in my opinion, because they stand out in the midst of all the negative events being covered. It’s always more fun for me to read stories about positive happenings, contrary to the belief that negative news draws readership/viewers. I liked reading that the Georgia couple were going to make sure that this money would help their grandkids have a wonderful life, and that the $5 dollar donor wished to remain anonymous and fund a scholarship for women and minorities. Whether they’re the most newsworthy events in the U.S. is questionable, but I’m glad they received some attention for those readers that want to hear some good news for a change.

I have always believed the front page of a paper and/or the front page of a website covers the most important or intriguing news of the day. I found it interesting that on the front page of the USAToday website there was an article about who among 19 states and 9 foreign countries, including New Zealand, Romania, Macedonia and the Philippines has the best tasting water. The story reports on the 18th Annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting which was held this Saturday, February 23. The contest is known as the world’s largest and longest-running water tasting. What was even more interesting is that the smog-infested Los Angeles won the title.

The reporter gave a brief description of the actual judging and includes quotes from the event producer Jill Klien Rone. I would have liked the reporter to have answered a few other questions including:

1. Who are past winners?

2. Why was Los Angeles chosen as the winner? 

3. Quotes from judges of the taste testing.

4. How are these judges? Water experts?

5. How is a state or country considered for the contest?

6. Ultimately some additional information about the contest itself because it intrigues me.