Stay here, I need a beer
In the Florida Today article titled, Police: Parents in bar leave child in running car, a story is told of a child who was left in a locked vehicle while her parents were inside of a bar for at least two hours. This story is clearly newsworthy because of the appalling nature of it. If nothing else, the story serves as an example to the public of how to be completely useless as parents and get arrested in the process.
In terms of the structure of the story, I noticed that the lead is missing a few of the big questions. In the lead, the questions pertaining to who, what, and where are answered, but when and why are unclear. While most readers can probably live without knowing when this event happened, other than the fact that it happened recently, I think that the why is crucial to the story. Why was a late night stop at the bar so imperative? Was the house just too far away? Were they celebrating their ineptness as parents?
An in depth interview of either the parents or some close friends may shed some light on the reasons for this showcase of irresponsibility. The article also doesn’t give any information about the child’s current state. Is she okay? Is she staying with a relative since both of her parents are in jail? These are just a few aspects that are absent that could enhance the article.
