Horrifying Topic, Great Article

Today's article, N.Va. Woman Aids Rescue Of Immigrants discusses a frightening topic: hostages taken by a violent Mexican smuggling cartel. Although the subject was horrible, the article was not. It deals with a frightening issue delicately, but doesn't skirt around the subject and gives plenty of information. It shows how the issue of the hostages was dealt with on a personal, local, and national level. If the author, Josh White, had instead chosen to focus on only one of these three aspects, the article would have felt incomplete. Sure, White could have focused on Berthothy's personal struggles on dealing with being put in this situation, and while that would have made for an invigorating read, it would not have explained many important aspects of the article. For example, the process that occurred after Berthothy placed the call. In addition, one of the key aspects of the article: that although "immigration officials realize that both the victims and the kidnappers have broken the law, they say they want to save lives first and sort out immigration status second" would not have been fully understood if this article had been written from a solely personal perspective. In conclusion, this article deftly discusses a horrifying topic and provides plenty of details and information without sounding like a police report.