A lot of Work for One Article

Today's article is a little different than the usual article I've seen in the New York Times and the post. Instead of an article about an event or a new policy this article was about a person. Specifically it was about Najibullah Zazi, a suspected terrorist who has been undergoing trials in New York this week. Obviously something as big as apprehending a suspected terrorist is going to play a prominent role in the news and media and for the last three days both the New York Times and the Washington Post have featured an article relating to Mr. Zazi's arrest on the front page. However, today is the first time an article has gone in to such depths about Mr. Zazi's past.

"From Smiling Coffee Vendor to Terror Suspect" demonstrates the immense amount of research that is involved in publishing a quality article. In fact, 4 staffers contributed to the story: Simon Akam, Alison Leigh Cowan,Michael Wilson and Karen Zraick (Only Mr. Wilson actually wrote the article). These four reporters clearly did their research. They talked to Mr. Zazi's family, friends, as well as acquaintances. They learned about Mr. Zazi's history, his religious beliefs, his past jobs, his travels, and even when people started noticing a change in him. Although there are still many unanswered questions (such as why Mr. Zazi was building bombs, and when the federal authorities started tracking Mr. Zazi) this article is the first article to provide the public with any sort of background information on who Mr. Zazi actually is.

What impresses me the most is the quick turnaround time in which this article was published. Mr. Zazi was only accused last Thursday. That means the reporters only had 3 days to find out as much information as they could on Mr. Zazi. I'm not sure whether I would have even known where to start. The reporters probably had to talk to countless useless people before they found anyone who could give them any worthwhile information. In addition they needed to string together all the pieces of information they discovered in a cohesive article to be published.

In conclusion, I'm very impressed with the amount of time and effort involved in this article and hope that more information regarding Mr. Zazi will be released in the next few days.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/nyregion/26profile.html?pagewanted=3&ref=todayspaper