While this article was really cool and fun to read about, it felt more like an add than an actual article. The article talks about different ways technology can be adapted so that it is "elderly friendly." According to the article more and more elderly folk are starting to use technology. Yet instead of saying how that trend came about or what this could mean, we just got a list of elderly targeted technology products. There wasn't even a single quote or source in the article!
In my opinion this was a terrible waste of newspaper space. Unless the author was bribed by the products mentioned in the article then it really should not have ran in the paper. Might as well use that space for an actual add.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Reasons I Love Reading the Paper...
Today I just read the article saying that the CIA has been paying Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in Afghanistan's illegal opium trade for the past 8 years. I know, I know, my first reaction was "wait whaaat?" too. I would have had no idea, thank God I read my daily paper. The political blogs I usually read mentioned nothing about it. (Although to be fair, neither has the Washington Post)
In fact, according to my research using google news there are a little over 200 sources covering this news. Today there have been over 500 sources covering Michael Jackson's death. Still. Of course this is including sources such as ABC Online and political blogs, but still the difference in numbers is very impressive. I think most of this difference is a result of the newspapers being required to be entertainers in order to make a profit. Hearst showed us the importance of what story you choose to write about in selling the paper. Still, you would think that the CIA paying an Afghanistani drug lord would be the classic Hearstian "Gee Whiz" story.
I'm going to conclude that because this story is still breaking that is why there are so few sources covering it. Hopefully by the end of the week both the Washington Post and the 24 hour news channels will cover this story as well.
In fact, according to my research using google news there are a little over 200 sources covering this news. Today there have been over 500 sources covering Michael Jackson's death. Still. Of course this is including sources such as ABC Online and political blogs, but still the difference in numbers is very impressive. I think most of this difference is a result of the newspapers being required to be entertainers in order to make a profit. Hearst showed us the importance of what story you choose to write about in selling the paper. Still, you would think that the CIA paying an Afghanistani drug lord would be the classic Hearstian "Gee Whiz" story.
I'm going to conclude that because this story is still breaking that is why there are so few sources covering it. Hopefully by the end of the week both the Washington Post and the 24 hour news channels will cover this story as well.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Never knew that..
Maybe thisarticle just caught me on a good day, but I really enjoyed reading it. It took a conventional wisdom that I had always had and showed me that I could be wrong, without being preachy or annoyingly superior.
Although the lead was a question I think this worked particularly well in this article. If instead of asking a question Tara Pope had started off with a fact, the readers may have jumped to the conclusion that she is off her rocker and either didn't do enough research, didn't do the right research, or is showing a very skewed way of thinking. This first impression could have ruined the effect of the rest of the article. The rest of the article provided a lot of different perspectives, including an evolutionary perspective to help demonstrate the idea that long-distance running should not cause humans the pain it does.
Although the lead was a question I think this worked particularly well in this article. If instead of asking a question Tara Pope had started off with a fact, the readers may have jumped to the conclusion that she is off her rocker and either didn't do enough research, didn't do the right research, or is showing a very skewed way of thinking. This first impression could have ruined the effect of the rest of the article. The rest of the article provided a lot of different perspectives, including an evolutionary perspective to help demonstrate the idea that long-distance running should not cause humans the pain it does.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Baby Not-so Einstein
Here's an interesting article in today's paper that actually made it onto the front page. Apparently, Walt Disney is offering refunds for the Baby Einstein videos that were sold. I had learned in child psychology that by watching the Baby Einstein videos when the child is younger than 2 actually hurts the baby more than it helps, so the fact that Disney is acknowledging this and now offering refunds is really interesting.
I think this article does a really good job showing the proper set up of a newspaper article. With just the first sentence, the reader has a good grasp on all the information that he or she would need to gain from the article: "Parent alert: the Walt Disney Company is now offering refunds for all those “Baby Einstein” videos that did not make children into geniuses." As the article progresses we get more details. The reader first gets a brief explanation on what the Baby Einstein videos and the article goes on to explain the problems with the videos and the changes that lawyers want Disney to make.
The history of the struggle between the lawyers and Disney is written very fluidly and has quotes and facts from all the right people. There are quotes from the psychiatrists, lawyers and CEOs. Finally the article ends with a small sentence on what parents should be doing instead of letting their children watch Baby Einstein videos, leaving the reader with the right last impression of the article.
I think this article does a really good job showing the proper set up of a newspaper article. With just the first sentence, the reader has a good grasp on all the information that he or she would need to gain from the article: "Parent alert: the Walt Disney Company is now offering refunds for all those “Baby Einstein” videos that did not make children into geniuses." As the article progresses we get more details. The reader first gets a brief explanation on what the Baby Einstein videos and the article goes on to explain the problems with the videos and the changes that lawyers want Disney to make.
The history of the struggle between the lawyers and Disney is written very fluidly and has quotes and facts from all the right people. There are quotes from the psychiatrists, lawyers and CEOs. Finally the article ends with a small sentence on what parents should be doing instead of letting their children watch Baby Einstein videos, leaving the reader with the right last impression of the article.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
It's All in the Details...
Today's article was titled " Field Study: Just How Relevant is Political Science" caught my attention as a student taking quite a few political science classes. I anticipated reading an article that would some how dissect the current relevance of political science to what is going on in the world today. There was even the opportunity to discuss the past relevance of political science and what political scientists do for a living. Regardless, there were plenty of angles the author could have taken all of which would have given the reader far more information than the actual article did.
The article was very vague and either assumed its readers knew a lot more than they did or did not do enough research to fill in the details. The most specific information we got was: "Yet even some of the most vehement critics of the Coburn proposal acknowledge that political scientists themselves vigorously debate the field’s direction, what sort of questions it pursues, even how useful the research is." This isn't enough for me. What are the possible directions? What research is currently being performed? Another instance of this vagueness was shown by this quote: "In recent years he and other scholars, including Robert Putnam and Theda Skocpol, both former presidents of the American Political Science Association, have urged colleagues not to shy away from 'the big questions.'" What are the big questions? you cant just put it in quotes and assume the readers know.
Overall, I think the article lacked a lot of fleshing out and could have used specifics so that the average reader would have understood the article.
The article was very vague and either assumed its readers knew a lot more than they did or did not do enough research to fill in the details. The most specific information we got was: "Yet even some of the most vehement critics of the Coburn proposal acknowledge that political scientists themselves vigorously debate the field’s direction, what sort of questions it pursues, even how useful the research is." This isn't enough for me. What are the possible directions? What research is currently being performed? Another instance of this vagueness was shown by this quote: "In recent years he and other scholars, including Robert Putnam and Theda Skocpol, both former presidents of the American Political Science Association, have urged colleagues not to shy away from 'the big questions.'" What are the big questions? you cant just put it in quotes and assume the readers know.
Overall, I think the article lacked a lot of fleshing out and could have used specifics so that the average reader would have understood the article.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
WOW
I think everyone in the United States should read this article. It is so amazing that I have a hard time believing it myself. Each day a new part of the series has been released and I find myself itching for more. Not only was this New York Times reporter held captive by the taliban, but he was able to somehow escape and write this series. David Rholdes choice of telling the story chronologically instead of summarizing the entire even and then going into detail was a good choice. With each day, something completely unexpected happens. Also, I'm dying to know how he eventually manages to escape and by saving this information to the end, the actual events that occur are given more weight.
I find it interesting that the Washington Post has not covered this story in any way. Although this is the article of a New York Times reporter I figured that with an ordeal this big the Post would want to publish something on the subject. However, newspaper politics may require the post to wait until all parts of the series are published. I wouldn't be surprised if the Washington Post ended up publishing the same series after the New York Times finishes it. I would definitely be more inclined to buy the New York Times in anticipation of what happens in the rest of David Rholdes's story.
I find it interesting that the Washington Post has not covered this story in any way. Although this is the article of a New York Times reporter I figured that with an ordeal this big the Post would want to publish something on the subject. However, newspaper politics may require the post to wait until all parts of the series are published. I wouldn't be surprised if the Washington Post ended up publishing the same series after the New York Times finishes it. I would definitely be more inclined to buy the New York Times in anticipation of what happens in the rest of David Rholdes's story.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Not National News.
Today's article was a very personal story about a pregnant woman barely surviving swine flu. It was a good story of a near death experience, but I don't think it deserved to be in the national newspaper. It seemed a lot like the sort of stories that you hear on the tv about another "missing blonde girl." It's almost as though they're running out of stories about the swine flu and are now turning local news into national news.
Sure, the story was very touching and it is sad that she lost her baby, but this information does not impact my life at all. The author did try to tie in some sort of relevance to the story by claiming that the story was a warning to people who are taking the flu lightly. Still, I think it is a bit of a stretch. I think the editor of this story should have asked the author to turn it into some sort of a tear jerker or an exciting story about her struggle and used it as a feature rather than an article.
Sure, the story was very touching and it is sad that she lost her baby, but this information does not impact my life at all. The author did try to tie in some sort of relevance to the story by claiming that the story was a warning to people who are taking the flu lightly. Still, I think it is a bit of a stretch. I think the editor of this story should have asked the author to turn it into some sort of a tear jerker or an exciting story about her struggle and used it as a feature rather than an article.
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