DAILY HERALD- 11.12.2010

'STRAIGHT PRIDE' SHIRTS BECOME FREE SPEECH FIGHT AT ST. CHARLES NORTH
BY JAMES FULLER

PRESSING ISSUE, UNBIASED ANGLE

The issue that arises is that school administrators were abusing the freedom of speech. Students were allowed to wear shirts that read 'Gay pride' but not allowed to wear those that read 'Straight pride'. They insisted that the 'Straight pride' was offensive and promoted homophobic bullying. In order to maintain an ubiased angle- the author was not opinionated, but factual. He made no claims to or against either side of the spectrum. This is a quality of a good journalist, especially when writing for a newspaper.

PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY FOR INVOLVEMENT

Not only does he explain the issue, but the author provides opportunity for the reader to get involved and share their opinion if interested. He provides information to a school board meeting in the near future in which 100 students are estimated to attend.

LATEST SPORTS BUZZ- 11.09.2010

"CHILEAN MINER COMPLETES NYC MARATHON TO SHOW THAT I COULD DO IT"

FACTUAL SUMMARY:

I heard about a Chilean miner who just recently ran a marathon after being rescued. I couldn't believe it. So, I decided to research it to find out the details. This article summarizes who the miner was, how he trained in the mines, his condition as of now, his doctors perspective, why he decided to run, how he did and how others viewed him.

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NEW YORK TIMES- TELEVISION 10.30.2010

'THE WALKING DEAD' UNLEASHES ZOMBIES

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY

LIGHTHEARTED SUBJECT

The author chose to cover a new zombie series on AMC called 'The Walking Dead'. She did so in a very lighthearted manner by using the following points:

COMEDY: CLEVER PICK UP LINE

Right off the bat, he captures attention with a clever pick up line: "The one good thing about the walking dead is that they don’t drive." Not only is the author being funny, but proving a point leading up to the first counter arguement.

POINT, COUNTER-POINT: VAMPIRES VS. ZOMBIES

The author proposes which is better: vampires or zombies? He points out that the vampire have been the most popular 'monster' for quite some time with shows like "Twilight" and "True Blood." She goes on to say that zombies have been under-rated in the realm of monsters and are making their way back into pop culture.

PERSUASION: ZOMBIES TO BECOME THE NEXT CRAZE

Once the author persuaded me to believe why zombies are a better breed of monster than vampires, she pleaded her point on why this zombie show in particular is more accurate than others in the past. 'The Walking Dead' is a "straight tale of horror" rather than just a spoof in comparison to films like 'Zombieland.'

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC -SCIENCE - 10.29.2010

TIME WILL END IN FIVE BILLION YEARS

BY: KER THAN

SHOCKING STATEMENT, SUPPORTING THEORY

Nothing says read me like 'the world is going to end'. The author catches the reader with this blunt title and lead. He then goes on to describe the supportive theory. Although, he doesn't just state the theory like we the reader are just supposed to know. Instead, he explains the theory as if we were dummies to it. This helps me, the most unscientific person alive, to understand why my future generations are not going to live on forever.

PROVIDES MULTIPLE SOURCES

The author can't just expect us to believe such a ravishing statement without some eligible sources. He credits multiple colleagues perspectives in supporting his statement & theory. Also, he provides multiple colleagues perspectives in supporting the opposite. This allows the reader to decide for themselves what they believe and makes for a more well-rounded article.

"Time Coming to an Abrupt End? But eternal inflation still isn't perfect, as the problem with probabilities in the multiverse illustrates."

NEW YORK TIMES- THEATER 10.28.2010

CANDY-COLORED BOW-TIED REDEMPTION

By DAVE ITZKOFF

PLUGGING IN FAMILIAR EXAMPLES

I love it when authors find a way to plug in familiar characters or topics into their stories for comedic effect. In this case, the author introduces characters "The Pied Piper" and "Santa Clause" as examples of the how popular spectators found Pee Wee Herman.

"The Pied Piper was nowhere to be heard, and Santa Claus wouldn’t be coming to town for a few more weeks, but something irresistible had drawn a small crowd to the West Fourth Street basketball courts in Greenwich Village on a recent Thursday morning."

STATING THE FACTS THROUGH DESCRIPTION

Instead of stating the facts- ex: "On thursday morning, a crowd of middle aged men and women crowded the character Pee-Wee Herman as he acted out a skit in Manhattan. The crowd were informed of this skit from a twitter update." Instead, the author describes the situation. He paints out the scenario in descriptive language which makes it more enticing to read.

"Huddled in groups of two and three, a few dozen men and women in their 20s and 30s glanced at one another and at their smartphones, rereading the Twitter and Foursquare messages that directed them here, waiting for something to happen. Without fanfare a white van sailed up to the curb, and from it emerged a thin, 58-year-old man — wearing a gray suit, a tiny red bow tie and white loafers — who seemed as uncertain to meet his fans as they were excited to receive him. The gathering parted as he stepped onto the blacktop, picked up a basketball and made a few graceless attempts at hurling it at a hoop. “Yeah, match that,” he said snidely, to laughter."

Not only do I know what the skit was, but can picture it in my head. I can see what he is wearing, the voice he had, and the typical goofy act he put on. At the same time- I knew who the target audience crowd was, how they got there & what happened.

NEW YORK TIMES- WORLD 10.19.2010

JAPAN GOES FROM DYNAMIC TO DISHEARTENED

By MARTIN FACKLER

SMOOTH WAY WITH WORDS:

The simplest thing can be said in so many ways. The author takes a not so simple topic and spits it out so elegantly and understandable. Take this excerpt for instance:

"The original Asian success story, Japan rode one of the great speculative stock and property bubbles of all time in the 1980s to become the first Asian country to challenge the long dominance of the West. But the bubbles popped in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and Japan fell into a slow but relentless decline that neither enormous budget deficits nor a flood of easy money has reversed."

PATHOS APPEAL:

In the introduction, the author introduces a hard-working family making a good life for themselves. They owned an expensive condominium, a Mercedes and traveled frequently. Although, due to the crumbling economy- this family was forced to sell their home, their car and give up vacations altogether. This story line tugs at the reader on an emotional level because we ask ourselves, could this happen to me? Has it happened to me? The economy sucks for everyone.

By starting with this pathos appeal- he forms an understanding with the reader that keeps them interested in reading.