By Kirk Johnson
The New York Times
This is kind of an interesting story in American history. Back in the 1930s is seems several unhappy Wyomingans, unhappy with the current politics of their area, attempted unsuccessfully to break off parts of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana to form their new state called Absaroka. The movement was very unsuccessful and forgotten by the majority of people shortly after it was ended, but the people of Sheridan have adopted the strange rebellion as a piece of their celebrated history.
Johnson interviews several Sheridan senior citizens, all over 70, about that strange time when a group of business and political leaders attempted to form their own state. He also interviews two college students, a couple from the University of Wyoming, who are participating in a festival "the Absaroka spirit of can-do and get-through."
Johnson's title is what pulled me into the story, and his lead gets straight to the point detailing in typical NY times lengthy lead fashion what this crazy story would be about. He ends his story with a local Wyoming ranch owner who states he participates in the festival because it helps him keep his ranch noting how the tale of Absakoka, that's accuracy is still debated by historians, has "blown away like dust in the high plains wind."
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Is McCain's Age Showing? Tongues Wave Over Flubs
By Howard Kurtz
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/22/AR2008072203201.html?nav=hcmodule
John McCain is old, and we all know that. But lately his little verbal slip-ups, known as "gaffes" have been the lastest media scrunity calling into question whether McCain at 72 is too old to be president.
Kurtz's lead is somewhat humorous as he pokes fun at the media's obession with Obama, "We interupt the nonstop coverage of Barak Obama's overseas trip to bring you some breaking whispers about John McCain."
He presents both the democrat's side ("he's too old") and republican's ("anyone would mess up if they were constantly followed around"). He also touches on the lopsided coverage of the canidates. MSNBC's Dan Abrams notes that Obama seems to be of much more interest to the press than McCain. He also lists some of Obama's "gaffes" too.
He ends with a quote from a political director for the University of Virginia who says that anyone who is on camera all day is bound to make a long list of mistakes.
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/22/AR2008072203201.html?nav=hcmodule
John McCain is old, and we all know that. But lately his little verbal slip-ups, known as "gaffes" have been the lastest media scrunity calling into question whether McCain at 72 is too old to be president.
Kurtz's lead is somewhat humorous as he pokes fun at the media's obession with Obama, "We interupt the nonstop coverage of Barak Obama's overseas trip to bring you some breaking whispers about John McCain."
He presents both the democrat's side ("he's too old") and republican's ("anyone would mess up if they were constantly followed around"). He also touches on the lopsided coverage of the canidates. MSNBC's Dan Abrams notes that Obama seems to be of much more interest to the press than McCain. He also lists some of Obama's "gaffes" too.
He ends with a quote from a political director for the University of Virginia who says that anyone who is on camera all day is bound to make a long list of mistakes.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
With No Frills or Tuition, a College Draws Notice
By Tamar Lewin
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/education/21endowments.html?em&ex=1216872000&en=a77d3816b3d96c57&ei=5087%0A
Last summer I spent two weeks with my college-aged friends from England. Of course as they were both university students the cost of college was brought up, and they were in utter disbelief at the amount Americans shell out for a college education. And so am I at the constant rising cost of tuition in this country and the slashing of funding.
Just when I thought all hope was lost, I saw this very intriguing article about Berea College in Kentucky whose students, all from low income families, attend the institution free of charge. It seems the college has a 1.1 billion dollar endowment, making it one of the wealthiest colleges in the country, and unlike other institutions that are as well off, Berea has chosen to spend this money on the kids. Sounds strange, huh?
Lewin compares Berea to the also well-endowed institutions such as Harvard ($35 billion), Yale ($23 billion), Stanford ($17 billion), Princeton ($16 billion) and Amherst College in Massachusetts where he actually interviews the president of the college, Anthony Marx who defends the college's spending habits. He interviews a good variety of people on the topic including administrators and students from Berea and several financial experts from different universities along with Marx.
His article is overall done very objectively though that's hard because Berea appears to be the messiah of universities and the rich Ive leagues, no matter how many perfectly logical explanations they give for not following Berea, still look no better than money grubbing corporations next to Brera.
Lewin leads with a brief history of Brera, noting it used to be a "poor, white mounteering school" back when it started 150 years ago, and he ends with a comment from Larry Shinn, president of Berea who says some liberal arts colleges choose to spend the money they should be using to give fiancial aid to low income students to build fancy rec centers and coffee shops.
"Is it just a way for colleges to keep up with the Joneses?" Shinn asks of these colleges.
Amen, sir.
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/education/21endowments.html?em&ex=1216872000&en=a77d3816b3d96c57&ei=5087%0A
Last summer I spent two weeks with my college-aged friends from England. Of course as they were both university students the cost of college was brought up, and they were in utter disbelief at the amount Americans shell out for a college education. And so am I at the constant rising cost of tuition in this country and the slashing of funding.
Just when I thought all hope was lost, I saw this very intriguing article about Berea College in Kentucky whose students, all from low income families, attend the institution free of charge. It seems the college has a 1.1 billion dollar endowment, making it one of the wealthiest colleges in the country, and unlike other institutions that are as well off, Berea has chosen to spend this money on the kids. Sounds strange, huh?
Lewin compares Berea to the also well-endowed institutions such as Harvard ($35 billion), Yale ($23 billion), Stanford ($17 billion), Princeton ($16 billion) and Amherst College in Massachusetts where he actually interviews the president of the college, Anthony Marx who defends the college's spending habits. He interviews a good variety of people on the topic including administrators and students from Berea and several financial experts from different universities along with Marx.
His article is overall done very objectively though that's hard because Berea appears to be the messiah of universities and the rich Ive leagues, no matter how many perfectly logical explanations they give for not following Berea, still look no better than money grubbing corporations next to Brera.
Lewin leads with a brief history of Brera, noting it used to be a "poor, white mounteering school" back when it started 150 years ago, and he ends with a comment from Larry Shinn, president of Berea who says some liberal arts colleges choose to spend the money they should be using to give fiancial aid to low income students to build fancy rec centers and coffee shops.
"Is it just a way for colleges to keep up with the Joneses?" Shinn asks of these colleges.
Amen, sir.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
'100 months to save the planet'
BBC
Just what I need. Another environmentalist group telling me this planet is doomed.
"According to the Green New Deal Group , humanity has only 100 months to prevent dangerous global warming."-- this is not only another scary fact, it is also the lead to this very newsy story. This group claims that we need to invest a lot of money into renewable energy and "green jobs." The group is named after Roosevelt's "New Deal" from the U.S. depression in the 1930s.
The writer (who is unnamed) does not directly interview anyone (this article is a bit of a stub), but instead just goes into the group's history briefly, their goals and some famous members.
It ends where it started with a not-so-uplifting statement from the group saying in 100 months the Earth will hit a "runaway" climate temperature that will be "unacceptably high."
Just what I need. Another environmentalist group telling me this planet is doomed.
"According to the Green New Deal Group , humanity has only 100 months to prevent dangerous global warming."-- this is not only another scary fact, it is also the lead to this very newsy story. This group claims that we need to invest a lot of money into renewable energy and "green jobs." The group is named after Roosevelt's "New Deal" from the U.S. depression in the 1930s.
The writer (who is unnamed) does not directly interview anyone (this article is a bit of a stub), but instead just goes into the group's history briefly, their goals and some famous members.
It ends where it started with a not-so-uplifting statement from the group saying in 100 months the Earth will hit a "runaway" climate temperature that will be "unacceptably high."
Friday, July 18, 2008
Fashion Police: Flint Cracks Down on Sagging
By Jessica Bennett and Mary Chapman
Newsweek
Oh those kids. It looks like new Flint, Mich. police chief David Dicks is cracking down on fashion. He has told his force to arrest any guy who sagged his pants to much for "immoral self expression."
Bennett and Chapman open up their article with a antecedote of Jayson Miguel noting how he is at risk for arrest while minding his own business just because he is sagging his pants.
They interview Miguel as well as several other Flint residents who have differing views on the new code. They also interview the president of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union who strongly opposes Dicks new measure. They fail to actually interview Dicks himself and gather his opinion and quotes via "a local paper."
They also go into a history on sagging and how it became a fashion trend as well as how it relates to Flint, one of the poorest towns in the U.S.
Bennett and Chapman end where they started with a quote from Miguel again who notes "It's just a style, man."
Newsweek
Oh those kids. It looks like new Flint, Mich. police chief David Dicks is cracking down on fashion. He has told his force to arrest any guy who sagged his pants to much for "immoral self expression."
Bennett and Chapman open up their article with a antecedote of Jayson Miguel noting how he is at risk for arrest while minding his own business just because he is sagging his pants.
They interview Miguel as well as several other Flint residents who have differing views on the new code. They also interview the president of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union who strongly opposes Dicks new measure. They fail to actually interview Dicks himself and gather his opinion and quotes via "a local paper."
They also go into a history on sagging and how it became a fashion trend as well as how it relates to Flint, one of the poorest towns in the U.S.
Bennett and Chapman end where they started with a quote from Miguel again who notes "It's just a style, man."
Mandela celebrates 90th birthday
By Audrey Brown
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7512700.stm
Brown's birthday tribute to the late Nelson Mandela mainly comments on post-apartheid South Africa. Brown leads off with a statement from Maldela when he became president of South African in 1994 where he promises to unite the torn Africa.
And Mandela succeed in leading South Africa out of a much anticipated civil war, but the effects of apartheid are still seen there today. Brown interviews activists and victims of racism to give a brief overview of where South Africans believe their country is today. She states overall that while there definitely has been improvement since the fall of apartheid, South Africa still struggles with severe racial inequality.
She ends her article on a somewhat upbeat note with a quote from an 18 year old white girl who was raped by a black man who says that she still isn't angry with black people, despite her trauma, because of an award she recieved from black church members presented with serenity.
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7512700.stm
Brown's birthday tribute to the late Nelson Mandela mainly comments on post-apartheid South Africa. Brown leads off with a statement from Maldela when he became president of South African in 1994 where he promises to unite the torn Africa.
And Mandela succeed in leading South Africa out of a much anticipated civil war, but the effects of apartheid are still seen there today. Brown interviews activists and victims of racism to give a brief overview of where South Africans believe their country is today. She states overall that while there definitely has been improvement since the fall of apartheid, South Africa still struggles with severe racial inequality.
She ends her article on a somewhat upbeat note with a quote from an 18 year old white girl who was raped by a black man who says that she still isn't angry with black people, despite her trauma, because of an award she recieved from black church members presented with serenity.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Calm Down or Else
By Benedict Carey
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/health/15restraint.html?em&ex=1216353600&en=6d55f52176b0a005&ei=5087%0A
Carey's article is definitely a nightmare for any parent--especially parents of children with mental disabilities. He talks about public school lack of resources and properly trained staff to deal with children with mental disabilities whose disruptive actions, which, in several cases, turned into a deadly encounter.
Carey leads off not with a story but describes the situation that parents see, "The children return home from school confused, scared, and sometimes with bruises on their wrists, arms or face." This is scary and all, but where Carey truly sucks the reader in is the second paragraph where he quotes the parent of a child with Asperger's Syndrome, saying his son thought his special ed teachers were going to kill him.
Carey interviews several different parents of children who have been injured by special ed teachers attempting to restrain their kid during a breakdown. He also interviews principals and other faculity from schools who mainly say that lack of funding and a flood of parents pushing their kids with mental disabilities into public schools are the cause of the sad stories we're hearing about.
But Carey truly nails his objectivity in his ending quote from a professor of special education at the University of Nebraska who notes the catch-22 of the entire situation by citing the example of two sets of Iowa parents who both recently sued their children's schools for the death of their children, one couple said their child was killed because he was restrained while acting out, and the other couple said their child had run off and drowned because he was not restrained enough.
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/health/15restraint.html?em&ex=1216353600&en=6d55f52176b0a005&ei=5087%0A
Carey's article is definitely a nightmare for any parent--especially parents of children with mental disabilities. He talks about public school lack of resources and properly trained staff to deal with children with mental disabilities whose disruptive actions, which, in several cases, turned into a deadly encounter.
Carey leads off not with a story but describes the situation that parents see, "The children return home from school confused, scared, and sometimes with bruises on their wrists, arms or face." This is scary and all, but where Carey truly sucks the reader in is the second paragraph where he quotes the parent of a child with Asperger's Syndrome, saying his son thought his special ed teachers were going to kill him.
Carey interviews several different parents of children who have been injured by special ed teachers attempting to restrain their kid during a breakdown. He also interviews principals and other faculity from schools who mainly say that lack of funding and a flood of parents pushing their kids with mental disabilities into public schools are the cause of the sad stories we're hearing about.
But Carey truly nails his objectivity in his ending quote from a professor of special education at the University of Nebraska who notes the catch-22 of the entire situation by citing the example of two sets of Iowa parents who both recently sued their children's schools for the death of their children, one couple said their child was killed because he was restrained while acting out, and the other couple said their child had run off and drowned because he was not restrained enough.
Monday, July 14, 2008
An American Pastime: Smoking Pot
By Sarah H. Lynch
Time
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1821697,00.html
Ok, I really couldn't help myself with this one. It was the title that caught my eye. It turns out this article is on an ongoing survey published in PLoS magazine, a journal of the Public Library of Science, done by the World Trade Organization that found that Americans like smoking the reefer. The sugvey found that way more Americans than any other country admitted to using marijuana and cocaine at some point in their lives.
Lynch leads off her article by commenting on the irony of the Netherlands having leinant drug laws, yet much less reported marijuna use. She then weaves into talking about the survey. This would be the nutgraph, I suppose.
Lynch goes over the main details of the survey pulling out the highlight that we all really want to hear (like Americans also tend to try drugs at an earlier age too), and she also goes over the limitations of the survey, like how it only asks if someone has tried a drug and so the findings really can't be implenented into the U.S's drug policy as it doesn't exactly paint the most accurate picture of drug use and abuse in the U.S. today.
She ends her article by just summing up some main points and giving more information on when more information will be reversed. In typical inverted pyramid style, Lynch put all those little important details that aren't quite as interesting at the bottom.
Time
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1821697,00.html
Ok, I really couldn't help myself with this one. It was the title that caught my eye. It turns out this article is on an ongoing survey published in PLoS magazine, a journal of the Public Library of Science, done by the World Trade Organization that found that Americans like smoking the reefer. The sugvey found that way more Americans than any other country admitted to using marijuana and cocaine at some point in their lives.
Lynch leads off her article by commenting on the irony of the Netherlands having leinant drug laws, yet much less reported marijuna use. She then weaves into talking about the survey. This would be the nutgraph, I suppose.
Lynch goes over the main details of the survey pulling out the highlight that we all really want to hear (like Americans also tend to try drugs at an earlier age too), and she also goes over the limitations of the survey, like how it only asks if someone has tried a drug and so the findings really can't be implenented into the U.S's drug policy as it doesn't exactly paint the most accurate picture of drug use and abuse in the U.S. today.
She ends her article by just summing up some main points and giving more information on when more information will be reversed. In typical inverted pyramid style, Lynch put all those little important details that aren't quite as interesting at the bottom.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Donors Asked To Give for Two
By Matthew Mosk
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/10/AR2008071002813.html?hpid=topnews
The first round of election madness is finally over, and the question is now who is going to pay for it all?
This article is pretty much straight news story style. Mosk's lead is straightforward stating that maybe, just maybe, Obama's fundraising might be lagging behind what it once was.
Obama and former Clinton supporters are now asking for two donations: one for Obama's campaign and one to cover the costs left behind by Clinton.
Mosk interviews the usuals: members of Obama's campaign and former member's of Clinton's campaign of all different levels and places to get the facts. The tone for Mr. Obama's fundraising seems to be pretty upbeat, the big Clinton donators are going to give to Obama; they're still going to support the democratic party.
Mosk finishes with a quote from MediaTech Capital partner and Obama fundraiser, Lindsay Gardner giving her opinion that the friction between the two canidate's big donators is minimal.
So there we go: crisis mostly averted.
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/10/AR2008071002813.html?hpid=topnews
The first round of election madness is finally over, and the question is now who is going to pay for it all?
This article is pretty much straight news story style. Mosk's lead is straightforward stating that maybe, just maybe, Obama's fundraising might be lagging behind what it once was.
Obama and former Clinton supporters are now asking for two donations: one for Obama's campaign and one to cover the costs left behind by Clinton.
Mosk interviews the usuals: members of Obama's campaign and former member's of Clinton's campaign of all different levels and places to get the facts. The tone for Mr. Obama's fundraising seems to be pretty upbeat, the big Clinton donators are going to give to Obama; they're still going to support the democratic party.
Mosk finishes with a quote from MediaTech Capital partner and Obama fundraiser, Lindsay Gardner giving her opinion that the friction between the two canidate's big donators is minimal.
So there we go: crisis mostly averted.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Governor plans to boost economy with eco-friendly jobs
By Harry Esteve
The Oregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1215487536291830.xml&coll=7&thispage=1
For an article that appears to be a straight news story from the title, Esteve actually throws in a pretty catchy lead relating Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski's new plan for Oregon's economy to a scene in Dustin Hoffman's famous film The Graduate.
It really catches your attention as does the rest of the article. Esteve does an excellent job giving the details of Kulongoski's plan while also presenting the other side of the story i.e. the Republicans. Esteve also gives enough background to issues so someone like me, who is sadly pretty ignorant of Oregon politics, can understand what he is also talking about. I also detected a slight left bias in Esteve's reporting, which could be another reason why I particularly enjoyed it.
The article ends on an upbeat note with a quote from the Governor about how wonderful Oregon is. It sums up everything pretty nicely: Governor loves his state and wants to save the forest and so on and so forth
The Oregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1215487536291830.xml&coll=7&thispage=1
For an article that appears to be a straight news story from the title, Esteve actually throws in a pretty catchy lead relating Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski's new plan for Oregon's economy to a scene in Dustin Hoffman's famous film The Graduate.
It really catches your attention as does the rest of the article. Esteve does an excellent job giving the details of Kulongoski's plan while also presenting the other side of the story i.e. the Republicans. Esteve also gives enough background to issues so someone like me, who is sadly pretty ignorant of Oregon politics, can understand what he is also talking about. I also detected a slight left bias in Esteve's reporting, which could be another reason why I particularly enjoyed it.
The article ends on an upbeat note with a quote from the Governor about how wonderful Oregon is. It sums up everything pretty nicely: Governor loves his state and wants to save the forest and so on and so forth
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Dad charged with murder in bride's 'honor killing'
CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/08/honor.killing/index.html
This story was very newsy and just gave straight facts. In fact, it's so newsy that CNN doesn't even list the writer (as least as far as I could see). The lead is in the straight news style and just sums up the main points of the story.
It just goes on to elaborate on the details of the murder, and gives several facts on "honor killings." It ends with a statement from the dean of multicultural affairs at Columbia University on the need for human rights campaigns not just in the U.S. but across the world.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/08/honor.killing/index.html
This story was very newsy and just gave straight facts. In fact, it's so newsy that CNN doesn't even list the writer (as least as far as I could see). The lead is in the straight news style and just sums up the main points of the story.
It just goes on to elaborate on the details of the murder, and gives several facts on "honor killings." It ends with a statement from the dean of multicultural affairs at Columbia University on the need for human rights campaigns not just in the U.S. but across the world.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Nurses Step Up Efforts to Protect Against Attacks
By David Tuller
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/health/08nurses.html?8dpc=&_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1215485170-bUPSdh2paAscbStf83ayhg
Tuller's lead to his articles on the dangers of nursing is a story of a psychiatric nurse whose young son asked once asked her seriously if she was in danger at work. This lead is definitely to grab the reader's attention and draw them into article that turns out to be very statistic-orientated from that point forwards.
Tuller definitely does his research looking at studies of physical violence against nurses from several different states. But the article is a little too dry, and it would have been more effective for Tuller to tell more stories similar to the one he had in his lead to allow readers to understand better what all of his carefully selected statistics are saying: nursing is dangerous.
For example, one study he cites a 2006 survey by the Emergency Nurses Association who reported that 86 percent of nurses had experienced violence in the past three years and "a fifth" said they encounter it frequently. Well, how exactly is "violence" or "frequently" defined in this survey because the terms could vary significantly.
Tuller ends his article by quoting a psychiatric and emergency room nurse who gives a potential reason for violence against nurses. This sums up the article nicely because it gives a reason, rather than just a number, that nurses, who are there to help, end up become the focal point for violence from patients.
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/health/08nurses.html?8dpc=&_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1215485170-bUPSdh2paAscbStf83ayhg
Tuller's lead to his articles on the dangers of nursing is a story of a psychiatric nurse whose young son asked once asked her seriously if she was in danger at work. This lead is definitely to grab the reader's attention and draw them into article that turns out to be very statistic-orientated from that point forwards.
Tuller definitely does his research looking at studies of physical violence against nurses from several different states. But the article is a little too dry, and it would have been more effective for Tuller to tell more stories similar to the one he had in his lead to allow readers to understand better what all of his carefully selected statistics are saying: nursing is dangerous.
For example, one study he cites a 2006 survey by the Emergency Nurses Association who reported that 86 percent of nurses had experienced violence in the past three years and "a fifth" said they encounter it frequently. Well, how exactly is "violence" or "frequently" defined in this survey because the terms could vary significantly.
Tuller ends his article by quoting a psychiatric and emergency room nurse who gives a potential reason for violence against nurses. This sums up the article nicely because it gives a reason, rather than just a number, that nurses, who are there to help, end up become the focal point for violence from patients.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Hands Free Cellphone Use While Driving Won't Make Roads Safer, Studies Show. Why? Brain Overload
By Melissa Healy
Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-cells30-2008jun30,0,3192911.story
This story is about the new California law taking effect that bans the use of handheld cellphones.
Healy's lead is extremely effective. She talks about the use of cellphones in pop culture and how prevailent they are in society today. This really caught my attention because it's true though I have never really though about it.
Healy only briefly goes over the new law then proceeds, for the rest of the article, to talk about various studies that have looked at distractions while driving.
Her article is well-researched, and she gives many examples of studies that have found that talking to someone else while driving is very distracting, even if the driver has his hands free.
I found this article to be very informative and scary as I have been guilty of talking on my cell phone while driving many times.
I believe her article was especially effective because we have all read articles on the study that says talking and driving are dangerous. But Healy has found many studies to back this point up, some that even claim talking and driving is worse than drunk driving!
Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-cells30-2008jun30,0,3192911.story
This story is about the new California law taking effect that bans the use of handheld cellphones.
Healy's lead is extremely effective. She talks about the use of cellphones in pop culture and how prevailent they are in society today. This really caught my attention because it's true though I have never really though about it.
Healy only briefly goes over the new law then proceeds, for the rest of the article, to talk about various studies that have looked at distractions while driving.
Her article is well-researched, and she gives many examples of studies that have found that talking to someone else while driving is very distracting, even if the driver has his hands free.
I found this article to be very informative and scary as I have been guilty of talking on my cell phone while driving many times.
I believe her article was especially effective because we have all read articles on the study that says talking and driving are dangerous. But Healy has found many studies to back this point up, some that even claim talking and driving is worse than drunk driving!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
A Sleuth of Fake College Degrees
The Register Guard
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=119578&sid=4&fid=1
This story is a profile piece about Alan Contreras, who is employed by the Office of Degree Authorization for the State of Oregon. His job is to verify college degrees and to track companies who hand out fake degrees.
Bolt begins his story with the line "Alan Contreras considers himself an accidental expert." It was this lead and the title of the article that grabbed my attention. As a college student, I was aware that you were able to buy a fake degree, but I did not realize that it was easy to pass one by an employer and that there was an entire department working for the State of Oregon to stop them.
Bolt also shows that Contreras is much more than just his job. He goes on to describe some of his other jobs and hobbies and really allows the reader to grasp a full image of this man and how he got started working for the Office of Degree Authorization.
It's an overall short profile piece but well-written nonetheless.
No Babies?
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/magazine/29Birth-t.htmlem&ex=1215057600&en=09129f2e69719b25&ei=5070
Shorto is writing about the birthrate crisis that Europeans are currently facing. Their birthrate has dropped down to 1.3 average babies per person when the rate needed to maintain a population is 2.1.
Shorto's lead for his somewhat lengthy article with a story about a southern Italy town where the mayor resorted to paying women to have children. This story is very interesting and really captures the reader's attention right away. When I clicked on this story I found myself instantly captivated by the story, and I was curious about why the birthrate has fallen so low.
Shorto really goes into depth offering many different explanations about Europe's birthrate crisis, including the idea from a scientist that the reduction of the amount of people on Earth is not a crisis at all. He interviews different social scientists and political figures to gain an insight into the problem and carefully explains each of their theories.
This story was overall compelling and was laid out so it was easy to understand and held the reader's interest.
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