News Comments

“Passenger lands plane after pilot falls ill” this titles caught my eye on CNN.com. However, I thought the lead that followed was much less interesting than this title. The leads lets the reader know that the plane was small and only had the pilot and passenger on board. I think this lead was meant to build some drama and cause the reader to continue in the story, which is does, but it also causes confusion. I don’t know what a “Cessena plane” is and I think that most people don’t. The lead is also misleading. At the end of the article we find out that the passenger has flown and aircraft before, just not this specific type. This takes away a lot of the drama that was originally in this piece about the miracle landing.

I thought this article was interesting. I read the whole thing wanting to know what happened but by the end I was given less than I had expected. The incident was not as exciting or treacherous as it seemed when I pictured a passenger landing a large plane full of other people. I think the roll of the pilot is also confusing, which is not the fault of the author. I want to know what happened to the pilot to lead to his death. If he was that sick, why was he flying the plane in the first place? This is an interesting story, that unfortunately just doesn’t have all the facts that it needs.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/world/europe/uk-passenger-lands-plane/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Media Comparison

There were many differences between the video story and the print story on the CNN website regarding the shooting and high speed chase at the Capitol last week. The stories were both posted on the same day but contained many differences.

The biggest different between the two stories was the focus. The video story was focused on the events that occurred and the questions surrounding the incident and the woman driving the car. The print story focused on the woman and her history of mental health issues. These are to very different main points. While the video leaves the viewer still unsure of what exactly happened and why, the print story leaves the reader with questions regarding the woman’s intentions.

The leads of the stories were also somewhat different. The video lead gives us the main information, like who, what, when, and where. However, the lead also brings up the Navy yard shooting that occurred two weeks ago and tries to draw a connection. However, this connection is never made throughout the remainder of the story. The lead also leaves the question of why for the audience to try and piece together. The lead of the article was almost the same, minus the part about the Navy yard shooting. It just give us the name of the women and the fact that police are still trying to piece together what happened.

Both stories try to make strange connections. The video tries to tie the incident to the Navy yard shooting, with no real evidence that the two incidents are connected. The print story ties in the woman’s boyfriend and her past mental health, before giving the reader all of the information regarding the incident.

Quotes are used in the print story from the boyfriend and sister of the woman who caused the incident. The article seems to be trying to make the case that the woman was mentally unstable and planned to do this. Quotes are used in the video from the U.S. Secret Service Spokesperson and eyewitnesses. This story seems to be trying to convey the confusion regarding the incident. It provides the audience with more information than the print story.

The two stories combined together almost seem to make a more through story. The the incident is explained and the background history of the woman involved is provided. This all together gives a somewhat clearer picture of what happened.

Video story: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/10/04/exp-newday-johns-dc-shooting.cnn.html

Print story: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/04/us/dc-shooting-miriam-carey/index.html?hpt=hp_bn3

 

News Comment 9-26-13

What first drew my attention to this article was its title and video. I thought the ground giving way sounded pretty serious. The video shows a group of full size, adult trees slowly moving towards the sink hole and then quickly being sucked down into the water. I had a hard time believe what I was seeing. So I think this article does a great job of catching the readers attention right away.

I thought the lead for the story was okay. It almost gave me a little too much in formation. The title of the article was more interesting to me than the actual lead paragraph. I think the rest article though was a good balance of information and personal interest. The article described the situation with the sink hole in Louisiana. Then it gave different opinions from local residents. Some of them are leaving the area and some of them are waiting it out. The majority however, is upset with the way the authorities are handling the situation. It doesn’t seem like a major crisis to them.

The article contained a lot of factual information about the situation. I think this information is probably necessary but I don’t think the article needed to take up two pages. I felt like it was getting a bit long at times. I was confused by some of the information. The article mentioned a well breaking and causing a sinkhole, which keeps growing. I believe that is the same sinkhole in the video but the article also mentioned past events that were similar. A little clarification in this are would be good I think.

I liked the quotes that were used in this article. I thought they helped the story move on and they were supported. I am interested to find out what happens with this situation at the end of the article.

News Comment 9-19-13

I thought this was a really well written article. It was about the human aspect of large issues rather than the political or economic focus that is normally given. It gave a new perspective to a conflict that everyone seems to be commenting on lately. I think the author Ben Keesey made some great points and made the conflict in Syria a little more relatable for everyone. He mainly discusses relating this conflict to our own lives. He asks the reader to imagine if he or she were in the conflict and facing a chemical weapon. He asks the reader to consider that as a human being our responsibility to help one another doesn’t end because of geographical distance, different religious beliefs, or any other difference. He makes the point that we are all human beings, out lives are all worth the same, and we have a duty to help one another.

I think at times the article plays a little to much to the emotional side of the readers. It forces the reader to have an emotional response and so a strong response to the article. This is maybe a good and a bad thing. It gets a reaction from the reader about the article, but it also may cause the focus to be taken off of the actual conflict.

I’m not sure that he fully answered the question he began the article with, “The situation in Syria is terrible, but what does that have to do with me”. He doesn’t say what he thinks we should do or why this foreign conflict does have to do with us, but he alludes to some answers. Clarifying some of that, may help the article.

I would have liked to hear more of his opinions on the other specifics of the Syrian conflict. I want to know what he thinks the government should do after writing this. As this article is a week old, I also want to know what he thinks of the current decisions that have been made.

“The Situation in Syria Is Terrible, but What Does It Have To Do With Me?

News Comment 9/12/13

I recently read an article for my Honors session that I thought was interesting. The article was called How I Passed My U.S. Citizenship Test: By Keeping the Right Answers to Myself and was about the process of applying for U.S. citizenship. The article followed a Canadian woman who was applying for U.S. citizenship. She described the process she went through, mostly about the incorrect questions that are on the written test. She gave the readers the incorrect questions she came across, as well as the different answers that are supposed to be correct. She described advice she was given, to give an incorrect answer even if it was considered correct by the test officials. The woman had interviewed specialists in different fields about the questions to get the correct answers. Many of them weren’t aware that the test included incorrect answers.

I thought this was an okay article. I liked that she included interviews she had done with people about these tests and the incorrect answers. However, I wish there had been some sort of resolution to the problem of the incorrect test. She brought up the issues and the wrong answers but she didn’t say why the are that way. I’m wondered why these questions are still wrong after so long. I’m wondering what her article caused if anything with these tests. Are the questions still wrong? I wish she had tried to figure that out so the reader isn’t left wondering.