I chose to do my news comment on a piece from the New York Times titled “California Fires Burn ‘Faster than Firefighters Can Run.‘” This article details the fires that have recently begun burning thousands of acres of across the state of California. After the beginning of major fires this weekend, they have begun sweeping across major areas of Califonia, including Sonoma Valley. Their “acres burned” content has exponentially increased. Many buildings and business (which are the last concern of fire crews at this point) have been burned down or are in danger. Thousands of people have been displaced by the fires as well.
This connects back to our class mainly with the attributions and quotes that are placed in the first few paragraphs. After the first paragraph, the writer inserted the quote “I wish I could say the Calvary is coming-it’s not” to show that these men that are fighting the fires are getting desperate and there is no help on the horizon. After this quote, it is followed with another that tells the firefighters to look to their left and rights because these are the “people [they] are responsible for right now.” They have no one, California is desperate for closure and the firefighters are desperate for this to end.
It seems to me that dramatic, live stories like this lend themselves to good, eyewitness quotes. When everything is confusing, try to get those involved to provide the best picture possible.