News Post #11

“Sarah Palin to GOP: ‘Fight like a girl’”

This article, written by Andy Barr of Politico, reports on a speech given by Sarah Palin at a tea party rally in Wisconsin on Saturday. According to the article, Palin critiqued congressional Republicans by saying that they need to “fight like a girl,” and cut spending deeper and faster. In her speech, Palin pointed out the University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team, which recently won the national championship. Palin specifically discussed the GOP’s pledge to cut $100 billion in spending, and the party’s later decision to only cut $60 billion. Palin said that the $38 billion reached in the compromise was full of “accounting gimmicks,” and was “politics as usual.” Palin also took several stabs at President Obama, saying that Obama is unserious about cutting government spending and simply trying to win reelection in 2012. The final three paragraphs of the article discuss the background of the speech, which was given at a two-hour tea party rally in the snow. Palin was introduced by Andrew Breitbart. After being introduced, Palin praised the activists at the rally. In addition, Palin showed her support for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for his recent legislation regarding state employee unions. The article ends with Palin’s praise of Walker, saying, “Hey folks, he’s trying to save your jobs.” No sources were given in the article.

This Politico article uses a hard news approach to report highlights of Sarah Palin’s speech in Wisconsin. The writer’s decision to use a quote in the headline proves effective in catching the reader’s attention, and the opening paragraph with the same quote encourages readers to continue reading the article. Although a partial quote is used in the headline and first paragraph, a full quote is used in the second paragraph. In fact, the majority of the article is dominated by quotes from Palin, effectively allowing her speech, not the writer, to tell the story.  Background of the story is given in the sixth paragraph, informing readers of the context of Palin’s speech. The writer includes that Palin’s speech was 15 minutes long. It is worth noting that of the numerous topics likely covered in the speech, the writer decides to include Palin’s support of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Including this part of the speech in the article not only reinforces Palin’s conservative political views, but also allows readers to connect with a topic that received national attention for weeks.  The article ends with a solid quote praising Governor Walker. Overall, this article was engaging, well written, and nearly void of political bias.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53308.html

News Post #10

“Gabrielle Giffords’s office ‘making plans’ for shuttle launch”

This Politico article, written by Meredith Shiner, details the recent release by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’s office of her plans to attend her husband’s upcoming shuttle launch. The shuttle, Endeavor, is scheduled to launch April 29 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Gifford’s husband, Mark Kelly, is expected to command the shuttle. The statement issued Friday said Giffords was “making plans” to attend the shuttle launch pending medical approval from TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital. Giffords has been at the hospital since the end of January after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. The statement issued by her office said the hospital would have the final word on whether or not Giffords can attend the launch. Additionally, her office said the dates of her travel have not been determined. However, her staff noted that Giffords would not meet with the media or issue a statement from Florida if she is able to attend the shuttle launch. Members of her staff will instead hold a press conference, where her chief of staff and communications director are expected to speak on her behalf. The article ends by reminding readers that attending the shuttle launch has been a goal of Giffords for a long time. In addition, Shiner writes that doctors describe Giffords recovery as “miraculous.” No sources are given in the article. It is assumed that Politico had access to the statement issued by Rep. Giffords’s office.

The article uses a hard news approach to relay information about Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’s plans to attend her husband’s shuttle launch. The article is very straight and to the point. It simply relays the information given to journalists. Full quotes are not used until the fourth paragraph, and this paragraph is the only paragraph in the article to have a direct quote from the statement issued by Giffords’s office. In the second to last paragraph, there is an instance of careless repetition by the author. She writes, “Giffords’ chief of staff Pia Carusone and Communications director C.J. Karamargin, Giffords’ communications director are expected to speak on her behalf.” Also, the author switches between writing “Giffords’” and “Giffords’s.” The article also assumes that the reader is aware of Giffords’s current health situation. There are instances in the article where clarification or background could be beneficial to the reader’s understanding of the topic. However, the article’s closing paragraph wraps the story well by reminding readers of how unusual Giffords’s speedy recovery has been. Overall, the article does a fair job of reporting the news, but it is written carelessly and with many mistakes.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52813.html

News Post #9

“Obama ’12 launch likely next week”

This Politico article, written by Glenn Thrush and Mike Allen, details Barack Obama’s upcoming announcement of his reelection campaign. The campaign headquarters will be based in Chicago. The campaign will likely file registration papers on Monday, but those with the Obama campaign will not commit to a specific date in case a world event could overshadow the campaign kickoff. The announcement will be given electronically. The article goes on to discuss details of the campaign and its launch. David Axelrod, who returned to Chicago after spending two years in the White House as senior adviser, will lead the campaign.  According to the article, campaign organizers have been planning to launch the campaign at the beginning of the second quarter to show large fundraising gains in their first report to the FEC. Obama is scheduled to raise money in Chicago on April 14. Jim Messina, the likely campaign manager for the 2012 election, has been holding donor meetings around the country. The campaign expects to raise $750 million to $1 billion. The article closes by stating that Politico originally reported that Obama would file for reelection in April, and Lynn Sweet of the Chicago-Sun Times reported Friday that papers would be filed on Monday. While sources were used in the article, they are simply referred to as “sources.”

The article does an excellent job of reporting on Obama’s upcoming reelection campaign announcement. It presents the information with little bias and is very straightforward in its explanation. The article uses a hard news approach, and the most critical information is effectively given in the first paragraph. Throughout the article, background is accurately given concerning Obama’s campaign. Very few quotes are used in the article. In fact, it is not until the last four paragraphs that quotes are used. Had there been more quotes, perhaps from a member of the campaign committee or a political scientist, the article could have gained more credibility. Overall, the article effectively reports on Obama’s upcoming campaign announcement.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52416.html

Print Response Post

      The print journalism group did an excellent job presenting both newspapers and magazines as a form of mass media. They began their presentation with discussion on the history of the print industry and the technological advances the industry has made. Specifically, they discussed the Partisan Press and the first printing machines. Next, the group focused on the changes over time between older newspapers and modern newspapers. They pointed out differences in layout, color, and pictures between the two examples. The group also dedicated a significant amount of time to the creation of a successful news story. In order to be a good news story, the story must be clear, precise, modest, and efficient. News worthy stories have an impact on people, are timely, prominent, close in proximity to the reader, present conflict, are bizarre, or involve money or currency. Many news stories that are written follow the inverted pyramid method, with the most important information being presented in the first and second paragraphs. The group also presented magazines in their presentation and discussed the different types of magazines, as well as how the magazine industry has evolved. Perhaps the most interesting part of the presentation was near the conclusion. The group presented articles and opinions that predicted the future of the print journalism industry. Although mostly considered to be a dying industry, the authors argued in their writings that journalism will never die but instead will only modernize and reform. Overall, the group did an adequate job of presenting the history, details, modernization, and future of print journalism.