JOU Articles: week 11

Article 1: 1 Food That Can Help You Sleep-- and 5 That Might Not. Written by Michelle Edelbaum with EatingWell Magazine on March 11, 2010.

My favorite part about this article was the way that Edelbaum managed to sound like she was really relatable to her readers. Even though she's a healthfood expert, it was like talking to a friend who just wants to help. As for the content I tend to read, I'm still a sucker for all of these Yahoo-advertised articles about fun little ways to improve your life, health, or relationships. Another thing I really liked was that even though she didn't have a ton of outside sources or quotes from other officials, she included links to websites throughout the article that would lead the reader to more information about a certain topic. I like when online journalists do this because it provides a great way for people to learn more about something they don't understand without convoluting the original story with boring facts.

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Article 2: With No Jobs, Plenty of Time for Tea Party. Written by Kate Zernike of the New York Times on March 27, 2010.

This is one of the few stories I have actually written about before in previous weeks, and so I decided that the New York Times would produce a good enough article to take as being credible since they cover more important global news. I had no illusions before reading this that it would be another pro-tea party article, but for once that didn't really bother me because as I read I discovered that it was more about a few highlighted people in the movement. It read more like a personal piece about people finding hope instead of a simple "pros and cons of a political party" type thing. Zernike had good sources that weren't all necessarily experts, which I like because I feel like I can relate to these people more than just take a doctor's word about something he or she wrote a book on once.

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Article 3: Man Killed in Stabbing, Suspect is in Custody. Written by Cindy Swirko of the Gainesville Sun on March 28, 2010.

True to form, I simply could not resist reading more depressing news. This, coupled with my tendency to enjoy local news from local newspapers, made this the perfect bait for my fancy. However, my enthusiasm was suppressed somewhat when I discovered how little "real" information there was in this. Call me calloused, but I would prefer journalists wait to publish articles on events like this until there is more to be said about it. Why give worry and make people feel bad about someone getting killed if you can't even give the readers closure over the event? What I did like was Swirko's dedication to making substance herself in the face of a lack of information. She got in touch with not only the victim's son, but people in the community who had known the deceased and could comment on his life. It added a great human angle, which is really important to me.

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Article 4: Pope Opens Solemn Holy Week Amid Sex Abuse Crisis. Written by Nicole Winfield of the Associated Press on March 28, 2010.

With the exception of the Toyota recall coverage, this is probably the story I have followed the most over the past few weeks. When it first popped up, it immediately caught my interest because of its stereotypical nature, which is often a subject of jokes. The whole "priest touching little boys" thing isn't funny, but it helped grab my attention. Of course, in a situation like this, Winfield does a great job of doing her honorable best by giving some clergy members a chance to start damage control. We're past the denial and almost past the defensive stages, but now it's all about "how to fix this" and "what's being done". Winfield includes quotes from many sources stating the problems and how sorry they are that it got like this. Despite this fairness, however, much like with the Toyota stories, this article is definitely NOT pro-vatican. This is still a scandal that must be addressed as such. Finally, the article was short yet informative, my favorite kind.

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