Unconventional Weapons Article Analysis

Click here for a link to the article. 

This piece drew me in with the title alone - "Panel Fears Use of Unconventional Weapon." It's not a particularly punchy title, but the thought of an attack on any country, let alone ours, is a frightening one after the recent attacks in Mumbai. 

The lede is a newsy summary lede: "An independent commission has concluded that terrorists will most likely carry out an attack with biological, nuclear or other unconventional weapons somewhere in the world in the next five years unless the United States and its allies act urgently to prevent that." 

This lede gives the reader the who, what, and why. Oddly, it doesn't provide the when, an addition I would make, or the where. However, this is provided in the dateline, it is Washington. The nut graf is found in the second paragraph - the reader should care because the report predicts attacks that might cause harm to them. 

The commission's report is the main source for the article, and rightly so. It is structured to provide information about the report foremost, and then provides background information about the report, including its authors. The conclusion is somewhat of an out-of-gas ending, but it also somewhat mirrors the conclusion of the report itself. 

Iraq Bombing Article Analysis

Click here for a link to the article I'm about to analyze. 

This article is pure hard news, and the summary lede reflects that: "Suicide bombings in Baghdad and Mosul took the lives of at least 32 Iraqis on Monday in carnage that recalled the levels of violence before the American troop buildup last year." In this lede, the reader is given the who, what, when, and where, and despite all this information, manages not to be awkward. However, I would move the Iraqis killed up to the beginning of the lede, because I feel that's the most important part of the news being delivered. 

The next few paragraphs provide more elaboration, but the lede appears to serve as the nut graf here since the following paragraphs deal with the different details of the separate suicide bombings. A storytelling structure is used here, and sources from both the American and Iraqi perspective are utilized. I particularly like the quotes from people on the street because they give the piece an air of authenticity. The article is also extremely good at portraying images, especially the image of the bloodstained boot. 

This article is unique in that it provides information about a separate incident at its ending. It utilizes an out-of-gas ending. 

Naval Hero Jeffrey Ahson Dies at 79

KALAMAZOO, Mich.--Jeffrey R. Ahson, U.S. Navy hero and Kalamazoo City firefighter, died last night at his home of causes related to emphysema. He was 79.

Mr. Ahson leaves behind an impressive legacy. A petty officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he was stationed on the USS Emery. In June of 1942 he participated in the Battle of Midway, proving himself truly courageous in the pitched fight.

During the battle, Mr. Ahson rescued four wounded soldiers and removed the body of a gunner from fire, placing himself at great personal risk. After removing the gunner's body, he took over the abandoned gun and shot down three enemy planes. For his heroic efforts, Mr. Ahson was awarded the Purple Heart, the Navy Cross, and promoted to the rank of ensign. "Ahson was a genuine American hero," said Jeraldine Fyfe, U.S. Navy Lt. Commander, in a statement released by Naval Public Relations. 

Jeffrey R. Ahson was born in 1929 in Chico, Calif. He left the Navy in 1946 and moved to Kalamazoo, Mich., taking a job as a firefighter. Known as a "fire historian," he collected firefighting memorabilia, including an antique fire truck. His collection can be found at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. After leaving that job in 1966, Mr. Ahson became a new car salesman at Don Seely Ford in Kalamazoo, finally retiring in 1985. 

The late Mr. Ahson was highly involved in the Kalamazoo, participating in several organizations throughout his lifetime. He was a member of the American Legion, Post 702; the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 4206; the local Elks Lodge; the National Checkers Association; and Gideon's International. Mr. Ahson also served as an usher for his church, John Calvin Presbyterian. 

Survivors include his wife, Therese Alpert, of Kalamazoo, Mich.; a son, Richard D. Ahson, of Phillipsburg, Kan.; two daughters, Angela Molino, of Omaha, Neb., and Lela Stalling, of Pipe Creek, Texas; five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Other survivors include a brother, Henry Ahson, of San Francisco, and two sisters, Judith Eaker, of Reidsville, N.C., and Shirley Solomon, of Newark, N.J.

A viewing will be held from 4 - 5:30 and 7:30 - 8 p.m. at Littleton Mortuary on Friday. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in the same location, immediately followed by burial at Memorial Park Cemetary. The family requests no flowers. 

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El Salvador Article Analysis

Here's a link to the original article.

This article starts off with a summary lede. "Nearly 20 years after the Salvadoran Army killed six Jesuit priest in one of the most notorious events of El Salvador's civil war, a criminal complaint filed in the Spanish High Court has revived hopes that those behind the massacre could face trial." It details some of the event's history and gives only the who, where, and what. That would seemingly make the lede weak, but since the lede already gives part of the piece's background, this would only serve to make it bulky and awkward. 

The lede is followed by a good deal of elaboration on the subject, giving the reader the when and the how. The second paragraph also provides the nut graf. This is then followed by a killer quote, a compact expression of the piece as a whole, and providing information from a direct source. 

The story goes on to provide the entire history of the event that the article covers. In this, it follows both a background/details structure and also serves as an update piece to something that happened 20 years ago. The piece ends with another source and a quote from her looking ahead to what may happen in El Salvador even if the trial in Spain fails. 

Minibus Article Analysis

Here's a link to the article about to be analyzed. 

The article begins with a summary lede: "A powerful explosion tore into a minibus in Russia's tumultuous Caucasus region on Thursday, killing at least eight people in what investigators said might have been an act of terrorism, possibly by a female suicide bomber." This lede gives the reader the who, what, when, where, and even some of the why. If I were writing this story, I might have changed the order and put the information about the people first, because they are what's truly important in the article. 

The following paragraph provides elaboration on exactly what happened and where, as well as giving the so what - 30 people were wounded in the blast. This is the nut graf. All this and the lede are properly attributed to investigators and officials. Later in the article, the article is given credibility by using a North Ossetia parliament member, a spokeswomen for the area's police, and the U.S. ambassador to Russia.

The piece doesn't have much of a structure. If any, it follows the background structure, and serves merely to provide information on what happened in this event. Information from what's occurred formerly in the region is provided as well. The article ends well, with a killer quote from the U.S. ambassador, John Byerly, which also serves as a look-ahead ending. 

"Project Reckoning" Busts Drug Cartel

By Ellen Jilek

KALAMAZOO, Mich.--A coalition of international, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials, known as "Project Reckoning," arrested 175 individuals on charges related to international drug trafficking September 16 and 17, according to an FBI press release. 

"We successfully completed a hard-hitting, coordinated, and massive assault on the powerful and extremely violent Gulf Cartel," said Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. 

"Project Reckoning" is a multi-agency law enforcement effort led by the DEA that targets the Gulf Cartel, an international Mexican drug trafficking cartel. It is a combination of several multi-district operations, including Operation Dos Equis, Operation Vertigo, Operation Stinger, and Operation The Family. Several international investigative agencies, including investigative agencies from Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Italy, aided U.S. officials. 

The 15-month investigation to date has resulted in the arrest of 507 individuals in the U.S., Mexico, and Italy. Authorities have also seized $60.1 million in U.S. currency, 16,711 kilograms of cocaine, 1,039 pounds of methamphetamine, 19 pounds of heroin, and 51,258 pounds of marijuana. Other items seized include 176 vehicles and 167 weapons.

The Gulf Cartel, one of Mexico's largest drug traffickers, is believed to transport cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana from Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, and Mexico into the United States. The cartel is also thought to be responsible for laundering millions of dollars in criminal proceeds.

"By spreading dangerous drugs and resorting to brutal violence, international drug cartels pose an extraordinary threat both here and abroad," Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said. "Although I am pleased with the efforts so far, we cannot and will not rest on these successes."

In its most recent phase, "Project Reckoning" has also arrested and indicted the three leaders of the Gulf Cartel: Ezequiel Cardenas-Guillen, Heriberto Lazcano-Lazcano, and Jorge Eduardo Costilla-Sanchez. All three have been indicted in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia on charges that they conspired to import drugs into the United States from Mexico. 

Individuals arrested in the operation have been charged with a variety of crimes, among them attempted murder, money laundering,  and drug trafficking charges related to cocaine and marijuana. Cases are being handled in Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, Louisiana, New Mexico, Florida, North Carolina, New York, and in the Criminal Division's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Office of International Affairs.

Though this major operation has thus far been a success, official continue to work to combat drugs. As David E. Nahmias, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said, "Through our sophisticated investigation and prosecutions, we have disrupted these organizations, seized large amounts of their poisons and proceeds, and now will work hard to lock up their members for many years to come."

Tainted Chinese Eggs Article Analysis

Here's a link to this hard news article.

This interesting piece begins with a lengthy summary lede: "Hong Kong food inspectors have found eggs imported from northeast China to be contaminated with high levels of melamine, the toxic industrial additive at the heart of an adulteration scandal in Chinese milk products." It provides the who, what, and where. Oddly, it doesn't provide the when - and this information is not actually presented until the end of the article. Better structure would have helped this lede, as while the food inspectors are important, the real news is that the eggs contain toxic additives, and the lede should reflect this. Thus, the egg-melamine relation should be placed higher than the food inspector information.

The why and elaboration of the story are provided in the next two paragraphs, the first of which contains the article's nut graf. The rest of the article goes on to provide background of how melamine has been involved in Chinese food in the recent past and what China's government has been attempting to do about it. By citing the government, including Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Chinese health officials, and a Chinese newspaper, the piece provides authenticity. However, this could have been aided by a few direct quotes from the sources. Only a partial quote is provided in the article. 

The piece is structured in a background format, providing the backstory for what's been going on with these food scandals. However, the structure could use some help, as the very last paragraph contains information that should have been much higher, perhaps even in the lede. This information includes the when and exactly who discovered the melamine problem in the eggs. To end, the article uses a fizzle-out ending. 

Food Crisis Article Analysis

Yet another article analysis. Here's a properly working link to the story.

The article begins with a typical summary lede, the first sentence. "North Korea is facing its worst food crisis in a decade, with a large shortfall expected this year, according to a new report released by the United Nations on Thursday." This lede provides the who (the implied people of North Korea), what, when, where, and even some of the why. This article is different in that the first paragraph is not merely the lede but also includes a sentence containing more information not as crucial as that in the first sentence.

The second and third paragraphs provide elaboration on the situation in North Korea, and cite the report itself. Vitit Muntarbhorn, the author of the report, is introduced as a source in the fourth paragraph to provide backup for the article's veracity. This paragraph also contains the kicker quote. 

In the fifth paragraph, background on Muntarbhorn is given. The three succeeding paragraphs serve to provide background information on the situation in North Korea as it has been proceeding in years past. 

In the last paragraph, the article concludes with a look ahead to what may happen in the future. The overall structure of the piece is that of a background/history of what has occurred. There is no nut graf: it is replaced by the summary lede.  

Press Release Link

A link to the press release can be found here.

The two people I would like to interview would be Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart, although it would also be a very good thing to interview the leaders of the Gulf Cartel. This could potentially involve interviewing a huge amount of people.

Crime Story Analysis

My analysis of a good crime news story. Here's a link.

This article's headline, "Man gets 35 years for using Facebook to lure teen victims," does a great job of catching a potential reader's attention. A large number of people use Facebook every day, and this article is thus relevant to them. So, the subject matter makes the article an interesting read.

A typical summary lede begins the story, giving the reader the who, what, when, and why. The reader already knows the where is in Chicago, so it is unnecessary to provide this information. However, specificity is also provided in that the man is from Fox Lake. Delayed identification is used in this piece as well, and the reader only finds out the man's name and age in the second sentence. The second sentence also provides elaboration on the details of what happened. 

The piece then goes in to detail, using a chronology structure to tell exactly what happened. In observance of AP style rules, minors' names are not given. The story then backtracks a little and provides more detail on crimes committed previously. Following the court details, the story fizzles out, having no more important information to provide.

This story is mainly a good crime story because of its material. Facebook affects the majority of American families today, and any reader, though they themselves may not have a Facebook, might have a child who does. Thus, it does a good job of drawing readers in and keeping them with a story that could happen to any family. The subject matter itself also provides an interesting, though disturbing, read. This type of subject always appeals to the morbidity in the reader. Structure is used well in the article, as are short, punchy sentences. 

A Call to Action: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

KALAMAZOO, Mich.--Dr. Jeff Halper, anthropologist and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, called for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Israeli policy of Palestinian house demolition during a lecture he gave at WMU on Thursday.

"I want to show you what's happening to the people," Halper said, speaking of the house demolitions. "My basic feeling is that this is not fair."

Entitled, "An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel," the lecture was held as part of the Kalamazoo Peace Center's Peace Week. The Kalamazoo Women in Black and the Western Michigan University Center for the Study of Ethics in Society also sponsored it.

Halper, an Israeli- American who moved to Israel in 1973, and now works there as the coordinating director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, declared that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a "symmetrical conflict." 

Israel is the 4th largest nuclear power, according to Halper, and has the power to end the dispute, but hasn't done so because the Israeli government doesn't want to. He said the basic problem is the Israeli government's viewpoint that "The Land of Israel belongs exclusively to the Jewish people; Arabs reside in 'our country' by sufferance and not by right."

Halper and other members of the ICAHD work to bring Israelis and Palestinians together in opposition to this viewpoint. The group rebuilds homes demolished by Israeli authorities, and members will place themselves in front of houses about to be destroyed by bulldozers in efforts to prevent demolition. Palestinian homes are often destroyed because they are built on land zoned for other uses. 

However, as Halper described, it is nearly impossible for Palestinians to get building permits for homes. Palestinians were granted 18 last year. To humanize the problem, Halper told the story of the Shawamreh family, whose house has been destroyed a total of four times. "Why isn't this international outrage?" he asked the audience. The wall being built to separate Palestinians into their own areas was also a point of discussion in the speech. 

A Q&A followed the lecture. Five or six individuals debated with Halper about whether or not Israel was truly to blame in the issue. Halper and a young Israeli man were nearly in a shouting match at one point, arguing about Israel's guilt in the matter. However, the majority of the audience gave Halper a standing ovation at the conclusion of the Q&A. 

One audience member, Lois Dickason, a member of the Kalamazoo Women in Black, thought he was one of the best speakers she'd heard on the subject. The audience of nearly 140 stayed through the entire speech, almost filling the 180 seats to capacity. Many members also stayed for the books signing and refreshments offered afterward in the Fetzer Center's lobby. 

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Just Your Typical College Student

KALAMAZOO, Mich.--Leeor Schweitzer looks like your average Kalamazoo College student. The sophomore dresses the part, wearing a faded brown Pink Floyd T-shirt, light grey jeans, and even a Kalamazoo College lanyard that holds his Kalamazoo identification card. His reddish-brown beard and hair, fair skin, and clean accent don't mark him as foreign. You'd never suspect that this young man is an immigrant.

But Schweitzer was born in Israel on September 29, 1988. His father is a research biologist who completed his doctorate in Israel but finished his post-doctorate in the U.S. The Schweitzer family, including Leeor and his older brother, Eran, relocated to Portland, Ore., in 1996, have no initial problems with the immigration process. Leeor was eight, and is now totally Americanized.

Schweitzer, 20, seems to be the example of the ideal immigrant. Around Kalamazoo College's campus, he's known as the first-year who overloaded, taking four classes winter quarter - and doing so successfully. He's involved in more student organizations than the average student, including EnvOrg, the Campus Energy Group, and the college's taiko drumming group. Schweitzer is also president of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy group, and was a LandSea leader this fall. However, he and his family have had their own struggles with American immigration standards and policies after the initial process of immigration.

Asked about these standards and policies, he responds, "I think they suck." In his opinion, many immigration policies are superfluous. "The U.S. is really stringent," he says. "The amount of unnecessary paperwork is amazing."

For Schweitzer, some immigration procedures are even insulting. He tells a story about his brother Eran's return from study abroad in Costa Rica. Eran had infected mosquito bites when he returned, and had a doctor's note noting this. But U.S. immigration officers quarantined him at the airport, saying the marks looked like "cigarette burns" and talking about him as if he wasn't in the room.

Schweitzer says that's the worst part, being treated almost subhuman. It's as if being an immigirant implies a lack of understanding. He hadn't been able to obtain work-study until this year because of his immigrant status. Likewise, his mother hadn't been able to work until this year for the same reason. But he and his family are overcoming these obstacles, and look forward to a time when other immigrants will not have to undergo what he's been through.

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Palestinian Shooting Article Analysis

This particular hard news article appeared in the New York Times on October 17, 2008. A link can be found here. 

The first sentence is a summary lede, providing the who, what, when, and where. Respectively, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man in a fight in the West Bank on Thursday the 16th. In continuation of the what and when, the reader also learns that two other men were killed in the same way on previous days. In the very next sentence, the reader learns the reason why - namely, that all the men were holding  firebombs.The lede in this case effectively replaces the nut graf, a commonality in short articles.

The second paragraph elaborates on the situation, discussing what's been occuring in the West Bank to result in these events. The source of an unnamed Israeli Army spokeswoman is used to verify the information. Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian official, is used to provide the other point of view in the situation, partially providing an A-B structure. 

The rest of the article mixes different structures. The fourth paragraph tells the narrative chronology of what happened, while the next three paragraphs provide background on what happened and why to the other two Palestinian men. There is no kicker quote.

Another source, Ehud Barak, is used in the eight paragraph to provide more perspective on the Israeli point of view. The ninth paragraph provides more background. As for the article's ending, it is a combination of the fizzle-out and look-ahead endings. The article seems to abruptly end, but it still provides perspective on what may happen next in the area. 

Police Chief Resignation Article Analysis

This hard news article appeared in the October 3, 2008 issue of the New York Times. Here's a link.

It begins with a summary lede, giving the who, what, where, when, and why: respectively, the police chief of London who resigned in London, England on Thursday, pushed out of office by the mayor.

 

The killer quote appears in the next paragraph, direct from Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair. It gives the reader his reasoning for resigning, and was used because it's important to get quotes and opinions directly from the person whom the article concerns. The second paragraph elaborates on the subject, giving the reader the police commissioner's name and background.

It's difficult to say whether the  third paragraph is the nut graf, as it offers mostly background, instead of answering the "so what?" question. It seems the summary lede has replaced the nut graf in this article, a likely case in this short article.

The next three paragraphs provide more background on the topic. In the seventh paragraph, the reader hears from the other side, in this case the mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Importantly, this source provides the other side's opinion. 

The article has a "look ahead" ending, concerning the search for Sir Ian's replacement. It is structured in a background format, as it provides a great deal of information about what has happened before in the commissioner's career to cause his retirement. The a-b format is also used a little to give a sense of the opposing sides' opinions.  

Vice Presidential Candidates Square Off In Debate

By Ellen Jilek

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- In last night's first and only vice presidential debate, Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin sparred on tough issues including energy, taxes, economic policy, and the need for change.

The debate, held in Washington University in St Louis, Mo., was to focus on issues of domestic and foreign policy, with topics chosen by moderator Gwen Ifill of PBS. It was similar to the presidential debate held last week but followed a more structured format. The participants had 90 seconds to respond to questions, then two minutes to respond to each other. 

Biden began the debate, as determined by a coin toss beforehand. Immediately the candidates launched into the high-speed back-and-forth that is debate. Throughout the entire debate, however, the candidates attacked not each other, but the presidential candidate of the opposing party. The voting records of senators Barack Obama and John McCain were called into play on the issues of taxation, party polarization, alternative energy, and the conflicts abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

"Everybody gets extra credit tonight," quipped Ifill, after both candidates failed to respond to one question she asked about how they would proceed if their respective candidate died in office. The dodging of questions and answering of unasked ones was another theme of the night. Neither candidate answered a question about what the trigger should be if the world was thrown into nuclear war; likewise with a question about whether an unstable Pakistan or Iran with nuclear weapons was more dangerous. Palin in particular left questions unanswered, in one case moving from a question concerning a bankruptcy bill of several years ago to her party's stance on energy. 

In the case of both candidates, nothing out of the ordinary was said or done. Both expressed typical party statements on all of the issues - Repulicans as usual favoring smaller government, and the Democrats vice versa. Both  candidates showed themselves to be their own definition of what a vice president should be - "supportive and cooperative of the president in all cases," as Palin put it. There was no clear winner in the evening's debate, as both participants made strong showings. Palin appealed to the American "Everyman" in using phrases such as "Joe six-pack" and "darn right." Biden showed his experience in formal debates and managed to shore up his arguments with many figures and statistics from different issues. Both agreed that America needs to work together in order to solve its problems, both abroad and at home. As Biden put it, "It's time for America to get up together."

Connecticut State Police Ban Radar Guns

By Ellen Jilek

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Connecticut State Police ordered a ban on hand-held radar guns yesterday amid rising concerns that the guns' radiation may cause cancer. 

"The feeling here is to err on the side of caution until more is known about the issue. The whole situation is under review," said Adam Berluti, a state police spokesman. 

The ban withdraws 70 hand-held radar guns from service and is considered to be the first of its kind adopted by a state police agency. It follows two months after three municipal police officers in Connecticut filed workers' compensation claims, saying they developed cancer from using the devices. 

The ban will remain in place while researchers study the possible links between use of the hand-held guns and cancer. State troopers will continue using radar units mounted on the outside of their cruisers. 

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Moulin Rouge Poster Description

By Ellen Jilek

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- A poster of the Moulin Rouge hangs over my bed. In the poster, figures of women in dresses that graze the top of the women's cleavage ride ponies toward a red windmill. The windmill, though located in the center of the poster, remains part of the background. 

A blonde astride a black pony dominates the foreground of the poster, wearing a dress, shoes, and hat that match her hair. Her dress is accented with flowers, as is her hair, and she holds a branch of these flowers. She holds the reins of her pony's bridle but her eyes do not follow her mount's path. Looking down her nose, she directs her gaze and smile toward a point to the right of the poster. Four women, also astride ponies, but without the color and detail of the blonde, precede the blonde and ride into the background. A woman unlike the rest is located in the background of the blonde. She touches her hat and winks at a point to the right of the poster.

 

The French words "Bal au Moulin Rouge," with the subheading "Place Blanche" dominate the top of the poster. My bed's pillows obscure the words at the bottom. 

Presidential Debate Lede

by Ellen Jilek

KALAMAZOO, Mich.-- In today's global culture, foreign policy has become one of the most important parts of a candidate's platform.