Student Zone

News Media Journal 2

I watched channel 12 news on may 16th, 2005. The leading story was about a 14 year old that was speeding on the south side of Chicago, that lead to a horrible pile-up, that sent himself and five others to local hospitals. The boy, whose name wasn’t released has had prior run-ins with the law. He already had a police record. The anchor that told this particular news story was Mark Suppelsa. He told the story in a very professional manner. The only facts that he did not include were the victims names, and the suspects name. All he kept saying was a fourteen year old suspect. He did not to me follow the pyramid style of reporting very well.

On May 17th, 2005 I read about the same story with the fourteen year old suspect in the Chicago Sun Times. The suspects name was also not mentioned. Maybe they don’t include his name to protect him, because he is so young. There was more detail than the news broadcast though. The exact street on the South Side where the accident was , was named in the story. The victims names were still withheld, but their ages were stated. It was also stated that the fourteen year old had previous charges against him for auto theft, battery, and armed robbery. On Fox news they made the suspect appear to be the victim, but in the Chicago Tribune he received no mercy.

On May 17th I read a story on yahoo.com/news that a Ross Hopkins, a 41 year old man was fired from his job at Budweiser because he was spotted drinking a Coors Light beer. The son-in-law of the fired mans boss spotted the 21 year employee of drinking the wrong beer at a local bar, a lawsuit was filed by the man who was fired. This story right away gave the who, what where, and so what of the story. It was very informative. The columnist did a good job of reporting the facts.

By:Suquon Samuels-Akanmu

Kellen Winslow Sparks Players' Concern
By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer
Media journal #2

The story is about Kellen Winslow Jr. Cleveland Browns Tight End, who recently was in motorcycle accident, riding a motorcycle is against the NFL standard contract. The article has opinons from other NFL stars.

The writing is pretty basic, it compared two different players with different contracts it explained what most players have installed automaticaly in their contracts. Kellen Winslow is a cocky, tough talking, tight end who the world has been watching because his father an NFL great, last season he got his leg broke. He knew should be riding that bike, he may have to pay back his 5 million dollar bonus he recieved.

Club still mum on Winslow's injuries
Associated Press

The piece is about Kellen Winslow leaving the hospital after his May 1 motorcycle accident at 35 mph, Winslow hit a curb. The writer goes in detail about Winslow's current contract. Despite the fact that Winslow was told to get motorcycle lessons. The Cleveland Browns aren't going into details about what their going to do about Winslow.

The article follows the invert pyramid give important details first about his injury and his family thoughts. Breaking down his contract of 40 million for six years, after the whole Jay Williams thing in Chicago you would think these young player wouldn't ruin their careers for cheaps thrills. What ever happen to get a bunch half naked woman following you around??

Media Journal #2: Reporter Lolly Bowean
By Kari McLean

On www.nola.com/hurricane, The Cane Mutiny: What recently looked like a good year for sugar cane now looks like disaster in the wake of Isidore and Lili was published on October 7, 2002. The 16 paragraphs in the story run mostly from three to five lines long. Lolly Bowean, Times-Picayune River Parishes bureau reporter, writes on the impact that the Isidore, a tropical storm, and Lili, a hurricane, had on acres of sugar cane in one week. She quotes two sugar cane farmers and a spokesperson for the American Sugar Cane League. The farmers discuss in detail the percentage of sugar cane lost, the stages of damage, why exactly the cane can’t be rescued, and the damage that occurred at the sugar-processing mills. The piece also furnished enough basics of sugar farming along the way so that it was understandable to a person who knew nothing about the topic.

Bowean gives a clear, vivid accounting of the damage done to the sugar crop. Her sentences are somewhat longer than I might expect, but they are quite readable. She uses some not run-of-the-mill words like “swooped” when referring to Hurricane Lili. She uses percentages when discussing loss, and mentions 4,500 acres, but does not give a clear picture of what that means. I would have liked her to compare 4,500 acres to something else. She does quote one farmer as saying he’d lose $150 to $200 per acre. She humanizes the farmer’s plight with well-chosen quotes, but does not go into detail about how long each of the farmers had been farming. I don’t get a picture in my head of the farmers the way I do the sugar cane. I guess the main character in her story is the sugar cane, but I am left wondering about the farmers. She does not reveal if theirs was a family or factory farm, how many acres each had, or how many farm workers they had or the impact the storm would have on those individuals or those that would not now be able to work to harvest the crop. She did not quote any industry expert on any expected what might happen to the price of sugar. She mentioned that the storms had delayed the harvest by about two weeks so that frost was a further risk. She did not quote a weather expert on the possibility of further storms or the impact that these storms might have had on future weather. I am sure hurricane season brought many, many stories of loss, so perhaps there was not enough time or room for these angles. I think it was a competent story because it gave me a good picture of the damage to the sugar crop.

On April 27, 2005, the Chicago Tribune published “Evanston begs to differ on panhandling: City hands out fliers asking people to ignore beggars, donate to service agencies instead” by staff reporter, Lolly Bowean. The 21-paragraph story discusses a change in Evanston’s panhandling policy. Bowean interviews 2 panhandlers, a former panhandler, police Sgt. Robert Mayer, and man named Alfred Holland. The story sets up a conflict between city officials who suggest people donate time and money to social service agencies who help the needy instead of giving to panhandlers, and panhandlers who don’t seem to think that the social service agencies help much. One of the panhandlers suggests that racism plays a part in the treatment of panhandlers, stating that the former panhandler being held up, as a model by city official is white.

The paragraphs are short and simple. The entire piece was extremely easy to follow. Bowean did not interview many random passers-by. She did include a quote from an Alfred Holland, but did not identify him in anyway other than “has known Jones for two years from encounters on the street.” There were no figures from the city included in this story, such as estimated number of panhandlers. In the story, Pearlman, the former panhandler, charges that 95% of the people are panhandling for an addiction. Bowean did not include the panhandler’s answers to hard questions about the charges that they use their money for drugs and alcohol, nor did she discuss the fact that some people, when becoming homeless, then turn to drugs and alcohol to self-medicate. She did not ask the current panhandlers or Pearlman, how much money they make daily and how they spend it. Bowean did not interview anyone from a social service agency listed on the fliers and posters about the flier campaign and panhandling crackdown nor about the panhandler’s presumed addictions. Bowean also did not list the social service agencies included on the fliers. I think this story was somewhat incomplete, although somewhat sympathetic to the panhandlers. I think, in many ways, this is a typical story put out by the mass media. It does nothing to illuminate why these people are on the streets to begin with nor about what needs to be done to help them find their way off the streets. I did appreciate the sensitivity with which she approached the panhandlers, and I appreciated the inclusion of one panhandler’s call for steady jobs. Bowean did not appear to ask city officials for a reply to that one.

On May 7, Lolly Bowean was the by-line on a Chicago Tribune on-line story, “Man killed in I-57 accident.” The piece is fairly short – 8 brief paragraphs – with some paragraphs only a sentence. She very clearly describes the accident with all the pertinent information – who, what, where, when, and how. State police stated a speculation of the “why.” Bowean quoted only Master Sgt. Terry Morrison, Illinois State Police spokesperson in this story. I believe this is appropriate since the information about the driver struck in the accident had not been released. The driver, who ran over Gavcus, the driver who had the accident and was consequently ejected from the vehicle, was not named. I believe, because, he did not have time to stop his car when Gavcus was ejected. There is not any emotion to this story, but this, too, seems appropriate. Overall, I think it was informative about the accident.

After reading the “Man killed in I-57 accident” story, I googled Lolly Bowean to see what else she had written. There were about 459 results. At random, I chose one. In a Community Relations article on The Washington Post website I learned that Lolly Bowean was one of five recipients of the Howard Simons Graduate Fellowship to receive her master’s degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. My understanding is that the Howard Simons Graduate Fellowship is part of the Post’s Young Journalists Development Program. Bowean received the first fellowship in 1999. She became a reporter with the New Orleans Times-Picayune. She is currently a reporter on staff at the Chicago Tribune.

She seems to be good at clarifying the timeline of events, at getting people to talk with her, and creating interesting characters. She really seems to have a way of bringing people to life with very few details. I feel like she needs to interview more types of sources, but then, I have no idea what her deadlines and assignments are. From some of her other pieces, she seems to have an upbeat, friendly tone. She appears to be a competent reporter.

MEDIA JOURNAL PART 2

-Tuesday April 12th, 2005: Chicago Tribune.
Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee challenged the Presidents nomination of John Bolton as the American ambassador to the UN. Bolton’s quick temper and questionable decisions are cause for concern according to the Chicago Tribune.
There is concern regarding his nomination as he has become, apparently, enraged by limitations placed on what he could include in official statements and some officials feel that he doesn’t have the tact to adequately fill the role. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is reported as saying that “…the personal credibility of the UN ambassador would be crucial in the coming years.”

This piece began in the bottom right hand corner of the front page and continued on page three. It was a factual account including background on why Bolton’s nomination could be seen to be controversial. The ‘so what’ was not clear. After careful reading I saw that Bolton’s appointment could be a risk as, some feel, his behaviour, should his nomination be confirmed, may not reflect well on the U.S.

-Tuesday April 12th, 2005; ABC News, Channel 7; 5.30pm
John Bolton’s nomination and the argument surrounding it was reported in the latter half of the news. He was reported as having abused analysts who disagreed with him over whether or not Cuba was engaging in germ warfare. Bolton was further reported as having said that he never fired anyone for not agreeing with him.
Carl Ford, a member of the hearing committee and former chief of the State Departments Bureau of Intelligence, said to keep him away from the little people, “he’ll kill ‘em.”

The latter half of the news is usually when the less important items are delivered and this fits with the Tribune’s positioning in their publication. The controversy is of moderate news value, it seems.

-Tuesday April 12th, 2005; Channel 20 WYCC, European Journal, 6pm.
Bolton is reported as a man with anger management problems causing controversy over his nomination as ambassador to the UN.
Carl Ford is heard and seen to say that Bolton is the kind of man who will “kiss up and kick down.”

The presentation here was at the tail end of the program when ‘magazine’ type items are discussed. The report was very tongue in cheek. The attitude one of ‘see what the Americans are up to now.’

Observations
I deliberately included a different countries’ perspective this time as it is often informative to see how we are seen. As I am from Europe I am used to the way America is reported on there. I was, nevertheless, surprised by the amused tone used in reporting this issue. In part of the report it was suggested that anger management classes might be appropriate. This is a reflection of Europe’s idea that America has a ‘psychiatric’ answer for everything.
I was more surprised at the low key treatment the story received from the Tribune and ABC Channel 7. Bolton is clearly seen as volatile man who may turn out to be more of a liability than an asset. Reports today indicate that his confirmation is imminent. This makes no sense.
Is it that the man would be the least troublesome in this post? Is it that the United Nations is considered unimportant, or is it that Bolton is not as black as he is painted? I don’t know the answers but I do think that the entire issue deserves more in depth reporting.

--Deirdre Merriman