The article I read for this week was from the Daily Telegraph. The version I read was reprinted in the Vancouver Sun.
This article is about the memoirs of the last SS adjutant to Adolf Hitler. Historians believe that publishing the memoirs of Fritz Darges will remove any doubt over Hitler's personal involvement in the Holocaust. The rest of the article recounts Darges' life and how he became the adjutant of Hitler.
The first thing I learned from this article was the meaning of the word adjutant.
This story showed me how to write a story with a controversial topic and keep it balanced. Furthermore, this article is objective. With a controversial topic such as the Holocaust, the writer might intentionally or unintentionally decide to editorialize in the article. Instead, the writer maintains objectivity throughout the article only reporting the facts.
Also, following our discussion from the last class where we discussed proper use of quotes, I think this article is a good example of how to effectively use quotes in a story. The quotes used by the writer help to further the story without needlessly repeating elements previously written in the story. The quotes also help to provide context for the story from a different point of view than most people might be familiar with.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Blog Post #3 - The Vancouver Sun
This week's article is from the Vancouver Sun. I found this article while researching a news story for another class.
The article is about the continuing paramedics strike and what affect the strike will have on the 2010 Winter Olympics. The union's position is that the government has yet to provide an emergency services plan for the Olympics. The B.C. Ambulance Service claims there is a plan in place and the reason the union has not been involved in forming the plan is because of the strike.
Also, the BCAS claims that Olympic test events are a part of the essential service order established by the Labour Relations Board when the strike first started in April. The union disputes the claim, stating that the Olympics were never part of the essential service order. Also, the union is upset because of the BCAS' tactic to, instead of consulting with the union, go directly to the LRB and get them to force the paramedics to work outside of their contract.
What I like about this article is the simplicity of the language the writer uses. The story has good tone and good pace. Also, the article is balanced and interesting. What I hope to take away from this article is the skill the writer uses to take a complex issue and present it so that it is easy follow.
The article is about the continuing paramedics strike and what affect the strike will have on the 2010 Winter Olympics. The union's position is that the government has yet to provide an emergency services plan for the Olympics. The B.C. Ambulance Service claims there is a plan in place and the reason the union has not been involved in forming the plan is because of the strike.
Also, the BCAS claims that Olympic test events are a part of the essential service order established by the Labour Relations Board when the strike first started in April. The union disputes the claim, stating that the Olympics were never part of the essential service order. Also, the union is upset because of the BCAS' tactic to, instead of consulting with the union, go directly to the LRB and get them to force the paramedics to work outside of their contract.
What I like about this article is the simplicity of the language the writer uses. The story has good tone and good pace. Also, the article is balanced and interesting. What I hope to take away from this article is the skill the writer uses to take a complex issue and present it so that it is easy follow.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Blog Post #2 - The Globe and Mail
The article I read this week was from the Globe and Mail.
The article is about the recent August election in Afghanistan and the possibility of a new election due to election fraud in the first. President Hamid Karzai and his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, are not happy about the prospect of another election. There is talk the two men might form a coalition to avoid a second election, but neither side will confirm whether that would happen. The Election Complaint Commission has confirmed voter fraud and vote rigging. The fear is now that Karzai will not accept the results of the commission's findings.
Another problem is the logistical nightmare of setting up another election. Adding to the problem is the fear that voters who came out in the first election will stay away from the second election, as the Taliban had warned people not to vote and dealt violently with those who did.
The Globe and Mail, interviewed a lot of Afghans who, despite the threats of the Taliban, were keen to have another election if fraud was committed. Many said that security for voters was a big concern and that more international observers were needed to monitor the election. The article concludes that all presidential candidate were engaged in voter fraud and vote rigging to some extent and that Karzai is not personally responsible for rigging the election.
In the opening paragraph the reporter uses a dash. In my own writing, I don't know that I have ever used a dash, so I was not familiar with its use. I looked it up in The Canadian Press Stylebook to find out how to use it.
I noticed throughout the article that when making second references to people, the reporter used the title Mr. followed by the person's last name. I was taught when referring to a person a second time to refer to them by last name only. Also, the addition of the title was not used consistently through the article. I'm not sure why the title was being used and I could not find an explanation in The Canadian Press Stylebook.
The article is about the recent August election in Afghanistan and the possibility of a new election due to election fraud in the first. President Hamid Karzai and his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, are not happy about the prospect of another election. There is talk the two men might form a coalition to avoid a second election, but neither side will confirm whether that would happen. The Election Complaint Commission has confirmed voter fraud and vote rigging. The fear is now that Karzai will not accept the results of the commission's findings.
Another problem is the logistical nightmare of setting up another election. Adding to the problem is the fear that voters who came out in the first election will stay away from the second election, as the Taliban had warned people not to vote and dealt violently with those who did.
The Globe and Mail, interviewed a lot of Afghans who, despite the threats of the Taliban, were keen to have another election if fraud was committed. Many said that security for voters was a big concern and that more international observers were needed to monitor the election. The article concludes that all presidential candidate were engaged in voter fraud and vote rigging to some extent and that Karzai is not personally responsible for rigging the election.
In the opening paragraph the reporter uses a dash. In my own writing, I don't know that I have ever used a dash, so I was not familiar with its use. I looked it up in The Canadian Press Stylebook to find out how to use it.
I noticed throughout the article that when making second references to people, the reporter used the title Mr. followed by the person's last name. I was taught when referring to a person a second time to refer to them by last name only. Also, the addition of the title was not used consistently through the article. I'm not sure why the title was being used and I could not find an explanation in The Canadian Press Stylebook.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Blog Post #1 - The Economist
The article I read for this week is an opinion piece from The Economist. The title of the article is: The People's Republic at 60: China's place in the world.
The author begins by commenting on the military parade at the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China juxtaposed against the "peaceful rise" to power that the Chinese government claims.
The article continues, explaining that China's position on the world stage has never been greater. However, Chinese officials "habitually complain that the world has not accepted China's emergence," and that Americans and others are trapped in a "cold-war mentality".
Following this, the author writes about China's foreign policy and how it acts on the world stage. The author gives examples of both positive and negative actions China takes in its foreign policy.
The author concludes that China's show of force during the anniversary parade was not for the world, but for it's own people. "With no popular mandate, the government's legitimacy relies on its record in making China richer and stronger."
While this article is an opinion piece, I felt that it had several problems that made, what I thought would be a solid piece of journalism, a mediocre one.
The first thing that struck me is how the author switches the tone throughout the article. The author starts out with a confrontational tone, "For a country that pride's itself on its 'peaceful rise', it was an odd way to celebrate a birthday...What message was it meant to convey to an awestruck world?" A few paragraphs later, the author writes "None of this is to deny that China is playing a constructive-and vital-role on a number of international fronts," changing the tone. Finally, the article ends with another tone, "For those worried about where China's rise might lead, that the government is so insecure is not a comforting thought." The article starts by condemning the Chinese government, switches to praising it and then finally ends by pitying it. I find the changes in tone makes the article hard to follow.
Another issue in the article is language use. While, I know it is an opinion piece, the word usage of the author seems pretentious in places. For example, "lament these ascendant peaceniks" or "And those prey to it will have been reassured". In another paragraph, the author writes "aimed at getting it to ditch its nukes". Again, this is an opinion piece, however, the language the author uses here seems too informal.
One more issue I have with this article is this sentence: "One is the knee-jerk resort to hysterical propaganda and reprisals when a foreign country displeases it by critising its appalling treatment of political dissidents, or accepts a visit from the Dalai Lama or other objects of the Communist Party's venom." I believe the issue in this sentence is that the series presented is not in a parallel grammatical form, making it hard to read. This sentence typifies the problems of the article and makes it a less than effective piece of journalism.
The author begins by commenting on the military parade at the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China juxtaposed against the "peaceful rise" to power that the Chinese government claims.
The article continues, explaining that China's position on the world stage has never been greater. However, Chinese officials "habitually complain that the world has not accepted China's emergence," and that Americans and others are trapped in a "cold-war mentality".
Following this, the author writes about China's foreign policy and how it acts on the world stage. The author gives examples of both positive and negative actions China takes in its foreign policy.
The author concludes that China's show of force during the anniversary parade was not for the world, but for it's own people. "With no popular mandate, the government's legitimacy relies on its record in making China richer and stronger."
While this article is an opinion piece, I felt that it had several problems that made, what I thought would be a solid piece of journalism, a mediocre one.
The first thing that struck me is how the author switches the tone throughout the article. The author starts out with a confrontational tone, "For a country that pride's itself on its 'peaceful rise', it was an odd way to celebrate a birthday...What message was it meant to convey to an awestruck world?" A few paragraphs later, the author writes "None of this is to deny that China is playing a constructive-and vital-role on a number of international fronts," changing the tone. Finally, the article ends with another tone, "For those worried about where China's rise might lead, that the government is so insecure is not a comforting thought." The article starts by condemning the Chinese government, switches to praising it and then finally ends by pitying it. I find the changes in tone makes the article hard to follow.
Another issue in the article is language use. While, I know it is an opinion piece, the word usage of the author seems pretentious in places. For example, "lament these ascendant peaceniks" or "And those prey to it will have been reassured". In another paragraph, the author writes "aimed at getting it to ditch its nukes". Again, this is an opinion piece, however, the language the author uses here seems too informal.
One more issue I have with this article is this sentence: "One is the knee-jerk resort to hysterical propaganda and reprisals when a foreign country displeases it by critising its appalling treatment of political dissidents, or accepts a visit from the Dalai Lama or other objects of the Communist Party's venom." I believe the issue in this sentence is that the series presented is not in a parallel grammatical form, making it hard to read. This sentence typifies the problems of the article and makes it a less than effective piece of journalism.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
