Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
more BP story analysis
Here's more coverage of the oil spill, a where-are-we-now in the process of the disaster.
Chicago Tribune, title- As plugging attempt nears, BP now says role of expensive relief wells unclear
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-us-gulf-oil-spill,0,1622568.story
The NY Times,title: BP Readies Plan to Pump Mud Into Runaway Well:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/us/03spill.html?hp
Both articles mention an amount of oil leaked so far, but number of gallons differ vastly.
Here's the NY Times version:
The tests come 18 days after BP placed a tight-fitting cap on the well that put a temporary end to months of leaking that had released as much as five million barrels of oil into the waters of the gulf. The well had been gushing out of control since the explosion that crippled the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20, killing 11 workers.
Here's the Tribune/AP version:
Engineers hoped to complete a final test by Monday evening to determine whether to proceed with the static kill. If the test is successful, Wells said, engineers would spend most of Tuesday and likely part of Wednesday slowly pumping the heavy mud down the well, which has spewed as much as 184 million gallons.
The NY Times mentions it in the 3rd paragraph.
The Tribune/AP mentions it second to last/last paragraph.
Both mention Hurricane Bonnie.
The Tribune/AP article quotes a Louisiana State University professor of environmental sciences saying that he's hoping that the process works.
The Times quotes a program director of the Petroleum Extension Service at the University of Texas, Austin, stating that the process is not complete and a leak could still occur.
Chicago Tribune, title- As plugging attempt nears, BP now says role of expensive relief wells unclear
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-us-gulf-oil-spill,0,1622568.story
The NY Times,title: BP Readies Plan to Pump Mud Into Runaway Well:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/us/03spill.html?hp
Both articles mention an amount of oil leaked so far, but number of gallons differ vastly.
Here's the NY Times version:
The tests come 18 days after BP placed a tight-fitting cap on the well that put a temporary end to months of leaking that had released as much as five million barrels of oil into the waters of the gulf. The well had been gushing out of control since the explosion that crippled the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20, killing 11 workers.
Here's the Tribune/AP version:
Engineers hoped to complete a final test by Monday evening to determine whether to proceed with the static kill. If the test is successful, Wells said, engineers would spend most of Tuesday and likely part of Wednesday slowly pumping the heavy mud down the well, which has spewed as much as 184 million gallons.
The NY Times mentions it in the 3rd paragraph.
The Tribune/AP mentions it second to last/last paragraph.
Both mention Hurricane Bonnie.
The Tribune/AP article quotes a Louisiana State University professor of environmental sciences saying that he's hoping that the process works.
The Times quotes a program director of the Petroleum Extension Service at the University of Texas, Austin, stating that the process is not complete and a leak could still occur.
Dance reviews and vivid images
Our conversation with Chris Vognar last week got me thinking about a type of criticism that seems to be discussed far less than that of film and theater.
I am drawn to dance reviews because of my own personal and professional relationship with dance. But from a journalistic perspective, dance reviews fascinate me for the unique issues they present: a dance reviewer needs not only to depict rich images for the reader (much as a film critic might do), but needs also to write in such a way as to make dance -- something far less popular than film or theater, for example -- something more accessible. To make something familiar that was first foreign and seemingly unapproachable is something I think a good journalist should be able to do with his or her writing.
One way that it seems some dance reviewers accomplish this is by use of vivid imagery. Dance is not just about movement, but about music and even atmosphere, and a reviewer who can capture these things in a review is more likely to captivate the reader. For example, I love the lead in this review of Boston Ballet's "Ultimate Balanchine" program:
"Done right, George Balanchine’s choreography etches itself in your mind like acid on metal. Thursday night, the Boston Ballet, in its presentation of three Balanchine works, left just such a lasting impression — if not with every line, spiral, and pattern, then with many of them."
That image, even to someone unfamiliar with Balanchine or even with ballet, makes an impression. The idea of lines being etched into our minds by movement is an intriguing one. Moreover, the very physical, very visual (with even a hint of violence) image of acid on metal is so vivid and almost tangible that with the very opening line of the review, reviewer Thea Singer has managed to bring the reader into the world of the physical...which is exactly where the reader needs to be to be fully immersed in the dance being described.
Ultimately, then, there may be a strong connection between painting very vivid images for the reader and making the content of the article feel more accessible to the reader. After all, a reader is less likely to grab onto a vague description of pirouettes and grand battements than they are to get reeled in by the image of acid burning metal (which is also intriguing because of how "un-balletic" the image would seem to most people, further increasing the articles approachability).
The full review is here: http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2010/05/08/boston_ballet_hits_four_temperaments/
I am drawn to dance reviews because of my own personal and professional relationship with dance. But from a journalistic perspective, dance reviews fascinate me for the unique issues they present: a dance reviewer needs not only to depict rich images for the reader (much as a film critic might do), but needs also to write in such a way as to make dance -- something far less popular than film or theater, for example -- something more accessible. To make something familiar that was first foreign and seemingly unapproachable is something I think a good journalist should be able to do with his or her writing.
One way that it seems some dance reviewers accomplish this is by use of vivid imagery. Dance is not just about movement, but about music and even atmosphere, and a reviewer who can capture these things in a review is more likely to captivate the reader. For example, I love the lead in this review of Boston Ballet's "Ultimate Balanchine" program:
"Done right, George Balanchine’s choreography etches itself in your mind like acid on metal. Thursday night, the Boston Ballet, in its presentation of three Balanchine works, left just such a lasting impression — if not with every line, spiral, and pattern, then with many of them."
That image, even to someone unfamiliar with Balanchine or even with ballet, makes an impression. The idea of lines being etched into our minds by movement is an intriguing one. Moreover, the very physical, very visual (with even a hint of violence) image of acid on metal is so vivid and almost tangible that with the very opening line of the review, reviewer Thea Singer has managed to bring the reader into the world of the physical...which is exactly where the reader needs to be to be fully immersed in the dance being described.
Ultimately, then, there may be a strong connection between painting very vivid images for the reader and making the content of the article feel more accessible to the reader. After all, a reader is less likely to grab onto a vague description of pirouettes and grand battements than they are to get reeled in by the image of acid burning metal (which is also intriguing because of how "un-balletic" the image would seem to most people, further increasing the articles approachability).
The full review is here: http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2010/05/08/boston_ballet_hits_four_temperaments/
Brief reflections on the small-town paper
For most of the residents of Homer, Alaska, the Homer News is the primary source of both local and international news. The town has only between 4,000 and 5,000 residents -- and while the small newspaper does include several international pages, they are flat -- ripped straight from the AP and without the intricate details and surprisingly sharp writing you find in the descriptions of the every-day man of Homer. But I have to wonder how much of of this is the result of the economy -- fewer reporting jobs in places like tiny Homer have, as we've discussed, forced many newsrooms to run more syndicated content from newswires to fill their pages. But, taking Homer as one example, this is a monumental loss because of the loss of the individual voice of the paper that goes with it. Comparing an edition of the Homer News from 5 years ago to one from today, the local content is less varied, fewer bylines can be found, and the international stories are rarely written from a local point of view. The latter is tragic if we consider one definition of the journalist that we have discussed in class: he/she who creates a lens on an issue, magnifies it, and makes it relevant by drawing connections for the reader.
With the loss of staff and the smaller budgets (in EVERY town, not just in Homer), comes a loss in the creation of that lens. A general AP story about the BP oil spill will not have the same resonance as one that carefully draws parallels between the current situation and oil spills in the past that have so deeply affected small fishing communities in Alaska and elsewhere. Ultimately, my fear is that while everyone is worried about the loss of the credible newspaper in the age of the everyman blog, I am worried too about the loss the intelligent local voice that knows how to make an enormous, impersonal issue smaller -- just enough to resonate with residents of places like Homer, AK.
With the loss of staff and the smaller budgets (in EVERY town, not just in Homer), comes a loss in the creation of that lens. A general AP story about the BP oil spill will not have the same resonance as one that carefully draws parallels between the current situation and oil spills in the past that have so deeply affected small fishing communities in Alaska and elsewhere. Ultimately, my fear is that while everyone is worried about the loss of the credible newspaper in the age of the everyman blog, I am worried too about the loss the intelligent local voice that knows how to make an enormous, impersonal issue smaller -- just enough to resonate with residents of places like Homer, AK.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Zedonk
As an animal lover I find that the Globe and the NYTimes are running more and more animal stories. The Times in particular has run a large number of topical animal features in the Sunday Magazine. After June spoke about computer assisted journalism last night I got to thinking that a fun article would be to look at the growth in news about animals.
This is one such article, a story about a zebra/donkey hybrid. http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2010/07/29/rare_mix_of_donkey_zebra_born_in_ga_park/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed7_HP The photo is from the article appearing July 29th, 2010, on the Boston Globe's online version.
Journalists, Provocateurs, Maybe Both
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/business/media/26carr.html?_r=1&ref=media
This article is about the activist/journalist/hybrid that exists on the internet. Like them or not, I fully believe that this is a trend that will continue and as a journalist one must learn how to anticipate it and work within or around it. In fact, it probably creates more opportunities for journalists.
This article is about the activist/journalist/hybrid that exists on the internet. Like them or not, I fully believe that this is a trend that will continue and as a journalist one must learn how to anticipate it and work within or around it. In fact, it probably creates more opportunities for journalists.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)