http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-black-aidsapr13,0,2563107.story
-Dahleen Glanton
This article begins with a feature lead about a woman with HIV. It is interesting that they state her name in the first sentence. She is not someone who is well known, but maybe this is done to really personalize the story and piece as a whole. The second paragraph introduces the problem that Holt, introduced in the lead, is face with. Since moving from the North to the South, she realized the services available to her as an HIV patient were lacking. This brings in the cultural differences of the acceptance of HIV.
The second paragraph brings in another aspect of Holt's life: poverty. It talks of her trouble with living conditions and jobs. This paragraph goes into detail about her living arrangements, Medicaid, and disability check. These details really bring the reader into Holt's daily life.
The next paragraph, a short sentence, brings to light the cultural differences between the North and the South. The writer recognizes that many in Holt's new ommunity see HIV and AIDS as a sin. Holt is then quoted for the first time speaking out about this regional difference.
The next paragraph broadens this problem stating that health care professionals have dealt with this problem for almost a decade. The first statistic is stated: 1.1 million people live in the South with HIV/AIDS.
At this point the writer answers a question that I know I was asking at this point: So what are we going to do about it? The Obama administration is commited to spending millions on education and prevention. I think this is a good location in the story to place this answer. At this point I do not view this statement as yet another government program taking tax- payers money. Instead, I have been pulled into the life of Sheila Holt and find myself fully supporting a 45 million dollar program.
A possible explanation for the lack of HIV/AIDS services in the South is presented in the next paragraph. A study by the Trust for America's Health is used to display that during the economic downturn, Midwestern and Southern States are receiving the least federal fudning to spend on public health. This paragraph brings in the hot topic: the economy. Blame it on the economy. Health professionals fear a hard hit due to budget shortfalls. This subject is supported by the second source quoted in this piece, Jeff Levi executive director for the trust.
The next paragraph gives some history about this problem. In 2006 the government increased allocation of HIV/AIDS money to the South, but it just couldn't make up for all the years of underfunding. The conclusion? Many patients in the South lack adequate housing, transportation and access to medication. This conclusion makes the reader immediately think of Holt. Another source is introduced to support this paragraph. Kathie Hiers, former co- chair of the Southern AIDS Coalition points out that ther are bigger problems, and there needs to be a better level of parity between the states.
The next paragraph provides a little bit of an explanation for why the South has so many less resources than the North. Simply put, the Northeast experiences the greatest impact from AIDS. Yet, the South has the greatest number of people living with AIDS. Dr. Richard Wolitski, director of the CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS prevention supports this paragraph by stating that the bulk of available data does not suggest that the epidemic in the South is getting worse.
The next few paragraphs introduce Dr. Michelle Ogle who talks of her struggle to serve patients with limited resources. I thought this was a very good touch. First, the reader got in touch with a struggling patient, and now the reader has the insight of an individual on the other side of things. Ogle talks of how they are not just fighting HIV, but rather a culture. This ties back to what Holt described in the beginning.
The story finishes by introducing one more individual suffering from HIV, Jo Lee Cooper. This source not only connects back to Holt who was in the feature lead, but she is also one of Dr. Ogle's patients.
I thought this story was very thorough with a great variety of sources. It encompassed a lot of different things which kind of had things jump around. From the economy, regional differences, HIV/AIDS statistics, to personal accounts and government intervention.... Overall, this piece grabbed my attention with an emotional connection and held it through to the end. I feel more informed and have even developed concern for this issue.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The micro-car: Tata Nano could change how the masses get around
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-perspec0405nanoapr05,0,986838.story
- GAL LUFT
This article outlines the release of a new product aimed at helping the middle class in impoverished countries gain affordable transportation.
The lead is informative describing the appearance of the new car. It also describes the excitement of the 350 million plus individuals in India who will benefit.
The second paragraph compares this new innovation to Henry Ford's invention of the Model T. This new car called "Tata Nano" is the world's cheapest car revolutionizing the less privileged of the world. This second paragraph provides some colorful language characterizing the new car as "the mouse that roared".
The next pargraph provides some background of the impoverished country of India which this new car will ultimately affect. It outlines the danger of Indian roads causing 100,000 deaths each year. This paragraph holds some valuable statistice for the story including that the Tata Nano will cause a 65 percent increase in the number of Indian families who can afford a car.
The next paragraph opens this story to more of a global context. The writer states that India is not the only hub of poverty and this new car coujld eventually spply to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Congo, and many other countries. This is a very important part of the article in which the reader realizes the impact this could have for safety and advancement of a decent chunk of the impoverished world.
Up to this point in the article, the introduction of this new car seems to prodice nothing but positive effects. In the fifth paragraph the other side of the story is presentes, creating a more thorough story. It states that because of the huge potential market of the Nano, environmentalists are "terrified". The first source is also introduced here. Nobel Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change comments that he is "having nightmares" about the Nano an its potential pollution.
In the next paragraph, the writer provides the possible solution to this concern of the environmentalists. He says this concern would be alleviated should these new mocro cars be able to run on something other than gasoline. This point seems rather obvious. He provides a couple examples of accomplishing this, all which seem unlikely.
The article is ended with a throught proking statement which is a little cliche. Overall, the article is pretty thorough though. It may have been nice to have some more sources. I felt some of the information, such as the solutions presented for gasoline alternatives, could have been attributed. Also, it would have been interesting to get a quote from the Nano company themselves.
- GAL LUFT
This article outlines the release of a new product aimed at helping the middle class in impoverished countries gain affordable transportation.
The lead is informative describing the appearance of the new car. It also describes the excitement of the 350 million plus individuals in India who will benefit.
The second paragraph compares this new innovation to Henry Ford's invention of the Model T. This new car called "Tata Nano" is the world's cheapest car revolutionizing the less privileged of the world. This second paragraph provides some colorful language characterizing the new car as "the mouse that roared".
The next pargraph provides some background of the impoverished country of India which this new car will ultimately affect. It outlines the danger of Indian roads causing 100,000 deaths each year. This paragraph holds some valuable statistice for the story including that the Tata Nano will cause a 65 percent increase in the number of Indian families who can afford a car.
The next paragraph opens this story to more of a global context. The writer states that India is not the only hub of poverty and this new car coujld eventually spply to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Congo, and many other countries. This is a very important part of the article in which the reader realizes the impact this could have for safety and advancement of a decent chunk of the impoverished world.
Up to this point in the article, the introduction of this new car seems to prodice nothing but positive effects. In the fifth paragraph the other side of the story is presentes, creating a more thorough story. It states that because of the huge potential market of the Nano, environmentalists are "terrified". The first source is also introduced here. Nobel Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change comments that he is "having nightmares" about the Nano an its potential pollution.
In the next paragraph, the writer provides the possible solution to this concern of the environmentalists. He says this concern would be alleviated should these new mocro cars be able to run on something other than gasoline. This point seems rather obvious. He provides a couple examples of accomplishing this, all which seem unlikely.
The article is ended with a throught proking statement which is a little cliche. Overall, the article is pretty thorough though. It may have been nice to have some more sources. I felt some of the information, such as the solutions presented for gasoline alternatives, could have been attributed. Also, it would have been interesting to get a quote from the Nano company themselves.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Text size: increase text sizedecrease text size 'OK, Now what?' After layoff comes a struggle to fill the time void with structure, purpose
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-fea-lifestyles-layoffs-filling-the-time,0,6537860.story
With all the hub about the economy these days and struggling families getting closer and closer to the poverty line with job loss, it was no surprise to find an article like this in the Chicago Tribune. This article took a little different approach to job loss than others I have seen, but many of its components remained typical.
The piece begins with a one sentence, short, feature type lead identifying a recently laid off woman being asked by her husband to handle his dry cleaning. Yet, it does not give the reader much information and delays the main point of this piece. The second paragraph describes how this simple request from her husband after her job loss caused the woman to question, "Oh no, is this what I have become?" From this point I could tell it was not a typical piece on the recession. Instead, this piece is focusing on what individuals do with their time once they are laid off. A legitimate question, but, in my opinion, not a significant concern in comparison to getting the bills paid and the children fed.
The third paragraph acts as the nut graph stating basic information about the recession such as unemployment statistics and record losses. I was relieved with the inclusion of the next paragraph which addresses my earlier critique. The writer recognizes that for most of the unemployed the question is "How will I support myself and my family?", yet she chooses to address the small minority who simply can't figure out how to spend their newly acquired free time.
The first source, other than the Dina Schipper mentioned in the lead, is Nancy Collamer a career counselor. She shares how job loss can be similar to identity theft. After this quotation, the writer jumps into another profile of a recently unemployed individual, Joe Urbanski. This individual is desperately struggling as he looks for a new job and apartment. The next source is Andrew Lisy, a 24 year old who was recentlly laid off from wall street. Unlike, Urbanski, Lisy seems to have enough saved up to survive for awhile on his own.
At this point, the story jumps back to Schipper, the women mentioned in the lead, and talks about how she is spending her free time. Next, unemployed Peter Sterling is introduced whom shares that he found fulfillment in his family. Another source, Eric Shutt, found his shelter in volunteer work after his job loss. The final source used is Lou Kramberg, age 60, who is no longer looking for full time work, but instead donating his time to volunteer efforts.
The variety of sources in the piece was pretty good. The writer incorporated individuals of many ages, classes, economic standing, gender, and occupation. I didn't particularly like how the sources and their stories were pieced together though. It was a little choppy and failed to hold my attention at times. I think a neat feature story could have been made concentrating on one of these individuals, although I know that may not have been an option.
The depth of this coverage wasn't so deep. The small nutgraph told the very basics about the recession which I think was okay. The average American has already heard statistics like these a thousand times anyway. The variety of sources conrtributed to the fairness and accuracy of the story.
Although the story was pretty thorough I still am not a huge fan of the topic. I just can't imagine an individual who is jobless, sitting at home stressing over bills, picking up the newspaper and enjoying reading a story how other unemployed individuals are struggling finding a way to waste their time.
With all the hub about the economy these days and struggling families getting closer and closer to the poverty line with job loss, it was no surprise to find an article like this in the Chicago Tribune. This article took a little different approach to job loss than others I have seen, but many of its components remained typical.
The piece begins with a one sentence, short, feature type lead identifying a recently laid off woman being asked by her husband to handle his dry cleaning. Yet, it does not give the reader much information and delays the main point of this piece. The second paragraph describes how this simple request from her husband after her job loss caused the woman to question, "Oh no, is this what I have become?" From this point I could tell it was not a typical piece on the recession. Instead, this piece is focusing on what individuals do with their time once they are laid off. A legitimate question, but, in my opinion, not a significant concern in comparison to getting the bills paid and the children fed.
The third paragraph acts as the nut graph stating basic information about the recession such as unemployment statistics and record losses. I was relieved with the inclusion of the next paragraph which addresses my earlier critique. The writer recognizes that for most of the unemployed the question is "How will I support myself and my family?", yet she chooses to address the small minority who simply can't figure out how to spend their newly acquired free time.
The first source, other than the Dina Schipper mentioned in the lead, is Nancy Collamer a career counselor. She shares how job loss can be similar to identity theft. After this quotation, the writer jumps into another profile of a recently unemployed individual, Joe Urbanski. This individual is desperately struggling as he looks for a new job and apartment. The next source is Andrew Lisy, a 24 year old who was recentlly laid off from wall street. Unlike, Urbanski, Lisy seems to have enough saved up to survive for awhile on his own.
At this point, the story jumps back to Schipper, the women mentioned in the lead, and talks about how she is spending her free time. Next, unemployed Peter Sterling is introduced whom shares that he found fulfillment in his family. Another source, Eric Shutt, found his shelter in volunteer work after his job loss. The final source used is Lou Kramberg, age 60, who is no longer looking for full time work, but instead donating his time to volunteer efforts.
The variety of sources in the piece was pretty good. The writer incorporated individuals of many ages, classes, economic standing, gender, and occupation. I didn't particularly like how the sources and their stories were pieced together though. It was a little choppy and failed to hold my attention at times. I think a neat feature story could have been made concentrating on one of these individuals, although I know that may not have been an option.
The depth of this coverage wasn't so deep. The small nutgraph told the very basics about the recession which I think was okay. The average American has already heard statistics like these a thousand times anyway. The variety of sources conrtributed to the fairness and accuracy of the story.
Although the story was pretty thorough I still am not a huge fan of the topic. I just can't imagine an individual who is jobless, sitting at home stressing over bills, picking up the newspaper and enjoying reading a story how other unemployed individuals are struggling finding a way to waste their time.
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