tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386 2009-11-18T15:14:21Z Movable Type Commercial 4.23-en tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.34326 2009-11-18T14:52:50Z 2009-11-18T15:14:21Z

"As a companion piece, the auteur behind fantastical spectacles Mars Attacks!, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman and a host of other morbidly twisted movies is publishing The Art of Tim Burton, a 434-page tome packed with drawings, doodles, paintings and...

Wired, "Concept Art Offers Peek at Tim Burton’s Twisted Mind" I confess I'm not really so into the technology, so many of the articles on this website confused me and made me short-circuit. I decided to focus on the Tim Burton article, since it was the one I felt I could understand best. There weren't that many links in the article; the quote above used a link to imdb's information about Tim Burton, which can be helpful for someone who may have seen one or two of Burton's movies but doesn't associate the movie with him as a director. It also links to a search engine with the name of the publisher of the book they're talking about typed in; this seemed a bit lazy, because they could have just linked right to the publisher's website. They also link to a Wikipedia article on Bozo the Clown when talking about some of Tim Burton's influences, which once again can be a helpful starting point for someone who's never heard of Bozo the Clown and just wants some basic general information. However, I thought none of the links were particularly helpful or necessary, especially because the people interested enough to peruse this article are probably already familiar with Burton's movies and if so inclined will type in the name of the book themselves to order it. The main attraction of this article are the sketches, which are so colorful and bizarre they speak volumes more than any of the text possibly could. I think the most helpful link is the link to a related story (also featuring mostly pictures) about Burton's remake of Alice in Wonderland, because the audience for this article is very likely to be interested in his next film project. I think this article is an example where the visuals dominate the story so much, that unless the links all took the reader to more predominantly visual web pages, there really is no reason to navigate away from the page in the course of reading it. Link to course website ]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.34324 2009-11-18T14:30:32Z 2009-11-18T14:46:33Z

"Reporters become convinced the story line emerging from their investigation is the only one. And even the emergence of new facts or different dimensions or a broader context fails to enable them to open their minds to the possibility that...

Haiman, Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists, page 57 I thought this chapter was particularly relevant for our investigative articles we're working on now. I can understand the impulse to want to make a story out of something that's not really a story, because that's sort of the nature of the assignment--investigative stories aren't supposed to obviously be stories on the surface, but there's something hidden or unconsidered that makes them newsworthy. But if you don't find the thing that makes them newsworthy, you can't just make it up, or pretend like it's there when it's not. Brace yourselves for another theatre analogy--it's like when we say in acting that you can't ignore anything that happens onstage; you have to be fully present in the moment. Even if something happens that's not "supposed" to happen, it ends up looking really stupid if you just pretend like it didn't happen. Take, for instance, this nightmare production of Peter Pan; when Wendy just continues with her line even though her house has been demolished, it looks ridiculous. There's no way to keep up the illusion that Peter did not just crash into the window. You have to do the same thing in newswriting! You can't just act like there's still a story even when your story comes crashing down. The only problem is when you've got a deadline and you don't think you can come up with a different story idea in time. But you still need to be truthful; perhaps the hidden part of this story is the surprising fact that there is no hidden or undiscovered aspect. Audiences love when stuff goes wrong, anyhow. ]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.34261 2009-11-17T00:39:50Z 2009-11-17T00:51:00Z

I thought this multimedia presentation had its good points and bad points. While part of me likes the fact that you have to click multiple times to see each step of the process for collecting garbage and collecting recyclables, part...

multimedia presentation had its good points and bad points. While part of me likes the fact that you have to click multiple times to see each step of the process for collecting garbage and collecting recyclables, part of me realizes that if I hadn't been assigned to look at this presentation for a class I wouldn't have had as much patience with it and might not have gone through the whole thing. Breaking each step down with both diagrams and videos makes it very clear just how the journeys for garbage and recyclables are different; this is very informative. However, unless you have a lot of time on your hands you probably won't click on each step and only get a partial understanding of the process; if all this information was streamlined and put into one place it would be more convenient for people to learn about. Also, unless you're really examining the site it's not that obvious that there are multiple steps to click on. The multiple steps are easy to miss because there are no graphics that call attention to them; you have to move your cursor in the white area at the bottom in order for the titles to pop up. Another problem I had with this presentation was that part of the graphics on the side are cut off, and there was no way to scroll sideways so as to be able to see the full diagram. Overall, I like the methodical structure of this presentation, but a lot more work could have been done to make the information in its entirety more accessible to someone who would just be casually browsing through the website. Link back to course website]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.34260 2009-11-17T00:17:01Z 2009-11-17T00:29:06Z

Seton Hill's web page devoted to alumni Post-Gazette article about the controversy over "Pipe Theme in Red Orange" Tribune Review article on the same subject Setonian article about the controversy another Setonian article about the controversy "Save Pipe Theme in...

Seton Hill's web page devoted to alumni Post-Gazette article about the controversy over "Pipe Theme in Red Orange" Tribune Review article on the same subject Setonian article about the controversy another Setonian article about the controversy "Save Pipe Theme in Red Orange"--Causes on Facebook Seton Hill Alumni Facebook page]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.34209 2009-11-15T16:38:07Z 2009-11-15T16:53:13Z

"Melissa Gold met Adam Gottlieb when their grandmothers set them up on a blind date. Now the groom is about to discover what it means to marry into the Gold family horseradish legacy." --NY Times I found a video about...

NY Times I found a video about this couple on the video library on the New York times website. What a wonderful way to include positive news! The way this site is set up, you get a much clearer sense of who these people are than you would when just reading a short little blurb about them in an actual newspaper. Here you get the full force of their personalities--complete with them misspeaking (I thought it was hilarious when the woman accidentally said their grandmothers were in a "Yente" club--you have to know Fiddler on the Roof to get it). You get great visuals like them in the horse radish factory and the puzzle that Adam made to propose to Melissa with; you also get great audio like Adam imitating his grandmother telling him to "make sure you keep your pants buttoned." If you look at the actual article that goes with it, it just doesn't have the same vitality. There are some interesting tidbits of course, like Melissa wondering why Adam wanted to hear her voice because she thought it was annoying, but it's just not the same as actually getting to see these people interacting in such a warm and pleasant way. I think stories like this that don't have anything shockingly newsworthy about them are much more effective when you can do videos like this, because people are able to connect with ordinary people much more when they can see their physical and vocal quirks, which often communicate so much more than just quotes they read in a newspaper.]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.34098 2009-11-10T23:45:00Z 2009-11-11T04:33:10Z

This is my third portfolio of blogs I have written for a Newswriting course I am taking. With every week, I'm learning new things about this style of writing that I've never really considered before. It's definitely a more complex...

Newswriting course I am taking. With every week, I'm learning new things about this style of writing that I've never really considered before. It's definitely a more complex style of writing than I realized. Coverage (all the blogs that I've written on assigned readings) Editorials Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists pages 1-16 Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists pages 17-28 Best Practices of Newspaper Journalists pages 29-42 Best Practices of Newspaper Journalists pages 43-56 Sample Investigative Reports Depth (blogs in which I examine a concept in depth) Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists pages 17-28 Best Practices of Newspaper Journalists pages 29-42 Best Practices of Newspaper Journalists pages 43-56 Interaction (blogs in which I interact with my peers) Editorials Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists pages 17-28 Discussions (blogs that drew comments from my peers) Editorials Best Practices of Newspaper Journalists pages 29-42 Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists pages 1-16 Best Practices of Newspaper Journalists pages 43-56 Timeliness (blogs completed before the day of the assigned reading) All of my blogs were timely during this part of the semester. Xenoblogging (comments on peers' blogs) Greta Carroll's blog on Editorials Jeanine O'Neal's blog on Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists pages 1-16 Wendy Scott's blog on Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists pages 17-28 Richelle Dodaro's blog on Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists pages 29-42 Wildcard I think my blog on Editorials is the best representation of my blogging from this part of the semester. It drew a lot of comments, and I think that's partly because I was articulating something I really care a lot about--fostering intelligent dialogue about issues. I really don't like when people shut down and refuse to listen to people they don't agree with, because they're missing out on an opportunity to get a broader and more complex understanding of an issue. I'm glad that the blog itself fostered discussion. ]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.34095 2009-11-10T23:19:33Z 2009-11-10T23:36:55Z

"Investigative journalism is finding, reporting and presenting news which other people try to hide. It is very similar to standard news reporting, except that the people at the centre of the story will usually not help you and may even...

Sample Investigative Reports This is definitely one of the harder genres to write, I think. This and talking to people who've just experienced traumatic events seem like very hard aspects of newswriting because you're talking to people who may not want to talk to you or may not be giving accurate information. You really need to finesse both situations and have good people skills; you have to know what to say to get the kind of responses you want. It seems like there needs to be a whole other class that trains you for that, because it's certainly not in any way easy. You have to know how to dig without appearing to dig to the people you're investigating, and you have to have the savvy to know which people are really willing to give you the dirt on something. Another part about this genre that's very difficult is--how do you find story ideas? You can't uncover things about a certain situation if it turns out there's nothing to uncover. And if there are good story ideas, the whole point of them being good story ideas is the fact that people are trying to hide or suppress them. So how do you find out about them? I guess you might have suspicions about certain things, and then go interview people to see if your suspicions have any justification. I can see how good contacts are vital to this genre; as a student in a class, I have very few contacts and am having difficulty figuring out who to talk to. You need to know who would give you the "official" story and who would give you the "unofficial" story. And what if there just simply aren't any scandals or shady underhanded dealings going on at the moment? What do you do then, huh? Sometimes I think journalists might just get desperate and try to make situations out of things that aren't that big a deal. You see all the time in TV news about the latest government spending scandal or the latest food that has something nasty in it. But oftentimes the music they use is scarier than the actual story. I can see how investigative reporting has its place and can be very important, but it can also be a cheap gimmick if you're not careful. ]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.34086 2009-11-10T19:52:14Z 2009-11-10T20:15:33Z

"Gay participants in several cities complained of an almost total absence of coverage of gay culture, events and interests...They're mostly good liberals down there (at the newspaper) and they try, but they are still pretty touchy about gay stories." --Haiman,...

Haiman, Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists, pages 43-56 I thought these two quotes were pretty interesting because they reflect some of the difficulties with including diversity in newspapers, particularly with the gay community. Newspapers are supposed to be objective and unbiased, but it's "liberal" to include "gay stories"? The fact that people consider covering the gay community in a positive way is considered "liberal" is something that makes me very angry, but that may just be my politics. I don't believe it should be considered "political" to include stories about gay couples who have normal, monogamous lifestyles, but the fact that some people do may be what hinders newspapers from covering gay people in a comprehensive and fair manner. Because so much of the conservative rhetoric against gay marriage is aimed at inciting fear that gay people publicly acknowledging their relationships will destroy the moral framework of society, depicting the truth of many gay people's lives--happy, well-adjusted, and healthy lifestyles--goes against that rhetoric. Is that political? I would just call it fair and objective reporting. I don't think it should be called "liberal." There's nothing wrong with reporting on more "flamboyant" gay people, as the man from Portland on page 44 says, but when that's all the newspaper is covering, they're conforming to a stereotype that confirms some people's misguided beliefs about the gay community in general. The dilemma is that some people don't want to hear about the full complexity of these people's lives. It's not necessarily pushing one political agenda if you're objectively reporting facts that may change the conversation about a certain issue. As a reporter, you can't ignore them. That's why I think this is an area of reporting where newspapers need to be less afraid of what the readership will think in order to really get the truth out there.]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.33939 2009-11-03T19:06:00Z 2009-11-03T19:31:55Z

"In times of crisis, we demand the best from the people on the front lines of the story. The cops. The paramedics, doctors and nurses. The teachers. We should expect no less from the people telling these stories, the journalists."...

page 30--Haiman, Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists I think the above statement is a very important idea to keep in mind when interviewing people about sensitive subjects. The title of my blog implies that being a compassionate human being and being a journalist are separate, but they actually go hand in hand. You can't be an effective journalist if you're not in touch with the emotional impact of an event. If you ask insensitive, probing questions of distraught people, chances are you won't get very accurate, informative answers. Pushing people over the edge may be a way to get attention for your newspaper, but it doesn't adhere to the principles of journalism. You should always want to get the most objective and inclusive information to the public, and interviewing someone who's just experienced a traumatic event in a way that stirs up their emotions will only produce eye-popping sound bites with little substance. Another issue with being insensitive on the reporting of this material is that while it may draw readers in initially, over time these kinds of tactics will really turn readers off the paper. It is obvious from the "What the public says" section on page 32 that people find it really distasteful when journalists try to catch people in vulnerable, unflattering moments. These people will want to switch to a newspaper that is more considerate of people's privacy. While I don't always agree with some of the other "What the public says" sections in the book so far, I think their opinions on this subject do reflect what I imagine the average person's reaction to these kinds of stories is. When journalists try to show people at their most vulnerable, it makes the journalist look much worse than the subject. The newspaper that published the finances of the family whose daughter had been murdered descended to a level that I don't think most people would be comfortable with. So I think it's pretty accurate to say that the most ethical newspapers are often the most successful as well.]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.33820 2009-10-27T18:37:08Z 2009-10-27T18:56:33Z

"That may require that editor to personally meet the source, 'look him or her in the eye, and get a feel for the conviction of the source and the depth of knowledge.'" --Haiman, Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists, pages 17-28...

Haiman, Best Practices for Newspaper Journalists, pages 17-28 As I began reading the chapter about anonymous sources, I have to confess I had some reservations. While it is important to ensure that people can't just throw out false information under the protection of being anonymous, I think it's also important that you don't go to the other extreme as well--discourage anonymous sources so much that people who may have legitimate reasons to keep their identity secret can't get important information to the public. After all, where would be if we didn't have Deep Throat? You understand I'm talking about the informant in the Watergate scandal, and not something else. You just have to strike a balance; the system can be abused either way. It's equally important to discourage people from feeling like they can just throw out any ridiculous accusation because they can say they want to remain anonymous. Once again, I was amazed at how many people on the panel seemed to have personal experience with anonymous accusations--"I've been speared by anonymous sources in the paper several times and it's the most helpless feeling, but what can you do?" What kind of people did they interview for this survey? I don't think I'm remotely connected to any situation in which anonymous sources accused someone of something; I don't think it's that common of an experience. Once again, I have the suspicion that the people they gathered for this panel have more direct experience with dealing with the press than the average person. I feel like this may have colored their feedback in a negative way. The second chapter in this section seemed to address a more universal problem readers might have--reporters who don't really understand the subject they're covering. Most people have studied something in-depth that is reported on from time to time, and it can be painful when you see it being misrepresented. I know I have issues with articles that are written on theatre all the time. And my experiences writing news in this class have led me to understand the other side of things; it can be very difficult to get a firm grasp on a subject you've had very little or no exposure to. When attending two speeches at the Holocaust Conference, there were times when I found it a little hard to follow the speaker because they used such specific references. For instance, Michael Berenbaum referred to an incident with a Bishop Williamson and didn't really explain it, and most people in the audience seemed to understand it. There's a lot of background research you have to do, which is hard when you're trying to play catchup with experts in their field who have been studying the subject for years.]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.33688 2009-10-20T18:57:49Z 2009-10-20T19:23:46Z

"In all of our roundtables, the frequency of errors was cited as a major reason why the public is increasingly skeptical of what it reads." --Haiman, Best Practices for Newspapers Journalists, pages 1-16 I was surprised at how much emphasis...

Haiman, Best Practices for Newspapers Journalists, pages 1-16 I was surprised at how much emphasis was placed on accuracy in this book so far; because the research they conducted was so reader-based and not from within the journalistic community, I expected there to be more complaints about newspapers being overly biased (it's the complaint I most often hear about the media in general). Of course, the people leading the roundtable discussions may have gotten this complaint initially, but then led the people in the discussion to identify inaccuracy as the problem at the root of bias. At least, people often perceive bias as leaving certain facts out or just plain making stuff up to support a certain point of view. If you cherry-pick facts, you're most likely letting your own opinions affect your reporting. I'm still surprised how little people complained about bias compared to how much they complained about getting smaller details incorrect, as well as how newspapers deal with publishing corrections. I rarely notice when newspapers make mistakes or when they publish corrections, but I rarely read newspapers, so that's probably the problem. From what people talked about in these panels, it seems like they got people who read newspapers enough to get picky over smaller details, which makes sense. You can't really get people to advise you on how to improve newswriting if they barely read it. There might have been some benefit if they got some people who hardly ever read newspapers to give feedback though; these kind of people might provide some insight into how to broaden readership by finding out what turns them off newspapers. Perhaps this is dealt with in later chapters. It just seems to me like getting smaller details right would be more a concern of regular newspaper-readers and not of the public in general. Certainly, everyone wants the major facts to be correct; this ties in to whether or not a paper's biased, and how much it's able to draw readers in with accurate information. And maybe you care more about this if you live in a place that happens to be mentioned in local newspapers a lot. It seems like I hardly ever know personally too many of the places or people mentioned in the Trib or Post-Gazette, so I wouldn't even know if the information was accurate. I guess it all depends on your perspective.]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.33451 2009-10-11T19:05:33Z 2009-10-11T19:52:45Z

"Don't think of your goal as picking a fight with people who enrage you. Instead, try swaying the opinion of a reasonable person who sees the merits of both sides." --Editorials I think Dr. Jerz hit the nail right on...

Editorials I think Dr. Jerz hit the nail right on the head with this one. It always irks me when I see editorials that are written like this, because they do absolutely nothing for either side of an issue. If you write in a combative way, you're bound to make people who disagree with you angry; therefore, the people who agree with you will still have the same opinion, and the people who don't will be even more vehemently opposed to what you believe. I don't understand what the point of preaching to the converted is in this kind of situation. There are some times where it can be useful for certain groups to reaffirm their beliefs by clearly articulating them, but in widely read newspapers it seems like the ultimate goal is to reach out to people who don't already agree with you. If you never consider opposing points of view, all you do is create more friction where you ought to be reducing it. I think some people do like to make their readers angry, mainly for publicity reasons. Ann Coulter is a writer who immediately comes to mind when I think of editorialists who make blunt statements seemingly just to get attention. You can't really publish a book called Godless: The Church of Liberalism and expect people who identify themselves as liberal to read the book with an open mind. Certainly, liberal people may read that book, but usually not because they want to engage in an intelligent dialogue with people they disagree with, but just because the title makes them angry. Stirring people up just for the purpose of making your column more widely read doesn't seem to be the noblest aspiration. Like all news writing, I think it's important to remember that the writing shouldn't be about the writer, but about the subject being covered. So, even though you're presenting your opinion, you still need to maintain some degree of objectivity and not make your column an irrational rant--save it for the blogs!]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.33408 2009-10-08T19:41:36Z 2009-10-08T22:36:27Z

I am roughly halfway through a semester of a Newswriting class, and I've learned a lot through blogging about and writing the news. My mind is bursting with random facts about when to abbreviate things and where to place commas,...

Newswriting class, and I've learned a lot through blogging about and writing the news. My mind is bursting with random facts about when to abbreviate things and where to place commas, as well as a beginning understanding of how to write an eye-catching news story. Coverage (all the blogs that I've written for class since the last blog portfolio) Sample Crime Reports Chapter 35 of The News Manual Sample Spot News The Associated Press Guide to News Reporting, Chapters 6 and 8 Comparison of Front Pages on the Newseum Website Part 1 of the News Cycle Assignment Part 2 of the News Cycle Assignment Depth (blogs that examine a concept in depth) Sample Crime Reports Comparison of Front Pages on the Newseum Website Chapter 35 of the News Manual Sample Spot News Interaction (blogs in which I participated in a discussion with my peers) Sample Crime Reports Sample Spot News Discussions (blogs that drew comments from my peers) Sample Spot News Sample Crime Reports Comparison of Front Pages on the Newseum Website Timeliness (blogs which were posted before the assigned reading was due) All of my blogs were timely except for my blog on Chapters 6 and 8 on the Associated Press Guide to News Writing, as you can probably tell from the barrenness of my comment area. Xenoblogging (comments that I left on classmates' blogs) Jennifer Prex's blog on Chapter 35 of The News Manual April Minerd's blog on Sample Crime Reports Derek Tickle's blog on the Comparison of Front Pages on the Newseum Website Wildcard I think my blog on the Comparison of Front Pages on the Newseum Website is the best example of my blogging style from the second batch of blogs. It is kind of stream-of-consciousness, which is what I like about the blogging part of this class. I appreciate the fact that we have a space to put our thoughts down in a messy, not-ready-to-be-graded kind of way so that we're all the more organized when we work on the more serious assignments of the class. So this blog, with its listing of my complex reactions to the tabloidish-looking front page of an Irish newspaper, is the best example of my spontaneity in blogging.]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.33396 2009-10-07T17:41:54Z 2009-10-07T18:09:21Z

Both my news cycle stories came up again in today's news stories in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Meadows Casino story got some pretty significant updates as far as details about the actual crime and the people involved. There were pictures...

news cycle stories came up again in today's news stories in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Meadows Casino story got some pretty significant updates as far as details about the actual crime and the people involved. There were pictures of the three suspects, and the reporter provided information about how exactly the culprits pulled off the scheme (complete with a police officer using his police badge to act as a bodyguard while the other two manipulated the machine!), so this article was really juicy and interesting to read. I suspect much of this information was gleaned from a news conference Crompton mentions was held yesterday. This is a good example where a breaking news story with hardly any details becomes sort of a teaser for the real story that ends up in the paper the next day. The article from yesterday left me wanting to know so much more about the circumstances of the crime, and this article was very satisfying because it answered a lot of questions. I'm not sure where the story will go from here; it seems like the biggest events that are still to come are the trial and the sentencing if they're found guilty. My other story wasn't exactly updated; it was pretty much the exact same text appearing under a slightly different headline. I'm assuming not much new information was discovered about her whereabouts, because I don't think anything about the article was changed at all. This story seems to have plateaued because the really interesting juicy stuff has been made known, and the only really interesting thing to come next would be if China Graham is found and arrested. I'm not sure if there'll be more breaking news about this in the near future if this doesn't happen. ]]> tag:blogs.setonhill.edu,2009:/MatthewHenderson//386.33380 2009-10-06T22:30:56Z 2009-10-06T22:56:40Z

One of the stories I chose to look at for the News Cycle assignment was a story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about three men accused of using a software glitch in a poker machine to get $400,000 over a period...

News Cycle assignment was a story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about three men accused of using a software glitch in a poker machine to get $400,000 over a period of two months. The story appears to be very breaking because there is little information about what exactly these men did to trigger the glitch, and authorities were still "in the process of arresting" these men at the time the story was written. It certainly seems like an interesting story that would hold a reader's interest more once more details are known; since it involves finding an easy way to get a lot of money, it sort of caters to the whole "ordinary people fantasizing about crime" aspect of an interesting crime story. Hopefully, there will be follow-up stories with more information about how the men allegedly took advantage of the machine and if they are convicted. The other story I found is much more exciting because there is a lot more information, and the suspect has a well-known history. A woman named China Graham gave a stolen check as an offering in church and then stole a wallet from a woman who had left her purse on the pew she was sitting in. The police know exactly what she did afterwards because she used a credit card she found in the wallet to buy items at a Dollar Store and a supermarket. She's stolen wallets from people in a different church and in a grocery store, and police are currently looking for her. The difference between these two articles just goes to show how important details are to sucking a reader in. Also, the amount of detail the writer of the second story had to work with gave him the ability to tell the story in a more creative way--he was especially able to play on the contradiction between the woman being in church and the fact that she was stealing. He also wasn't hindered by the need to talk about the incident using the word "allegedly"; police know for sure she stole items because of surveillance cameras. This helped him paint the picture more clearly.]]>