JaraWhite

The first article I read was about three teenage girls from Brooklyn, who were shot on Friday. The story is short, just the bare essentials, no names, just ages, location of where the shooting took place, and the hospital the girls were sent to. There are no suspects being held in custody, in fact there was no mention of any suspects, just that their was a man on a bike who fired the shots.

 

The second article was more in depth because its been going on for a while. It is about a "black teen" who was convicted of aggravated-second degree battery, for beating up a "white classmate", and who could possibly face up to 15 years in prison. However, the charges were thrown out because said teen was 16 at the time of the crime, and cannot be tried as an adult.

 

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" Rape victims are less likely to report the crime if they know their names will be published or broadcast. Rape is already the most underreported violent crime in the country." Kelly McBride

When I read this quote/ statistic I was disheartened. I believe that the name of the victim should be published, but only if given explicit permissiom by the person. Rape crimes to me, should be one of the most reported crimes, for the simple fact that society needs to know about such things, they need to be aware how serious an issue this is, and that its one that won't be taken lightly (not trying to say that it is, but that quote is saying something). What kind of world are we living in, when people who have been victimized are afraid to seek help because they fear ridicule, and a lack of support from their own countrypeople. If rape is reported in a way that stresses the consequences and unacceptability of it, but can still be sensitive to the needs of the victim, perhaps people will be more willing to come forth.

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"To write well means to choose the right words for each occasion, not to fit the occasion to precooked words. That requires a thoughtful effort." (pg 48)

I chose this quote because I thought it was really good advice, that could be applied not only to the language used in writing articles, but also to the format in which we write articles. This quote also struck relevance with me because I thought that I was doing a decent enough job writing these first few articles, but after the readings, I've come to the realization that I'm really a long way away from where I need to be. I noticed that in my writing I performed some of the mistakes we were warned about in chapters 3 & 5. For instance I have a habit of "starting out with a long subsidiary clause that marches ahead of the main idea" (pg 30) - like I just did
I don't do it necessarily in the lead, but I noticed it throughout my articles. I also have a tendency to begin my leads in ways I always thought news articles began  with the full date. However, now that I've been informed I definitely plan on choosing my words with the utmost care.

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The second article I chose to read, was about a woman who was killed after she ran a red light, and was hit by a truck. One thing I noticed was that both articles began the same way. They both included a very brief description of the victims, only stating gender, as well as a brief summary of what happened. Also a source was stated at the end of the first sentence.

"A 3-year-old boy who was riding a bicycle without a helmet suffered minor injuries when he was struck by a white GMC Suburban in East San Jose, according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Todd Thibodeau."

"A Galveston woman died today after she failed to stop for a red light and her car was broadsided by a heavy truck, police Lt. Joe Pena said."

It makes sense to have someone "official" state what happens because it lends credence to the story.

Second Article

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