Monday, October 31st:
I was extremely interested in the article on the rising popularity of Pakistani cricket star, anti-government symbol, and aspiring politician Imran Khan. The picture with the article I thought showed the obvious widespread dissatisfaction with the current government in Pakistan. I thought that the article could have focused more on the career of Khan in addition to focusing on what the popular response to his candidacy has been. The article only briefly alluded to the fact that Khan’s political expertise might be vastly lacking, as he is a sports star whose political popularity is due simply to his celebrity. It will be interesting to see whether Khan’s hype can translate to a solid candidacy, or if he does get elected, to a legitimate and effective tenure in office.
I reread the article on the early winter snowstorm that we had discussed early in class, and additionally noticed the short part in the article that briefly raised the question of whether or not this storm will raise debates on the validity of global warming. This article posited that this storm was further proof that global warming is a legitimate threat, saying that an unexpected and fierce storm so early in the season was a sign of a rapidly changing climate. I agree with the claim, but thought that this small section of the article was perhaps too small, and could have merited a second article devoted to this issue specifically.
Tuesday, November 1st:
Today, I decided to focus on the noticeable difference between the writing styles of many of the other sections of the New York Times versus its regular News section. For instance, Science Times. It’s of little surprise that the science section does not employ the same type of summary lead that is often used in the regular News section. Instead, the articles of the science section often tells a gradual story, a narrative around the gradual development of the hypothesis, experiments, and ultimate scientific conclusion. However, the articles on science in the NY Times are not so methodical. The one in Tuesday’s issue on Steve Jobs’ pancreatic tumor shows how, even with the extensive research that has been done on cancer, it is difficult for many to know how to proceed treating numerous kinds of cancer. The article is as inconclusive as the subject it covers.
The article debates the various choices that cancer patients have when faced with their very specific types of the disease, but ultimately comes up with the conclusion that cancer and tumors are very complicated and the decisions of patients on how to proceed with them are very personal. The article is like a news article in that it deals with both facts and emotion, however it represents the facts and emotion in a different format.
Wednesday, November 2nd:
Today I was surprised at first seeing the article on Levi’s jeans on the front section of the Times. I had thought that maybe this article was fit more for the business section rather than the regular news section, but after reading it; I decided that the article merited front-page status. Part of a series of articles increasingly focusing on water shortages, this one was focusing on how the water used to make and clean jeans is drawing significantly from our natural resources. I thought the article was a good length and devoted enough time to both the business and environmental aspects of the article. Ultimately, reading the article gave me hope about the larger environmental situation simply because large companies are deciding that it is crucial to jump on the conservation bandwagon.
I thought that the photographs in this issue were particularly good, possibly because I was noticing more color photos? Don’t know if there actually were more color photos or if I’m suddenly noticing more. I particularly thought the picture accompanying the article on Egypt’s declining tourism rates was incredibly beautiful and very accurate for the content of the article. The next two pages in the world section also had great photos, especially on the man walking on a plank above floodwaters in Thailand.
No comments:
Post a Comment