Monday, November 28th:
I thought that the piece on Black Friday shopping and increased sales was an interesting and comprehensive piece that delivered good information from multiple perspectives. They had lots of quotes from members of financial institutions such as Wells Fargo Securities, Moody’s Investors Service, and the National Retail Federation. A research group called ShopperTrak provided additional information on consumer spending habits, which appear to be up from last year, rising 6.6 percent. However, the Times also noted that this could be a trend that will not last long, and also discussed in detail how consumer’s shopping habits were changing due to America’s financial troubles. Consumers are now looking to buy a few expensive and useful items for their friends and family members, rather than purchasing a lot of gifts. The NY Times provided good quotes from consumers that showed how peoples’ habits are changing. I thought that overall the article was well done, well organized and enlightening.
I thought the political op-ed on Newt Gingrich was interesting, in light of his recent poll surge, now showing him to be Mitt Romney’s main competitor. The most important indicator of Gingrich’s rising popularity could be his recent endorsement by New Hampshire’s biggest (and very conservative) paper, the Union Leader. Many thought that the Leader was going to endorse Romney, who has consistently polled well in the state, and who is logically poised to win the New Hampshire primary, due to his proximity as former governor of Massachusetts and his classic conservative values. The article as an op-ed gave a good overview of the Gingrich campaign as well as indications and speculations on the candidate’s future.
Tuesday, November 29th:
Today’s obituary of Lana Peters, born Svetlana Stalin, daughter of the infamous Soviet dictator, was an especially well-written and interesting piece. A lengthy article, it gave a detailed account of the fascinating and always-shifting life of Mrs. Peters, who defected from the Soviet Union and moved around between multiple countries throughout her life. She died on November 22nd in Wisconsin, at age 85. The story of her life as detailed by the Times was certainly intriguing. Her early life in the Kremlin was surrounded by the terror of her father (even though he was kind to her and showered her with gifts and attention as a child, he became more cruel towards his daughter as both aged). Additionally, Peters was shadowed by the suicide of her mother when she was six and was part of one of the most terrifying regimes in modern history. As the Times wrote, Mrs. Peters constantly seemed to be running away from her past, and was quoted saying about her father, “He broke my life. Wherever I go…I will always be a political prisoner of my father’s name.”
Keeping with my history-centric theme in today’s log, and of especial interest to me as a history major, I thought that the piece on Newt Gingrich’s past as a historian was very interesting. The Times made it clear that Gingrich sees himself very much as a part of history, and models himself as an underdog political candidate who will someday be an important leader. However, in a field of presidential candidates who constantly display an extreme lack of intelligence (Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, and Rick Perry), the Times notes that Gingrich’s formal education and noticeable intelligence set him apart in the field of candidates. The Times integrated quotes from other prominent historians who are seemingly skeptical of Mr. Gingrich’s success, either as a historian or a presidential candidate.
Wednesday, November 30th:
I thought that today’s headlines on the former deputy features editor at the News of the World tabloid, Paul McMullan, was purely fascinating. The Times article was basically just straight coverage of McMullan’s judicial hearing in London the day before, but is fascinating because of the content of McMullan’s testimony. McMullan comes off as an unapologetic and slightly crazed tabloid-monger who would do truly anything to pursue a story (including posing as a young boy to trap a pedophile priest). Furthermore, as the Times notes, he seemed completely unapologetic about his actions and the actions of his colleagues at News of the World. He maintained that hacking was a very useful tool that journalists should be able to use freely. McMullan was quoted as saying, “Phone hacking is a perfectly acceptable tool, given the sacrifices we make, if all we’re trying to do is get the truth.” He furthermore asked the question, do “we really want to live in a world where the only people who do the hacking are MI5 and MI6?” before resolutely responding in the negative. He seemed to believe that News of the World was an organization crusading for the truth, and using whatever means they could to obtain it.
McMullan is a completely wacky, slimy, and interesting specimen of a person, at one point making a show in his courtroom by dragging out topless photos of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the first lady of France, causing the Times writer to comment, “apparently to show how easy it is to obtain racy photographs.” He gleefully detailed car chases with celebrities, phone hacking, drug-taking and more daredevil and illegal hijinks in pursuit of tabloid news. A fascinating subject, McMullan made the Times article on him equally as interesting.
