News Friday corrections

Some of you need to make corrections to your News Friday assignments. In the blog title section, you should put your title -- NOT the URL to the article or the article's title.

Make sure you are answering the questions for the assignment. If you forget, look under the Journalism tab and review them. Please fix your errors so you don't lose points.

Also, you may only select articles from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or The Washington Post. If you did one from another news outlet, redo it.

For Muslims, Day of Celebration Amid Controversy

The New York Times By: Michael M. Grymbaum Published: September 26, 2010

Many Muslims came out on Sunday for the American Muslim Day Parade. This was a tradition started in 1985 to bring Muslims together who have different ethnicities and nationalities. They prayed at the intersection in the center of Midtown Manhattan, where the parade also took place. This year, the parade had many problems. The first problem was that not many Muslims showed up. The population of the concert was very low because the Muslim people were worried about their safety. Even though there were Muslim police officers in full uniforms and fire trucks, many had not felt that sense of security. The second problem with the parade was the controversy over the planned Islamic center and mosque near ground zero. A man wanted to show his support brought his whole family because he wanted his children to see people speaking different languages from different cultures under the Islamic flag.

Syed Alirahi, A lieutenant with the fire department of Elmsford, stated to the New York Times that they were all public servants and they will fight for their country.

The headline of the article actually got me since its not too many stories about a Muslim Parade in the newspapers. After reading the lead I was even more interested into what the story was about. I would say this is a warming article enlightening you about these people.

I choose this article because I wanted something different from my first article and something in New York City and the American Muslim Day Parade was the one I found.

Soldier Describes Murder of Afghan for Sport in Leaked Tape

The New York Times
September 27, 2010, 5:10 pm
By: Robert Mackey

Five soldiers from The United States Army were charged with the murder of three Afghanistan civilians. They would kill them then keep their bones to take pictures with and to store. The captain of the group would also bring grenades to put beside the bodies so it could look like they had been hit by a bomb. This information was found out from one of the men involved, Jeremy Morlock, who had given some information to an investigator. The tape that the story was on was then leaked. If the sergeant who was accused with the charges for manslaughter is guilty, he can face the death penalty. The defense that Morlock’s lawyer has is that his client was on medication at the time of his statement so it cannot be true. Sergeant Gibbs which is the ringleader has bragged before to the men about getting away with similar killings in Iraq. The statements that Marlock gave to the investigator insinuate that the murders were premeditated. Because the murders might be premeditated, this gives the army a stronger case against the men.

The soldiers have claimed that they are innocent of the charges against them even though the interrogation tape proves that Morlock was basically telling the Army investigator all that prosecutors needed to know. More over, seven other members of the brigade with the five accused soldiers have been accused of drug use and trying to prevent the investigation of the case.

The headline of the story didn’t really jump out at me. If I saw this in a news paper I highly doubt that I would have read it. But as I proceeded to read the lead of the story I realized that it was something that I am interested in. I already had questions reading it as in why would an Army investigator know that these men committed these crimes.

I choose this article because I was shocked that the people trying to save the country and give freedom are killing innocent people. We put our trust in the Army that they are going to get resources that we need but at the same time protect us. But unfortunately, these soldiers were not interested in that.

News Fridays are now online!

One of the best ways to become a better writer is to read quality writing. As journalism students, you also need to be aware of the world around you and attempt to make sense of it through a journalistic lens.

Each week, you will be required to locate an article from one of the news sites listed below and analyze the way it was written. Make sure you choose a full-length article (not a News in Brief article or anything that does not have a byline). You may choose any article from News, Sports, Features or Opinion. You will not be allowed to do the same type of story two weeks in a row, though, so mix it up. Your responses should be in the 300 word range.

You are to create your own posting for each News Friday. Title your post, like this one is above. Underneath the title, paste the url that contains the link to your article. Underneath that, type out the name of the article, the name of the publication and the name of the writer. Then, in a new paragraph, begin your response/analysis.

Here's what to analyze:

• What do you think of the headline? How does it work with the story?
  
• How was the lead written? What type of lead did the article use? Describe its effectiveness.
• What were the sources in the article? What other sources could have been used? Why?
• What else needs to be in the article? Why? (Don't say nothing)
• What news determinants went into play for this article? Basically, why is this story newsworthy?

And lastly....

• Write a brief personal response to story. Why did you select this article?
  

News sites from which you may select an article:
The New York Times
The Washington Post
The Wall Street Journal (Yes, you can even review your mentor's articles!)

The last part of the assignment is that you are to comment on at least two other News Friday posts. What did you think of their article? (Yes, you will need to read it!). Do you agree/disagree with what the student wrote about? Why? Don't just write on everyone's post that they did a good job or that you agree. Be more specific. Don't be afraid to disagree.

All of your posts need to be made by 10 a.m. Sunday each week. I would suggest you post your News Friday and then stop back later to comment on the others. Yes, you can write more than two comments. No, you cannot comment on your own original post.