Sources

February 11, 2011

Source: nytimes.com

Article: "Eygpt Erupts in Jubilation as Mubarak Steps Down"

Author: Anthony Shadid, Mona El-Nagger, and Liam Stack

I chose this story because I liked its use of sources. The events in Egypt have been dominating the news for weeks now and I was excited to read a story about their triumph. While reading, I noticed that most of the sources were simply the protestors themselves. The authors quoted their chants as well as independently interviewing people within the crowds. However I believe the balance was very slated. Although many people would have agreed with the authors' stand point, I wondered if they could have added statements from the president himself. In the very last paragraph, they quoted the Vice President explaining the president's decision alone. I wonder if the president made any public announcement at all or if he just allowed his Vice President to do it for him. Lastly, I thought it interesting the placement of Obama's reaction to this story. He claims that the "Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day... it was the moral force of nonviolence - not terrorism and mindless killing - that bent the arc of history toward justice once more." Although it is Obama’s job to comfort his citizens, I thought his quote was an interesting reassurance. How do we know that they Eygptians have made it clear, and what was the authors intention of adding this specific piece of his speech?

Source: nytimes.com

Title: Hospital shifts smoking ban to smoker ban

Author: Alain Delaqueriere

I originally chose this story because it reminded me of one of the pitches from class. I thought this could be an example for the person writing about the ban of smoking in public parks by giving them source hints. The author interviewed many professors and doctors in an effort to obtain all the information possible. They found out that hospitals are beginning to select their hiring based on their smoking habits, hoping that hiring nonsmokers will be incentive for smokers to quit, while saving companies money on health insurance. The author asked a Boston University professor and found out that this was concerning people. Dr. Michael Siegel said “if enough of these companies adopt these policies and it really becomes difficult for smokers to find jobs, there are going to be consequences.” Here the author is displaying the concern people have for this new hiring technique. He continues to interview a director at the Cleveland Clinic who tells them that they are struggling with inquiries about this new stipulation. I did, however, think he could have made his argument more compelling if he had interviewed smokers who have been turned down from jobs for this reason. The author does a nice job of finding professional sources, but lacks the opinions of everyday people who are affected by this. On the other hand, he does add a quote from the president of Workrights Insitute. Lewis Maltby was quoted “if it’s not smoking, it’s beer. If it’s not beer, it’s cheeseburgers. And what bout your sex life?” Although this was in the second to last paragraph it was something of a comical relief, as well as adding another opinion.