Behind the News Stories

C.I.A. Agents in Libya Aid Airstrikes and Meet Rebels

By: MARK MAZZETTI and ERIC SCHMITT (30/03/11)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/world/africa/31intel.html?bl

Though this particular article begins with a lengthy lede outlining:

“The Central Intelligence Agency has inserted clandestine operatives into Libya to gather intelligence for military airstrikes and to contact and vet the beleaguered rebels battling Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces, according to American officials.”

The article concerns itself largely with a comprehensive background into the struggle that has been taking place in Libya over the war for intelligence. The article’s lede proves interesting when analyzed alongside the rest of the content of the article. The lede can be bluntly summarized as “C.I.A. insurgents in Libya” even though most of the text concerns itself with a follow-up synopsis of the most recent developments of mainly American intelligence agencies actions in Libya in the war against Qaddafi.

On reading this article I was particularly struck by the employment of the disconcerting phrase “according to American officials.” The inclusion of this statement within the lede automatically arouses sentiments of distrust and legitimacy issues. Though the overall article seems legitimate, Mazzetti and Schmitt both did there research and provide interesting facts, though the addendum to the led provides, at least me as a reader, with a sense of distrust not only in the factual information within the piece but the overall reason for writing the article aswell.

Phish Announces a Festival for July 4 Weekend

By: SETH SCHIESEL (31/03/11)

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/phish-announces-a-festival-for-july-4-weekend/?ref=music

I picked this article to write about due to, amongst multiple other hatreds, my inability to understand the relevance of writing about an inane hippy jam band’s new date, even if it is their first date on “the East Coast since the Coventry festival in Vermont in 2004.” Who cares? Why is this important? **** Trey Anastasio and every other hippie who has ever played in Phish.

Ranting aside, this article struck me in context with this week’s prompt on how this article was able to be stretched into 4 paragraphs (192 words). The already overly-verbose article’s lede clumsily and verbosely names the venue, which perhaps suggests that author Schiesel was aware of the unimportance of his article and was simply trying to make word count ASAP. Schiesel’s article relies on 50% information explaining the (inanely, obviously named by a hippie) Superbowl IX (get it? a pun on smoking marijuana, awesome huh?) and 50% history of Phish at the venue: ‘cause wasn’t it so special and such a victory for music when 600,000 doped out ‘flower children’ went to watch The Allman Brothers, The Band, and the Grateful Dead played with them back in ’73?

Phish are an internationally established band known about by everyone, this does not belong on The New York Times, the hippies’ll here about it when they’re buying there acid.