The Times 2/23-2/26

Monday
This paper started out with a few stories about economic issues in the US. This makes sense, because that is something most people are worried about. So having stories about the stimulus plan and about the economic situation with the nation’s banks will be interesting to most people reading the paper.
The headlines on the front page are also pretty good today. They use a lot of words to draw people in: dire, embroil, struggle, and commandos.
An article that caught my eye was the one about how researchers are developing new types of medicine to fight off certain types of flu. This reminded me of the article we read a few weeks ago about young adults trying to self-medicate because of lack of insurance. These drugs, however, are not ready to use and therefore don’t impact anyone yet. Because of that, I don’t think I would have been interested in the article if it hadn’t made me think of the one I had read a while ago.

Tuesday
Today, there seemed to be a lot of articles about either finances or art. It was interesting to read about how the Iraqi museum was reopening. Another article about the arts caught my eye because of the title: “A Russian City’s Wounds are Dressed in Opera Garb.” It was interesting to compare these two situations even though they are in different countries. They both deal with places suffering because of terrorists or war. But then both continue (or reopen) artistic traditions.
An article on the finance side of things that interested me was the one about sending aid to Gaza. It seemed like a lot of money to be sending over to Gaza while we’re in the middle of an economic crisis. However, the article did a good job of putting that in context of the help we have pledged to send there before, and who we’re going to give it to.

Wednesday
This paper focused a lot on the story that most people in America would want to read: Obama’s first address to Congress. I found it interesting how they put a picture and a small column on the front page and then saved the rest for inside. I think this was effective, as the picture caught your eye and then after reading what was on the front page you wanted to read more.
The article about some states trying to get rid of the death penalty caught my eye, both because that’s interesting and because it mentioned that New Hampshire was one of those states. This shows that you can’t always tell why someone would be interested in your story because you don’t know what experiences or background they will have: this story interested me because it was about where I live.

Thursday
Today’s paper had several interesting stories on the front page. The article about oil in Iraq was interesting as it took two things that are in the paper very often, and combined them. Readers are used to hearing about the Iraq war and rebuilding Iraq, but it is interesting to see it through the new angle of how lower oil prices would affect that.
Another article caught my eye because of the picture. The story about Mexican drug dealers using American guns was an interesting story, and including a picture of a gun helped catch my interest so I would read it. Another story with a good use of a picture was the one about the British politician and his son. This one is interesting because in involves a child, which seems to always catch my attention. While this story was about the death of a child, it also gave insight into British life and politics, which I do not know much about.
One story on the inside of the paper that I really enjoyed reading was the one about Google. It was interesting because Google is something I (and most other readers) am very familiar with. Also, I enjoyed the writing style a lot. It seemed upbeat and fun instead of just a news article. Part of this, I think, is due to using the second person in the lead (“unless you’re just off the shuttle…”) and some of the wording used in the article. Some examples of good phrases would be “kick the tires,” “half-baked Google creations,” and words like “cram” and “jungle.” This just helps it to flow well and use random words to make it more interesting while still conveying the point.