North Korea launches missiles. Chicago buses roll out pro-atheist ads. Swine flu infects Singapore residents. These are the top stories gaining attention around the world.
Digital Journalists are always hungry to cover breaking news, but we also saw a lighter side of these passionate writers. Travel articles about their communities were some of the highlights in the original reports on DigitalJournal.com
First, in news,
KJ Mullins attended an intriguing discussion on how the
media cover wrongful conviction cases. We learned about Toronto lawyer James Lockyer and his tireless battle to fight wrongful convictions. KJ quoted a powerful statement from Lockyer: "What I would like to see is reporters covering cases with a jaundiced eye."
In Travel, starting in Toronto,
Bart B Van Bockstaele took us behind the scenes of the city's hot spots with his article about
Doors Open, the annual architecture fest in Ontario's capital. He profiled the Carlu, a concert landmark near College Street, and the Canadian Blood Services building, which opened in 1890. Kudos to Bart for attaching more 35 photos from his Doors Open soujorn, bringing us closer to his subject matter with intimate pics.
Our Louisiana correspondent,
Carol Forsloff, took us on a tour of
New Orleans during Memorial Day. Dubbing the area the only true European-style city in America, she described the various throngs of people gathering in various neighbourhoods, from teens to middle-aged couples. Some of her lines were exquisite: "The smell of flowers mingled with the odors from every kind of taste sensation Creoles and Cajuns can conjure up."
Michael Cosgrove
Hotel Dieu ('Baby Factory') Lyon France
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If you didn't know much about Lyon's Rhone River before reading
Michael Cosgrove's
post about the area, rest assured you are now practically an expert. Michael took us to the riverside area with its quaint restaurants and patios, also sidekicking the article with poignant photos. It definitely looks like a tourist attraction, and we're quite jealous Michael gets to experience it everyday.
Still looking at his work, we want to congratulate him for writing an article on the
Champions League finals seconds before it ended. He recapped the Barcelona-ManU game with all the zeal of a long-time soccer, er, I mean, football fan. This is the kind of sports reporting that truly excites our readers.
In entertainment,
Cheryl Hoar reviewed the
Sistering event in Toronto. It was a fundraising event featuring some top talents in Canadian comedy and music, all female. As Cheryl described the charity, "The Sistering organization has been providing supportive services, hope, peace and encouragement in a safe environment to women in crisis for more than 26 years." We look forward to more entertainment coverage, Cheryl.
And in the tech world,
Shaun Conlin provided readers with a hands-on review of the new
Google Android phone touching down in Canada. His 1,400-word article was so comprehensive you almost felt like you had been dating the smartphone for years. Excellent knowledge of the phone's capabilities added some heft to the review, so it's worth a look if your curious about the new operating system making waves in the wireless market.
A few in-house notes: Check out a
blog post by Chris Hogg about a London university researcher doing her MA on digital media. She's created a survey on citizen journalism and is asking citizen reporters for some help. Part of this research paper will also be published in the Canadian Journal of Communication next winter and on DigitalJournal.com. When you have a few minutes, please fill out the survey and offer your insight.
Finally, DigitalJournal.com is introducing its first Liveblog Debate, happening Tuesday June 2 at 2pm ET. It will focus on the laws surrounding marijuana and will explore the pros and cons of legalizing pot. It's free to join, and we should have a lively debate on this controversial topic. See our previous blog post
here and the Facebook invite
here. Visit us on June 2 at 2 p.m. to see the article containing the liveblog.
Many other major stories are popular on DigitalJournal.com, including:
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North Korea Tests Two More Missiles: It's the country of the moment, the nation everyone is talking about -- North Korea is testing long-range missiles in what some are calling a display of bravado. As Brandon McPhail reported, "the global community has taken a stand against North Korea's continued production and testing of nuclear armaments." This story is getting juicier by the week.
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Iran Uses Warships to Escalate Aggressive Stance Toward Israel: Iran is another saber-rattling country intent on raising eyebrows. It recently sent warships into sea, and tested a missile that could hit Israel. Do you think Iran wants to "raise hell" or just get world attention?
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Manhattan Starbucks Scene of Early-Morning Bombing: New York was shocked when a bomb blast shattered windows at a Manhattan Starbucks. KJ Mullins told us "the building above the Starbucks is a residence and it was evacuated as a precaution."
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Chicago buses get ads reading 'In the beginning, man created God': More news is popping up about atheist ads appearing in buses. Chicago is getting into the game with an atheist org raising more than $100,000 to post ads on Chicago buses that read "In the beginning, man created God." A spokesperson for the group said, "We used to have thousands of gods. Now we’re down to one. We’re getting closer to the true number."
Monterreybayaquarium.org
Pacific Seahorse
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Tiny seahorse among 10 newly discovered species: In the Oh-that's-so-cute department, M Dee Dubroff wrote about a small seahorse being among the 10 recently discovered species. Other recent discoveries include a "gigantic palm from Madagascar that flowers itself to death and a bacteria found by Japanese scientists that lives in hairspray."
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What’s in a Name? Ask Residents Living on Butt Hole Road: How would you feel living on a street called Butt Hole Road? The homeowners on Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, England, had enough being the butt end of jokes (we know, too easy) and have successfully renamed the road Archer Way. How bland.
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Swine Flu Emerges in Singapore: So far, three people are under quarantine in Singapore for swine flu, Digital Journalist Tse Hao Guang wrote. "The Health Ministry has also begun trying to locate those at risk of developing the flu," we learned. Wasn't the swine flu story so three weeks ago?
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Glamour Celebrity Model Danielle Lloyd Attacked in London Club: Looks like being Miss Great Britain or an actor on Celebrity Big Brother is dangerous stuff -- Danielle Lloyd suffered serious injuries to her leg when two girls at a nightclub threw her onto a table with drinks. Ouch!
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Susan Boyle Wows Again on Britain's Got Talent: Once again, Susan Boyle is making headline for earning a spot into the finals at Britain's Got Talent. Then again, she's also stirring up trouble by
lashing out angrily at her hotel, Digital Journlists reported. Are her 15 minutes up?
Photo by Dral10
Manny Pacquiao in the ring
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Manny Pacquiao Wants Floyd Mayweather, Jr. for His Next Fight: Leo Reyes kept us updated on Pacquiao, detailing the boxer's desire to battle Floyd Mayweather, Jr. down the road. "Many boxing fans believe that Mayweather will win over Juan Manuel Marquez because of his physical superiority and speed," Reyes added.
TopFinds Awards
The honourees of this week's
TopFinds Awards attracted impressive attention and widest readership. Digital Journal thanks the following Digital Journalists with Awards for their passion for covering the top issues of the day:
Brandon McPhail,
M Dee Dubroff,
Tse Hao Guang,
Michael Cosgrove,
Leo Reyes,
Carolyn E. Price,
Bart B Van Bockstaele,
Carol Forsloff, and
KJ Mullins.
The
Top Blog Post of the Week is awarded to
Jan Rose. In an illuminating
post, we learned about the legacy of James Bernard Harkin, widely considered the "father" of Canada's national parks. She juxtaposed his passion for wilderness with recent news about Waterton Glacier National Peace Park being threatened by developers. It's a must-read for any nature lover.
