Cellphones killing sperm. Filmmakers chronicling Putin’s love life. Deadly storms sweeping through the U.S. This news and much more gave readers a variety of stories to absorb, and we look over what’s making headlines around the world.
Technology & Internet
“My theory is that sperm are allergic to babbling morons.” It’s a statement that sounds strangely out of context, but it perfectly fitted with Wanderlaugh‘s article about prolonged cellphone use negatively affected sperm count. A study says electromagnetic energy emanating from cellphones could harm body tissue (and possibly provide lazy guys with a false sense of birth-control security).
Many other tech and Net stories got readers talking: Fans of Flickr are rebelling against the proposed Microsoft-Yahoo merger with some inventive mock ads, cgull found; Yahoo is shutting down its music service and shuttling customers to the Rhapsody camp, Sarawanan Ravindran reported (wow, Yahoo is too busy for its own good!); you can’t keep a good reporter down, momentsintime discovered, especially a CNN journalist who blogged about his experiences being detained at the Israel-Gaza border; a massive protest has erupted over a Wikipedia entry of Muhammed, which shows a 15th-century illustration of the holy prophet, Susan Duclos reported; a new cellphone can read text to blind people, Knight Shield found; and gaming publisher Electronic Arts predicts 2008 will be dominated by Nintendo’s Wii, followed by PlayStation 3. Sorry Microsoft, looks like Xbox 360 isn’t finding favour with one of the world’s largest publishers. Did you snub them at a Christmas party or something?
Politics
Of course, Super Tuesday caused a super-flood of articles about U.S. politics from Citizen Journalists, with update pieces by Emily January and Can Tran (Obama winning Georgia, e.g.) serving as standout articles. But it wasn’t just one day’s results that dominated the news.
California’s First Lady, Maria Shriver, is backing Barack Obama, even though her husband is supporting John McCain, Hargrove wrote; the two Clintons campaigning for one nomination could be causing comical confusion for Obama, Eric S. Wyatt reported; the Canadian government approved a $1 billion aid package for single-industry towns, Bob Ewing said; and Benazir Bhutto’s posthumous autobiography claims one of Osama Bin Laden’s sons was sent to kill her, cgull reported. The article also added some intriguing info:
Benazir also believed there were threats from within the Musharraf regime, which were providing moral support to those sent to assassinate her. She believed Musharraf and his regime had the names and numbers of people who were planning to kill her.
In more Bhutto news, Scotland Yard’s report says she was killed by a bomb blast, not a bullet, momentsintime reported.
Lifestyle & Entertainment
First up, we’d like to honour a headline that had our bellies shaking with laughter. Kudos to Samantha A. Torrence for her satirical and inventive headline Don’t Be a Menace to South Central When Celebrating Fat Tuesday in the Hood. Nothing like humour spicing up an otherwise crime-ridden article.
Moving onto the top entertainment scoops: Could Hollywood writers be coming back to work soon? Believe the rumours, momentsintime wrote, because formal negotiations between producers and scribes are being ironed out, so those new episodes of The Office and Grey’s Anatomy might be saving us from Survivor drivel sooner than we think.
Several other entertainment stories are worth a read: a game developer rejected an $11 million royalty cheque, pbrite discovered (um, I’ve available to accept charitable donations); Heath Ledger died from an accidental prescription drug overdose, cgull wrote; a new Russian film is supposedly based on Putin’s love life, Planet Janet told us; and in case you weren’t sick of pop-star news, jxtra wrote about the controversy over Britney Spear’s manager and how he may have drugged the has-been. It brings new meaning to the phrase, “Hit me baby one more time.”
TopFinds Awards
Unpredictable weather swept through multiple U.S. states, destroying homes, lives and any semblance of a peaceful winter. The winner of the TopJournalism Award reported first-hand on the tornado sweeping through her home state. A huge congrats goes to S.H. Mills for her powerful article on the storm tearing apart Highland, Arkansas. She not only painted a gruesome picture of the storm’s aftermath but also scored an interview with the town’s mayor. By talking with such a prominent figure in a time of crisis, S.H. Mills fleshed out an already informative piece with key details about how communities respond to environmental attacks. The mayor admitted “95 per cent of the Highland business district is gone” and those are the kind of quotes that win attention from readers who may not fully understand the storm’s impact.
Homes and businesses destroyed along Highway 167 in Highland, Arkansas after a Tornado hit earlier this week. – Photo by S.H. Mills
And S.H. Mills’ treasure chest just got another trophy bigger: She also wins the TopPhotography Award for including stunning photos of the storm’s effect on her hometown. When impressive photos complement text, an article stands out for being the complete package. And this Citizen Journalist put so much effort into photographing and writing a comprehensive and absorbing feature that it deserves to be a model for citizen media. But most importantly, we’re just glad you’re safe, S.H. Mills, and we thank you for giving us a peek into a subject very close to your heart, and doorstep.
A scathing criticism of Hillary Clinton’s credentials and campaign methods takes home this week’s TopOpEd Award, given to the politically-minded Hargrove. Hargrove explained how Clinton abandoned her supporters during her South Carolina defeat and why she broke rules set out by her Democratic party. You may not agree with Hargrove’s sentiments but it’s hard to ignore the evidence presented.
On Super Tuesday, a certain Citizen Journalist gave us a glimpse into the chaos of voting day in a Minnesota caucus station. For writing the unfiltered truth behind the disorganized mess of her station, Pamela Jean wins the TopPolitics Award. You don’t get a sense of what goes on in these important polling stations until you read a story like Pamela’s, where vivid descriptions and recounted conversations add integral detail to the piece. The reader can’t help but feel frustrated along with Pamela while she navigates the messy swampland of her caucas station. On the ground, witnessing how the march of progress can be a bumpy ride, Pamela wrote:
It is very apparent at this point that everyone just assumes ‘someone else’ is taking care of the very important business of handling the business of running the country, from the bottom on up.
And what’s this, another TopPolitics Award? Yes, there was so much incredible content in this area that we couldn’t resist honouring another Citizen Journalist who stepped up her game and offered original reportage par excellence: Susan Duclos interviewed the chairman of Move America Forward, Melanie Morgan, to discuss a Berkeley, Ca., city council resolution calling Marine recruiters “uninvited and unwelcome intruders.” The article first included background on the issue, laid out the argument, and then introduced us to Morgan, who gave Duclos some incredible quotes about this explosive story. The Q&A is worth reading for anyone interested in support for U.S. troops, backroom politics, Berkeley’s warring factions, CodePink’s methods, and journalistic prowess. Why journalistic prowess? Because Susan proved that she can strengthen a local piece with an applicable interview that complements the issue at hand. And as a bonus, the article was featured on the front page of KSFO 560, a top-rated radio program in San Francisco.
It’s easy to report on Iran’s space program and its new missile with a range of 1,000 miles. But Wanderlaugh took the extra step by supplementing the news with its impact on world politics. This winner of the TopWorld Award highlighted a “nightmare scenario” of Iran’s nuclear potential, but don’t worry, folks, “the threat is more dangerous than any fact,” as the CJ wrote.
Wanderlaugh goes deep into the issue and evaluates the scenario to a degree not usually seen in mainstream news. His thoughts, opinions and arguments make this a must-read for any news junkie.
It’s not easy being green, a famous frog once told us, but that lyric applies to companies required to be environmentally friendly, lest they face financial repercussions. This intriguing and topical issue was spotlighted by Angelique van Engelen, who wins the TopBusiness Award for her look into “green economics” and the pressure put on airlines to reduce pollution. As people continue to soak up Earth’s natural resources, the business of going green will continue to be a pressing issue, and this DigitalJournal.com citizen journalist covered a succinct and timely piece.
Skin tissue art. Sounds gross or eye-opening, depending on your perspective. But no matter the perception, mirrorwarp‘s feature on an art exhibit featuring a brain with glowing moss and a jacket made of synthetic skin, for instance, creepily takes home the TopArts Award for giving the DJ community news of a different flavour. The artwork raises thought-provoking ethical questions and the topic proves to be a decent water-cooler discussion starter (if you have friends into skin tissue sculptures, perhaps).
We all know why New York dominated the big sports story this week, but only one Citizen Journalist amazed us with his candour and incredible football knowledge: once again winning the TopSports Award is Navin Vaswani, whose recap of the 2008 Super Bowl was filled with pithy observations, sly quips and player-by-player breakdowns. One of the best Super Bowls in NFL history deserved a stellar review, and Navin did the Giants-Pats game justice.
