Finding the 47 million-year-old fossil. Belgrade rolls out free Wi-Fi. Suspects arrested in the Tori Stafford case. These are the top stories gaining attention around the world.
Digital Journalists put in monumental effort to craft original and poignant articles. Some did independent research with surveys, others interviewed local residents from faraway countries. And the intrepid reporters provided stunning photos to sidekick their feature stories.
First, a hearty congrats to KJ Mullins for her comprehensive article titled What the Public Wants from News Media. She created a survey on news topics, and it was completed by several dozen respondents. The answers provided a keen overview of what some news consumers want every day, whether it were opinion pieces or relevant photos. Check out the article to learn more about the state of media today.
Alakananda Mookerjee went the extra mile by interviewing a professor in her article about Kuwait electing female parliamentarians for the first time in the country’s history. It’s fine to digest the headlines but Alakananda made good on her journalistic prowess and added extra substance to this important article.
Our Louisiana correspondent was busy this week too. One of Carol Forsloff‘s most appealing articles profiled a plantation in Melrose, complemented with stunning photos. She regaled us with some historic footnotes of the site while also providing a good picture of what is occurring today. Another fine job, Carol!
DigitalJournal.com is also proud to welcome a hard-working Digital Journalist, Marko Andrejic. Hailing from Belgrade, Serbia, Marko gave readers some excellent journalistic craftsmanship, complete with interviews: he spoke to the organizer behind the tennis tournament the Serbia Open, peering into the country’s fascination with the sport; and he also profiled a Serbian company that wants to blanket the country with Wi-Fi technology. Both these articles were comprehensive and insightful. Marko’s photos also added a nice flourish to his editorial.
Many other major stories are popular on DigitalJournal.com, including:
• Sri Lanka Announces Defeat of Tamil Tigers: Another world saga comes to an end…or does it? The Sri Lankan government announced it triumphed over the Tamil Tigers, killing one of its chief leaders. But a lingering concern is the status of the thousands of refugees now homeless and starving.
• Russia Especially Concerned About Threat of Nuclear War in Asia: Putin is worried. Believe it or not. Russia is worried about the possible nuclear war between Pakistan and India, two countries that “don’t play by the rules.” Should Russia be legitimately concerned or is it playing a sneaky hand in this war-room game?
• France declares war on Sect influence in the United Nations: Digital Journalist Michael Cosgrove earned many comments on his well-written article on France combatting “sect religions” such as Scientology. He also introduced Westerners to the idea of the government agency Miviludes, “whose job it is to track and counter those religious and other groups it considers as being sects.”
• Two Charged with Murder and Abduction in Tori Stafford Case: If you live in Ontario, Canada, this story was above the fold in every city: two people were charged with murdering the young Tori Stafford from Woodstock. As Carolyn E. Price reported, “court documents allege the 8-year-old was killed on April 8, the same day that she went missing.” Horrific stuff.
• California waitress allegedly fired for not wearing makeup: A determined Digital Journalist, Nikki Weingartner describes the case of a Trophy’s waitress allegedly canned for refusing to wear makeup. The article was thorough, included relevant quotes and added some backstory on the restaurant itself. Would you get dolled up if an employer demanded it?
• Missing link found, early primate fossil 47 million years old: Archaeology nerds, pay attention! New Digital Journalist Sara B. Caldwell relayed the recent discovery of a possible “missing lnk” — a 47-million-year-old fossil named Ida. “Ida had opposable big toes, fingers with nails and a talus bone that links her directly to humans,” we learned. And gentlemen, we think she’s single.
• Astronauts Watch Star Trek Movie From Space: We’ve been hearing about the hype surrounding the new Star Trek movie. But some geeky astronauts took it to the next level…literally. NASA officials beamed the new flick directly to the International Space Station. But how’s this for an unusual movie ritual — “during the screening they had to secure the feet with floor straps to keep them from floating in space.
• Bob Dylan freewheelin’ again with a new album and US Tour: Some musicians never retire. Case in point is Bob Dylan, the American songwriter and folk hero. Michael Cosgrove rehashed his legacy and included details on his upcoming tour and album release. And 666divine and Raymond Bochman came out of the closet to admit to being Dylan fans.
• Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is favored to win over Juan Manuel Marquez: One of our resident boxing reporters, Leo Reyes, underscores the importance of the Mayweather-Marquez match on July 18. He gets nitty-gritty with the boxer stats, from their height to professional record. Expect Reyes and other Digital Journalists to cover this monumental boxing event with all the knowledge and insight we’ve come to expect from them.
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: Christopher Szabo, Chris V. Thangham, Nikki Weingartner, Alakananda Mookerjee, Michael Cosgrove, Marko Andrejic, Carolyn E. Price, Sara B. Caldwell, Carol Forsloff, Leo Reyes, and KJ Mullins.
The Top Blog Post of the Week goes to Brenton Currie for his illuminating rant against Microsoft. Already establishing himself as a tech reporter, Brenton complained about the software giant releasing all their products to the public instead of allowing pre-releases through services such as MSDN and TechNet. We can’t wait to see what other tech issues Brenton tackles.
