President Barack Obama makes his first official visit outside the U.S. to Canada. A chimpanzee mauls his owner. And a Digital Journalist reviews the Oscar’s Best Picture nominees. These are the top stories making news around the world.
Digital Journalism was front and centre as reporters from across the world brought their expertise to a variety of meaty subjects. Whether the articles focus on new businesses opening in a struggling economy or the acclaimed films contending for an Oscar, there’s something for every news junkie.
A hearty kudos goes to Sherri Reese, a tireless journalist who brought us a story on TARP and how a Congressman admits the funds may have been misused. This is an explosive story that deserves international attention, and it’s nicely complemented with video and audio clips.
How can a salon expect booming business during a global recession? Ask Adriana Stuijt who wrote about Dutch hairdresser Danguet Lumleot and her entrepreneurial vision. This woman’s story was intimately related while also shedding light on how a salon can thrive in an economic crisis. As Adriana wrote: “She single-handedly also climbed that inevitable mountain of bureaucracy everybody has to scale in The Netherlands before one can set up any business.” A true inspiration.
And not to be missed are the excellent film reviews of the Best Picture nominees, courtesy of KJ Mullins. They are timely articles for anyone jonesing to get updated on the top contenders before the Oscars on Sunday night. Find out why Sean Penn plays a pitch-perfect rebel politician in Milk, how Brad Pitt fares in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, what makes Slumdog Millionaire such a tearjerker, and why The Reader is a “must-see movie.”
And if you can’t get enough of Oscar action, be sure to tune in to the live coverage of the annual event on DigitalJournal.com, starting at 8pm ET on Sunday Feb. 22. Join editor David Silverberg and Digital Journalists KJ Mullins and Tamara Baluja on a liveblog providing commentary of the awards as they happen.
Many other major stories are winning acclaim on DigitalJournal.com, including:
• Octo-Mom, ‘I Haven’t Had Sex In 8 Years!’: Oh octuplets mother, what won’t you say! As Joan Firsternberg reported, Nadya Suleman admitted she hadn’t enjoyed the horizontal mambo in eight years. We also learned some other tidbits about “octo-mom”, such as the nanny who earns around $500 a week to look after the older kids Monday through Friday.
• Brits Bewildered: 13-Year-Old Boy, 15-Year-Old Girl Give Birth: In other odd pregnancy news, a 15-year-old girl in the UK gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Looks like one night of sexual exploration between teenagers can lead to unexpected results…and a quick lesson on parenting.
• Obama and Harper reach environmental deal during Canada visit: In political news, President Barack Obama met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to hammer out an environmental pact. Tamara Baluja said the two world leaders worked on an agreement to cut greenhouse gases and fight climate change. They also talked about Afghanistan and the economy, and Obama declared “I love this country.” Never hurts when Canada gets some love from a hopeful president like Obama. (Lots of great photos of Obama’s visit are in the slideshow above. Scroll up near the headline for all the pics!)
• Ann Coulter Was Unleashed on Larry King Live: No surprises here — right-wing commentator Ann Coulter embarked on a tirade during an interview with Joy Behar, who was filling in for Larry King. She lambasted 9/11 widows, criticized single mothers for sparking crime sprees (huh?), and claimed conservative women had more orgasms because they “are more relaxed.” Do you think Coulter deserves this kind of air time?
• Accused Killer American Amanda Knox Called ‘Foxy’ in Italy: What happens when a murderer is praised for her good looks? Ask Italian reporters, who dubbed Amanda Knox “foxy” in an article and for some reason Knox was voted the most popular television personality in the country. Sounds like Italy has been watching too much Dexter.
• Experts Define Florida Anthony Case ‘Forensic Evidence’ Kind: Carol Forsloff wrote about the Caylee Anthony murder and how experts claim this case contains a mountainous amount of forensic evidence to comb through. As Carol wrote, “There are enough pieces of evidence that require explanation and enough complexities to make for interesting issues.”
• Unspeakable, terrifying: The Australian fires live videos: Our Australian correspondent Paul Wallis continues to track the aftermath of the Australian bushfires, this time detailing the videos capturing this horrifying disaster. He doesn’t pull any punches, calling the media unprofessional for shoving microphones in the faces of bereaving family members. In the comment section, Chris V. Thangham suggested: “Right now we should focus on helping the victims and have a better warning system to alert people.”
• Bring Sean Home: The war between Brazil and the USA: In a story widely under-reported, Nikki Wiengartner described how a father is struggling to get his child back after the mother fled to Brazil unexpectedly with the boy. The child was taken from the father illegally and without notice. This is an eye-opening article about child abduction, Brazilian law and the paternity system.
• Gruesome mauling of TV Chimpanzee caught on 911 tape: Nikki was also busy chronicling the upsetting case of a TV personality mauled by a chimp. The exact details of the attack gave readers a visual of how the mauling came about and how emergency crews responded. What caused the animal to veer into violence? Nikki wondered about Travis suffering “from a recent bout of Lyme Disease, which is known to cause paranoia and mood swings in people.”
• The Pirate Bay Trial: A Huge Spectacle: File-sharing nerds, this story is for you — Pirate Bay founders Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, and Fredrik Neij are undergoing a trial to determine if they owe major film corporations millions of dollars in damages. All four men have plead not guilty on charges of “assisting copyright infringement,” asserting that the Pirate Bay does not host illegal copies of media on their servers. Do you think these file-sharing big-wigs deserve to be in court?
• Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton: A Show of Speed and Power: Everyone’s favourite boxer (OK, Leo Reyes‘ favourite boxer) is gaining more attention as Pacquiao’s fight with Ricky Hatton is set for May 2. Many boxing experts believe speed and power will determine the winner of the fight. Reyes offered some insightful analysis of the different skill sets employed by the two fighters, so if you want to make any predictions on who’ll come out on top, now’s the time to do it.
TopFinds Awards
The honourees of this week’s TopFinds Awards attracted impressive attention and widest readership. Digital Journal thanks the following Citizen Journalists with Awards for their passion for covering the top issues of the day: Sherri Reese, KJ Mulllins, Tamara Baluja, Sandy Sand, Bob Ewing, Tse Hao Guang, Leo Reyes, Adriana Stujit, Nikki Weingartner, Paul Wallis, Joan Firstenberg, and Carol Forsloff.
The Top Blog of the Week Award goes to Benjamin Gosling for his intriguing analysis of finding ways to make money as an online writer. In candid and clear language, he examines the various opportunities available to freelancing, framing some of them with the old caveat of “if it looks too good to be true, it usually is.” A great read and you can’t go wrong with his juice box metaphor. We look forward to more contributions, Benjamin.
The Top Comment of the Week Award is given to Shaun Conlin for his knowledgeable take on Nintendo’s product line, particularly their upcoming portable Nintendo DSi. He had some complimentary words for the video game maker, writing: “As a consumer, i find their stuff unusually kind to my wallet and graciously appreciated by my kids, which makes them a winner no matter how you slice it.” We can’t wait to find out what you think about other consoles and handhelds, Shaun.
Digital Journal announcements that can’t be missed include news that Digital Journal introduced an Assignment desk as well as other changes for Digital Journalists this week. The Assignment Desk is visible to all writers when they click “Post News” at the top of the page. Kudos goes to those Digital Journalists who are following editorial direction and covering stories recommended by editors. While many Digital Journalists followed suggestions from the Assignment Desk, we’d like to give a special mention to Bob Ewing, KJ Mullins, W.V. Fitzgerald, Tamara Baluja, Chris V. Thangham and John Auriada for working tirelessly covering top news from the desk. A standout contributor is power user Bob Ewing, who wrote about Internet Explorer 6 and Saab after Digital Journal editors posted those suggestions on the Assignment Desk. He was honoured with a showcase in the Editor Picks section. And if any other digital journalists want to earn similar honours, check out the Assignment Desk every day at the top of the ‘Post News’ page.
And finally, a warm welcome to long-time journalist Jack Kapica who joined Digital Journal as an advisor and editorial contributor. We’re very happy to have you as part of the team.
