1. "Romney Campaign Makes Third Spelling Gaffe in One Week"
- The Romney team ran an amazing campaign and as much as I hate tossing them under the bus on this one, it can't be overlooked as a 'poorly written' article . The first major mistake was that the Romney Campaign launched their new & improved Facebook page, complete with a link to buy "2013 'Offical' Gear." Next, the social media manager (be that as it may) posted to their new app (for iphones and android devices), a tab titled "A Better Amercia." Yes. A-M-E-R-C-I-A. Needless to say other social media outlets and news organizations went to town on this one citing that, if a presidential candidate can't even spell the name of the country he is desiring to govern, then how can he be trusted to run it? Personally, I think that analogy was a bit of a stretch but nonetheless, made its point. Finally, the social media coordinator (assumed) posted a teaser photo offering a "sneak-peak" of the campaign's new television ad. Of course, for most people these minor offenses do not rise to the level of any high crime or misdemeanor, but they still chipped away at Romney's credibility as an intellectual and politician.
http://mashable.com/2012/06/04/romney-spelling-mistakes/
2. "Barack Obama Made a Pilgrimage to Evangelist Billy Graham"
-Spend about three seconds skimming over the contents of this [real] news article and you will begin to wonder if someone slipped a little morning pick-me-up boozer in your coffee. Unless you are in a very precarious work or living situation, that is most definitely not the case. This is, in fact, as poorly written as it possibly could be. It really needs no explanation, but here goes. The sentences are practically incomprehensible. There is little to no use of any type of punctuation. The story as a whole doesn't really make sense. Aside from being able to gather the basic gist of what this individual was attempting to communicate, I wouldn't have even known what the article was about. Unfortunately, after (painfully) completing the article, I found myself asking "Is this real life?"
http://www.dailypolitical.com/u-s-news/barack-obama-made-a-pilgrimage-to-evangelist-billy-graham.htm
3. "2 brothers charged in missing N.J. girl's slaying"
-The story itself is horrifying and disturbing and shouldn't be played down in the least. However, how this excuse of an informative news article made it past the editor is beyond me. Let's start with the title: not even remotely correct AP Style-wise. How about punctuation? Perhaps the 'writer' thought he was tweeting to his audience... The header is far from professionally acceptable regarding what would be expected from an article informing the community of a 12-year-old girl's brutal murder. Not to mention the header is far from captivating or informative. The writer also fails to employ the use of the inverted pyramid writing style, which is a standard for most (if not all) credible news outlets. Did you notice the source? USA Today. Not good... As a reader, but also critic, I was particularly disturbed at the lack of sensitivity that the writer seemed to have for the deceased and family. The article was written more like the opening to James Patterson's latest murder mystery than a report of an actual occurrence. Essentially, the article was written in poor taste and lacked any sort of professional style.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/24/missing-girl-nj-charges/1653753/
No comments:
Post a Comment