Bizarre moose collision hospitalizes student

Local firemen were called early Monday morning to respond to what at first seemed to be a virtually non-existent accident. Around 6 A.M. Monday, college student Andrew Portman's car hit a moose and flew off the road. According to the fire department, the car hit the moose, and then crashed through the trees on the side of the road to slide to a halt in a field just beyond the trees. Portman is currently in the hospital recuperating from a sprained ankle he sustained staggering away from the car, dazed.

"To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what had happened," Portman said. "I was just driving down the highway, and I was really tired, so I must have nodded off for a second, and then next thing I know I'm in some field. The car was absolutely destroyed. I managed to get out when the door fell off, but then I saw blood all over the front of the car, and really freaked out, started running and twisted my ankle really bad. I had my cell phone on me, and I managed to call 911."

The accident bewildered the firemen, who drove down the highway trying to find the accident, and stopped when they saw a dead moose on the side of the road and expected to find a car nearby.

Fireman David Cripps said during accident cleanup that "It took us about a minute and a half to figure out what happened. There was just this huge moose on the side of the road all beat up and pretty obviously hit by a vehicle of some kind, and we just puzzled over it until someone saw a couple of trees broken down in the woods beside the road, and decided to check it out. They found the student, and he was okay, and what was left of the car, which wasn't much."

Andrew Portman is due for release from the hospital on the 30th pending further medical testing.

"I don't mind the hospital, I'm lucky to be alive." he said.

Evaluating Articles

Article 1

On Monday, September 27, a building near Lafontaine Park, Montreal partially collapsed, killing one and injuring another. The building was undergoing extensive renovations when the collapse happened in the third story of the building, killing the 54 year-old worker.
If there is one thing that people will always read about and investigate, it is a tragedy. Like a car crash just around the corner, a lead that promises details of a tragic death is impossible not to pursue, making this lead very effective.
"For reasons we don't yet understand a part of the building collapsed onto the workers," Eric Berry, a worker for Montreal's ambulance service told reporters.
the article gets to the point, telling the facts of the construction worker's death in the very first sentence. It provides the who, what, when, where, why and how very clearly and concisely.
The story doesn't come to any kind of definitive ending because available details on the story are few, and because of this, certain important details such as the worker's name and the definite reasons of the collapse are left out and only a theory of unnoticed structural damage caused by fires earlier in the year is given.

Article 2

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is still uncertain about pulling out of Middle East peace tealks as of Monday the 27th, and intends to deliberate at least one week before his final decision in order to provide time for U.S. mediators to come up with a compromise concerning Israeli construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The president opposes the construction because of Palestinian intent to establish a future state in the areas of construction. Abbas intends to discuss the matter one week from the 27th with a 22-member Arab League.
With the Middle East being a global hotspot because of war, oil and political turmoil, an article concerning it is almost always of interest. However, some people prefer to see no evil, hear no evil, so anything in the Middle East may be offputting news to some. The effectiveness of the lead hinges very much on the person reading.
President Abbas said that "We will not have any quick reactions," which in a case as sensitive as this is quite wise.
In this article, the news of the Palestinian president's decision to wait is told first, but the most interesting part of the article comes near the end. Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to extend the slowdown of Israeli construction, which expired midnight Monday morning.
The resolution of this matter has not yet been reached, and will take at least until next Monday to reach. The article instead assures us that the Israeli government is still open to compromise, a comforting thought.

Article 3

Kim Jong-un, son of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il has been named a military general, which is the first step in dynastic succession. Little else is known about the youngest son of the dictator. Virtually no evidence exists to suggest why the youngest son was chosen as the next successor except that he has been the "favorite" of Kim Jong-il all along. However, many clues exist confirming the eventual ascension of Kim Jong-un.
The lead is veery effective, and for two main reasons: the air of mystery surrounding the succession and the current political importance of North Korea. The article does its best to uncover facts about the succession, but details still remain sketchy, which only heightens interest in further installments about the matter.
"Should the conference itself open the door for an orderly leadership change and in one way or another economic reform, we see a great deal of underlying, long term economic benefit for a united Korean economy," says economist Goohoon Kwon.
The most important information(that of the ascension of Kim Jong-un) is told first, but the most interesting information is told during the middle and end of the article. The reporter who created the story found that several political events have happened recently in North Korea that haven't hpapened since immediately before Kim Jong-il took power, very clear indications of a power shift.

Job Applications

Mr. Carter
Teacher
Blackville School

Re: APPLICATION FOR TALON REPORTER

Dear Mr Carter,

I believe that I would be suitable for the position of Talon reporter/photographer because I have strong writing skills and good interpersonal skills and live near the school, so work after school will not (barring unforeseen circumstances) be a problem, and I would be willing to sacrifice flex periods for the job. Also, in a pinch, I can provide my own digital camera. I would be interested in working in entertainment and/or sports.

Mr. Carter
Teacher
Blackville School

RE: APPLICATION FOR YEARBOOK EDITOR

I believe that the position of Yearbook editor would be right for me because I have good design and organizational skills. I am also willing to work long term and a good photography skills and am willing to work after school, during flex and into the next semester. I have a great interest in producing an excellent yearbook, especially with this being my last year at school.

Reflective Journal Entry #1 - Public Occurences and Other Fine Publications of Noble Station and Merit

The Bostonian newspaper Publick Occurrences, previously removed from English soil to the Americas for "differences of opinion" with the English crown(read: editor jailed for sedition), was the first to ever incorporate a page completely blank for the purpose of feedback and opinion sharing. Because of the tendency towards small communities and neighbourly spirit as well as blatant and outright poverty in the fledgling United States, newspapers were passed on from person to person. Benjamin Harris, the creator of Publick Occurrences, seeing this tradition among the Puritan people, decided to take it to another level by adding a completely blank fourth page, on which the people could write their responses to the news and matters at hand. Then, they called it "a blank fourth page". Today, we call it blogging.

Obviously, the two are not identical manifestations of the same concept, but the core concept is shared. That core concept could be defined as putting out news and passing on opinions within the same outlet, which both certainly do. Obviously, when one looks at newspapers today, the concept of putting on a blank page certainly didn't catch on in any permanent fashion. This fad probably completely died off with the rise of newspaper owners/editors like William Randolph Hearst, who was of the opinion that "whatever I report is the news, and the news is the truth, so whatever I report is the truth." This mindset certainly inhibited any kind of feedback, but as communication with others with others grew quicker and easier, people once again became free to communicate whatever idea they desired about the subjects put forth by news outlets, and with the modern ease of internet access this freedom of ideas soon formed itself into a concrete and defined idea: Blogging.

So this raises a question that is peculiar at least. Is blogging truly the unique brainchild of young, energetic minds concerned with free speech and the spreading of their own opinion, or is it the resurrection and new age restyling of a centuries-old tradition which has faded away in modern times: honest discussion.